Saturday 2 April 2011

"Hobo With A Shotgun" trailer contest...

No, I'm not involved, I just figured I'd make a few comments on what I dug about the Top Five entries which are now eligible to be voted for in the Hobo With A Shotgun fake trailer contest.

N.B. Hobo With A Shotgun won a contest to create a fake trailer to appear alongside the original version of Grindhouse (the 3 hour and 10 minute theatrical version), and it can be viewed on the Grindhouse Blu-Ray that was released in October 2010. The feature length version (starring Rutger Hauer) has been filmed and is now available as Video On Demand in America before it gets a theatrical run - apparently it'll launch in the UK on the 22nd July, but whether that's theatrical or direct-to-DVD, I'm unsure of. It looks batshit awesome and I cannot wait to see it.

Now - on to the fake trailer contest's Top Five that can be voted on via the link above.

FYI, viewer discretion is advised - these are fake trailers for grindhouse exploitation movies after all (don't worry, there's no nudity, as these videos are all freely available on YouTube). But don't watch them if you're at work, have kids in the room, or are easily offended.

1) Daddy Cross



A British entry that creates a trailer for a flick that exploits religion and sexuality about a psychotic Priest. While more could have been done to hide the digital look offered by the camera that was used to shoot it, it does have a nice seedy little vibe going for it, with a convincing use of voice over and fake certificate information at the very end.

2) Van Gore



Taking grindhouse to the art house, this gleefully bloody trailer was very impressive indeed. While it does stick very close to the established aesthetic of the fake trailers seen in Grindhouse, the central premise is quite enjoyable (I'd certainly watch it as a movie), and the tagline is rather catchy.

3) Earwigs



They perhaps missed a trick by not calling it, as one commenter on the video noted, "Fearwigs", however this trailer stands out from the crowd by presenting a faux 1950s sci-fi horror shocker from the age of atomic fear (although considering the context, Earwigs would have more likely been a title chosen at that time). The dutch angles, atmospheric lighting, impassioned voice over, creative titles and use of stock footage all make this quite authentic - however some fake 'print damage' (particularly on the pristine titles) would have further hidden the digital look.

4) Charlene: She Wolf of My Heart



Partly inspired by the VHS trailers of the video nasty era, this Nazi-ploitation spoof kicks off with a totally convincing fake video company ident (replete with VHS tape damage), and features a comedic voice over that must have surely been inspired to some extent by South Park's lampooning of voice overs for bad movie trailers. Carefully made to look like a Troma-released, shot-independently-on-video exploitationer (think along the lines of Redneck Zombies) it tells the tale of a guy who falls for Charlene - a sex-crazed Nazi. Bonus points for the catchy and humorous music.

5) Care Center Slaughterhouse



This one is particularly inventive, in that it's about a murderous care home populated by sexy nurses and grumbling old geezers - and they're all tooled-up with guns. Again, the digital look slightly distracts you from completely allowing yourself to believe that it could be a real trailer, but the relentless pace which crams in every possible ounce of violence and drop of blood works nicely with the darkly comic premise.

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So there you have it, be sure to cast a vote for your favourite one of the five videos by going here - http://ca.hobowithashotgun.com/contest/vote/

In case you're wondering, yes I do know what I'd do for a fake trailer - indeed I had a version of the idea before Grindhouse was released, and that just made me think even more that it'd be a nifty idea for a fake trailer. Not to give too much away it would be called "Flying Bastard Zombies" (a reference to various conversations over on Homepage of the Dead in the past) and it would be a spoof of flicks like Oasis of the Zombies.

2 comments:

Unknown said...

Thanks for the kind words on 'Daddy Cross' we graded it really nicely but it didn't seem to come through on the YouTube transfer!
More YouTube Practice needed methinks.

In the meantime you gotta get "Flying Bastard Zombies" made!

Nick Thomson said...

Hi James,

The Hobo With A Shotgun guys certainly picked a great top five. I enjoyed watching all the entries very much so.

Haha, yeah, I'd love to do a fake trailer for "Flying Bastard Zombies" sometime. It's always just a case of finding people to help, which is a big old pain living out in the sticks, and then so many people who respond to adverts are only interested if they get paid (and I certainly can't afford that unfortunately) ... but maybe some day.