Exclusives
Scream ’10: Writer Marcus Dunstan Talks ‘Outer Limits’ Feature, ‘Saw 3-D’, ‘Collector 2’
At the red carpet for last night’s Spike TV Scream Awards we caught up with Saw (IV-VII) writer/The Collector writer/director Marcus Dunstan and spoke with him about a few of his upcoming projects, including The Outer Limits adaptation that was announced back in August. For those wondering whether the feature-film version of the iconic sci-fi/fantasy/horror TV series would be an anthology a la The Twilight Zone movie, Dunstan seemed to indicate it will actually be a single storyline – albeit one that will contain a virtual cluster-fuck of sci-fi elements.
“We just finished a draft on ‘The Outer Limits’“, said Dunstan. “[It’s] an iconic series that encapsulated all of science fiction. So when you’re making a movie of that, the challenge was, don’t limit it to one element of sci-fi. Somehow embrace the umbrella of it…that was the trick. It took years to come up with the story [emphasis mine] alone. It took another year to write it. So this thing has been tweaked and polished for so long, that it is rock solid.”
As for the sequel to his cult hit The Collector, scheduled to begin shooting this month, Dunstan said fans can expect a bigger budget and a different sensibility from the first film.
“We’re back with a budget that’s four times bigger than the first one“, he told us. “I’ve never seen such creative control handed over to a director before in my life. And I plan on honoring that by going for broke. I know [in] the first film we had a modest scale…this time, we’re telling something different…it’s a different movie, it’s a different beast. And if last time I was grabbing influences from more modern cinema, this time I’m reaching back about 30 years. But hopefully when you see the trailer you’ll know exactly the two movies I’m going for.”
I also asked the filmmaker whether Saw 3-D will truly be the last film in the franchise, or whether Lionsgate is just blowing smoke up our asses (Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter anyone? Freddy’s Dead: The Final Nightmare?).
“They were very careful about calibrating how they were gonna announce that [it was the final movie]“, he said. “So they’ve underlined it with, “‘The final chapter. Yep, this is it. Seriously. Not kidding.’ Will we ever hear from the man John Kramer again? I’m sure. These things get re-booted and all that jazz, [but] this is the end of this storyline.”
So would he be up for writing another installment if the series did indeed continue on past the seventh entry?
“I gotta tell you, that franchise – started by James Wan and Leigh Wannell – is the only reason I’m here tonight“, he said. “They gave us a chance to tell a story and to scare people, which is something I’ve wanted to do since I was just a little kid. So my answer to that is: ‘Absolutely’. We’d be lucky for an invite to even try.”
Dunstan also announced that next summer he’ll be working on a new, highly inappropriate feature that will serve as the directorial debut of some dude named Vince Monday (sp?).
“I’m helping a first-time director, Vince Monday, do a directorial debut next summer called ‘Naked Fury’, which is an ode to Russ Meyer“, he said gleefully. “And it is so offensive! I don’t know anybody that will see it and not hate me.“
Exclusives
New Documentaries Explore the Cult Legacies of ‘The Keep’ and ‘Wolfen’; Watch the Trailers Now [Exclusive]
Undersung werewolf gem Wolfen and Michael Mann’s The Keep get the spotlight in a pair of feature documentaries acquired by Antenna Releasing.
A World War II Fairy Tale, which covers the infamous production of and reception to The Keep, will receive a limited theatrical release in October, followed by a TVOD release on Apple/Amazon. The Keep will also screen as a double feature for some showings.
For Uncovering Wolfen, Antenna eyes a limited theatrical release for 2027. Both films are currently available for booking via Antenna prior to their theatrical and digital releases.
Both documentaries are directed by Stewart Buck, who co-helms with Stéphane Piter on A World War II Fairy Tale.
“We at Antenna are obsessed with film history,” said Chief Acquisitions Officer Billy Ray Brewton. “Stewart has done such a remarkable job of really diving into the deepest recesses of how these films were made and, in doing so, has created the definitive histories of both projects.”
“We’re delighted to be partnering with Antenna Releasing!” said director Buck. “It’s refreshing to see a filmmaker-friendly approach to distribution with people who know what it’s like to be in the trenches with independent projects that struggle to find a home in the crowded marketplace.”
Check out our exclusive trailer and poster reveal of both documentaries below.
Released in 1983, Michael Mann’s The Keep was a notorious box office bomb, critically lambasted and all but forgotten for years, save for the fascination with Tangerine Dream’s iconic score. In recent years, the film has enjoyed a bit of a resurgence and is widely considered a cult classic, though director Michael Mann and many cast members refuse to acknowledge it.
Wolfen, on the other hand, was critical success but was overshadowed heavily by its flashier 1981 siblings An American Werewolf in London and The Howling. It’s also a trailblazer for socio-political horror, and the doc will explore that via the craftspeople who made it.
Look for them both in theaters soon. Stay tuned for more as it arrives.
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