My apologies for not updating in over a week - I've been most busy working on the movie - that and waving glosticks at Sankeys (in case you're curious, photos from that here). There's only three more scheduled nights of filming left now - one for the extended introduction that makes up Caroline Webster's part, a lengthy sequence that takes place in one of Manchester's oldest nightclubs, The Ritz, and finally a re-shoots night involving Sarah Cunningham, Emma Tollefson and Kyle Webster. So we're right on track for that Christmas day release date, if all goes according to plan.
I've updated the YouTube page ready for the teaser trailer that will be arriving on YouTube at some point during the next few days. This will be, for a lot of you, your first glimpse at the movie, so I'll keep you updated on when it's going to arrive. After that, there's going to be plenty of treats arriving on a regular basis, so if you haven't already, bookmark the page or, even better, subscribe to the channel. Click on the above hyperlink or here to go straight through to that page.
Also, over the past week since I last updated you cast member Jenny Brook has moved to Australia. The last I heard, she'd reached Bangkok (which I'm fully aware isn't in Australia - they're making a whistle-stop there for a few days to break up the mammoth flight time) and was having an excellent time.
Finally, I thought you might want to see this... Here's the first look at the draft of the poster for the movie. I'm not entirely sure I'm happy with it yet, but I thought I'd give you a look so you can feedback on it. Get back to me!
Even though it's two minutes to four, I have to be up in five hours to wrap Jenny Brook's day-time sequence before her big move to Australia on Sunday (sob), I only had approximately four hours sleep last night and I'm off to the opening night of The Warehouse Project tomorrow/tonight, here I am updating you on all the latest goings-on in the Torso universe, as I won't be able to catch up with you until Sunday now. I'm off dancing/drinking/waving glowsticks/fighting/having a fantastic time at Sankey's on Saturday too, you see.
There was something of a cast meeting on Wednesday, as Sarah, Rory and me went out for dinner as one of our pals, Sarah, is visiting from Austria. Whilst eating the sloppiest pizza I've ever eaten in my life (was duck and hoi sin sauce ever really designed for a cheese and tomato base), we managed to plan our final shooting night for Sarah's "library" scene, that you won't have heard mentioned (at least I don't think) so far in the blog (cor, there's far too much use of brackets in this post). Anyway, we've sorted out that night for a few weeks time in Manchester, and we've recruited an extra in the form of Chris Madden, who wanted in on the action when he realised 75% of his pals were in the movie already. I'm not 100% what I'll do with him yet, but we'll squeeze him in somewhere. After all, you can never have too many suspects in a giallo. GOOD TIMES.
Also, Rory proved that this movie has the best eye candy since - hmm, maybe Friday the 13th Part III: 3D (1982) by pulling a variety of lovely poses for the camera.
What a dish.
As for tonight, Jenny and I went out into Preston for a "historic murders" walk around the city sorta thing, which was kind-of like Most Haunted but less inside places and more in doorways. We found out some delightful horror stories about the town - including the Prestonian version of Bloody Mary, 'Bannister Doll' (GREAT name) - and that someone stabbed their husband to death in Naseeb's Tandoori House in 1906. I was paying more attention to the architecture in the town centre, and I'm desperate to get a shot of The Harris Museum in the movie (see left). Lit up at night, it really reminds me of the piazza where the blind fellow gets eaten alive by his guide-dog in Suspiria (1977)
Speaking of Dario, more on La Terza Madre (2008), which I checked out last weekend, coming up in the next couple of posts. Also, I've recently caught Let's Scare Jessica to Death (1971) and Che Sei? (1974) - opinions/general thoughts/inspirations are not too far away.
Anyway, it's 4.20 now, and I'm going to have Jenny knocking on my door wanting to wrap her scenes (after I've claimed the past four shooting sessions would be the FINAL shooting session) at 10am, so I best make tracks to bed.
Expect a similar incoherent, rambling post when I'm in my hungover state on Sunday. I've discovered some scenes I shot for the movie I'd almost forgotten about so I'll be filling you in on how they look then.
Just as a goodnight treat, here's another behind-the-scenes photo you might like. Shame they're not on reels... yet!
As we get ever closer to finishing, trying to keep the blog spoiler free is proving harder and harder. If you want it to remain spoiler free DON'T READ ANYMORE of this post. For those of you that just can't wait until Christmas, here's a couple of snaps from the final shooting night with Jenny that reveal a little bit too much about her character's fate, but I couldn't resist showing them to you.
I've just seen Jenny home for the last time on a Firefly Media horror movie before her big move to Australia on Sunday. BAD TIMES. However, we just wrapped all of her night-time sequences. GOOD TIMES.
All that remains is one short sequence on location - in Emma's kitchen - on Thursday, before we're off into Preston for a ghost hunt. And who knows when I'll see her after that? SAD TIMES.
Jenny's relationship with the Firefly Media Productions take us right back to the start, back in the days on 8mm cassettes and filming sessions pl high school Monday through Friday. She made her debut in an ill-fated (read: never completed) remake of Amy Jones' feminist slasher classic/tripe The Slumber Party Masacre (1982) back in 2001. Since then, she's been involved in almost every major project - the Christmas themed trailers for Silent Night (2002), which was awarded super high grades for an A-level project; Slashdance (2003) (see poster left), the 80s-themed slasher movie filmed around Runshaw College; last year's YouTube sensation Halloween Redux (2007); and the as-yet unreleased, as-yet untitled romantic drama. Watch this space... it WILL be coming soon!
I'm sad to see her go. There's going to be one less person to terrorize with a kitchen knife next week. If, like me, you can't get enough of Jenny, check out this retrospective I made of her and usual co-star Andrew Hardman, a couple of years back.
No time for tears now though, as Torso's really coming into it's own - we're edging ever closer to finishing and we're right on target for that Christmas day release date. Fingers crossed!
Just before I sign off for the evening, here's another vintage Torso treat for you to peruse. Here's the American one-sheet for the movie's 1974 release by Joseph Bremner Associates. It's pretty rare, but I managed to pick one up on eBay for a small fortune. Are you jealous?
How-do all, just a little update today to let you know what's been going on with the film. A little update because, to be honest, not much. I spent Sunday at Jennifer Brook's house as she, like 90% of the cast of Torso, is emigrating.
Following in the footsteps of Anna Henderson (who moved to Jersey to work for KPMG), Dominic Verdon (who moved to Spain to start his pilot training course) and Martin Blakemore (currently lost somewhere between Quebec and Toronto), Jenny and her boyfriend are moving to Australia. And she's not the only one. Sarah and Rory are moving to the other side of the world next month. Which kind of scuppers a premiere, but makes the concept of an "online" premiere all the more exciting.
Anyway, Jenny threw a goodbye party (see Torso stars Sarah and Kyle Webster above right) to bid us all farewell. Not that it was time to become an emotional wreck just yet - we've still got filming to do tomorrow night.
Which means I have to get all of her scenes edited tonight just in case there's any re-shoots to be getting on with.
Oh, whilst I'm here - No goodies from the new movie today; but a treat relating to the original movie instead. I unearthed a blog by the name of Moon in the Gutter which had a collection of lobby cards from the movie. I saved them, tidied them up a bit and uploaded them here, as I thought you might find them interesting. Check out the source atmooninthegutter.blogspot.com. The guy who runs that seems to have similar interests to me - including an unhealthy obsession with Catherine Spaak and Tina Aumont.
Just to prove that yesterday wasn't a mere flash in the pan, I thought I'd make another brief update today and let you know what I've been up to. I've been hard at work, and a fair percentage of the footage we've acquired is pieced together in a rough cut now; however most of the footage still needs the orchestral score sorting out. I'm planning on creating two versions of the movie - one using a minimalist electronic score a la Tyler Bates' work in Rob Zombie's Halloween (2007) remake, another with deliberate roughening of the footage reminiscent of the drive-in fare the original Torso was most definitely a part of, complete with the original score by the de Angelis brothers. Kyle Webster, who plays Stefano in the movie, has expressed interest in forming his own cut of the movie - which would be interesting to see what someone else does with the story. That's a possible three alternate versions of Torso - more information on this as it becomes available.
Speaking of drive-in movies, I watched 20th Century Fox's 1975 effort Race with the Devil today, a film that I haven't seen since I was around six, and remember being distinctly petrified of. Of course, the effect of sixteen years of horror movies has jaded my interpretation of the movie. However, the film is the perfect example of mid-1970s genre fare, whilst being a new genre all in itself - an action/thriller/horror/satanist ritual/car chase movie, if you will. All of that, with a funky '74 RV complete with mini-bar (didn't spot any J&B, sadly), and the ever-lovely Loretta Swit in a starring role. You simply can't go wrong, and I'd recommend checking it out. I'd love to use the font from the opening credits of that movie in Torso, so I guess that means trawling the internet for who-knows how long. I'll let you know how I get on.
Anyway, I've just got my hands on a copy of Chi Sei? (1974), so I'm off to watch that.
I realise I'm toying with your emotions, leaving you for three months and then coming on strong all at once, but I just thought I'd make one more post for the day just to make up for lost time.
Here's the billing block for the Torso 2008 remake. Expect to see more promotional materials appearing in the blog over the upcoming weeks.
There's so much to update you with owing to the fact I haven't updated the blog in three months, hence the second post in the space of an hour.
For a start, there have been several major cast changes in the project. Caroline Webster, originally slated to play the supporting lead Daniella, has switched roles with Jennifer Brook, who was to play Stefania, Jane's older sister. Jennifer had actually filmed a large percentage of her role as Stefania before the change was made, so there is a rough cut in existence. These scenes may make the DVD release of the picture - Jennifer Brook fans, look out!
Emma Tollefson now plays the role Ursula, a combination of both Ursula and Katia from the original Torso script. Don't worry, fans of Firefly regular Jenna Mount, she'll still have an involvement in the project. It wouldn't be a Firefly Media movie without her!
As for the men, both David Waidson and Rory Bampton have almost completed their roles as Luca and Roberto, respectively. Since the last cast update there has been a new suspect added to the list; Stefano, originally played by Roberto Vanzi, this time round played by Firefly Media newcomer Kyle Webster (pictured above right).
Apologies for being an absolutely rubbish blogger over the past few months. We've been so busy on the project, especially over the past few weeks, that there's barely been time to fart, let alone update the blog. Accept my sincerest apologies, and be safe in the knowledge I shan't ignore you anymore. :-D
You'll be happy to know the making of the movie is moving along at a jolly good pace. I'd say we were around 75% complete now.
Here's some information regarding the upcoming release of the movie. We're hoping to have the whole project on YouTube for Christmas Day this year... That's less than 100 days away!
However, don't worry if you can't wait that long. A teaser trailer will be making it's way to YouTube in the next few weeks. After that, a full theatrical trailer will be uploaded during early November. Then, as the release date draws very close, for every Monday in December I'll be uploading a short clip of the movie to tease you even more.
As you've all been so patient - and I've been such a poor blogger, here's a collection of stills from the movie. As you can see, it's really starting to take shape now.
There, doesn't that look exciting? Expect more stills, news and updates over the next few days - this blog is most definitely back on track.
A short update, just to tell you I'm still alive and we're still making the movie...
Apologies for not writing sooner, I've been very busy over the past few weeks - Sarah and Rory have both had their final exams, I've been working extra at work and my laptop has fried itself, making updating the blog rather difficult. But, as Summer is quickly approaching (when the majority of the shoot is scheduled for), there'll be plenty of updates coming up over the next few weeks.
In other news, almost all of Sarah and Rory's scenes are now shot, we'll be wrapping their scenes up on the 23rd and 26th of June. I'll fill you in on the past two shooting nights soon, and there may even be some short clips coming to YouTube.
Last night's filming went far more swimmingly than I anticipated. As Rory is cursed and his dissertation isn't due in for another five days, we decided to record some of his scenes next week, which meant we had the whole evening to do half of the stuff I intended to shoot. Needless to say you can see the benefits, as I was able to take my time much more on each compostion, as you can see in some of the framing below. Rory and Sarah filmed a couple of brief sequences that feature in the first half of the movie, one of which screen caps 1-4 feature in. The last two screen captures come from the second half of the movie where all the excitement kicks in... but I don't want to give too much away! Filming in the city wasn't as difficult as I thought. Picking a Sunday night definitely worked in our favour, as the place was deserted, minus a few foreign students and a handful of tramps asking for spare change. I think the footage really emphasises the "British" element from the locations we chose - you don't get more British than a red phone box, and some areas of Manchester city, especially around the central library and town hall, look both gothic and spooky. I deliberately tried to capture the look of What Have You Done to Solange?; you'll have to let me know how successful I was.
Not too much went wrong either - although there are a couple of nice out-takes involving Rory, who tripped over twice on set, on camera. Clumsy.
As for future filming nights, as planned there should only be one more major shooting night, two at most, the first of which we've tentatively penned in for next Monday or Tuesday. There really isn't too much left to do with Sarah and Rory - some make-up effects (make of that what you will), a handful of short scenes and retakes, and one shot on location in a nearby street named Moon Grove, which, despite being slap bang in the middle of the student digs mecca of Manchester has retained some Victorian glory, complete with cast-iron streetlamps and cobbled street.
Still intending to get on that top ten gialli I keep mentioning... I'm working on it.
Apologies for no updates through the week, but there hasn't been much to report. I could have done an update on Friday regarding Sarah starting to do her hair for filming tomorrow - two days later, but I passed on the opportunity.
Sunday is almost upon us - and the BBC weather forecast warns us only of light drizzle, so it looks like we'll be going ahead with filming tonight. We'll be around the red phone boxes in Manchester town centre, so what problems that'll cause us is anyone's guess.
I've added some extra scenes into the script for Sarah and Rory's character's - I've been so impressed with what they've done so far I thought I'd flesh their parts out, one of which is a sly nod to Sergio Martino's gialli, The Case of the Scorpion's Tail (1972).
After tonight, Rory and Sarah should have a large bulk of their scenes shot for the picture, as long as things go to plan. Which they rarely do. But fingers crossed.
In the meantime, here's yet another still of Sarah from the second filming night.
No filming until Sunday night, weather permitting, so no news on the filming front. Instead, tonight, we watched Italo-trash classic Dr. Butcher, MD (1982).
Made on the coattails of Lucio Fulci's massively successful Zombie the previous year - and promoted as a sequel in certain territories, Dr. Butcher MD piles on the (usually unconvincing but often creative) gore, violence and nudity to an absurd level, which makes for generally entertaining, although most definitely throaway, viewing.
Zombie Holocaust, the European title of the movie, was written by Fabrizio de Angelis, who penned all of Fulci's zombie classics of the early 1980s as well as working on his mysogynistic opus The New York Ripper (1982), and the rare giallo movie Sette scialli di seta gialla (1972), or Seven Crimes of the Black Cat, which features perhaps the most elaborative murder method ever seen on celluloid - a black cat with its claws dipped in curare.
Here's the (totally misleading) American trailer for Zombie Holocaust.
A generally rambling post, but it's Italian cinema chat, so it's all kind-of related.
As it's so late I'll leave the run-down of classic gialli I mentioned on Saturday until later in the week, so not too much news to update you with tonight. I've spent the evening drinking J&B (Edwige would be proud) with Rory, who, my housemate John commented, was dancing the Michael Jackson "Thriller" dance to every song that came on the radio.
Maybe it'd be best if he left the dancing and stuck to acting.
In other "star" news (look out for these names in future editions of Heat, people), Sarah has had a whopping great fringe cut into her hair. Whilst it does absolutely nothing for the continuity of the footage (I'm sure we can work around it); it does look very nice.
Speaking of those two, here's their continuity shots from the first night of shooting. There was a second photograph of Sarah, with Rory grabbing her boobs, but I thought that one had best stay in the archive. You never know. Maybe I'll include it as an Easter egg on the DVD.
As promised... a brief introduction to the giallo genre.
The term giallo dates back to the mid-1920s, when the Italian Publishing Houses began producing murder-mystery/crime novels, printed with garish yellow covers. Closely related to the pulp fiction magazines popular in English-speaking markets at the time, they quickly captured Italian imagination, the term becoming synonymous with mystery and crime.
In the 1960s, giallo began to refer to a cinematic genre of rising prominence in Italy, with Mario Bava's La ragazza che sapeva troppo (1963) and Blood and Black Lace (1964) laying the genre foundations that would be emulated, elaborated, and celebrated throughout the 1960s, yet to an even greater extent during the genre's pinnacle in the mid-1970s. Often, the story of a giallo movie is rooted in the penny-dreadful literature of the 1930s - Bava's Cinque bambole per la luna d'agosto (1970) draws inspiration from Christie's Ten Little Indians, and Sergio Martino's Il tuo vizio รจ una stanza chiusa e solo io ne ho la chiave (1972) updates Poe's The Black Cat.
Alongside Mario Bava, argued by many as the "founder" of the celluloid gialli, you won't get very far into the genre until someone mentions Dario Argento. His internationally-successful film The Bird with the Crystal Plumage is generally thought to be the film that bought about the wave of movies in the early 1970s, and would call his 1975 movie Profondo Rossothe apex of the genre. Sergio Martino's Torso would come in the middle of the genre's heyday.
Here's the trailer for Bava's Blood and Black Lace. Last time I checked (March 2008), someone had uploaded the whole movie onto YouTube, along with several Argento movies, including the INSANELY RARE Four Flies on Grey Velvet (1971). If they're still there (and trust me, these "whole film" accounts come and go in days), go and watch. :-D
Back to the topic at hand. As for the genre characteristics and conventions, Stephen Thrower provides a neat summary in his book Beyond Terror: The Films of Lucio Fulci, an excellent book about the famous Italian director who made several contributions to the genre before moving into zombie territory in the early 1980s. Anyway, here goes...
"[The giallo is] murder and intrigue, staple features of popular drama... taken to extremes. Suspicion... is ubiquitous because everyone is hiding something. The general tone is one of moral decay and cynicism, with ever more convoluted plots emphasizing morbid details in a Janus-faced world of paranoia or betrayal. The killer flits with credulity-straining ease from crime scene to crime scene, [their] motivation usually as tenuous as his methods are elaborate." (p.63)
Alongside those narrative conventions, gialli films are famous for their visual style, often featuring elaborate lighting and disjointing camera angles. And of course, the fact the genre reached the height of its popularity in the early-1970s means those with a taste for all-things kitsch are rarely left disappointed - just check out Edwige Fenech's giant rotating bed in 5 bambole...
There, that should clear things up for those new to the genre. Coming soon, a few recommended gialli if you're interested in acquainting yourself further, and of course more stills and stories from the production. Stay tuned!
Another new still online today. Here's Roberto, played by Rory Bampton, receiving some pivotal information in a scene from the second-half or Torso. Giallo fans, take note of the ever-present bottle of J&B on the left-hand side, and you might just be able to see the mannequin head on the top shelf in the background, a sly little reference to Blood and Black Lace.
As mentioned yesterday, for the uninitiated, I'll be getting on with a brief introduction to the giallo genre soon, as well as latest developments on the filming schedule.
Just a quick post today. Most people have seen - or even heard of, come to think of it - the original Torso. Therefore, I thought I'd post up some information regarding the film.
One of the archetypical drive-in movies of the early-1970s and favorite of contemporary horror directors such as Robert Rodriquez and Eli Roth, Torso was shown to the cast of the self-indulgent Rodriquez/Tarantino project Grindhouse prior to filming to help them get a feel of the genre.
The film has recently been released in the UK - with dreadful cover art and misleading tag-lines - by Shameless DVD releasing. To pick up a copy, click here. As for a region 1 release, up until recently Torso was available from Anchor Bay, but that release seems to be deleted.
Information on the film itself on the internet, aside from reviews, is scant. Keith Brown's eBlog Giallo Fever provides in-depth academic analysis of the film, along with other Martino and genre titles. Although not 100% relevant here, I might add a few posts on the history of the Giallo to help out those unfamiliar with the genre. I'll see how bored I feel over the weekend. :-D
Like everything else that's ever been put to celluloid/video/webcam, there's some Torso-related clips on YouTube. Find the sensationalized (Torso! Torso! TORSO!) Joseph Bremner Associates US release teaser here, a wonderfully psychedelic European trailer here, and the full US trailer embedded below. Look out for the hilarious voice-over that states "From Carlo Ponti, the man who bought War and Peace and Doctor Zhivago..." If anyone went to see Torso expecting anything in a similar vein to those pictures, they were probably very disappointed.
Whilst we're on the topic of Sarah, here's a continuity shot of her in the main outfit she wears in the movie. We attempted to copy the make-up worn by the women of Umberto Lenzi's "Seven Bloodstained Orchids", with good results. After using practically an entire eyeliner stick, Sarah was ready to go.
She looks excellent. Uschi Glass would most definitely approve.
Okay, so I bent the truth ever-so-slightly. In actual fact, shooting on Torso began a few weeks back. The first night of shooting, involving Sarah and Rory, took place on March 13th. Sarah plays Sarah (imaginatively enough), and Rory plays Roberto, however not the same Roberto as portrayed in the original by Luc Merenda. Unfortunately, at around midnight on the 13th (or 14th, depending on how you look at it) we discovered all the footage from the evening hadn't actually recorded due to a dodgy DV-cassette. So, after that "trial-run", we re-shot the footage on March 27th.
Re-shoots already. Not the best of starts, but the footage second-time-round looks excellent. I've posted a couple of screen-captures from the first night (below). NB: Sarah's dicking around on camera will be in the out-takes reel, and not the film itself.
In between those two nights, I did some location-scouting in Italy; in a small town outside of Rome named Artena. I shot a whole cassette of footage whilst I was out there which will make it's way into the film in a multitude of establishing shots, no doubt.
Back to the 27th, the first 'official' shooting date. After a Chinese take-away and waiting about three hours for Sarah to do her hair, we got started on a pivotal scene involving the two characters. I shan't go into details as to not give too much of the plot away, but the scene is coming together very well. As low-budget productions go, we have to wait until we're all free again. And what with Sarah having a haircut and spouting some rubbish about not being able to wash her hair two consecutive days (must be a girl thing), Rory having a Spanish oral exam, and me having the most shifts at work I've had all year, the next night of shooting will be a week Sunday - April 20th. On that date we'll be shooting on set at Norman Road, and also on location in Manchester town centre, which will probably bring us a whole wealth of new problems.
For a retro fix, here's the gallery from the Halloween Redux Premiere, which took place December 16th, 2007. Click on the cast photo above for a link over to dreaded social networking site Facebook, which, for all it's faults (read: taking over your life), has excellent photo-uploading facilities.
And whilst we're plugging Halloween Redux, here's a YouTube link for the opening sequence of the movie. This clip features Anna Henderson, who will be taking the role of Jane in Torso.
In the original Torso, there are many male characters weaved into the storyline. John Richardson's edgy teacher, Franz; Luc Merenda's dashing doctor, Roberto; Stefano, Daniella's unhinged stalker, played by Roberto Vanzi; as well as a wealth of secondary characters who are all possible of committing the murders around which the film revolves. For the remake, the characters have been reduced. Rather than spend time attempting to develop many characters as possible suspects, the idea for the remake is to instead have fewer people who could be responsible for the crime; however all of them are much closer to the girls than any of the characters in the original film.
Filling Merenda's shoes is Firefly Media regular David Waidson, who has become increasingly active in recent projects. A new character will be played by Rory Bampton (pictured right), playing Sarah's boyfriend. Rory and Sarah are a real-life couple, and they are both newcomers. I haven't worked with either of them before, but they are both very enthusiastic about the project. Especially if there'll be wine on set.
The cast of the original Torso comprised largely of European starlets - Suzy Kendall, one time spouse of Dudley Moore, French actress Tina Aumont, and genre favorite Carla Brait. As for the gents, Italian pin-up Luc Merenda played the Doctor who eventually saves Suzy from John Richardson, a prolific English actor who starred in several Italian-based horror productions.
Re-casting was not an easy process.
The role of Jane, the female lead role, has been given to Anna Henderson (pictured above). Anna worked on last year's Halloween Redux, giving an impressive performance as an ill-fated guest at the party around which the plot circles. Based on this performance, she won the part.
The supporting female leads, Daniella and Ursula, are performed by Caroline Webster and Jenna Mount, respectively. Both are regulars in previous film projects. Caroline plays an update of Tina Aumont's character; as unnerved and worried by the events occuring around her as the original role. Rather than slow the story down by developing four female leads, Jenna's character Ursula is an amalgamation of the two other central female roles of Torso, Ursula and Katia.
New female characters have been introduced to the story. Briony Thompson plays an unlucky waitress who the killer mistakes for an intended victim - these scenes will be shot in the legendary Manchester nightclub The Ritz, where such acts as Frank Sinatra and The Beatles performed in their heyday. Sarah Cunningham plays a friend of the female lead characters, who discovers important information about the identity of the killer, which of course remains a mystery until the final reel. Jennifer Brook, the star of Halloween Redux, also returns for a supporting role, playing Daniella's older sister.
One female role remains, that of Jennifer - named after the Jennifer of giallo cheese-fest The Case of the Bloody Iris. Developments upon casting of that character will be revealed here first.
Welcome to the official blog for a fan re-make of Sergio Martino's excellent giallo classic, I corpi presentano tracce di violenzia carnale, re-titled for the US Grindhouse circuit as Torso.
I'm Antony Southall, the writer/director/editor/producer... if you've ever made a low budget movie - and we're talking REALLY LOW, you know the score. It's me, a gallon of home-made fake blood and a cast of handsome young men and attractive young women, plus all of our heads put together to come up with the best possible results the cheapest possible way.
The aim of this blog is to keep anyone who's interested up to date with the latest new regarding the project. Some visitors here may be familiar - or stumbled across us by accident from YouTube - with The Mardale Massif Movies. If you haven't, check out some of our earlier work here - http://www.youtube.com/user/MardaleMassifMovies. Last year the same team behind this re-imagining released Halloween Redux, a simple yet effective sequel to John Carpenter's 1978 masterpiece. So why choose Torso as the new project?
I've grown increasingly fond of giallo-thrillers over the past few years. Prior to that, my knowledge of the genre was limited mainly to the movies of Dario Argento. Recently however I've become familiar with the often-under-rated works of such directors as Massimo Dallamano, Umberto Lenzi and Sergio Martino, all of whom displayed excellent talent in gialli throughout the early 70s. Torso always stood out for me as one of the most under-rated of its kind due to its well-developed plot, cruel death sequences and, of course, a generous portion of sleaze that seems so ubiquitous with the genre.
That said, the re-make is far from a screen-by-screen remake of the original. Instead, elements from several classic giallo movies have been incorporated into the story. The narrative offers more twists, the death sequences are even more brutal, but the basic premise remains.
If you're interested, stick around with me - I'll be updating the blog often. Over the next few weeks, I'll be introducing you to the cast, discussing the first nights of shooting and asking for feedback on ideas.
Welcome to the blog for the Mardale Massif Movies remake of Sergio Martino's 1973 Giallo Torso. This page will be added to regularly, so check back often for updates on the project.
This movie is a fan remake. Those involved in the project have nothing to do with the film, the director, or its stars, and no infringement is intended.
