Movies
He Loved Horror Movies Until the Day He Died. Now His Parents Are Finishing His Movie.
On April 7th, 2014, Kyle Cerilli passed away after a lifelong battle with muscular dystrophy. I don’t expect you to know who he is as I only just found out about him. But his story is pretty incredible because it doesn’t end with his passing. In fact, his strength, his work, and his message is continuing to live on in a truly heartwarming way.
You see, Kyle has been a lifelong fan of horror. On top of creating a website that focused on horror news and reviews, he also founded “…Morbidly Amusing Productions with a small group of fellow students.” The main focus of this was the creation of Slimebuck, a short film Cerilli wrote that follows two children who befriend an alien-like monster while being set upon by two Russian thieves who are after a special rock that the father of one of the children has found. This rock is supposed to have “…major world-wide implications” and the friends have to protect the rock, Slimebuck, and themselves against these two sticky-fingered crooks.
If it sounds like a cross between Home Alone, E.T., and Gremlins, that’s because those are the films that inspired Cerilli and his creation of Slimebuck. While a 20-minute short film version has been made and released (you can watch it below), Cerilli’s vision was never fully reached. This is where the story gets even more powerful.
Cerilli’s parents Vin and Annette always knew that their son wanted Slimebuck to be a feature-length film and they’re aiming to make that dream a reality in his honor. They’ve opened up an Indiegogo and are hoping to raise $150,000, saying, “That’s what this is all about. Building awareness of the movie, Kyle’s story, and muscular dystrophy.” They’ve also recruited filmmaker Tom DeNucci to update the script into a feature length version.
If you do decide to back the project, know that on top of supporting the movie you’ll also be supporting the Muscular Dystrophy Association Summer Camp, who will be receiving a portion of any donation.
The good folk over at Upworthy have a fantastic piece on Cerilli, his family, and Slimebuck. I highly recommend checking it out.
If you want to watch a fun movie, watch a Ryuhei Kitamura movie. Whether it’s 2000’s Versus, 2004’s Godzilla: Final Wars, 2008’s The Midnight Meat Train or 2022’s underseen The Price We Pay, Kitamura always knows how to deliver a wild and crazy good time.
Up next from Ryuhei Kitamura? Deadline reports that he’ll be directing Thrill Ride, which sounds a bit like the best parts of Final Destination 3… expanded into a feature film!
Deadline details, “the English-language film will tell the story of a group of people, including two young women, who are trapped upside down on a roller coaster taken over by a mysterious saboteur threatening to drop them all one-by-one to their deaths.”
Film Bridge International is launching the project for sales ahead of the Cannes market.
Chad Law and Christopher Jolley wrote the screenplay.
“Thrill Ride is exactly the type of high-concept based thriller that our customers are looking for in the marketplace,” said Film Bridge’s Ellen Wander and Jordan Dykstra. “With Ryuhei at the helm, we know his vision and execution will deliver thrills of the highest quality.”
“As a hardcore rollercoaster fan since I was young, I immediately fell in love with this script filled with suspense, action, crazy ups and downs, turns, loops, and corkscrews at maximum speed,” adds Kitamura. “I can’t wait to get on a ride and bring life to the wildest rollercoaster imaginable.”
We’re already seated. Stay tuned for more on Thrill Ride as we learn it.
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