Written By: Ken HulseySources: The Sun Times / Avery Guerra
Over the past half decade as a writer that specializes in the monster movie genre I have had the pleasure of tracking several trends in independent sci fi/horror movies that have come in waves. First there was the retro sci fi/space movies, then there was the giant monster wave, after that, the Bigfoot movie wave, which was followed by the mermaid/mutant sea creature wave.
Of course, these groups of similar films overlapped each other, and sometimes a film type from one wave would be produced while another type was popular, but for the most part, these films all seemed to spring up at around the same time and likewise, fade away at about the same time.
Naturally one would assume that these similar film ideas would come from film makers copying, or stealing, ideas from one another, but amazingly they didn't. After talking to several independent film makers, I discovered that they genuinely had no idea that there were other films similar to their own being produced.
Or so they all claim.
That brings me to the latest popular film idea to spring from the minds of these independent monster movie makers. Films that feature the classic Universal horror icons, Dracula, Frankenstein, The Mummy and their cousins.
Granted, there have been literally thousands of movies made over the past decades that feature these monsters, so this is nothing new, yet it has only been over the past couple of months that new films about these horror mainstays have began to surface yet again.
The latest film maker to revisit the world's greatest monsters is non other than Canadian director Jesse Cook, who started production this past May on "Monster Brawl", a movie that will feature a creature on creature battle royal between, Frankenstein, Dracula, The Mummy and Zombies.
Where would such an epic battle take place? A graveyard in Transylvania? Well, not exactly, the film maker from the great white north has chosen the rather lovely area around Inglis Falls, Ontario, as the backdrop for his monster on monster smash up.
It seems that even monsters like to take in the wonders of nature from time to time just like the rest of us. Besides, how would you rather spend your Summer, filming around three of the most scenic water falls in Canada, or in some old, ugly, village in Romania?
The choice is simple.
In fact, Cook and his production company, Foresight Features, plan to use the local for their next ten films.
"We will be doing a good percentage of the shooting in and around the Grey County area," said Cook. "We want to use some of the stunning landscapes Grey County (Ontario) has to offer. Inglis Falls is one of the areas we are looking at."
The plot for "Monster Brawl" centers around a film crew that is producing a documentary about an underground monster fighting tournament.
According to Cook, "Monster Brawl" will be played on the lighter side, for more laughs than frights.
The film maker was able to land fellow Canadian, Art Hindle (Porky's, Dallas, Beverly Hills 90210, Murder She Wrote) who is veteran of both television and feature films as his lead actor for "Brawl".
Cook already has plans for his next feature, which will begin shooting later this summer after "Monster Brawl" is finished, yet another Zombie film, which is actually one of those trends that I forgot to mention earlier.
Are there more movies with Frankenstain, Dracula, The Mummy and the Wolfman on the horizon? Most certainly. As we speak Halcyon International Pictures along with Famous Monsters of Filmland magazine and even Universal Studios themselves are planning a new films featuring these monsters.
Though, after the week showing of The Wofman, Universal may not be ready to rush any of their films into production in the immediate future. (More on that in my next article)
See Also: Halcyon International Pictures Teams Up With Famous Monsters Of Filmland To Reboot Classic Universal Horrors / Famous Monsters To Bring Back The Creature, The Mummy, Frankenstein And Others To The Silver Screen? / Movie Review: "The Wolfman" (2010) / The Wolfman (2010)(Universal) / Universal's Monsters: Legacy / More Monsterpalooza Photos / Eric Swelstad Promises A More Violent Monster In "Frankenstein Rising" / The Top Ten Hottest Monsters Of 2009