MORE NEWS FROM the GOOEY FILMS CAMP on the progress of FUNDING JOSH KENNEDY'SHOUSE OF THE GORGON, the film that will BRING and REUNITE FOUR HAMMER FILM ACTORS on screen for the first time since their days at Hammer!
THE GREAT NEWS IS the INDIGOGO FUNDING WINDOW IS TO BE EXTENDED PAST it's original closing date, to FEBRUARY 7th 2018! So, STILL TIME to make YOUR contribution to the BUDGET POT! SO DON'T DELAY. DO IT TODAY!
IF YOU MISSED OUR POST ALL ABOUT how YOU can become a part of this this amazing unique opportunity THE LINK IS : HERE!
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THIS POST WILL BE UPDATED OVER THE NEXT NINE DAYS! COME BACK FOR UPDATES AND PROGRESS!
THE CONVERSATION? IT WENT LIKE THIS. 'To pull something like that off, you'd have to have lots of added value' 'How do mean?' 'Well, working in that genre the audience expects to see names.' 'Names?' 'Yes, that's why something like this would never happen!. You have to have a cast that features prominent names that are associated with THE studio.' 'Oh, I see. Well, he's got them!' There was a three second pause. One 'What?' One for 'Did you just say just say, what I think you said?' and the last for, 'You DID!''And the concept?' "Yes?' 'Well, that's going to be amazing. What an amazing opportunity!'
THIS CONVERSATION happened over the phone, as I write, was four days ago. I am talking to a close friend. Someone who I have known since we were teens. I went on to work in television and lecturing, he became an award winning script-writer, working in an international multi award winning show, with a cast made up of directors and actors with very respected names, the majority some of the most experienced and trusted actors in the business. He's a little jaded now. There isn't much that makes his eyes sparkle, make him sit up and listen. This conversation went on for another hour. I was enjoying hearing him get just as excited as I am about this . . . .
'LET ME WRITE THIS DOWN.And, this is the guy we spoke about previously. 'The Dracula AD 2015?' guy?" 'Yeah!' ''Remind me. His name?' 'Joshua Kennedy' 'And, the title?' 'House of The Gorgon!'. I could hear his smile down the phone. 'Of course. It had to be! Ha'
SO WE HAVE FOLLOWED JOSH KENNEDY'S journey over the past few weeks, as he launched his INDIEGO CAMPAIGN PAGE the updates on THE HOUSE OF THE GORGON YOUTUBE CHANNEL and the HOUSE OF THE GORGON FACEBOOK FAN PAGE. It's a gamble. It seems there have been a few HAMMER film projects launched over the past few years. One in particular asked for a sizeable budget, for a concept that was nothing new, but seemed to get fans of the Hammer flicks excited. Sadly, fingers got burned. ...Cue 'I told you so'.... If it looks too good to be true, based on past experiences of some the people who were involved with that project, then you can bet it certainly is!
THE RISKS
'We are all professionals. Aside from the decades of experience our
actors have in show business, writer-director Joshua Kennedy has
written, produced, and directed fourteen feature films entirely on his
own... in less than seven years... with little to no budget for any of
them! The possibilities to make movie magic with this cast are endless
with your help.' The HOUSE OF THE GORGON Indiegogo Campaign Site
OTHER WAYS TO HELP! Times
are hard, it's that time of year, and if you are not able to contribute
to this project... no problem!You CAN help by sharing this campaign
with your family, friends,
neighbors, pets, Hammer fans, Classic Universal fans, vampires living in
your basement....The more we can spread the word, the better. How many chances will we ever have to see these FOUR TITANS TOGETHER in a Gothic Horror film? Let's make this happen! THE HOUSE OF THE GORGON Indiegogo Campaign Site
AS JOSH SAYS in his promo trailer, 'This might be the last opportunity to see FOUR Hammer film actors appear together in a film!'. That fact alone, has to be worth some serious consideration, of an Hammer film fan? I remember my youngest daughter asking me one time, many moons ago, 'Dad. how do you eat an elephant?' To which I replied, 'I have no idea, Lucy' 'ONE MOUTHFUL AT A TIME! She screamed laughing! She has a point. It's a sizeable budget, but even a dollar, ten dollars, twenty five dollars, as a contribution, all goes ion the pot. And eventually, he would get that budget. Problem is of course is, TIME. As I wrote there are just NINE DAYS until the closing of the INDIEGO CAMPAIGN PAGE. So, if you feel THIS IS something you would like to get behind, NOW is the time to send that lolly! No matter how small, it ALL adds to the total. THE HOUSE OF THE GORGON has a FLEXIBLE GOAL on Indigo. Basically, that means, the campaign will receive ALL the money it has raised even of it doesn't reach it's goal! So, you are backing a production, where the contributions really do count! I would LOVE to see this happen. Wouldn't you?
The year is 1896 and the lovely Isobel Banning travels with
her mother Anna to the village of Carlstadt to marry her university
sweetheart Dr. Julian Pritchard.
Along their journey they meet the mysterious Father Llewellyn, the
local priest, who refuses to explain why the villagers appear to be in a
state of mortal fear... as if the town is hiding a terrible secret.
Frightened and confused, Isobel and Anna readily accept an invitation
from Dr. Pritchard to stay with him and his aunt, the Baroness
Bartov, in their large chateau overlooking the town... unaware of the
ancient horror that lies within.
THE CAST
CAROLINE MUNRO AS BARONESS BARTOV Embedded in the minds of fans worldwide for her work in AT THE
EARTH’S CORE and THE GOLDEN VOYAGE OF SINBAD, Caroline Munro's stunning
looks also made her an easy victim for Christopher Lee's Dracula in
DRACULA AD 1972, and a vicious thwart to Roger Moore's James Bond in THE
SPY WHO LOVED ME. Her numerous fans throughout the globe have
unanimously dubbed her "The First Lady of Fantasy."
MARTINE BESWICKE AS EURYALE Martine currently holds the rare distinction of being one of the few
"Bond Women" to participate in two James Bond films: FROM RUSSIA WITH
LOVE and THUNDERBALL; both opposite Sean Connery. She is also famous for
her work in Hammer films fighting Raquel Welch in ONE MILLION YEARS
B.C., lording over a kingdom of cavewomen in PREHISTORIC WOMEN and, of
course, as the vicious villainess in DR. JEKYLL AND SISTER HYDE.
VERONICA CARLSON AS ANNA BANNING Veronica is probably best known throughout the world for her
career-defining performances in two of the greatest Gothic Hammer Films
of all time acting opposite Christopher Lee's Dracula in DRACULA HAS
RISEN FROM THE GRAVE and Peter Cushing's Baron Frankenstein
in FRANKENSTEIN MUST BE DESTROYED. Her other film roles include THE
HORROR OF FRANKENSTEIN and THE GHOUL.
CHRISTOPHER NEAME AS FATHER LLEWELLYN Known primarily for his role as Johnny Alucard in Hammer's DRACULA AD
1972, Christopher Neame has had an incredibly lengthy film and stage
career, including the titular role in Shakespeare's ROMEO AND
JULIET, guest roles on DOCTOR WHO, STAR TREK, THE A-TEAM, and Timothy
Dalton's James Bond film LICENSE TO KILL. Christopher also played Chuck
Norris’ antagonist, the Devil himself, in the film HELLBOUND.
GEORGINA DUGDALE AS ISOBEL BANNING Having completed her Bachelors in “Costume for Performance” at the
London College of Fashion, Georgina has also chosen to pursue acting
through her membership in the National Youth theatre, the RADA Youth
Group, and the Tricycle Youth Theatre. In addition, Georgina has also
performed in a number of films including BECOMING, FOX TRAP, DRESS
REHEARSAL, directed by Sam and George Clemens, and THE MILKY WAY, winner
of “The Best No-Budget Feature” at the London Independent Film
Festival.
JOSHUA KENNEDY AS DR. PRITCHARD Joshua Kennedy is the 23 year-old writer, producer, and director of
fourteen feature films. A graduate of Pace University in New York City,
he has been nominated for four Rondo Hatton Classic Horror Awards for,
among other things, his tributes to Gothic horror: DRACULA A.D. 2015 and
THE NIGHT OF MEDUSA. His latest film, THESEUS AND THE MINOTAUR,
premiered at the Monster Bash Convention this past summer and is now
available on DVD from oldies.com.
PAST JOSHUA KENNEDY AND GOOEY FILM PRODUCTIONS:
REMEMBER! IF YOU LIKE what you see here at our website, you'll love our daily themed posts at our PCAS FACEBOOK FAN PAGE.
Just click that blue LINK and click LIKE when you get there, and help
us . . Keep The Memory Alive!. The
Peter Cushing Appreciation Society website, facebook fan page and
youtube channel are managed, edited and written by Marcus Brooks, PCAS
coordinator since 1979. PCAS is based in the UK and USA
SEVERAL YEARS AGO in another life, wearing a different hat, I was often called upon to be a guest on a panel, judging competition entries for national and international films and documentaries. Many of the films and programmes were produced by amateur film makers and enthusiasts. Some were made by students from universities and film schools . . . The entries were of varying standards and levels of competence, but all had been produced with enthusiasm and passion. For over twenty five years I had worked in television, managed my own production company and had the pleasure of nurturing and helping young people and adults, in theatrical performance (performing arts) and the visual arts. It was a unique job, and a very rewarding time. Nothing gave me greater pleasure than to meet someone who had spent, months and months shooting and editing, shaping and creating, that flickering image, their story on that big screen! It's true, as I have said, many fell short of a standard to win a prize, or to maybe show promise of the first steps of what could be a promising career. But occasionally a warm glow would start in the pit of my tummy, a flutter, followed by a smile of recognition, when a zinger came along that DID tick all those boxes. Joshua Kennedy's 'Dracula AD 2015' IS one of those zingers...
Charles Caleb Colton (1780–1832) an English cleric and writer of some note once wrote, "Imitation is the sincerest [form] of flattery". Colton was at times brilliant in the pulpit, and could have been a successful and charismatic force in the church. Unfortunately he was more than a little eccentric, even though he had at one time considerable wealth, he gambled it away and was in debt until the end of his life...and that end came, when he required surgery. An operation he dreaded so deeply, that he eventually killed himself rather than undergo the procedure! But, if what Colton wrote, is true, Hammer films should be bursting with pride! 'Dracula AD 2015' is a love letter, a beautiful filmatic quilt, not patches, but scenes, sounds and emotive sequences sown together, to warm the bones, hearts and souls, of anyone who still blows the dust off their VHS broadcast recording, of a Hammer films 'double -bill' courtesy of BBC2 in 1981!
I knew writing this review would be tough, because so much of Kennedy's homage to Hammer's Dracula films, is emotionally charged. It's hot wired into the memory bank of any Hammer-aficionado who loves those films. However, that is not to say, this production can only be enjoyed by a cliche, romantic fan boys or Hammer die-hards. No, there is much here, even for someone who has never heard of Dracula, Peter Cushing, or 'that bloke in the cloak, Christopher Lee. And what there is, I'll happily share with you . . .but without giving too much away . . .
DRACULA AD 2015 is probably the Dracula film that Hammer films would be making now, if they were still around as the old gang, I guess. A film with drama, imagination, suspense and the age old 'everything works out in the end' plot, allproduced by the cozy family of people who cared about the films and the quality of what they produced. It's one thing that is evident in Kennedy's film too. This a group of young people, who love what they do and do it well. They know Joshua and each other well, and actors always take risks and give great performances when they are with a director and team they can trust.
Which brings me, to those actors. Josh has 'cast' the film very well, using some of the same templates that Hammer used too. I am not sure if it was sheer luck ordivine intervention that provided Josh with actors that nearly all, project some either physical or spooky degree of nuance, of the actors and characterswho appeared in the original Dracula Hammerfilms! And it's not just Hammer's plots and iconic set pieces that get the nod, there's much enjoyment to be had for any horror film buff here, picking out the scenes and characters from a dozen or more references, among them Chaney Jnr, Bela Lugosi, Dwight Frye and quite a few more. Se if you can spot them!
In every Dracula film, it's the guy who plays the Count, that bolts the whole structure together. When Hammer made their Dracula series, Lee was the draw. Powerful, sexy and feral. When he wasn't in a few of the productions, it was like a cart without it's horses. The vehicle was sound, but had no way of getting anywhere! Not so with Dracula AD 2015. Dracula is played with a delicate touch by Xander Pretorious, and he is well supported by a multi textured cast. Another thing that Kennedy got right, actresses that sound, act and look believable. . . something that Hammer often got really wrong and casting that still makes some uncomfortable and cringe-worthy viewing.
Bessie Nellis is someone to watch, in the film and in the future. With a role like Ingrid Stensgaard..there it is again, the temptation to play big and busy is where many a female vamp has 'stuck a stake in the cred department', before they've even started. Nellis understands the gift of stillness in front a camera. Focus and concentration is all. It takes guts and maturity to use that rule as your guide, but the reward is a performance, that all eyes are drawn to, when you are on screen. Her seduction scene with the Count, crackles with electricity. Her haunting and truly 'other-wordly' scene with Madelyn Wiley, was sheer animal magic. Wiley gets some great scenes too and plays Diana Farmer's exit,with a performance that Barbara Shelley, would certainly be proud of.
Someone has to play the 'girl in peril' and Kit Kennedy thank goodness takes the role and makes it more than a scream fest. Like everyone here, Kit has a relaxed and natural presence before the camera. She makes Jennifer Fordyce real, in the moment, fresh and believable. I felt the same about Hannah Rose Ammon performance, as I did about Caroline Munro's in Dracula AD 1972... gone too soon! I would have loved to have seen more! Everyone loves the 'slightly pushy, but dizzy character, who comes unstuck' in a horror film and Ammon, never gives away, what is around the corner and her fate. Next, the suspicious sounding, Thorley Ripper! I am sure Universal fans are going to love what Jeremy Kreuzer does with this. It must be hard to play 'crazy' without tipping into 'crazily over the top', Kreuzer hits it just right, spot on. Crazy as a fox!
Director Terence Fisher believed, every audience had to have breathing time. After a shock, give them time to recover, before you lull them into the next shocker. And with stories like this, someone must play, well.... normal! It may feel like a thankless task, but no build up, results in no tension or climax. Here Cody Avord and Jake Williams, provide the stability of, the reliable boy friend and his buddy, but they certainly get a lot to do, some classic staking scenes re-enacted and a face off with a vampire too. Actors Philip Miller and Michael Kitchen in Dracula AD 1972, provided the same service. Except Miller's 'Bob' death scene never made the edit, despite being shot and Kitchen...remind me again? Finally, Claire Daniels, plays 'nightmareseduction with a certaintrademark style', the stamp of a Freddie Francis seduction scene, from Dracula Has Risen From The Grave', complete with the sepia filters, and manages to give Veronica Carlson a run for her money too!
It would be unfair to give away key moments of the plot here, as some come as genuine surprises. It's not a straight follow the numbers, remake of Dracula AD 1972, Joshua Kennedy has been cute to key in some of the best elements of what made Hammer and Universal fantasy flicks great. The staking, the resurrection, the passion, the bite, the glamour and the sex. It's all here, and delivered with such confidence. Kennedy makes a great vampire hunter, in the Peter Cushing mold. He has the energy, authority and credibility of an actor and director many years older. His stamp can be seen throughout all his films. That wicked sense of humor and fun, that has brought the likes of actresses Martine Beswick and Caroline Munro, to come on board several of his productions. Munro actually has a voice-cameo in Dracula AD 2015 . . playing the Mother of Hannah Rose Ammon, who plays Munro's daughter,Caroline Monlaur. See what he did there!
I have watched Dracula AD 2015 several times, in order to get the full picture, and on one such screening, watched with a group of Hammer fans. Many a lead up to a scene was met with, 'They aren't going to do that sceneare they?'...which was followed by, 'That was great!' 'Well done' and ' pulled it off. . ..wow!'. Also quite a few scenes were given a cheer or chap of appreciation. Dracula, cloak flapping striding through New York and running for his life across a subway platform, made quite a few very happy. As did the opening prologue to the film and THAT title sequence. Back in 1972, I am sure Drac Buffs almost choked on their popcorn and coke, when the film zipped into a dutch tilt to the sky, and revealed a passenger plane and a hip and trendy London skyline with Chelsea hot pants and Trafalgar Square to boot!
In Dracula AD 2015, that theme tune, still has a punch, as Kennedyacknowledges the power and emotional connection to the music, in particularMike Vickers soundtrackfrom the opening to Dracula AD 1972and James Bernard's classic Dracula theme and incidental arrangements from the Hammer Dracula series.It's a technique that is used throughout the film and because of it's connection to the original films, works amazingly well, setting the atmosphereand tone of the entire film.
Last, but not least... when watching the film, take note of the lighting. Beautiful blues and throbbing rosey reds, if I didn't know better, I would think I was watching an Eastman colour print!Lighting camera operators were unsung heroes, back in the day of Hammer films. Kennedy has the lighting and shades, nailed too. He multi tasks, it's his script, editing, direction and camera work. And, it all worksvery well indeed.
If I was Kennedy, I would be entering every film festival and competition from here, across the Atlantic and back. This film needs to be seen and enjoyed, but also it needs the opportunity to winthe praise it deserves...well done to everyone involved you made my viewing full of many warm glows and flutters!
Marcus Brooks: Peter Cushing Appreciation Society : petercushingpcas@gmail.com
