Big Ass Spider!
When a giant alien spider escapes from a military lab and rampages across the city of Los Angeles, it is up to one clever exterminator and his security guard sidekick to kill the creature before the city is destroyed.
The Convent
A group of college students break into an abandoned convent and become possessed by demonic spirits.
Indie
Mike Mendez Goes From ‘Big Ass Spider’ Back To ‘The Convent’
I’m not sure how official this is since they haven’t decided on a title yet (and it sounds like it’s one option on a list of many), but Big Ass Spider director Mike Mendez is toying with a sequel to his 2001 film The Convent with original writer Chaton Anderson, per Fangoria. Not yet sure if it will be called The Devil’s Convent or something else (ie The Convent 2), Mendez does seem keen on the idea of killing a few more nuns.
He tells them, “Chaton Anderson [who scripted the original] wanted to revisit it and I was like, ‘I only want to do it if it has a unique point of view.’ For those who saw the first movie, there’s something that happened in the ’60s [seen in an attention-grabbing prologue] that sets off the events in the present, so we want to do ‘The Convent’ in the ’60s. It’s more a period piece: the adventures of young Christine [Barbeau’s heroine], kicking ass early on… We’re looking at calling it ‘The Devil’s Convent’, and it would kind of be its own thing, but if you know the original, they do connect. It’s being written right now, so we’ll see where it goes. ”
More on this as it comes in.
Exclusive
[SXSW '13] A Quick Chat With The Minds Behind ‘Big Ass Spider’!
I had a lot of fun with Big Ass Spider!, directed by Real Killers and The Gravedancers‘s Mike Mendez, at SXSW. If you doubt that, I invite you to read my review. In the film, “When a giant alien spider escapes from a military lab and rampages across the city of Los Angeles, it is up to one clever exterminator and his security guard sidekick to kill the creature before the entire city is destroyed.”
Battling the disgusting creature are Greg Grunberg (“Heroes”, “Alias”) and Lombardo Boyar (“The Bernie Mac Show”), who star as Alex, an exterminator, and Jose, his security guard sidekick, respectively. The heroes team up with an elite military unit that includes genre vets Clare Kramer (The Gravedancers) and Ray Wise (X-Men: First Class, “Twin Peaks”).
The day after Spider‘s premiere screening at the Alamo Ritz I sat down with Mendez and Boyar along with producers Patrick Ewald and Shaked Berenson for a quick chat. We talked about Mendez’s initial reaction to the script, Boyar’s chemistry with Grunberg – and the potential CIA shakedown that weighed on the producers’ minds.
Head inside to check it out! READ MORE
[SXSW '13] ‘Big Ass Spider!’ Tramples You With Fun
Evan Dickson graces us with his review from the World Premiere of Big Ass Spider!, which took place at last week’s SXSW Film Festival in Austin, Texas.
Directed by genre fav Mike Mendez, and starring Greg Grunberg, Lombardo Boyar, Clare Kramer, Ray Wise, Lin Shaye and Patrick Bauchau, the comedy begins when a giant alien spider escapes from a military lab and rampages across the city of Los Angeles.
Dickson calls Spider!, “A film that’s simultaneously humble and ambitious,” further adding, “It’s a movie that sets out to elevate the terrain usually staked out for Asylum type productions and build something more enjoyable on it. In that regard, the film succeeds.”
And if it weren’t already obvious, “Big Ass Spider! will be a nice movie for that night when you want to crack open a few beers and hang with some friends.”
Click here for the full review.
[BD Review] It’s Easy To Have Fun With ‘Big Ass Spider!’
A film that’s simultaneously humble and ambitious, I had a good time with Big Ass Spider!. It’s a movie that sets out to elevate the terrain usually staked out for Asylum type productions and build something more enjoyable on it. In that regard, the film succeeds. Even though Spider‘s brand of humor and sub-genre aren’t necessarily my thing (though I did laugh a lot), I appreciated the wise decision to go the buddy-comedy route and actually stick with it – a rare choice for this kind of outing. It’s here that director Mike Mendez really sets his film apart.
Greg Grunberg plays Alex, a bumbling yet efficient exterminator. After being bitten by a brown recluse on the job, he’s taken to a hospital (where he really seizes upon the opportunity to flirt with the nurses). Soon after his arrival things begin to go awry. A mysterious corpse (housing a few guests) is wheeled in and, as they say, we’re off to the races. The hospital setting is pretty much ground zero for the first part of the film, and it’s there we meet most of our characters – chief among them the janitor Jose, played Lombardo Boyar (with Clare Kramer’s Lieutenant Brant a second place MVP).
Part of the charm of Big Ass Spider! is that it knows exactly what it is. It hits all the requisite beats (the spider, of course, is the result of military testing) but it always remains fleet and never lingers on or fetishizes its limitations. For example, the CGI isn’t great. But there’s a lot of it and Mendez never winks at the iffiness of the visuals, he just plows on ahead as if he’s making a movie that costs 50 times as much. That’s the kind of moxie I can get behind. The kills are also plentiful, inventive and gory.
Of course, most movies in this sub-genre are slight – and Spider is no exception. While it’s certainly no Asylum movie, it doesn’t get anywhere close to the realm of something like James Gunn’s Slither, either. It’s just not in that league. So while I can’t really take Mendez’s film to task for not being a five-skull movie, I can’t exactly just give it those five skulls either. It’s a weird conundrum, but it boils down to this – how strongly could I recommend this movie to all of our readers? The answer goes something like, “I certainly recommend it but feel that I need to contextualize that recommendation with something that provides the viewer with a realistic set of expectations.”
Big Ass Spider! will be a nice movie for that night when you want to crack open a few beers and hang with some friends. Nothing more, and certainly nothing less. And there’s nothing wrong with that. It also doesn’t hurt to open with The Pixies’ “Where Is My Mind” – if you ever need a direct link to my heart that’s one of the 10 songs that will get you there.
[SXSW '13] Face-Melting First Clip From ‘Big Ass Spider!’
Aint it Cool News has shared the first ever clip from Big Ass Spider!, directed by Real Killers and The Gravedancers‘s Mike Mendez. The film has just world premiered at SXSW. Tough through the idiotic introduction for a pretty sick death scene. Your face will melt.
“When a giant alien spider escapes from a military lab and rampages across the city of Los Angeles, it is up to one clever exterminator and his security guard sidekick to kill the creature before the entire city is destroyed.”
Battling the disgusting creature are Greg Grunberg (“Heroes”, “Alias”) and Lombardo Boyar (“The Bernie Mac Show”), who star as Alex, an exterminator, and Jose, his security guard sidekick, respectively. The heroes team up with an elite military unit that includes genre vets Clare Kramer (The Gravedancers) and Ray Wise (X-Men: First Class, “Twin Peaks”). READ MORE
[SXSW '13] Trailer For ‘Big Ass Spider!’ Spins Its Web
One thing that scares me more than anything are spiders, which is why you see Evan Dickson covering all of those films. Yet, I sucked it up to bring you the trailer for the newly titled Big Ass Spider!, directed by Real Killers and The Gravedancers‘s Mike Mendez. The film will world premiere at SXSW in March.
“When a giant alien spider escapes from a military lab and rampages across the city of Los Angeles, it is up to one clever exterminator and his security guard sidekick to kill the creature before the entire city is destroyed.”
Battling the disgusting creature are Greg Grunberg (“Heroes”, “Alias”) and Lombardo Boyar (“The Bernie Mac Show”), who star as Alex, an exterminator, and Jose, his security guard sidekick, respectively. The heroes team up with an elite military unit that includes genre vets Clare Kramer (The Gravedancers) and Ray Wise (X-Men: First Class, “Twin Peaks”). READ MORE
Indie
Mike Mendez Film ‘Mega Spider’ Gets A Mega Poster
We first reported on Megaspider when we got a look at some sales art out of AFM. But now, a much preferable official poster has started making the rounds. It’s pretty cool in that “one or two notches above The Asylum” kind of way, which I honestly mean as a compliment. Director Mike Mendez describes his film as “a ‘Tremors’ styles creature feature“, which could be pretty cool if done correctly.
In the film, “A 50 feet tall alien spider escapes from a military lab and rampage the city of Detroit. When a massive military strike fails, it is up to a team of scientists and one clever exterminator to kill the creature before the city is destroyed.”
Megaspider is directed by Mike Mendez and stars Greg Grunberg, Lombardo Boyar, Clare Kramer, Ray Wise, Patrick Bauchau, Lin Shaye.
Head inside to take a look at the poster and a still from the film. Then head over to Undead Backbrain for their extensive spider-themed article that has quite a few more looks at the film. READ MORE
Indie
Mike Mendez Directing ‘Mega Spider’
From Epic-Pictures, Real Killers, The Convent and The Gravedancers director Mike Mendez will be directing Epic Pictures’ Mega Spider, a movie I won’t touch with a 10,000 foot pole. Spiders? No effin’ thanks. Just writing this story is making me sick to my stomach.
Also known as “Dino Spider”, the pic is now in pre-production for shoot later this fall.
“Surviving extermination by nuclear eradication, a horrible alien mutation in arachnid form is now growing at an exponential rate and making its way toward downtown Los Angeles. Hot on its spindly heels is a crack military unit with absolute authority, lead by an obsessively driven commander and his beautiful but lethal sidekick. Unfortunately for them, this mutant spider has an array of deadly defenses including the ability to virtually disappear through camouflage. But the creature’s real adversary quickly turns out to be a hot-shot local exterminator armed only with cocky attitude, some fast one-liners and his home-made gadgets. Joining forces with the military team, this blue-collar hero sets out to exterminate what has now become a monstrous 10-story tall MEGA SPIDER.”
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The Gravedancers (V)
The film is about three friends who desecrate the graves of three very unforgiving ghosts.
Real Killers (aka Killers)
Two killers who’ve escaped from prison face a larger challenge than the police- a family crazier than they are.
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