Until The Day Breaks - A Kickstarter campaign from Project Trident

In a barren future, Reverend Ivan Passworthy may be the last man on Earth. Protected from the gnashing undead hordes of the outlands only by a failing missile defence system, the vicar struggles to maintain both his faith and sanity in complete isolation. Over the years since the British Army moved out of his ancient sanctuary, Ivan has found his days plagued by ghosts of the past and a burning desire for a better future.

In his darkest hour, Ivan’s prayers are answered by the arrival of an enigmatic visitor from another planet. Brought together by their own personal losses and a mutual faith in the power of good in all things, the new friends search for a way to live together and repair their broken worlds.

As terrifying as it is touching, UNTIL THE DAY BREAKS is a wild journey through an uncertain universe - a tale of persistence and friendship in the face of the sprawling unknown.

..... And so goes the synopsis of a new and ambitious Sci-Fi comedy, Until The Day Breaks, a feature film from a British film making group with the rather wonderfully enigmatic name of Project Trident. Their Kickstarter campaign, which runs until the 31st March, is hoping to raise production costs for what the film collective are calling Until The Day Breaks "an epic sci-fi feature film combining stunning special effects, a witty script and loads of adventure!" Hmmm, bold words indeed. Well we shall see, Project Trident, we shall see.

Because when writer/director Carl Peck contacted me during the week to enquire whether I'd like to put an article together for his sci-fi/comedy/zombie film I was initially a little reticent. "Does the world need yet another zombie related production?" I said.....to no one in particular. Well that is except for my dog, Jasper.....but apparently he couldn't care less about aliens or zombies, being far more content to sit and chew on his special toy - and no, that wasn't a euphemism. However, it does look that the world doesn't yet seem to be tiring of such material, and if truth be told, neither am I ......as long as the story is interesting and not just a trip on the old bandwagon.

So I decided to check out the Kickstarter page for Until The Day Breaks - I know, get me, doing some research and stuff! The first thing I had a look at before deciding whether to use some of my precious time was to have a watch of the preview trailer......and do you know what? It actually looks pretty damn good. Have a look for yourselves.

See what I mean? It looks fresh and interesting with enough ideas within it to certainly merit further perusal. According to the press release blurb (that's a technical term, don't worry about it) Until The Day Breaks has been inspired by classic films such as The Day the Earth Stood Still and Withnail & I. Now I wouldn't be surprised if the likes of Shaun of the dead has also had some influence too - which isn't meant as a form of veiled criticism at all. Indeed, judging from a a quick peek at one of Project Trident's previous works I am quickly gaining an admiration for their unique approach to ideas and filming.

Once again, according to the pros release blurb - " The company rocked the web with their hilarious short film Gasp, among many others".......and also once again, bold words indeed. So I thought I would catch theses guys out with their outlandish and quite frankly bordering on hyperbolic claims and actually watch this Gasp thingy that had escaped my attention. Bugger, bugger, bugger - not only is the 3.47 min short film funny, it is also nicely dark in tone and in fact I enjoyed it so much I watched it two or three times.

If you want to look at it yourselves it can be seen for free at http://www.projecttrident.com/videos/gasp/

So, rather annoyingly the claims of this British filming collective seem to have more than a smidging of credibility For example, according to the Kickstarter page, "Writer/director Carl Peck has time and again shown his ability to get crazed ideas from his brain to the screen with wit and vivid style, on time and under budget. He has left in his wake a slew of thrilling short films and madcap music videos." - god, talented people really make me feel so inadequate at times. Annoying.

If that wasn't enough, the cast of Until The Day Breaks boasts the inclusion of one of the stalwarts of British stage and screen in the form of the inimitable David Gant. His film credits include the hugely enjoyable but hopelessly historically inaccurate Braveheart, the genius of Terry Gilliam's Brazil and the 1672 hour-long biopic that was Ghandi. Davis's TV credits include the wonderful Sherlock and Whitechapel as well as Jonathan Creek. His theatre credits also include a myriad of roles such as in leading roles in the likes of King Lear to name but one of many. More recently a completely digital version of David was used by Sony to showcase the processing power of PLAYSTATION 4.

Apparently, the actor not known for his independent sci-fi or horror work, signed up to the role of Ivan straight away, describing the script as “absurdly brilliant” and "It's the most exciting script I've read for a long time". The rumour that he also said that the film "deserves to be regarded and talked about in the pantheon of online websites, especially the renowned and genius laden Fifth Dimension blog" has yet to be confirmed by my legal team to allow me to  get away with an out and out fib like that  in order to allow me to say so.

Well if Until The Day Breaks is good enough for an actor who has appeared in a film by Terry Gilliam (did I mention that Gilliam is a genius?) then it's good enough for me.

The filming group group is raising their financing solely through Kickstarter. To support their campaign which ends on the 31st of March you can find the online link at the bottom of this article. Naturally, as in any good Kickstarter campaign, there are a huge array of tasty incentives for those who wish to help contribute funds to the production of the film. Have a look at the page yourselves for a full round up of the goodies on offer, however a few caught my eye which I'll mention here; 

At the 'lower' end there is a the contribution of £5 which gets you a streaming copy of the film or you can go through a plentiful selection of choices until you find yourself possibly with a spare £5000 or so of loose change in your pocket which will get you a credit as Executive Producer and no manner of other things such as lunch and partying with the crew in the English countryside.

I must say that the one particular nugget that caught my eye is the one that says that an offer £40 not only gets you the film, a documentary, commentary, soundtrack, updates, script, storyboards and some thank you's in the closing credits of the film, but also included is the added beauty of the a beautiful A1 print of the stunning movie poster by Ricardo Bessa (left).


Now, far be it from me to be resort to such uncouth things as hints or suggestions, but .......cough........I just love that.....picture.......Carl Peck..........cough.......I love it.....



So I implore you you have a look at the links for what looks to be something of a potential gem of British film making - this could genuinely be something special.



The kickstarter page for Until The Day Breaks can be found at 
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/294961384/until-the-day-breaks-a-sci-fi-buddy-movie/description


The film's Facebook page page can be found RIGHT HERE

Granite City Comic-Con Press Event

GCCC's Colin Penny (front left) & Morgan Black (2nd right)

+ CLAN 

I'll be honest, there was a brief moment when I misunderstood the invitation from Granite City Comic-Con (GCCC) saying that they were pleased to invite me to their very special press event on Monday 16th March at Transition Extreme. This event would see the Comic Con organisers being (nearly) all present, correct and available for interviews plus there would be photo opportunities to be had with a number of Cosplay-clad superheroes. To top it all off there would be representatives available from GCCC's chosen charity, CLAN.

Now, the subjects of this (very) brief miss-understanding was that for a nanosecond the world of Planet Stuey thought that the invite was purely for me and me alone. Blimey, I thought, The Fifth Dimension really is becoming the leading force in all that is good in witty and incisive Sci-Fi, fantasy and horror writing. Of course, sanity and reality soon prevailed (for once in my life) and I quickly realised that there would also be one or two others at the Granite city Comic-con press event. Particularly as rather astoundingly this is the first Comic Con of this scale that Aberdeen has ever held. As a consequence it's fair to say that since the announcement last year of the intention to hold a celebration in the North East of Scotland of all that is good in geek, well the interest has been nothing short of phenomenal.

In my defence, apart from my evidently rampant narcissism and self-obsessed existence, I have been wrapped in the sweaty and sticky arms of a rampant cold bug this week. So besides the fact that this has seen my usual razor-sharp intellectual skills being slightly blunted, I have also sneezed up enough mucus to fill the Mariana trench. I know. Attractive, eh? If you must know, I'm still not very well. However like the trooper and brave little soldier that I am I'm battling on heroically. I foresee songs and poems written someday about my intention to keep on blogging through the pain of this quite frankly fearsome cold bug. Move over, Beowulf, there's another hero in town.

Prizes will be awarded on the day for Cosplayers -

 best get out my Capt Kirk outfit then. 

Anyhoo, for those of you who haven't heard (and just WHERE have you been?!) the inaugural staging of Granite City Comic Con takes place in Aberdeen on 30th May 2015. 

The aim, stated from the very start from the organisers, has been their wish to highlight Scotland's immeasurable contribution not only to the comic book industry, but to pop culture in general. The problem had been that this part of the North East of Scotland had little or nothing in the way of showcasing this talent. The nearest to us being Dundee, and well, I mean, Dundee....

So back in the not too dim and distant past some plucky geeky fellows decided to band together and put a show on themselves. The fact that none of them had much, if any experience of doing something on this scale didn't seem to put them off. This, if you ask me, is a clear case of collective insanity - just who in their right mind would try anything to bold? Especially when there are some in the 'I love Star Wars more than you love Star Wars' brigade just waiting to complain about any efforts made to put on an event such as GCCC, especially when the people involved lack any experience of doing so. I did wonder whether the organisers,  Morgan et al, were beginning to feel the strain of this endeavour – hopefully I would get the chance to ask them.

So far a few tasty nuggets of information have been released about the specific events which will be taking place (for NO entry fee) with a variety of guest artists and writers, children's activities, cosplay, retailers and Independent publishers. More of which later in this piece. Oh, and I'll be there on May 30th too....... But don't let that put you off.

I was balancing precariously on a step ladder to take this - 

how I suffer for my art!

Me being the intrepid blogger and researcher that I am, I took myself along to where both the press event and the main event itself will take place in May, Transition Extreme. And what a marvellous evening was had by all. In attendance there were representatives of the national press, local press & radio.....oh and little ole me. Not only that but there were Cosplayers practically everywhere and possibly most importantly of all - there was free coffee and tea. Well actually, I'm doing the evening something of an injustice, because it was much more than just 'marvellous', it was bloody brilliant madness.

For a start the press event itself took place in the ground floor foyer of Transition. So not only did we have the sight of a veritable plethora of most excellent Cosplayers in all their glory, but occasionally there would be a couple of the general public passing by on their way to some energetic pastime of Judo-ing or skateboarding. Quite frankly, the amounts of comic double takes from people as they walked by on the way to their energetic business were priceless. The comments too were wonderful, with kids passing with their parents insisting they ask if they could have their picture taken with Batman, Wonder Woman, Storm trooper et al. In fact I will never forget the look of the small boy who was so heavily engrossed in conversation with his dad that he hadn't noticed that stood right beside him was an Imperial Storm trooper in all his glory. The boy's face of surprised joy is something that I will never forget.

If that wasn't enough we also had the surreal and rather wonderful Cosplayer photo call in the Skateboarding/BMX arena. Once again the appreciative double takes (of the Cosplayers, not me) were a sight to behold. Try as I might I attempted to get a picture of the assembled players at the moment a biker when flying by behind....but alas I was unable to get my beloved IPhone to play ball. However the show off from the local press did manage to achieve this feat. Which brings me onto the 3rd part of the brilliantly mad evening.

Me, taking a picture of the press taking a picture of a judge, a trooper & a Bat.

For the GCCC organizers weren't simply happy just to settle for a local blogger like me to help promote this marvellous event (quite rightly), it also seems that the comic-con interest has also gained the attention of the local and national press. You could tell who the real media professionals were at this event - because they were the ones (as opposed to me) who really knew what they were doing, were the ones to organise the best pictures and were the first to grab the organisers (Morgan Black and Colin Penny) for an interview.

But give the organisers their due, they manfully kept things going throughout the couple of hours, no matter how daunting a visit from the national press may have been.

Morgan was kind enough to give me some of his time in this busiest of press do's to share a conversation about some aspects of the event.......

FD) Right, OK. So how’s it going? This is just madness isn’t it ?

M) (laughs) This is crazy, this is the 3^rd type of this event that we’ve done. We’ve got people who’ve come along to give exposure for the comic-con & the CLAN & transition as well. This has been the busiest one, we’ve got national press here which is quite daunting. But it’s all great.

Every superhero needs to sit & chill at times.......

FD)  What about the special evening event that you’re planning?

M) Yes, well the main Granite city Comic-con event Transition is a free event, no tickets, we’re just going to ask for donations to CLAN. Now in the evening we are putting on a paid event (£8.50 a ticket) with all our guests appearing; Alan Grant, Shane Rimmer….everybody.

FD) Will that be a Q&A thing?

M) Yeah, there will be a panel event. Were also going to be showing Judge Dredd: Superfiend, which is brilliant! So that will be a paid event at the Stratosphere which is literally a stone’s throw away from Transition. Again all the money will be going towards CLAN.

FD) So how will people be able to get tickets?

M) Tickets will be going on sale in the next 2 weeks, we’ll put a link up on the website. It is going to be limited due to the space we have

FD) How many spaces are we talking about?

M) We’re still trying to figure that out, within the next couple of weeks we’ll have a specific figure of the amount of tickets that will go on sale. What we can say now that the cost will be £8.50 for definite & all the guests will be available for the Q&A’s, photo’s autographs.

The legend that is Shane Rimmer

FD) I’m VERY excited about Shane Rimmer, I must admit. I can’t wait to meet that guy!

M) So am I! It’s going to be good. I mean with the likes of Shane Rimmer and Paul Blake who played Greedo in Star Wars and who’s going to get that ‘uncomfortable question’ which I’m sure he’s fed up of answering?

FD) Yeah, but that’s why he does these marvellous things, people still want to know.

M) Exactly.

FD) Are there going to be any other guests that you may be hoping for or that you haven’t yet been able to confirm to the public? Any surprises?

M) We’ve reached our limit. This year for us, because it’s been more charity driven, we haven’t had the budget really. We’ve had to make the money by selling tickets to the pre-events, doing the evening event and selling t-shirts on our website. But we’ve still got some good guests.

FD) So next year, I know we haven’t got there yet, but will it be a full-blown making some money type thing and taking it to the next level?

A) Yep. We are definitely doing 2016 where we’re planning a two day event. We’re looking to get an event venue in Aberdeen which we’ll announce soon. But we need to get this one over and done with!!

Next year will be bigger and will be in a bigger facility, not to say that we won’t be using Transition because we’ve had a good partnership with them but we’ll be doing some smaller events here as we’ve developed a good friendship with the guys down here.

Just your everyday photo call in a BMX arena....

FD) There’s been a huge interest for this hasn’t there??!!

A) (Laughs) I know - Crazy!! We’ve got 3000 people plus on the Facebook page!!

FD) Are you sleeping at night??!!

M) No No!! (laughs)

FD)  I’m sure it’s going to be great, mate. I can’t wait

  

I would like to go on record in offering my sincerest thanks to Morgan & Colin in inviting me to this most enjoyable and illuminating of press events. In fact if the next press event doesn't have a photo opportunity in the middle of a Skateboarding park I shall be putting forward a letter of complaint.

It's not long now, people until the vent takes place so let's keep the interest and momentum going. Also keep your eyes peeled for news of the special evening event I discussed with Morgan..........Oh, and there may be even a rather interesting (I know, for once) feature or two still to come from me in this blog so watch out for a possible special offer from me.

Whatever happens next, Granite City Comic-con 2015 is going to be one fabulous event. I have nothing but admiration for this group of people who, without having any experience of a venture such as this, have put together something that the city of Aberdeen should be very proud of.

If you don't go to GCCC, then my mate here will 

track you down like the rebel scum that you are....

The Granite City Comic-Con website can be found RIGHT HERE

The Merchandise page when you can buy some easy GCCC goodies (remember, proceeds go to CLAN cancer research) is at http://granitecitycomiccon.bigcartel.com

The Facebook page for Granite City Comic-Con can be located HERE

INNER GHOSTS - Some behind the scenes special effects.

Last week saw my inaugural INNER GHOST article , where I was rather pleased to announce that The Fifth Dimension is to be the UK representative for this brand new Independent horror film from Portugal. 

As well as providing a few tit bits of information about plot I mentioned that one of the perks of being the ambassador type person was that I would be given access to some exclusive pictures to pass on the readers. 

So when the films producer, Paulo Leitem, sent me a quick message earlier today suggesting that he send me the first of some exclusive images, I wasn't really too sure what to expect.

I must admit for some reason I didn't expect was the first photo that I looked at seemed to resemble a slice of human skin. However this (as you can see for yourself in the picture) is just what it is, albeit a piece of synthetic skin that the film makers have developed for some scenes. Something tells me that these particular scenes may not be for the front-hearted.......thank god! 

The rest of the sneak preview exclusive type pictures that I received related to two of the featured actors from INNER GHOSTS. So being the type of sharing caring individual that I am , I thought that it would therefore provide a good opportunity to begin introducing you to some of the names that will grace this film.

CELIA WILLIAMS will play HELEN.

CELIA WILLIAMS is a British actress born and brought up in England. She studied at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama before spending two years living in Brazil, since when she has been living and working in Lisbon. She performs in English and Portuguese, and also, once, in French. Her work has taken her very often to the UK, to London and to Edinburgh, to places all over Portugal from Bragança in the north, to the Algarve in the south, to Madeira in the Atlantic, and also to India. She has performed in a variety of genres including tragedy, drama, mystery, comedy, musicals, opera, radio, television series and feature films. Among many major roles on stage are Jean Cocteau's THE HUMAN VOICE in London's West End, THE DIARY OF ANNE FRANK, DON'T WALK ABOUT WITH NOTHING ON, and BE MY BABY, also in London; Paulina in DEATH & THE MAIDEN, Elizabeth I in MARY STUART, Nora in A DOLL'S HOUSE, Stephanie in DUET FOR ONE, Gertrude in HAMLET and Judith Bliss in HAY FEVER IN LISBON.

Celia's work in Portuguese includes various roles in TV soaps and series, for example EQUADOR and UMA FAMÍLIA AÇOREANA, O ÚLTIMO DOS MARIALVAS, APANHADOS NO DIVÃ and AUTO DA BARCA DO INFERNO for the stage, and the films PASSAGEM POR LISBOA and A MORTE DE CARLOS GARDEL. Her first venture into horror was ten years ago when she played the protagonist in MRS. DEVENPORT'S THROAT, a short film, part of a series written and produced by horror icon David McGillivray. She is now excited, and a little afraid, to take on the role of Helen in INNER GHOSTS.

The woman's head in the picture to the right is a realistic replica of actress Celia Williams. Now I may not be the brightest spark on the planet but judging from the state of the replica I'm pretty sure that poor old Celia's character who will be quite possibly enduring some serious violence.

This seems to tie in nicely of the premise of the story that I'm allowed to share with you. This battle between mother and a Demon, essentially two longtime enemies who are about to meet for the last time.

Celia plays Helen - a woman who is conducting psychological tests on ghosts in an attempt to develop a revolutionary therapy for patients in the  terminal stage of Alzheimers . What Helen does not know is that a Demon who has been looking for her has now found a way to reach her. And it wants something only she can give him.

The story will get deliciously violent as the Helen and the Demon play cat and mouse in an old apartment. This picture seems to suggest very very violent!

Also included is a photo of Teresa Sousa (Wardrobe) doing wardrobe tests on actress Celia Williams.

Celia is looking slightly worried in this photo, methinks.  It may have something to do with the replica of her head that we've just seen.

Don't worry Celia, its only a demon you're facing. What could possibly go wrong?

PHIL TOWN will play STEINMAN.

PHIL TOWN was born in Windsor, in the South-East of England, and has been living in Lisbon since 1990. He began acting in the mid-1980s in amateur reviews, and since being in Lisbon he has appeared in a number of plays produced by the theatre group The Lisbon Players, notably as Lennie Small in Steinbeck's OF MICE AND MEN, Dr Rank in Ibsen's A DOLL'S HOUSE, Tubal and Old Gobbo in Shakespeare's THE MERCHANT OF VENICE, and Luka in Chekhov's THE BEAR. He is also a voiceover artist and provided the English voiceover for the 1989 Brazilian short ILHA DAS FLORES, which won a Silver Bear at Berlin.

Asked about why he acts, he says: "For the buzz of interpreting words on the page and making them into a believable character, and to push the limits of my experience – both technically as an actor and psychologically/ emotionally as a person. And to enjoy the response from the audience – when it's a positive one, naturally." As for his beliefs, he says he is neither religious nor spiritual. So what comes after life? "Probably oblivion, but we'll see..."

On INNER GHOSTS, Phil will play Steinman, a man who thinks he is destined for greatness...

The final picture sent to me is of a man's head which is a realistic replica of actor Phil Town. Now I have it on good authority that Phil's character will also be the victim of lots of bad and rather nasty violent happenings.

While I'm sure that Phil is a very nice man, I must admit that I'm rather looking forward to seeing what particular violent delights the film has in store for him and the rest of the cast. Sorry Phil!

To read more about INNER GHOSTS visit their Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/innerghosts?ref=br_rs

You can follow the film on Twitter via @Innerghosts

The official INNER GHOSTS website can be found at http://innerghosts.com

Valley of the Sasquatch (2015)

UPDATED - SEPTEMBER 2016

In the last day or so it has been announced that U.S. distribution for the film will come from Uncork’d Entertainment and the film’s title will be changed to Hunting Grounds. It should be noted though that the film will retain its original title and poster art  in foreign territories. 

"After losing their home following a devastating tragedy, a father and son are forced to move to an old family cabin. Neither reacts well to being thrown into this new world. 

The son's attempts to relate to his father are complicated when two old friends arrive for a weekend of hunting. 

This trip into the forest will unearth not only buried feelings of guilt and betrayal, but also a tribe of Sasquatch that are determined to protect their land."

Well slap me in the face with a wet fish and call me Josephine. In the 2 1/2 years that I've been scribbling my self-indulgent ramblings here on this blog I had never actually written a piece on a Bigfoot type creature. That is, until this past week when two films about that very chap came along in quick succession. The first of them was the Australian version of the mythical creature, The Yowie, which featured in my previous blog article but one for the review of the marvellous Throwback (2015) which has recently found its way into DVD & Bluray here in the UK.

A few days after posting the Throwback piece I received a messaged from a familiar name to Fifth Dimension readers (well, reader), that of John Portanova. Though if indeed this is actually the first ever blog article that you've read from me then just where the hell have you been??!!??!! Having said that, it's not too late to run away now, you know. I won't think any less of you. In any case, if you haven't read any of my quite remarkable scribblings you probably aren't aware of the two previous films that I've championed from John and the other main players in the Seattle-based production company, The October People. Both The Invoking and The Device were both excellent examples of complex characterisation plus an intelligently patient narrative - the former being a tale of supernatural terror, the second, a story of Alien abduction.

Er, guys..........behind you!

The message that I received from John saw him reaching out because his new film "Valley of the Sasquatch", starring Jason Vail and Bill Oberst Jr, (another old friend of the Fifth Dimension.....whether he likes it or not!) recently had its world premiere at the Nevermore Film Festival. In addition to that, the next screening is at the Crimson Screen Horror Film Festival in May. 

Now, not only was this Johns very first film as director, he was producer on The Invoking & The Device, but I know for a fact that he is also something of a Sasquatch obsessive so consequently the subject matter of the film is very close to his heart. If you add to that mix the inclusion of the fabulous Bill Oberst Jr. as part of an excellent cast (more of which later) then what option did I actually have but to accept? If all that wasn't enough, Johns cunning ploy of using the words  "I've enjoyed the writing you've done on previous films I've been involved with, so I would love to read your opinions on Sasquatch" at the beginning of his request, well.........Sneaky bastard - he knows I'm a pushover with flattery.

However, what John may not know is that while I may be something of a sucker (steady on) for a good old 'lost mythical monster who attacks overconfident vulnerable lost souls in the land that time forgot' type of adventure story genre - and if it's not a proper genre description, well it blooming well should be. 

The famous Roger Patterson footage

However, if truth be told, there isn't one solitary molecule within my physical make-up that actually believes in the reality of such creatures. That non-belief may seem something of a controversial statement to make to some people I've met through writing this blog........cough......, sorry, John.....cough......because there are many otherwise normal people out there that genuinely believe in this stuff. And who is to say that I'm right? Because judging from the seemingly endless books one online sources of sightings and statements, I may be outnumbered in my beliefs.

The fact is that I simply do not believe in Bigfoot/Sasquatch, the Yeti. Yowie or indeed anything of the like. Nor do I believe that we've already been visited by extra-terrestrials or intrepid time travellers. However, I do love stories about such things, especially well made and thoughtful stories. And so here I am.

Once again, The October People don't dissapoint. For a start we have their now trademark appreciation of measured character development and respectful treatment of the subject matter. To begin with there is the nicely intelligent story of complex and fraught relationship between father and son.  As the father, Roger (Jason Vail) confidently conveys the feelings of a man who has not only seen his wife's life end but also is witnessing his own existence wither away into unfulfilled regret. His son, Michael played by Miles Joris-Peyraffitte provides a nice performance as the boy who sees his opportunities of an academic future being replaced by the prospect of experiencing the same banal existence of his father. 

In fact, such is the authenticity of their relationship, it somewhat reminded me of my own experiences with my father. Well,  except for the moving to an old Cabin in the woods and being attacked by a tribe of Sasquatch, that is.

The team taking a break during filming to do 'The time Warp'

Once the pair have relocated to the delapidated cabin in the woods we are introduced to the bullying and slightly unhinged friend Sergio (excellently played by David Saucedo). Added to the group of misfits is Will,  Rogers' more successful brother who is played by the excellent D’Angelo Midili (The stellar performance from The Invoking). If that wasn't enough there are an inspirational couple of sub-plots featuring Bill Oberst Jr. as Bauman who experiences his own particular brand of excruciating encounters with the Sasquatch tribe and you have a veritable gluttony of textured characterisation. 

I really don't want to become overly sycophantic but Bill Oberst Jr's performance alone is pretty much worth the cost of seeing this film. It's been my pleasure to get to know ever so slightly this man who throws himself so much into a part that he often has little recollection of the experience. His role as Bauman is a tour de force.

Bill perfecting his best Sasquatch killing look.

So, the plan for our little group of social misfits is for them to go on a nice relaxing venture into the wilds for a weekend of hunting and drinking. What could possibly go wrong? Well, erm, plenty as it turns out. Because don't worry, you adrenaline horror freaks, proceedings get more than a little exciting in the third act as the plot quickly moves into a by the seat of your pants  'Assault in Precinct 13 with Sasquatch' scenario.

Valley of The Sasquatch is the respectful and sympathetic treatment of Bigfoot-lore. This may seem strange thing to say coming from a confirmed Bigfoot cynic such as myself but that having my philosophy shouldn't mean that you don't treat the subject matter in a proper and respectful way. This considered approach in the film shouldn't really come as any surprise given the fact that John Poronova is a confirmed cryptozoologist and his inherent Sasquatch passions as such could have resulted in a story that lacked the required menace and horror in an effort to provide a level of authenticity. Thankfully, the horror comes at a satisfying level.  I don't regard myself in any way an expert in Saquatch history, but if any of the stories told as conversation pieces in the film have any basis in history then I may have to do some further research of my own. 

Night time is the best time to catch the Sasquatch

What Portonova does do is to nicely provide the creature(s) with a more sophisticated mode of behaviour and doesn't just portray some one-dimensional blood-thirsty monster in the woods psychopath which some films of this nature have done. It's nice to see someone with a genuine appreciation (some may say obsession, eh John?) of a subject dear to their heart. 

The result in this movie is to provide overall an authentic and eerie Bigfoot. There is no convoluted CGI here so yes while we do have a man-in-a-suit the lighting & filming provide for the most part a convincing monster. I say 'for the most part' because there are a couple of occasions where the Sasquatch effect is less than convincing, but not enough to detract overall.

The only other negative gripe I would have is that  D'Angelo Midili's character seemed somewhat underused. Midili is his usual excellent self but the part itself seems slightly underwritten to my eyes. Once again however, but a small negative.

What we have with Valley of the Sasquatch is clearly something of a labour of love for its maker. Contained within are more than enough thrills, chills and blood all wrapped up in an intelligent narrative. The acting is of a good standard, the story feels fresh and original whilst the action set pieces are simply terrific. I swear that the final hold-out in the cabin will have even the most hardened Sasquatch cynic on the edge of their seat!

More information on the company that is The October People can be found at www.theoctoberpeople.net

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