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Spike(2008 film)

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Spike
Directed byRobert Beaucage
Written byRobert Beaucage
Produced byDevin DiGonno
Erik Rodgers
CinematographyMatthew Boyd
Andrew Parke
Edited byEric Grush
Music byEric Santiestevan
Distributed byMaverick Entertainment[1]
Release date
[2]
Running time
80 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Spikeis a 2008 horror-romance film[3]directed byRobert Beaucage,produced by String And A Can Productions, and starringEdward Gusts,Sarah Livingston Evans,Anna-Marie Wayne,Nancy P. Corbo,andJared Edwards.[4]The film has been described by Robert Hope as "Angela CarterrewritingLa Belle et la Bêteas an episode ofBuffy the Vampire Slayer."[5]

Plot

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Through a series ofdreamlikeimages, a girl (Sarah Livingston Evans) and her three friends find themselves stranded in a dark andsurrealisticforest by someone — or something (Edward Gusts) — who has obsessively loved, watched, and waited for the girl ever since childhood.

Cast

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Production

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The film was produced by String And A Can Productions, withErik Rodgersand Devin DiGonno serving as the principal producers on the project.[6]

Filming

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Filming forSpiketook place just off theAngeles Crest Highway,high in the mountains of theAngeles National Forest,entirely at night in the spring of 2007[7](in locations that burned down two years later in theStation Fire).[8]Treacherous terrain and temperatures dropping below 15 °F, well below freezing, made filming difficult, and delays were caused by rain, snow, and even hail.[9]Robert Beaucagedirected the film from a screenplay he was inspired to write by the stories of "Cupid and Psyche,HadesandPersephone...Beauty and the Beast,as well as horror classics such asFrankensteinandThe Hunchback of Notre-Dame".He chose to shoot on 16 mm film rather than adigitalformat, despite the production's tight schedule and low budget, in order to give the film a different "feel" from the typical contemporaryindiemovie,[10]the overwhelming majority of which are shot digitally.[11]

Design

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Seeking a more natural look (rather thanCGI) for the film'sspecial effects,Beaucage chose veteran concept artist and sculptorJordu Schellto create the unique design ofSpike's title character,[12]which Schell worked into his schedule even while concurrently shaping the design of theNa'viwithJames CameronforAvatar.[13]

Reception

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Release

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Announced inVarietyas "a horrorfairy talefrom U.S.directorRobert Beaucage, whom [festival director Hannah] McGill had never heard of before he wowed her with an unsolicited DVD ",[14]Spikehad itsworld premiere[15]at the 62ndEdinburgh International Film Festivalon 20 June 2008,[2]the festival's first year in its new June slot after having, in previous years, taken place in autumn.[16]The film subsequently played theNorth Americanfilm festivalcircuit at such festivals as theBerkshire International Film Festival[17]andShriekfest.[18]

Spikewas released in North America onDVDin the summer of 2010 byMaverick Entertainment.[1]

Critical analysis

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When first released,Spikewas referred to byThe Listas a film that "overturnsgenreconventions to explore the darker side of fairytalemythology",[19]and theAll Movie Guidecalled it a "dark fairy tale that's not for the faint of heart".[20]Calum Waddell, a film critic for magazines such asDreamwatchandFangoria,calledSpike"assured and stylish... a promising debut" and praised its "mix ofDavid Lynch,TheBrothers Grimm,andShakespeare",while adding a reservation that the film" does not seem to know what it wants to be ".[21]Others were more positive, such as theNorth Adams Transcriptwhich wrote about the film's "artful" exploration of "both the tenderness and madness of monsters, as well as the many faces oflove—most importantly, the destructive ones "[22]andMoviestarmagazine which, in its coverage of theEIFF,referred toSpikeas "an original take on the genre" and said that it "delivered both thrills and chills".[23]

Awards

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Spikewas chosen as part of theEdinburgh International Film Festival's Best of the Fest in 2008[24]and won BestFantasyFeature Film atLos Angeles'sShriekfestin 2009.[25][26]

References

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  1. ^abMichael Ross Allen (2010-05-24)."Maverick to Distribute Nightmares withSpike".28 Days Later Analysis.Archivedfrom the original on 2011-10-08.Retrieved2010-08-31.
  2. ^abStuart Kemp (2008-04-28)."Edinburgh Fest Adds Cult Section".The Hollywood Reporter.Archived fromthe originalon 2013-01-25.Retrieved2010-04-16.
  3. ^Adam Dawtrey (2008-04-28)."Edinburgh Launches Cult Film Sidebar".Variety.Retrieved2010-04-13.
  4. ^"Spike".Premiere.Retrieved2010-04-16.[permanent dead link]
  5. ^Robert Hope."Spike".Edinburgh International Film Festival.Retrieved2010-04-13.[permanent dead link]
  6. ^"IMDb".Archivedfrom the original on 2016-10-09.Retrieved2024-04-10.
  7. ^Staci Layne (2008-06-05)."Robert Beaucage Interview".Horror.com.Archivedfrom the original on 2011-09-28.Retrieved2010-04-13.
  8. ^"A Garden of Man-Eating Plants and Scary Movies".Emma Blackwood.2010-05-19.Archivedfrom the original on 2011-07-08.Retrieved2010-08-31.
  9. ^Sean Decker (2007-03-29)."First Set Report, Pics from Spike".Fangoria.Archived fromthe originalon 2008-02-10.Retrieved2008-04-11.
  10. ^"Beauty & the Beast + Blood and Guts = Spike".HorrorMovies.ca.2007-01-11. Archived fromthe originalon 2012-03-14.Retrieved2010-04-16.
  11. ^Peter Broderick (Fall 2002)."Ultra-Low Budget Moviemaking: The 2002 All Digital Model".Filmmaker.Archivedfrom the original on 2010-02-17.Retrieved2010-04-16.
  12. ^"Beauty & the Beast + Blood and guts = Spike".HorrorVerdict.com.2007-01-11.Retrieved2010-02-04.[dead link]
  13. ^"Avatar Concept Designer Reveals the Secrets of the Na'vi".io9.Archivedfrom the original on 2021-01-22.Retrieved2010-04-16.
  14. ^"Festival Highlights: 2008 Edinburgh International Film Festival".Variety.2008-06-13.Archivedfrom the original on 2011-05-14.Retrieved2010-04-16.
  15. ^"EIFF's Under the Radar Celebrates the" Kitsch, Gory, Disturbing and Hilarious "".EdinburghGuide.com.2008-04-28. Archived fromthe originalon 2010-01-02.Retrieved2010-04-13.
  16. ^Olly Richards (2008-04-28)."Edinburgh Film Festival Under The Radar: Film Fest Salutes New Directors".Empire.Archivedfrom the original on 2012-10-16.Retrieved2010-04-19.
  17. ^"Berkshire International Film Festival".iBerkshires.com.2009-03-27.Archivedfrom the original on 2010-04-09.Retrieved2010-04-13.
  18. ^Sean Decker (2009-09-25)."Spike to Have its West Coast Premiere at Shriekfest 09".DreadCentral.Archivedfrom the original on 2009-10-03.Retrieved2010-04-13.
  19. ^"Edinburgh International Film Festival Announces 'Under the Radar' Events".The List.2008-04-28.Archivedfrom the original on 2010-06-08.Retrieved2010-04-17.
  20. ^Jason Buchanan."Spike".All Movie Guide.Archivedfrom the original on 2010-01-15.Retrieved2010-04-13.
  21. ^Calum Waddell."Spike".Total Sci-Fi.Archived fromthe originalon 2011-07-28.Retrieved2010-04-13.
  22. ^John E. Mitchell (2009-05-14)."Review in the Mix with Monsters and Lovers".North Adams Transcript.Retrieved2009-05-18.[dead link]
  23. ^Claudia Andrei (October 2008). "Edinburgh Film Festival 2008: Highlights from the Opening Gala to the Closing Night".Moviestar.
  24. ^"Best of the Fest Programme at Edinburgh International Film Festival".The List.2008-06-25.Archivedfrom the original on 2010-05-14.Retrieved2010-04-13.
  25. ^"Shriekfest 2009 Announces Winners".Hellnotes.2009-10-04.Archivedfrom the original on 2010-04-07.Retrieved2010-04-13.
  26. ^Heather Wixson (2009-10-07)."Dark House Nabs Top Honors at 2009 Shriekfest Film Festival".DreadCentral.Archivedfrom the original on 2010-06-03.Retrieved2010-04-15.
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