Movies
Robert Rodriguez, Danny Trejo on ‘Machete’, and Potential Sequels!
During a set visit to the new film Predators directed by Nimrod Antal and currently filming at Troublemaker Studios in Austin, Texas, Bloody-Disgusting had the chance to catch up with Robert Rodriguez (who is producing the film) and Danny Trejo (one of the stars) to ask them about their upcoming film Machete, which is being released next April. Trejo gave us a little more background on the project, which actually was an idea Rodriguez had back in the early days of their collaboration.
“Everybody thinks that ‘Machete’ came out of a trailer, but it didn’t,” said Trejo. “Robert told me that he wanted to do this movie called ‘Machete’ when we were doing ‘Desperado’.”
The actor also hinted that the film might possibly have a few similarities to Rodriguez’s ‘From Dusk ‘Til Dawn’, although whether that means we’ll see anything more horror-related in ‘Machete’ remains to be seen.
“It is a culmination of ‘Desperado’, ‘Once Upon a Time in Mexico’…there’s even a little bit of ‘From Dusk `Til Dawn’ in there,” he hinted. “I think it’s gonna be one of his best…I think everybody’s gonna walk away from that movie with some opinion. It’s a battle for our border, you know? People are really serious about what’s going on with the border, and it shows the negative side of both sides. Not just, you know, we want everybody to cross, or we don’t want anybody to cross. It shows the negative side of both sides. Everybody’s gonna be pissed off.”
In the film, Trejo stars as Machete, a Mexican ex-Federale with a gift for wielding a blade, hides out as a day laborer, and is double-crossed by a corrupt state senator.
As for sequel possibilities, Trejo threw out some possible titles he and Rodriguez have discussed.
“We want ‘Machete’, ‘Machete Kills’, and ‘Machete Kills Again’,” said Trejo.
For his part, Rodriguez said he’s currently editing the film, and also writing the score for it. He also confirmed that the ‘Mariachi’ trilogy will be released on Blu-ray next year, and that there will be something new included on the discs.
“There’s something we’re working on,” said Rodriguez. “I can’t say what it is…I know its no fun when you don’t say anything but I just can’t.”
For those that loved the faux-’70s look of ‘Grindhouse’ and its trailers, you can also can look forward to more of the same in the feature version of ‘Machete’. The “print” will indeed utilize the same raw, scratchy “grindhouse” aesthetic. As for those sequels, Rodriguez had his own title to offer after being asked whether they would indeed be calling the next two ‘Kills’ and ‘Kills Again’.
“We always talked about making him a franchise character…they’re fun titles,” he said. “I do like ‘Machete in Space’ though.“
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At the Abigail premiere, Dan Stevens listed Norway among his four favorite vampire movies. “I just saw a great movie recently that I’d never heard of,” he told Letterboxd. “A Greek film called Norway, about a vampire who basically exists in the underground disco scene in ’80s Athens, and he can’t stop dancing ’cause he’s worried his heart will stop. And it’s lovely. It’s great.”
You won’t find a better endorsement than that, but allow me to elaborate. Imagine Only Lovers Left Alive meets What We Do in the Shadows by way of Yorgos Lanthimos. The quirky 2014 effort follows a vampire vagabond (Vangelis Mourikis) navigating Greek’s sordid nightlife circa 1984 as he dances to stay alive. Not as campy as it sounds, its idiosyncrasies land more in the art-house realm. Stylized visuals, colorful bloodshed, pulsating dance music, and an absurd third-act reveal help the existentialism go down in a mere 74 minutes.
With the recent solar eclipse renewing public interest in the astrological event, Bloody Birthday is ripe for rediscovery. Three children born during an eclipse – Curtis Taylor (Billy Jayne, Parker Lewis Can’t Lose), Debbie Brody (Elizabeth Hoy), and Steven Seton (Andrew Freeman) – begin committing murders on their 10th birthday. Brother and sister duo Joyce (Lori Lethin, Return to Horror High) and Timmy Russell (K.C. Martel, The Amityville Horror) are the only ones privy to their heinous acts.
Bloody Birthday opened in 1981 mere weeks before the release of another attempt to claim the birthday slot on the slasher calendar, Happy Birthday to Me. Director Ed Hunt (The Brain) combines creepy kid tropes that date back to The Bad Seed with slasher conventions recently established by Halloween and Friday the 13th – with a little bit of the former’s suspense and plenty of the latter’s gratuity. The unconventional set up helps it to stand out among a subgenre plagued by banality.
Starting in the late ’70s and throughout the ’80s, Italy built an enterprise out of shameless rip-offs of hit American movies. While not a blatant mockbuster like Cruel Jaws or Beyond the Door, 1989’s Alien from the Abyss (also known as Alien from the Deep) was inspired by – as you may have guessed from its title – Alien, Aliens, and The Abyss.
After a pair of Greenpeace activists attempt to expose an evil corporation that’s dumping contaminated waste into an active volcano, the environment takes a backseat to survival when an extraterrestrial monster attacks. Character actor Charles Napier (The Silence of the Lambs) co-stars as a callous colonel overseeing the illicit activities.
Director Antonio Margheriti (Yor: The Hunter from the Future, Cannibal Apocalypse) and writer Tito Carpi (Tentacles, Last Cannibal World) take far too long to get to the alien, but once it shows up, it’s non-stop excitement. The creature is largely represented by a Gigeresque pincer claw that reaches into the frame, giving the picture a ’50s creature feature charm, but nothing can prepare you for its full reveal in the finale.
Set against the backdrop of displaced Syrian and Palestinian refugees, What Is Buried Must Remain is a timely found footage hybrid from Lebanon. It centers on a trio of young filmmakers as they make a documentary in a decrepit mansion alleged to be haunted on the outskirts of a refugee camp. Inside, they find the spirits of those who died there, both benevolent and malicious.
It plays like Blair Witch meets The Shining through a cultural lens not often seen in the genre. The first half is presented as found footage (with above-average cinematography) before abruptly weaving in more traditional film coverage. While the tropes are familiar, the film possesses a unique ethos by addressing the Middle East’s plights of the past and the present alike.
Cathy’s Curse is, to borrow a phrase from its titular creepy kid, an “extra rare piece of shit.” The Exorcist, The Omen, and Carrie spawned countless low-budget knock-offs, but none are as uniquely inept as this 1977 Canuxploitation outing. Falling squarely in the so-bad-it’s-good camp, it’s far more entertaining than The Exorcist: Believer.
To try to make sense of the plot would be futile, but in a nutshell, a young girl named Candy (Randi Allen, in her only acting role) becomes possessed by the vengeful, foul-mouthed spirit of her aunt, destroying the lives of anyone who crosses her path. What ensues is a madcap mélange of possession, telekinesis, teleportation, animal attacks, abandoned plot points, and unhinged filmmaking that must be seen to be believed.
Visit the SCREAMBOX Hidden Gems archives for more recommendations.
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