Local low-budget films should be hit with area fans

By Strings

When it comes to film, I’m one of those people who more often than not looks for something a “little different.” I’d rather watch an old school classic like “Cotton Comes to Harlem,” “Nothing But A Man,” “A Raisin in the Sun,” “On the Waterfront,” “Sunset Boulevard” or “Shaft” than “Blackhawk Down.” How about a cult classic like “Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song” or “Easy Rider.” Or, give me an interesting foreign film like “Bicycle Thief” or even classic horror such as “Psycho” or “Suspira.” Failing that, I’ll even take unmitigated “trash,” such as any pre-1990 John Waters flick, Herschell Gordon Lewis horror or all of Ed Wood’s fare. Everyone already writes about the big Hollywood blockbusters, so why should I waste your time with my boring assessment of what’s in the theatres today? I’d rather turn you on to something a bit different.

Lately, I’ve turned my attention to local, necessarily low-budget productions. Two, in particular, currently are in frequent rotation in my DVD player—Steve Miller’s urban romantic comedy “Never Going to Give Him Up” and Richard Yates and Rodney Pasko’s “The Spell of Thirteen.”

I recently got a chance to interview Miller for an article on last month’s premier of the movie at the Cinema Center. Unfortunately, scheduling conflicts prevented me from attending the premier, so I didn’t get a chance to catch the flick until about a week ago. For those of you who missed the earlier plot description, check it out:

Grayson and Melody were once the most talked about couple in town. Grayson, a digital technician, and Melody, a news reporter was everybody’s “perfect” couple. Everyone expected them to get married someday. But, two years ago, Melody took off for Dallas and left Grayson in the wind. Even though he was devastated, Grayson moved on with his life and now he’s about to marry TaShana Reid on Saturday. But, some people just don’t know how to let go! Melody Anderson is one of those people. Even though she kicked Grayson David to the curb two years ago, she insists that Grayson will always belong to her.

Okay, so maybe you’ve run into a similar plot somewhere, but I’ve got to give it to Miller—he’s put some interesting twists in this 60-minute outing. The result is a fun, entertaining and even surprising flick featuring some of Fort Wayne’s own talent.

First of all, as promised by Miller, local folks should get a kick out of trying to identify area landmarks, such as Alberto’s Restaurant, where the opening scene takes place. And, there are other familiar spots to make you feel like you’re a part of it all.

Second, Miller makes no apologies about this being a low-budget production. As he pointed out in the earlier interview, this isn’t a “Hollywood” production, but for my money, that doesn’t make it any less enjoyable. He’s assembled a fine cast including Michael Moses as Grayson, Angelina Nickole as TaShana and Kelron Mixon as Grayson’s clowning best friend. While it’s obvious that folks trying to make a living in Fort Wayne can’t afford to put their lives totally on hold and devote all their time rehearsing and shooting a low-budget film, Miller has managed to coax some very respectable performances of his actors.

Moses is convincing as a pu… oops, let’s say rather timid guy who’s never gotten over a torrid love affair with the sexually intimidating Melody. Speaking of Melody, Nickole nails her, somehow giving her predatory character an almost frightening charm. (More on her later…) Williams also is dead on as the “finger-poppin’” sister who is finally going to get her prize—and already is planning on controlling him.

The supporting characters are good too. It was nice to see Darnell Miller of Starlight Photography playing a kind of sleazy wedding photographer. (No, folks. Don’t get the wrong idea. Darnell is actually a really good dude!) But, my favorite supporting character is Uncle Nipsy, played by producer Steve Miller himself. Frankly, I’m not sure it’s a good idea for Miller to act in his own movies—he’s such a strong presence, it doesn’t take much for him to steal the show. He’s sure to crack you up with his “sagely” advice on love. Miller said he really doesn’t like to act in his own films, but it’s hard to find actors in his age group for certain roles, so he does it himself. Truth is, he’s dynamite on the screen. I would love to see Miller as Uncle Nipsy take a starring role in one of his future flicks.

As for the plot, you might go in thinking it’s fun, yet predictable. Well, let me say, Miller sure surprised me, particularly with the ending. I called him the other day to tell him this warrants a sequel, but—nothing against the other characters—with Melody as a focal point. I’ve always been a sucker for a good villain, especially a charming one, and this character certainly fits the bill.

All in all, “Never Going to Give Him Up,” written and produced by Steve Miller is a whole lot of fun. To get your own copy of the flick, go to www.SoulVisonTV.com.

The second locally produced film I want to point out is actually a couple of years old, but just last year started to pick up steam with regard to distribution and a new digital transfer. Like Steve Miller, producer Richard “Rich” Yates is an old friend of mine. In fact, I remember when he first started moving from directing plays to writing screenplays and working toward movies. In fact, I got a chance to read one of his early works, a scifi epic that I swear someone ripped off years later, but I’ll leave that alone.

To make a long story short, Yates, and his former production partner Rodney Pasko, realized sometime ago that you can’t wait for Hollywood to come knocking. So, you do the next best thing— do it yourself. For a number of reasons, the horror genre has proven to be a good place to start. Given that the Halloween season is upon us, it thought it would be a good time to check out what I consider to be a low-budget horror masterpiece from them—“The Spell of Thirteen.” (By the way, I don’t do Halloween, but I do do horror films in a big way!)

First of all, if you’re looking for some $100 million, computer-generated special effects extravaganza, this isn’t the film for you. If, however, you like edgy, smart horror films—like “Psycho” and appreciate ingenuity on a shoe-string budget—as in the original “Halloween”—run out and grab this one.

First of all, I’ll give you the filmmakers’ synopsis of the story:

For over 20 years, a quiet, abandoned movie theater has lain dormant, until three strangers force their way in from the cold. Within the building, Gunner, Drew and Rob discover an old newspaper clipping that describes the savage murders of ten innocent theater employees by a maniac named Garver. As the strangers dig deeper into the catacombs of the abandoned complex, an old journal is discovered. When the journal is removed from its sacred resting place, the theater comes to life in more ways than one. Now, trapped within by the journal’s power, armed only with flashlights, the three men must decipher its evil or fall prey to the blood-tirsty ghouls around every corner.

Again, the basic plot is a staple in the genre— people trapped in a house our building, trying to solve a puzzle to escape certain death and, perhaps, damnation. It’s a staple of horror that’s been used to great effectiveness in a number of classics including the original “Night of the Living Dead” (in my opinion, still the best of the zombie lot), the original “Evil Dead” and Dario Argento’s “Suspiria.” What makes this film a low-budget classic is the handling of the story—as well the incredible low-tech, but highly effective visual effects.

Yeah, the film is a bit gory in places, but what do you expect? It’s a horror movie. Visual effects artist Brett Moore’s work blows me away in this film. I can’t believe how great the ghouls look and, well, some of the “killing scenes.” The horror website BloodyDisgusting.com in-house reviewer sites the film for having “some of the best independent make-up work I’ve seen in years, along with a very cool story.”

Seriously. I can’t believe Yates and company put something together that looks this good with so little (only about $7,000) money. True, he will tell you that he wished they had better lighting equipment for some scenes or a little more of this or that with regard to shooting, but all in all, this film holds up great in the low-budget horror genre. Oh, by the way, it also helps that the three leadsYates, Pasko and Brian Panyard— have pretty good chemistry as two hitchhikers (Yates and Panyard) who get caught up with an odd good Samaritan (Pasko) on a dark night on a deserted road. They end up fighting for their lives after being trapped in the old theater, which here, is the old Holiday One that used to sit behind Northcrest Plaza. The fellas got a chance to film there not long before the place was demolished, adding to the eeriness of the story.

Anyway, I don’t need to tell you a lot. Folks get killed (particularly in the opening moments), the heroes have to solve a riddle and, well, the riddle gets solved—but in a surprising way. It’s actually a pretty smart tale, too, meaning you have to pay attention to really get parts of it, particularly the end.

In addition to having a growing local fan base, “The Spell of Thirteen” is becoming a cult favorite across the nation. According to Yates, the film is gaining entrance into a number of horror film festivals. Going back to BloodyDisgusting. com, the film garnered a three-skull rating out of five. Not bad for a first film from a couple of local guys. Better still is real fan reaction.

As one nine-year-old put it (yeah, yeah, the politically correct folks are having a fit for me showing it to him, but I watched Frankenstein, Dracula and all that as a kid and I turned out kind of okay—I think), “Wow. Now that’s the way a horror movie is supposed to be!”

Pick up a copy of Rich Yates and Rodney Pasko’s “The Spell of Thirteen” at one of the local Wooden Nickel music stores or at Borders Books, Music and More.

This is part of the October 15, 2008 online edition of Frost Illustrated.

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