Tyler MacIntyre is probably best known for the excellent slasher comedy, Tragedy Girls, but his feature debut came two years prior with his take on the Frankenstein tale. Patchwork is very much a low-budget affair, but its indie, genre-loving filmmaker heart beats loudly with a story about three lonely women brought together – quite literally – in death.

Last year marked its ten-year anniversary, and the fine folks at Terror Vision have celebrated it with a special edition 4K UHD/Blu-ray release packed with new special features.

Now keep reading to see what I heard on the commentary for…

Patchwork (2015)

Commentators: Tyler MacIntyre (director, co-writer, editor), Matt Donato (moderator, film journalist, lovable goober)

1. MacIntyre talks about the kinds of films that influenced his own love of horror as both a fan and a filmmaker, and Stuart Gordon’s Re-Animator is obviously and rightfully towards the top of the list. He also refers to other “splatstick” movies like Evil Dead II and Dead Alive.

2. His manager, Allard Cantor, played devil’s advocate with MacIntyre, suggesting that maybe this wasn’t the movie he should make as his feature debut, but the filmmaker was adamant. Cantor immediately got behind him on the project, and his first call was to Gordon to set up a meeting with MacIntyre.

3. The film was shot over twelve days, which was “shorter than it probably should be.”

4. While it’s never actually said on screen, the collective “monster” is called Stitch in the script.

5. Jennifer, arguably the lead as the main body of Stitch, is played by Tory Stolper. She also co-stars in MacIntyre’s short film that Patchwork is based upon.

6. MacIntyre attended the American Film Institute with cinematographer Pawel Pogorzelski, with the latter including Patchwork among his very first features. He went on to shoot movies like Hereditary, Midsommar, and The Woman in the Yard.

7. James Phelps plays Garrett, but the role almost went to Jack Quaid. Similarly, Sharni Vinson almost played Madeleine (Maria Blasucci).

8. McIntyre’s given at least some thought to a sequel, and he suggests it would include a setup about how this film’s owl-cat “had gone on and proliferated.” The result would be a series of animal-focused creations that create all manner of fun mayhem.

9. Stolper watched films with Buster Keaton, Harold Lloyd, and Charlie Chaplin to help with the physicality of her performance. MacIntyre also showed her films as varied as Oliver Stone’s The Hand and Carl Reiner’s All of Me.

10. They talk about having to prioritize and plan days that would involve stunt work, and that includes times when they took some risks and decided that certain scenes shouldn’t fall under that heading. They were budget considerations, and MacIntyre says those choices backfired on occasion, leading to minor issues, including one “stunt” that accidentally brought real glass into a scene. Thankfully, they never found themselves landing in truly dangerous territory with their non-stunt performers.

11. Donato shares a compliment from his friend, a self-described loud, angry feminist, who watched the film and said, “There are few men who can write women, and Tyler is one of them.” Having had the honor of meeting Amelia Emberwing in person, I can confirm that this is a pretty big deal endorsement of MacIntyre’s writing and characters.

12. There are various character traits and themes at play here among the three leads (Stolper, Blasucci, and Tracey Fairaway) that come, in large part, from the filmmakers being in their twenties at the time. From loneliness and the fear of being alone, two different things, to the kinds of predatory concerns that would eventually blossom into the “Me Too” movement, the film is very much the product of young people trying to find their way in Los Angeles.

13. MacIntyre’s second-favorite John Carpenter movie is Memoirs of an Invisible Man. Reader, trust me when I say that I was tempted to stop listening to the commentary right there. “I get a lot of shit,” he adds, and it’s entirely possible I may have muttered “clearly not enough” to an otherwise empty room.

14. The frat house rampage plays to a song by Generationals called “Ten-Twenty-Ten.” The band wouldn’t sign off on its use here until they saw the scene itself, and obviously, they were pleased with the results.

15. “It’s probably the weirdest thing we’ve done in our apartment,” says MacIntyre after the film’s rambunctious sex scene. Garrett’s apartment is actually MacIntyre’s own apartment in Koreatown, and this was the one scene that his neighbors complained about hearing.

16. Garrett is wearing a brown t-shirt at 1:00:24 with an 8-bit sprite image on it that’s actually the lead character from Dead Alive. It was made for the film, but MacIntyre really could have earned back some of the goodwill he lost after that Memoirs of an Invisible Man debacle by producing this shirt for sale. Missed opportunity there.

17. It takes until 1:10:32 for someone to mention Frank Henenlotter’s brilliantly weird Frankenhooker, and it comes when MacIntyre admits that he hadn’t seen that film yet when Patchwork went into production. He and co-writer Chris Lee Hill actually took a day in the middle of filming and made a point of closing that gap, and they were pleasantly surprised to see some similar elements to what they had found on their own.

18. The film ends with the reveal that the recently deceased Garrett has been Frankensteined back to life, and MacIntyre suggests that a follow-up would also have explored that the two bumbling lab techs (Eric Edelstein, Craig Anstett) are now part of him. Between that and the promised return of owl-cat, the commentary really leaves you wanting that sequel to happen.

Quotes Without Context

“I’m always amused by how dead Tracey managed to look in this scene.”

“We do not have the time to shoot any of these scenes right.”

“I’ve been, over the years, saddled with people I did not want to cast.”

“There’s a certain type of post-art school douchebag that this is channeling.”

“There’s a lot of amateur wig experts out there.”

“I cut myself out of the movie. That’s the first lesson of doing a director’s cameo.”

“Dating in L.A. is hard.”

Keep up with more horror commentary breakdowns here.

The post 18 Things We Learned from the ‘Patchwork’ Commentary appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

After a lacklustre birthday bash at a bar, Jennifer (Tory Stolper) is attacked in her home. When she awakens, Jennifer discovers that she has been patched together with the bodies of two other women: party girl Ellie (Tracey Fairaway) and shy girl Madeleine (Maria Blasucci). The three women share the same consciousness, as well as the same desire for revenge. Retracing their steps, the women go on a rampage of revenge to find the scientist responsible for their predicament.

It’s obvious from the synopsis that this is one kooky film. From the get-go, despite Stolper being in the driver’s seat for the actual “body” (with some great makeup effects by Kourtney Kuroki to complete the look), we’re treated to all three women doing a well-executed inner dialogue. Blasucci, Fairway and Stolper do a great job of building on the initial setups of their characters and give them the needed development, as each share their own flaws (Jennifer is self-centred to the point of turning people off, Ellie parties and gets loaded with whomever will by her a drink, and Madeline’s anxiety stops her from meeting new people). The film also brandishes some great comedy. Once in a while, the shot shifts to a person’s perspective within the film, and we see firsthand the creature talking to itself, arguing or answering it’s own questions. There’s some great physical acting and comedy by Stolper, akin to Bruce Campbell’s fight with his hand in Evil Dead 2 (though nowhere near as slapstick). In a somewhat disorienting move, certain shots will shift to a shot of all three women being in the same scene, interacting with each other. It takes a while to get used to, but it just adds another unique perspective to the “three people in the same body” mechanic.

The film’s plot is revealed in eight chapters, which shift between the present amalgamated creature’s journey, and flashing back to the individual women for their backstories. Admittedly, these moments are a bit abrupt and threaten to interrupt the flow of the story, but it’s not that big of a deal. Again, the actors do a great job of drawing you in and developing their characters. Credit to MacIntyre and Lee Hill’s script, which also puts in a tragic element that is along similar lines of what Frankenstein’s Monster experiences in longing for a companion (I know it’s a stretch). Early on in the film, the ladies hold onto hope that their predicament can be reversed, and that they can all go back to their former lives. However, it becomes apparent that it won’t be the case. Instead, we go on the revenge tweak that continues the ridiculousness, which is far more enjoyable.

The film doesn’t have much in terms of missteps. Other than the previously-mentioned story interruptions, the film could’ve been more gorier in the revenge aspect than what we got in the final film. Granted, there are some brutal moments, but perhaps I’m expecting more slapstick again. Also, there’s one effect regarding an amalgamated cat that while appropriately cheesy, definitely sticks out as being pretty bad compared to the excellent makeup. A nod to Re-Animator‘s cat, perhaps?

Patchwork was definitely a treat. The acting by the three ladies is superb, as was the overall story. The humour hit home more often than not, and the makeup effects were excellent. While the sadist in me wishes that it was a little gorier, there’s still plenty of brutality here being doled out by the creature. Tyler MacIntyre has taken the Frankenstein tale and tweaked it, giving us something new and fun. Definitely check it out.

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