By MICHAEL GINGOLD
The people behind the cult retro horror film THE BARN and other independent chillers have a new anthology on the way, with a B-movie legend in a key role.
Director/producer Justin M. Seaman gave RUE MORGUE the first look at the poster for CRYPTIDS, which is currently entering postproduction. The directors involved include THE BARN’s Seaman, cinematographer Zane Hershberger and effects creator Robert Kuhn, along with Billy Pon (CIRCUS OF THE DEAD), Brett DeJager (BONEJANGLES), Max Groah (BONG OF THE LIVING DEAD) and John William Holt (THE DOOMS CHAPEL HORROR). The synopsis: “CRYPTIDS takes place in a radio station during a show called THE TRUTH SERUM, hosted by Major Harlan Dean. On tonight’s episode, Harlan decides to tackle the topic of cryptozoology, but as the phone lines light up and the calls come in, each caller’s story becomes increasingly bizarre, and Harlan starts to question if real dangers are lurking outside the station.”
The movie, which features fan favorite Joe Bob Briggs as Dean, has just launched an Indiegogo campaign for completion financing, offering Blu-rays, DVDs, T-shirts, posters and more, including items signed by Briggs and the directors; check it out here. “We originally planned on launching our campaign the first week of March 2020,” Seaman tells us, “and then the pandemic happened, so we decided it wasn’t the best time to be asking for funds. During that time, we pulled our own money together to cover the costs of the next segment shoot until we could launch the campaign. At the end of July, we were able to get Joe Bob Briggs on set and safely shoot his scene,” as seen above and below.
“He was such a great guy to work with,” Seaman continues, “and he brought the character of Harlan Dean to life. Joe Bob treated our crew with such respect, taking the time to discuss anything and everything when we weren’t rolling, even posing for pictures and autographing custom artwork seen in the film. You often hear the phrase ‘Don’t work with your heroes,’ but I’m sure glad we did! Although a bit more soft-spoken in real life than what you see portrayed on MONSTERVISION or THE LAST DRIVE-IN, he was everything we hoped he would be, and it was an experience we’ll never forget. It was a fairly easy shoot, although due to the safety issues, we worked with a smaller crew and only shot half days to limit the time we spent around each other.” Stay tuned for further developments involving CRYPTIDS!
