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Celluloid slaughter
Las Vegas' underground-horror filmmakers try to fulfill their low-budget dreams
By Jarret Keene
Courtesy of Las Vegas CityLife
Original publication date: 05.14.04
It's primal; it's forbidden; it's definitely more fun than plunking nickels into a slot machine all day and night -- which could explain why so many young filmmakers in Las Vegas these days are busy making movies about zombies, serial killers and psychopaths.
The local underground-horror movement gathered momentum last Halloween, when director Mack Hail and producer Jeremy Settles' TRANSAMERICAN KILLER enjoyed its world premiere at the Palms. Around the same time, Greg Parker of LORD OF THE DEAD infamy was finishing up a slice-and-dicer called SAMURAI TERROR (later renamed BLADE OF DEATH) with a production budget of $5,000. Four months later, legendary B-movie director Ted V. Mikels (ASTRO ZOMBIES) would screen his own movie at the Palms, THE CAULDRON: BAPTISM OF BLOOD. And just last week, CityLife's ad designer Roger Tinch won the Audience Award at the UNLV Short Film Festival for his 20-minute psychological thriller (a fancy term for "horror") DWELLING.
Yes, a lot of cinematic carnage has occurred in the last seven months. When we last checked in on Parker in October 2002, he was flying completely solo, having just wrapped up production on LORD OF THE DEAD and selling VHS copies of it for $20 a pop via his Website (www.lordofthedead.com). A year later, he'd sold more than 500 copies, recouping his investment. He was eager to begin a new project, but inspiration was lacking. Eventually, it arrived in the form of the Katherine Gianaclis Park for the Arts.
"A friend of mine mentioned that there was this place where all these different artists got together -- painters, sculptors, writers, poets, actors -- and that I should come down," says Parker. "So I did and immediately said, 'Oh, this is the place for me.' There was all this energy for me to feed off of."
With a set location secured at the KGPA, things quickly fell into place, with Parker finding a new credit card to max out and new friends to lend their talents.
"The original samurai face looked like rotten hamburger," says Parker. "At absolutely no cost to me, a tattoo artist named Fred Giovannitti sculpted a new face, which he even painted. Every piece that someone contributes makes the production that much better."
The results -- full of computer-enhanced FX and crisp editing -- are a lot better than the challenging Lord of the Dead.
"[LOTD] was a really whacked film," admits Parker. "I figured society would embrace it. Instead, people on drugs embraced it. So I got rid of all the artsy stuff. The difference between BLADE OF DEATH and the first movie is that this one is a straightforward Nightmare of Elm Street-style horror film."
And with the recent success of zombie fare like 28 DAYS LATER and DAWN OF THE DEAD, Parker is poised to sell both LOTD and BOD to a major buyer.
"The whole idea is to improve," says Parker. "Everything is underground, but the idea is to get above ground -- to one day have someone in Hollywood say, 'This guy's been doing this for a long time. Let's give him a million dollars and see what he can do.' I'm underground out of necessity. A lot of times people say, 'This is an independent movie; it was made for $2 million.' Sure, that's independent, I guess. But I'm really independent." He indicates the bedroom/editing room we're currently occupying. "If you get any more underground than me, you're dead."
But Parker isn't alone. When asked if he sees the current crop of low-budget filmmakers as some kind of movement, he doesn't hesitate: "It's weird, because there really is. There's like eight or nine different guys in town making full-length movies."
Parker, of course, is referring to folks like Mikels (the godfather of schlock-horror), Hail and Settles.
"They're not competitive; they're good people," notes Parker.
Settles -- a 1990 Valley High grad whose other films include Mr. ICE CREAM MAN and CREEP and whose production company (www.gotfilms.com) recently shot an "America's Most Wanted" segment -- sees the making of underground-horror films as a passion, one that can be indulged by building a community of creative folks and forming an independent film company that can finance local productions.
But not everyone shares Parker and Settles' enthusiasm for community-building. When asked to be interviewed for this article, Mikels politely declined, insisting he was a serious filmmaker with million-dollar negotiations on the line. Yes, the man responsible for BLOOD ORGY OF THE SHE-DEVILS requested that he not be associated with the "poor-quality movies" that many young people in town were making.
When I run this by Parker, he laughs, unbothered.
"Ted is Ted," he says. "He's a good guy. I've worked on his movies. He's been doing this for 50 years and has his own agenda. I just want to make better and better films."
"We have so much to offer here as an artistic community," says Settles. "There are so many stories beyond the showgirls. Vegas is like its own cult, really. There are plenty of weird things to get involved with here. Underground horror is just one of them."
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