JtPetty Tagged Articles at Cinematical

(from left to right) Fantastic Fest programmer Zack Carlson, Fantastic Feud co-hosts Devin Steuerwald and Scott Weinberg, and Not Quite Hollywood director Mark Hartley

With the weekend came no sure rest for Fantastic Fest attendees. Saturday kicked off with, among other things: a screening of Conquest of the Planet of the Apes shown from an HD master of a cut unseen in over thirty-five years; initial screenings of the very popular Tiffany stalker doc I Think We're Alone Now and the very anticipated Swedish vampire drama Let the Right One In (which can now fall firmly in the former category); and a boat party held in honor of Donkey Punch, in which several youthful types face some serious consequences after their high behavior on the high seas. Did life end up imitating art on that front...?

The word 'goth' can be very confusing these days, especially when talking about 'gothic' stories. For example, when Variety mentions that something is a 'gothic love story', is it referring to gothic in the sense of late-18th century British literature? Or is it referring to the current subculture of people who wear dark clothing, listen to bands like Bauhaus and have an interest in macabre subject matter? At first I thought it meant the former in its report that JT Petty was signed on to helm an adaptation of a Japanese novel -- and manga -- titled Goth. But now that I've read about the novel, it is clear to me that this is all about the subculture. The novel, written by Otsu-ichi, is about two teens, both of whom are obsessed with death, one with a fetish of standing in locations a body has been, who end up solving a number of murder mysteries and taking on the serial killer responsible.

Petty has written and/or directed a few horror features, including the straight-to-video Mimic: Sentinel (aka Mimic 3), but he may be best known as the writer of Batman Begins ... the video game. He has also scripted the Tom Clancy-created Splinter Cell games and is set to write the screenplay for a Splinter Cell film. Next up, though, he's got a horror-western titled The Burrowers, which has just recently finished shooting. Goth will be produced by Lauren C. Weissman, Jennie Lew Tugend and Shinya Egawa, all of whom worked on the movie Dance with Me, as well as on Norio Tsuruta's Masters of Horror episode "Dream Cruise".

Considering how popular the gothic subculture continues to be (if it had a tagline, it'd be something like "keeping Hot Topic in business since 1990"), Petty would be smart to up the influence on this adaptation. Obviously he'll be wanting to feature a hot goth-rock soundtrack and a lot of hot goth-chicks, who have always been able to transcend the subculture and appeal to non-goths, boys and girls alike, with their distinct, hyper-sexualized fashions.

While I wouldn't say Gorgon Video's Faces of Death series evokes a sense of nostalgia in me, it does make me think of those big honking clam shell boxes with the FOD logo lurking in the corner of the horror section. I'm sure if VHS horror movies were sentient, the FOD tapes would be the mongrel children of the lot, being feared and derided by the others. Either that or I've had way too much coffee and I'm over thinking this. Anyway, as Scott Weinberg posted last October, Faces of Death -- the video series that purported to show actual scenes of death and dismemberment but were in reality more fake than fact -- is getting a remake. Rotten Tomatoes has just posted an update on the project, with the news coming directly from producer Rick Bennatar.

"We've got a story, we've got a director, we've got a writer, J.T. Petty, who did a couple of indie films," said Benattar. "He's coming in and he wrote a script. We're sort of taking a look at in the world of Saw and Hostel, who are the people who actually go watch these movies? So we've tied that in with Faces of Death. We have a narrative story which the original never had, and we also nod for the 'fans.' I use that word loosely. Guys like me who watched it as a kid, who snuck away to go watch these things. We have a few nods to those original films."

So I guess the big news here is that the movie eschews the documentary style of the original for a traditional narrative -- which I saw as a given -- and the fact that the project is still alive. Writer director J.T. Petty (check out Scott's interview with J.T. here) was also behind the documentary S&Man, which I'm still dying to see. With Hostel: Part II and Captivity tanking at the box office, I suspect the new Faces of Death may be arriving at the torture porn party just as everyone else is packing up their knives and fetish gear.

Your day can't be complete without wild inventions, re-visting old classics and delighting in death:

• In January, I brought you the news of wacky inventor Troy Hurtubise's latest suit. He's the guy at the center of the Project Grizzly documentary. Where he used to fashion suits to fend off bears, he changed his sights to war armor. The inventor planned to sell his Trojan suit to the armed forces, but surprise, surprise -- that didn't happen. Now, one lucky bidder will have a chance to buy the suit, along with the exclusive rights to his "Shadow Armor" on EBay! As I type this, the suit has already risen beyond $30,000, and there are four days left in the auction. However, the reserve has not yet been reached, so I wonder what amount Mr. Hurtubise is waiting for...
• It seems that while talking to someone at Warner Brothers about another Gremlins sequel, Moviehole found out that the company wants some more Goonies action. The source is quoted as saying: "they're looking at doing direct-to-video sequels to Scooby Doo and The Goonies." (After The Lost Boys 2 and New Jack City 2, that is.) It's not definite, but the source considers it to be "a consideration." So much for the old rumors of an actual, potentially well-thought-out sequel. Why bother tarnishing a classic with a direct-to-DVD release? What's the point? Just let Konami's The Goonies II remain the one and only sequel.
• When I was in high school I went to a party and was convinced by some guy friends to sit down and watch a scary movie. Always up for fun cinema, I sat down in the dark room and watched Faces of Death -- full of sacrifice, execution and the scene that has never full left my mind -- monkey brains. Well, not only is the film a whole bunch of farce, but JT Petty is gearing up to remake the original. (It was fun for Raimi and Evil Dead... but faux snuff films?) If this is your cup of tea, he's created a mock-up teaser. It is, obviously, very graphic and NSFW, unless your job involves blood and death.

They were kept high up on the dustiest and most seldom-visited reaches of the horror section. Clad in their bulky red and black clamshell cases, they beckoned to the intrepid young gorehounds: Rennnt uuuussss! Can you handle it, you wimmmmmp?

And so, like any fifteen-year-olds who spend their weekends with Freddy, Jason and Madman Marz, we brought home a few of those Faces of Death videos. Alleged compilations of actual death, mayhem, disfigurement and animal cruelty, the Faces of Death flicks were pretty much 25% tacky "real stuff," and 75% mega-fake bullflop. But that didn't stop us from renting all 12 of the damn things. (Actually there were only six, but it sure felt like more.)

So I told you all that just so I could tell you this: Universal's Rogue division is planning some sort of Faces of Death "remake," and they hired our old pal J.T. Petty to direct the thing! Color my curiosity officially piqued. Considering the nature of such a venture, you can expect that Rogue will stay mum on the specifics of this proect. Keep the whole "is it real or is it fake?" gimmick working all the way. Hell, that's how I'd do it. And based on what I saw in S&Man, I suspect that Petty is just the man for the job.

If there's one thing the media really loves to do, it's lump a bunch of barely-connected people into an ill-fitting group -- and then give that group a clever name. Whether it's The Rat Pack, The Brat Pack or The Splat Pack, I just get irked whenever a new "pack" makes it into the cultural lexicon. Oh, you're not familiar with that last one? Yeah, it's a moniker that's been given to a bunch of "new" horror filmmakers, one that seems to imply that these guys get together every weekend to smoke weed and watch Halloween 2 together.

According to a recent article in Time Magazine, one that seems to approach horror flicks the same way a prissy schoolmarm would approach some inappropriate comic books, the members of "The Splat Pack" are Eli Roth (Cabin Fever, Hostel), Neil Marshall (Dog Soldiers, The Descent), Alex Aja (High Tension, The Hills Have Eyes), Rob Zombie (House of 1000 Corpses, The Devil's Rejects), and James Wan, Leigh Whannell and Darren Lynn Bousman of the Saw trilogy. (Apparently Wolf Creek director Greg McLean was part of the original pack, although he goes unmentioned in the Time article, probably because he hasn't made much money yet.)

But what do these guys have in common, really, other than the fact that they all make horror flicks? I see Americans, Brits, Aussies and a Frenchman in the mix, and while some of the guys are fresh-faced and 20-something, guys like Roth have been toiling away in backstage anonymity for years. Plus, c'mon, Rob Zombie is 42 years old, so how exactly does he tie in with these kids? And why is it that Neil Marshall never seems to be quoted in these articles? Is he just included because his horror movies are ... GOOD? Apparently the Splat Pack label was created by Alan Jones of Total Film, and I'm sure the guy's an absolute expert on horror flicks -- but labels create limits, exclusions and oversights. And, ultimately, articles like this one, I suppose. (Either way, I bet Jones bangs out a book called The Splat Pack by the end of 2008.)

The UK's Christopher Smith (Creep, Severance) is young and horror-heavy, so why isn't he a member of The Pack? Shouldn't (Dawn of the Dead screenwriter, Slither director) James Gunn be one of the den mothers? Lucky McKee has made only two feature films (May and The Woods), but they're both downright excellent pieces of horror. Why's he not a member? Uwe Boll's done a bunch of horror flicks that could be accurately described as " laden with torture," so why not throw him an invitation? You want a guy who loves the word splat? Try Jake West, the guy who directed Evil Aliens. Plus I read another article a while back in which Jonathan Liebesman (Darkness Falls, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning) was considered a member of The SP! Now, if that guy can be considered some sort of "future of horror," I'll eat my hat.

The common themes among the Splat Packers are ... what? They all like horror movies, they don't shy away from intense chills, harsh themes or copious gore, and they're all carbon-based life forms, I guess. But really: Does anyone out there think the work of Eli Roth is even remotely similar to that of Neil Marshall? Does a Rob Zombie flick remind you of what was seen in, say, High Tension? I mean, if you're going to define a term, then define it. And as a big fan of just about all these movies, I just gotta scratch my head when I hear these guys lumped together in one basket.

And what happens when guys like Ryan Schifrin (Abominable), Adam Green (Hatchet), J.T. Petty (S&Man) Scott Glosserman (Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon), Jon Levine (All the Boys Love Mandy Lane) and Adam Mason (Broken) start to make their way up the ranks? Will we have the arrival of Splat Pack 2: The New Generation? Back in the late '70s/early '80s, did we need a goofy little heading to remember names like Carpenter, Hooper, Craven, Dante, Landis and Cunningham?

Ultimately, I have no real point. I'd just seen the phrase "Splat Pack" one too many times and felt the need to vent. Opposing viewpoints are welcome, as long as they agree with my own opinions.

When I cover a film festival, I usually do a small handful of interviews for various publications. In nearly every case, the sit-down is with a young filmmaker or some indie actors. When I was asked if I'd like to spend a half-hour with the Midnight Madness Guru for the Toronto International Film Festival, I figured it'd be a whole lot of fun. I mean... the guy's job is to pick through the world's newest wierd movies and pick his ten favorites! Now that's a guy you want to drink a coffee with! Here now is a conversation between Colin Geddes, filmmaker J.T. Petty and yours truly. And I had to snip about 35% of this chat session because it often devolved into a really nerdy conversation between three hardcore genre geeks. Obviously it was a lot of fun.

Cinematical: How important is a "midnight movie" slate to a festival like Toronto?

Colin Geddes: The Midnight Madness category was originally devised as a spot for films that didn't really "fit in" with a traditional festival agenda. We're talking back in, say, 1988, when genre films didn't necessarily "belong" at a film festival. So the category gave us a chance to introduce quality genre films to an appreciative audience. Plus these movies often work as a "gateway" for new audience members. With the festival being so huge, it's sometimes overwhelming. And if you're an 18-year-old kid coming to Toronto, like I was, where are you going to start? You're probably going to start in the horror stuff, the weird stuff. The rest of the film festival gets the "art," and I get the "fun." And the art. And what we see now is that, of all the different slates, Midnight Madness is one that almost always sells out, ticket-wise. From an industry standpoint, these are quite often the films that sold -- and seen.

Cine: And they're not always horror films either. You have seven or eight of 'em, but then something like Borat makes the cut as well...

CG: Yeah, it's a mixed bag. Now, Borat is an outrageous comedy, but I also knew it would it would bring a lot of attention, and it's great to have that kind of "hook" sometimes. If I can get an 18-year-old kid who'll come and see Borat, and then he comes back to see The Host from Korea or Princess from Denmark, I've done my job there. Borat is kind of the "anchor." On the other hand, I like to take a chance with one or two selections. Two years ago I programmed Calvaire (The Ordeal), which was ... an out-there film. Half the audience was truly perplexed by that one, but it's an excellent film and precisely the kind of title we like to "introduce" to our viewers. This year we have J.T. Petty's S&MAN, which is in a similar vein. Something that's going to be confrontational; something that might divide audiences.

Cine: Something that's going to get people talking. ...

Any horror fan knows it: We love to watch. Perhaps through giddy fingers; maybe with a stomach-kick queasiness. But horror film is, at heart, deliberately looking at the worst possible things, and not looking away. Director JT Petty knows it; his first film, Soft for Digging, was a low-budget, high-ambition horror film made for less than $6,000; his next directorial gig was Mimic: Sentinel. "I make my living making scary movies," he explains early on in S&MAN, "but this is going to be about scary movies." Opening with a nod to a few classics -- Peeping Tom, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer -- Petty introduces us to three different filmmakers working in what he calls 'underground horror" -- a shot-on-video world of cheap thrills and cheaper production budgets, sold on-line, at conventions or by mail. As Petty explains, "It's not snuff" -- the unholy grail of long-rumored real-life death caught on film for purposes of entertainment -- "but it's close."

In the uneven (but not uninteresting) S&MAN, Petty introduces us to three separate film makers: Fred Vogel, who creates gonzo horror films under the August Underground banner; Erik Rost, who creates stalker/snuff-themed films in the S&MAN series; and Bill Zebub, the creative force behind slasher flicks like Kill the Scream Queen and The Crucifier. Vogel looks like a well-groomed sports buff; Rost is a self-deprecating, self-promoting craftsman; Zebub looks like he was peeled off the bottom of a cab in his native New Jersey after a particularly rockin' Sammy Hagar show. And they make films about killing people. Zebub says it best, and bluntly: "I don't shoot movies to make art; I shoot movies so perverts will give me money."

Unless you're a hardcore horror fan (or maybe a video game freak), you probably aren't familiar with the name JT Petty -- yet. The guy broke in as many good filmmakers do: With an independently-made (and entirely) creepy horror flick. But then he branched off and wrote a bunch of (rather popular) video games before landing a gig on a direct-to-video sequel. And with all those dues paid, Mr. Petty decided to move forward with ... a nearly indefinable horror documentary called S&MAN, which I saw (and enjoyed) at least March's SXSW Film Festival.

Hey, but don't go by me. The Toronto Film Festival programmers also found a lot to like in S&MAN (it's pronounced "sandman"), which is why the flick's about to make its Canadian debut at one of North America's premier festivals. JT and I tried to have an interview last March, but the conversation quickly devolved into a random-access-memory 45-minute discussion about horror movies -- so with the Toronto festivities now in full swing, I asked Mr. Petty if we could give it another go. And here's how the new chat went down...