Gregory Lamberson's Blog, page 7

First Pics from KILLER RACK written by Paul McGinnis!

So here are the first real stills my company, Slaughtered Lamb Productions has released from KILLER RACK, written by Paul McGinnis, directed by myself, and produced by both of us with Rod Durick.  Most of the stills appeared on Igor's Lab before they did anywhere else: http://www.igorslab.com/home/2014/8/5/first-images-from-gregory-lambersons-killer-rack.html .  You get a bonus still which they skipped, and text!



Something awful is afoot at Dr. Cate Thulu's Palace of Plastic Surgery.  That's Bob Bozek as Herbie East struggling to wrench an issue of CEMETERY DANCE from the hands of Nose Job Girl, aka Tamar Lamberson.  Jenn Brown watches from behind another issue of Cemetery Dance.


Jessica Zwolak stars as Betty, a woman who believes breast enhancement surgery will turn her life around.  Instead the surgery turns her life upside down.


Debbie Rochon plays mad plastic surgeon Dr. Thulu, who is in league with the Elder Gods.  Here she convinces Betty she need a pair of BIG KNOCKERS.


This is me directing Jessica in the surgery scene.  There's no crying in baseball, and there's no shaving in indie filmmaking.


Dr. Thulu works her magic!


Bonus behind the scenes pic: Debbie and Bob seek to enhance screenwriter Paul McGinnis, who plays Betty's love interest, Tim.



Me again, this time directing Sam Qualiana (SNOW SHARK: ANCIENT SNOW BEAST and THE LEGEND OF SIX FINGERS) as Dutch, Betty's insensitive boyfriend.


Another bonus pic: Debbie and Bob with co-producer Rod Durick, He Who Fixes Everything (in my house).



After several mysterious murders, Betty returns to Dr. Thulu's lab to confront her.


Bonus pic: Paul singing the lyrics to a song that will be featured in a musical number featuring Lloyd Kaufman.

KILLER RACK Day Four

Call time: 10:00 am.  First shot: 1:15...

On paper, today turned out to be a killer.  I'd scheduled 5 pages - a comparatively light day - and we only shot 1 1/8 pages.  We did not make our day by a long shot, but what we got was golden.

This was our first day shooting in my house.  Although I'd been painting all week, there was still a lot of cleaning (hiding) to be done, furniture needed to be rearranged, set dressing set, etc.  On top of that, we had a major effect to shoot: the full revelation of Betty's boobs.  Originally, we weren't going to show them on star Jessica Zwolak at all, just some cutaways to the monster versions.  But when Jessica said she had no objection to going "topless" with a prosthetic, and I wasn't satisfied with any of the silicone breasts we purchased online, I tasked Arick Szymecki and Stacey Book with creating custom breasts from scratch - a week before Debbie Rochon's scenes last weekend.  It was a tall order, and since Arick was finishing post on GAVE UP THE GHOST, there wasn't quite enough time to pull off the challenge (although the breasts they made - while not finessed enough to be shot when I wanted them - were superior clothed to what we would have had otherwise, so their work was not in vain).  In terms of scenes where the "revelation" would have had impact, it had to be today's scene between Jessica and Drew Bialy... and Arick and Stacey had to do a big effect yesterday.

Jessica reported to Arick's house for SFX make-up at 7:00 am, and Rod Durick and Paul McGinnis arrived at my house at 9:00 am and started work on the furniture, and Rod did some "light" construction while Tamar continued cleaning.  So much had to be done - items removed from entertainment unit towers so they could be moved, then replaced wen the towers were repositioned, turning our dining room into a bedroom, hanging beaded curtains, etc.  Crew arrived at 10:00 am and joined the fray.  I hoped to have Jessica on set by 10:30, but that was being optimistic.  Fortunately, there was plenty to do until around noon.  When we still didn't have our leading lady, we grabbed what pickup shots we could.  Down time can be frustrating, but for a major effect that will be key to the film's success, the waiting was necessary,  Our effects crew and actress arrived shortly before our 1:00 pm lunch call.  I understood the big breasts would still require some digital fixes, and what we had looked pretty damned good, so kudos to Arick and Stacey.

We shot the first half of the scene, got everything we needed with the breasts, then broke for lunch  another fabulous creation from our caterer, Kelly Wahl.  After lunch, we shot the second half of our crazy scene.  The rest of the day involved various scenes of Jessica as Betty in her bedroom.  Every scene was short with simple coverage, but entailed special effects.  So we never made it into my bathroom, the hall outside the bathroom, or my living room, and we have non-effects stuff still to shoot in he bedroom.  The crew could have gone until 10 pm because we aim for twelve hour days (plus an hour to wrap), but Jessica went into makeup at 7:00 am and I wanted to finish with her by 7:00 pm.  By 6:00 pm I was figuring out what we'd have to reschedule, and by 6:30 we wrapped.  We shot some hilarious gags and got some beautiful shots, so it was definitely a day of quality over quantity - no complaints for me.
After shooting in cramped quarters yesterday, it was a relief to have some space to move around.

it's time to dole out some recognition.  Screenwriter Paul McGinnis and set constructor Rod Durick are my co-producers on this film, and both are taking their duties seriously and are busting their butts while working full time jobs.  Paul is taking on the chores of wardrobe supervisor, and Rod is all around problem solver. Had Rod shot the film as we'd once discussed, I shudder to think about how so many problems would have been solved - either they wouldn't have, or we'd have fallen way behind schedule before today.

Chris Rados is doing a fantastic job as DP.  The upside to concentrating on the effects gags today was that he and I actually got to enjoy shooting some nice shots without the clock bearing down on us.  Sam Qualiana is my AD, but he's also helping Chris, and acting.  We're all multi-hyphenates on this film.  Chris Cosgrave is another problem solver, and a set photographer, and a sound mixer, and an assistant editor.  We found out about him just in time!  My wife Tamar is our production coordinator, which means she's our bookkeeper and handles any office related work we need done.  During pre-production she was my right hand.

There are others - production designer Joel Resnikoff, costume designer Sunny Walker, our PA Dave Carpatyen - and next week I'll write extensively about Armand Petri, our music director, and Kim Piazza, our choreographer.  It takes a village.

I saved Jessica Zwolak for last.  Before we started shooting, I wrote this film will make her a cult star, but the truth is she will also make this film a success.  A single omther with a full time job who does volunteer work, she's busting her butt, she's delivering a first rate, consistent performance, and she's fearless in her approach to the material.  She's got a _lot_ on her shoulders, and she's carrying it well.

KILLER RACK Day Three

Call time 9:00 am.  I don't like starting late, but the the last scheduled scene of the day called for darkness, so I had to work backward from there.  We shot at screenwriter Paul McGinnis's house, last seen by us) in DRY BONES.    It;s a small house, so a lot of furniture had to be removed just so we could get basic coverage, and we didn't get our first shot until 11:15 am, a slow start for us.  There was also some set construction, as Rod Durick built an enclosure with three walls and a roof to fit around Paul's front door to simulate night time, and Chris Rados taped black fabric over the windows for the same purpose.  It was hot, and all day long we'd run the AC between shots, then turn it off and wait for the dripping to stop.

The first scene was between Betty (Jessica Zwolak) and Dutch (Sam Qualiana), when Betty debuts her new boobs for him.  It was a five page scene, requiring us to move around the cramped quarters in a half circle, similar to what we did in Dr. Thulu's reception area the week before. Jessica wore the foam boobs in a bra, so the the "effect" was simple, but the wardrobe didn't quite fit right, so we had to keep our eyes on the prize to make sure nothing too revealing showed.  Sam and Jessica had read for their parts before I decided to take on the script, and both were hilarious,   The scene took us to and after lunch.

The next scene was much shorter but involved a special effect and blood.  Arick Szymecki and Stacey Book had everything prepped and ready.  It still takes a lot of prep time to do blood, and the scene involved some running around,  I also threw an aquarium at the floor, which smashed first take.  Now we got to walk around blood and broken glass.

Next we shot an escaped turtle, which did not want to emerge from its shell.

Then we shot Hernan Carabello and Andrew Elias as two bumbling cops trying to wrangle the turtle.

Finally, our last scene, involving detectives Bartles and James (Michael O'Hear, Aexander S. McBryde), Sergeant Mulruney (Mathew J, Walter), Betty and Dutch, and two army paramedics (Sorry you don't get the throwaway joke, Arick and Sunny, it's absurd humor, ala the Zucker brothers).  The house was hot, the army stretcher ripped, and we wrapped 40 minutes later than planned, but we made our day.

KILLER RACK Day Two

7:00 am call.  First shot: 7:48 am.  That's called effective set management!

We began Day Two shooting the portions of the surgery scene we didn't complete the night before.  These sots focused on Bob Bozek as nurse Herbie East, and allowed him to perform slapstick.  Bob never gives anything less than his all, and he was - ready? - hilarious.

Next, we shot Assistant Director Sam Qualiana's first scene as Dutch, Betty's insensitive boyfriend,  The scene called for him to interact with Debbie and Bob, and the three of them were great.  So was Joel Resnikoff's art direction, and I think I did well by Paul McGinnis's script, which is my chief goal.

Next, we moved onto the first scene in the film, which introduces Herbie and Dr. Thulu (Debbie Rochon).  The space was tighter than I'd expected, so we were limited in what we could do, but Director of Photography delivered an effective dolly shot and the chemistry between Bob and Debbie was spot on.

Moving down the hall, we returned to Herbie's domain, the waiting room, and grabbed a pickup shot for the big (biiiiiiiiiig) schene we shot the da before, a needed reaction shot from Debbie,  Worth the time to get.

And then co-producer Rod Durick took Debbie outside to shoot some second unit footage for the title sequence.  This was an instance where Debbie used her make-up to create a funny gag.  She does her own make-up on a lot of films, not by choice but because so many of these indie films don't have the budget for a hair/make-up stylist.  Guilty as charged.  Anyway, Debbie created a cool look for Dr. Thulu in our film, and worked all the tools in her arsenal to mine extra laughs.

We had down time next, because we were waiting for SFX artists Arick Szymecki and Stacey Book to escort Jessica Zwolak to set in the Boobs.  I never expect SFX on time, it just doesn't happen.  I'd intended to shoot first unit while Rod shot second, but that didn't happen.  Using the time before lunch, Debbie, Jessica, Bob and I rehearsed the climactic confrontation between Thulu and Betty.  I thought it was a page and a half long scene, but it was three.  My bad.  So the rehearsal was much needed, and a better use of time than if we'd shot the scene I'd planned next.

Jessica and the SFX team arrived, and the Boobs were spectacular.  Wide screen spectacular.  And we shot their first scene after lunch, when Betty storms into the waiting room and demands to see Dr. Thulu.  At this point, I was keenly aware of our time limitations: this was the last day Debbie and Bob were scheduled to shoot, and the last day we were scheduled to shoot in the mad scientist lab and waiting room.  When you're paying for locations, you don't have the same luxury as you do when you film in your house to postpone what you don't have time to get.  We ended up shooting more limited coverage of this scene than we had, but when Jessica is wearing the Boobs I want to limit that coverage anyway.

FIially, we moved on to the next scene, which could have been a monster like the one the day before.  I used the tighter space to create some masters which covered all the action - always tougher with three actors than with two - and we punched in for close ups.  All three actors were great.  But I'd planned for this scene to feature a climactic reveal of the Boobs nekkid.  This was the perfect place in the script for that.  And they just didn't look good enough undressed.  Arick said he would fix them digitally, but I just didn't want to rely on that.  So I made the decision to keep Betty clothed, and I saw the relief on at least one actor's face.  A subpar effect her could have sunk the whole scene.  The four four hours spent by Arick and Stacey applying the Boobs prosthetic o Jessica weren't wasted, though: without them, we wouldn't have had boobs at all, the silicone versions I bought just wouldn't have worked.  So we went with our strongest option and everyone was happy.  Debbie worked the scene, giving us plenty of options, Bob got to do his funniest bits, and Jessica proved she's going to be excellent in the starring role.

The schedule was for 7 am - 7 pm, meaning we were supposed to stop shooting at 7 pm.  Everyone would have worked longer, but I didn't want that to happen.  We're shooting on location next weekend, so we had to pack up all our equipment and set operations, and move most of it to Paul's and unpack it.  We finished the big scene at 6 pm, which gave us just an hour to shoot the next big scene: the post surgery scene in which the Boobs are revealed without really being revealed (that comes later).  As written, the scene spoofed jack Nicholson unwrapping his bandages in BATMAN.  For me, it always had to be more of a reference to THE BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN, an idea grew stronger when we discovered our surgical table had a mechanism enabling it to rise.

With the clock ticking, we had to rearrange Joel's impressive laboratory set to get the wide angle behind the table I wanted.  This wasn't a continuity issue, since I wanted this scene to be noirish, and Chris and I agreed it should be lit by an overhead light Joel had strung up  The scene calls for the table to rise, keeping Jessica mostly hidden with Debbie and Bob on either side of it.  The master looked gorgeous.  Then we got a two shot of Debbie and Bob, and that looked gorgeous.  Then we shot a three quarter view of Jessica staggering off the table, shrouded in shadows, falling down because her new boobs are so heavy, and stumbling out of the room.  And that looked gorgeous.  More important, the prosthetic boobs were glimpsed ever so briefly, teasing the audience, and they looked great in this shot,  We shot a close up of Bob and called a picture wrap on him, then a close up of Debbie and called a picture wrap on her, and finished our shooting day at 7 pm, right on schedule.  So we made our day, plus made some pickups leftover from the day before, and got some fantastic footage.

 Now we have five days to prep next weekend's shoot, which features all local actors.

KILLER RACK Day One

Call was 7:00 am at Pierce Arrow Film Arts Center.  No one was late.  We loaded the equipment into the facility quickly.  We're shooting one third of the film in a suite of basement offices.  Today we shot in the front office space, which serves as Dr. Cate Thulu's (Debboe Rochon) reception area, manned by male nurse Herbie East (Bob Bozek), and in the back room, serving as Dr. Thulu's surgery room.  First of all, our production designer, Joel Resnikoff, is doing a fantastic job with the spaces, and all of the costumes today were cool.

We got our first shot off at 8:20 am, which is pretty damned good for a first day.  In our first scene, Herbie East enters the waiting area populated by patients who have heard horrible sounds coming from Thulu's operating room.  Jenn Brown and Erica Ladd played extras in the scene, and made very funny use of our props: issues of CEMETERY DANCE magazine, provided by Derek Clendening and authorized by publisher Richard Chizmar, who happens to be one of our executive producers.  Bob Bpozek's co-star in the scene was Tamar Lamberson, a last minute substitute for a character who appears throughout the film.  I thought it would be funny if we played up Tamar's "New Yorican" roots, since she doesn't fit that image at all: tacky clothes and jewelry, and a "street" attitude.  It took a few takes to get her comfortable, but she was hilarious, and Bob did some great improvisations.  That was the easy part.

The second scene involves our heroine, Betty (Jessica Zwolak) visiting Dr. Thulu for a breast enhancement consultation,.  I knew going in this was going to be tough: Paul McGinnis wrote a six page dialogue scene between Betty, Thulu and Herbie.  You cannot shoot six pages of talking with conventional coverage.  I broke the scene into thirds: a clearly defined first act, a second act which centers around Betty removing her clothes for the examination, and the climax.  We shot the scene by covering it 360 degrees: circling the actors and getting a master shot and close ups from each position.  Very time consuming.  I've never shot a scene this way before, but it was necessary.

When you cast Debbie Rochon, you get a pro and you don't worry about her delivering.  We've been discussing her part in this film since the shooting of DRY BONES and THE LEGEND OF SIX FINGERS.  I knew she'd deliver, but she exceeded expectations: she came up with so many bits, so many pieces of outstanding physical comedy which helped dictate camera placement, a true collaborator.  She did some pretty physically demanding its as well.

I predicted a while ago that this film will make Jessica a cult star, and she was brilliant: very sweet and funny, the perfect Betty.  She had her lines down - not an easy task for the single mother of a three year old who works full time plus does volunteer work.  Today's scene required her to wear pasties for a simulated topless scene, and she was great, and I was glad when it was over.

Bob Bozek has had several small parts in my films, and has his biggest role as Herbie.  I think it's going to be his greatest part, and he's making the most of it.  He had his lines down a week ago, and never complains, and is always willing o lend an extra hand - couldn't ask for a nicer guy.  More important, he was hilarious, a term I hope to use a lot when discussing this film.

Kelly Wahl catered a fantastic lunch, and we got our fist shot after lunch at the 20 minute mark - again, damn good.  We resumed the big scene, which started to wear me down, and I got a little frustrated because I wanted to wrap at 7:00 pm - a twelve hour day, followed by an hour to wrap the equipment.  Our DP, Chris Rados, and AD, Sam  Qualiana, just owrked two weeks straight on another film without a day off, and I didn't want to tax them.  I had to simplify the ending portion of the scene, but we got it.  Then we moved into the surgery room - the mad scientist's lair, and our most impressive set.  We shot about two thirds of the scene, those parts involving Jess and Debbie, and we got some really stylized shots, and Debbie came up with another hilarious bit.  I called it a night at 7:32.  We didn't make our day - we still have to shoot Bob's slapstick for the scene, but I didn't want to keep the guys, so we'll pick it up tomorrow.

I don't know how many setups we did, but we did 280 takes...

The Last KILLER RACK Pre-Production Blog!

Well, that was fast.  Or so it seems: Paul McGinnis reminds me it was March 2013 when we sat down in Tim Horton's and I told him I had to direct his script KILLER RACK.  Michael O'Hear and I had just started shooting DRY BONES, and Sam Qualiana and I were discussing THE LEGEND OF SIX FINGERS.  Principal photography on KILLER RACK begins this Saturday, July 26th, with lead actress Jessica Zwolak (who will be on set an astounding 15 out of 15 principal days), Debbie Rochon (our sixth film together in five years), and Bob Bozek (playing his biggest role in a film I've either produced or directed - Herbie East).  But we're shooting second unit green screen stuff tomorrow (technically today), so pre-production is coming o an end.

I treat every film like it's going to be my last one.  My gut tells me this is The One.  I've never felt so confident I was going to direct a movie people will love.  That's why I had to direct Paul's script.  But after three overlapping films (four, if you count the short I just did) and three novels being published over the course of one year, I can safely say there's a definite possibility I'll be taking one full year off from movie making and book writing.  Not that anyone will be able to tell - I have a book scheduled for publication in October 2015 (my second novel for 2015...), and I hope to travel around with KILLER RACK.  Or I may just get a crappy night job and pay down my debt, or spend it with my family.  It would be nice to take a vacation that didn't center around a convention or trade show.

Regardless, I have the feeling that KILLER RACK is going to turn out wonderful, and that it's going to break out in a way no other film I've worked on has.  And if it doesn't, I plan to have a great time making it.  There's always the next one...

Our costumes are largely set.  Our location sets are almost all dressed. Our props are built.   Our boobs are almost cast.  And our cast is ready to go.  Next week, our production designer Joel Resnikoff and co-producer, Rod Durick are building a gypsy parlor on the sound stage at our facility.  It's so cool to walk from set to set, and to have some really talented and committed actors.

Time to make the donuts.

Shooting KILLER RACK in a Film Studio

It's hard for me to believe, but it's already almost time to turn this blog over to KILLER RACK, the next motion picture I'm directing.

It's been a long lead on this one: seven weeks of crowd funding on Kickstarter and IndieGoGo: I mean seven weeks of double time work, from the moment I woke to the moment I faded; seven weeks when my writing (and the income that goes with it) had to be put on hold...and then I went straight into pre-production.

I love pre-production: it's when things start coming together, and a film edges toward reality.  It's also overwhelming: I mean double time, morning to fade overwhelming, with troubleshooting that is both satisfying and frustrating.  But enough about how hard it's been getting the perfect size boobs.

Most of the films I've made and worked on  have been shot on location, like in my house.  One exception was BRAIN DAMAGE, for which we converted a warehouse into a sound stage, SFX lab and living quarters.  On SLIME CITY MASSACRE, we shot fifteen days in the dilapidated ruins around the Central Terminal, two days in a warehouse that wasn't a sound stage, and one day at a sound stage in Rochester, to qualify for the New York State tax incentive.  We also shot on a sound stage for BATTLEDOGS for that same purpose.

For KILLER RACK, we're doing something really ambitious: we're shooting at the Pierce Arrow Film Arts Center, a "developing" sound stage operation.  We'll have one day on a sound stage, five days in assorted offices, and access to the back of the facility, including alleys.  We'll only be shooting in my house for two days!

We'll be shooting two thirds of our movie there, and I'm looking forward to "driving to the studio" each day.

Publishers Weekly & Fangoria Review THE FRENZY WOLVES

I'm still waiting for the first review of THE JULIAN YEAR to appear; the final version wasn't ready until almost the release date, and I imagine reviewers want to read all of the story branches.  You can read all about it in the new issue of RUE MORGUE though (#145, with WOLF COP on the cover).  But two reviews have already appeared for THE FRENZY WOLVES, which won't be published until October.  The first is from PUBLISHERS WEEKLY, and the second is from FANGORIA.

I've been very fortunate with PW, which has given positive reviews of all my titles they've reviewed except CARNAGE ROAD (which I consider one of my best works).  Here are some excerpts from the review for THE FRENZY WOLVES:

"Lamberson’s third and final Frenzy Cycle installment (after The Frenzy War) is an engrossing tale that can stand on its own."

"Mace is a sympathetic and thoroughly modern protagonist who agonizes over how to define terrorism in a complex world even as he longs for suburban surcease from his sorrows. The story unfolds smoothly, and, while some unwieldy characters never come alive, the plot is riveting."

Color me pleased.  Read the full review here:http://www.publishersweekly.com/978-1-60542-716-4

I'm even more excited by Chris Alexander's review for FANGORIA.  Here are some excerpts from that:

"It’s hard to keep up with Buffalo-based lunatic, Greg Lamberson. Writer. Director. Producer. Author. Film Festival director. Father. The man is prolific (see FANGORIA #316 for our extensive feature), tireless and attacks all his interests with vigor. He’s also a great storyteller as well as a fine mythmaker, and his latest novel, THE FRENZY WOLVES, is yet another solid chapter in his vibrant, eccentric body of work."

"Only someone like Lamberson could link werewolves to terrorism to cop thriller pulp to Spanish Inquisition nods, while making it all seem both deadly serious and perfectly palatable. That’s what his FRENZY series is all about."

“Frenzy” is the operative word in these books, as Lamberson writes with a rough pen, hammering out the monster mash action (vaguely quoting the UNDERWORLD films and WOLFEN) and slamming it up against hard-boiled no-bullshit SERPICO-styled cop thriller melodrama. And it works. Lamberson – a noted exploitation filmmaker whose works include the SLIME CITY films – ain’t no fool and is clearly writing these books with the intent of flipping them into cinema. His wordplay reads often like a screenplay, detailed and visual. We’d welcome such a genre-bending film or franchise, especially considering the dearth of werewolf movies being made."

"THE FRENZY WOLVES will be out this Fall from Medallion Press and by the time it drops, Lamberson will have accomplished more than most artists do in a decade. Sure, it’s about quantity with the man but thankfully, quality is always riding shotgun."

3.5 out of four bloody skulls!

Read the full review here: http://www.fangoria.com/new/the-frenzy-wolves-book-review/

And just a reminder that THE JULIAN YEAR, the world's first TREEbook with organic story branching technology, is now available.  Download the Medallion Media Group Sidekick app for FREE from itunes, and use the app to unlock THE JULIAN YEAR and future TREEbooks.  For the record, I consider it my best novel.  Visit TJY's website for details: http://thejulianyear.com/

Saved for Posterity: Fearnet.com Reviewed SLIME CITY MASSACRE

One of my favorite reviews of SLIME CITY MASSACRE appeared on Fearnet.com.  This being the21st century, another corporation has taken over Fearnet.com, and the excellent website should be folding soon.  Here then is Gregory Burkhart's excellent review of SCM:

When we say Greg Lamberson wrote the book on low-budget horror filmmaking, we mean it literally, and he's got the book to prove it. Back in 2009, Cheap Scares not only offered a lot of hard-earned advice from the hard-knocks school of DIY film production, but also gave readers a funny and fascinating look at the making of his 1988 cult classic Slime City. In the years since that film sprang up on the midnight-movie circuit, Lamberson has ventured deep into horror fiction, comics and other media, and the movie finally got a cool remastered DVD release in 2006. Rumors of a Slime City sequel buzzed around the horror community for ages – eventually becoming reality last year, when Slime City Massacre began making the film-fest circuit to favorable reviews.

This summer, Massacre arrived on DVD in a Special Edition 2-disc set from Shriek Show, and we've got a full review of this splatter micro-epic on the flipside. Slime on!

Where the original Slime City was grimy, surreal splatstick, the sequel is a more ambitious science fiction/horror reboot, set in a near-future dystopia. Besides the slime itself, most of the original movie's strengths – macabre humor, social commentary, bizarre sex and hallucinogenic visuals – not only carry over to the broader new story, but get amped up to a literally apocalyptic level.

The film's prologue is set in the late '50s, where cult leader Zachary Devon (Robert C. Sabin, star of the original) introduces a young prostitute to his close-knit urban community, whose nefarious activities touched off the events of the first film. Suddenly we rocket ahead fifty years, long enough to witness a dirty bomb wipe out half of New York City (including Troma mogul Lloyd Kaufman). The central story begins seven years after the disaster, where the resulting wasteland is now populated by mutants, roaming scavengers and criminals seeking refuge. It's also hinted that the rest of the country is now under the grip of a corporate paramilitary government... another of many elements reminiscent of John Carpenter's Escape from New York.

Among the recent arrivals are fugitives Cory and Alexa (Kealan Patrick Burke & Jennifer Bihl), who are taken in by Mason (Lee Perkins) and Alice (cult horror fave Debbie Rochon), the rough and street-smart leaders of one of the city's few reasonably settled areas. Our heroes' new home is soon disrupted, however, after they discover a cache of homemade booze and "Himalayan yogurt" left in a basement by Zachary Devon more than half a century ago; apparently their desperation and hunger has left them with the common sense of a four-year old, because they immediately pop open the creepy-looking stuff and go to town.

That's where things take a hard left turn into wacky-land, when we learn that the contents of their little picnic are hallucinogenic, trigger physical mutations, and make them horny as feral cats... and they get their freak on in more ways than one when multi-colored slime begins to ooze out of their pores. As the parallel story of Devon's "coven" (depicted in black & white flashbacks) and the plight of our protagonists catch up to each other, we begin to discover the connection between the cult's mass suicide and the ability of Devon's elixir to possess the minds of those who ingest it. When things start to get seriously nasty, only a mysterious stranger named Swan (Mary Hunter Bogle, reprising her role from the original), knows how to stop the slime plague from spreading to the entire world.

Lamberson's writing skills and dark sense of humor really come into play here, taking full advantage of the dystopian premise to fire some clever pot-shots at world events. Props like duct tape and garbage bags, once the stuff of post-9/11 paranoia, are transformed into post-nuke couture, and the mercenary armies patrolling the streets purposely resemble the private security firm Blackwater. The satirical moments are far more refined than they would be in, say, a Troma flick, but the horror elements are as outrageous as they come, on par with the perverse visions of Frank Henenlotter (the "decapitation by giant vagina" scene could have come straight from Frank's Bad Biology) and 1987 exploitation fave Street Trash.

The grim premise is also enhanced by the location – mainly an abandoned factory in Buffalo, its dark corners often lit a sickly radioactive green. The practical makeup effects, which drive the film's most outrageous scenes (and there are many), are well-executed and very clever considering the budget limitations, and as in the original film, the surreal scenario allows Lamberson and his FX crew to create some seriously outlandish set-pieces. The use of CGI is fairly limited – which is probably for the best, because it tends to look a bit clunky.

Gore and slime aside, it's also the well-crafted characters that keep things interesting. Most of the performances are strong – particularly Rochon, whose portrayal of recovered addict Alice is compelling to watch. Sabin's fatherly take on the cult leader is also interesting, and Bogle gets a much cooler dimension to her character this time around. The supporting roles are also solid and entertaining, particularly Robert Bozek as the city's incredibly sleazy "Mayor," and there's a fun cameo from filmmaker Roy Frumkes (Document of the Dead) as a crooked land developer aiming to exploit Slime City property.

Shriek Show's presentation is also solid, containing the main feature on Disc 1 in 1.78:1 widescreen and Dolby 2.0. The picture is pristine and the audio is decent, punctuated by lots of loud and squishy sound effects. The disc also includes an energetic, anecdote-packed commentary from Lamberson and most of the main cast, as well as makeup effects artist Rod Durick. Disc 2 features the documentary features Slime City Survivor (basically an on-set video journal, but with some very funny moments) and Scoring Slime, a session with the film's composer Mars (whose '80s-flavored music also accompanied Stephen Romano's Shock Festival DVD set). Other extras include outtakes and bloopers, trailers and stills.

It's a pleasure to see Lamberson back on feature-film turf again, exploring his familiar themes on a larger scale thanks to the relative affordability of digital video. Slime City Massacre is a wild, ballsy sequel that makes good on the promise of the original, and it's well worth watching on the small or big screen. Speaking of which... hopefully a planned series of theatrical showings this year via IndieFilmNet (part of their "Cinema Meets Horror" series) will introduce a new generation of horror fans and filmmakers to Greg's work on a grand scale, and bring a little midnight-movie nostalgia along for those of us who dig the old-school spirit of classic '80s indie horror.

Check out the trailer below...

GAVE UP THE GHOST & THE LEGEND OF SIX FINGERS

Here is the trailer for GAVE UP THE GHOST, the short film which Jeff Strand wrote and i directed.  The film will screen at festivals this Fall before being released as one segment of the CREEPERS anthology feature.  Joe Lansdale, Edgar Allan Poe, and Lafcadio Hearn are the other authors whose work has been adapted for the anthology.  Newcomer Drew Bialy plays the frustrated author who loses his latest masterpiece when his computer dies; John Renna co-stars as an unorthodox repairman; and Paul McGinnis plays the ghost of the computer.  Sam Qualiana, Jessica Zwolak and Alexamder S,.Mcbryde have supporting roles.  Sam is the writer-director of SNOW SHARK : ANCIENT SNOW BEAST and THE LEGEND OF SIX FINGERS; Jessica will star int he next film I direct, KiLLER RACK.  GAVE UP THE GHOST is a comedy, please check it out:



THE LEGEND OF SIX FINGERS, which Sam wrote, directed, shot, edited and co-stars in - along with Lynn Lowry, Debbie Rochon, Andrew Elias, Bill Brown and Tim O'Hearn - and I produced, is now available on DVD!  Here's the trailer for that:



And don't forget, DRY BONES, which I wrote and co-directed, is coming to DVD October 14th!