Bobby Gammonster's Monster Movie Nights

Let us know what you think of the intros, the movie links and the show in general.  Don't forget to visit http://www.themonstermuseum.com/ for more.

Alien Vengeance: The Other Me

Again, this is a blog about the movie, but also a place to discuss it, review it and ask me questions.

We had some serious limitations on this movie.  For one thing: Time.

I was shooting while in L.A., working on other things as well and only able to get Michelle Tomlinson, Adam Hebb and Adam Dunnells together for one day.  Thankfully, my make up person and general production assistant on the shoot, Maryanne Schultz, cleared the day and was basically my entire crew.  She did everything I didn't, with the exception of coordinating the location, which brings me to limitation number two.

Our location: The script originally called for an interrogation room.  I had a great design in my head for what I'd build in the garage for about $200 and with some leftover paint and nails.  Since we shot in L.A. and not Apopka, FL, building in my garage was out of the question.  My friends in California don't have three car garages (city dwellers!) so we tried to rent a space.  Our best price was $2500 for the day.  That would have been fine I guess, since we only had the one day.  Trouble was, $2500 was about what I had planned on spending on the whole trip, not this one short film.  So, we shot in an apt provided by Michelle, who also took care of making sure my lights were on set when they needed to be.  Of course, this meant rewriting the script a bit, but I wanted to keep as much as possible the same, so the two way mirror became cameras and the cop and ADA watching her became two agents of Col. Onyx, a key figure in the features who has yet to see her potential.  Overall I wasn't too unhappy with the rewrite and the Adams came through for me.  The played off the "giant bookends" I wanted them to seem like very well.  Two agents with the same training.  One who was clearly more compassionate than the other.

Can you guess what our third limitation was?  Yep.  Budget!  We didn't have one.  The whole movie cost less than that location rental for one day would have been, but that's because it was all up to the actors.  So, I did what I always do.  I found the most talented lead I could and made her run with it.

The locations posed some problems with size and exterior noises that needed to be worked around, but overall I'm very happy with the end result.  Even my stop motion tentacled creation.

Comment below.  Be mostly nice  ;)

If you didn't see the movie already, follow the link to the Free HFP Cinema: http://www.hocfocprod.com/free_cinema

Alien Vengeance: Roadside, a blog and place for discussion

I admit it, this one is a bit short on story, but I knew when I wrote it that we'd only have a few hours to shoot it.  The alien's background isn't really that important to develop because this is just a link in the chain of events between movie one and movie two.  Folks who want to get to know the alien better should check those feature films out.  (Check http://www.hocfocprod.com/free_cinema for "Alien Vengeance" and "Alien Vengeance II: Rogue Element")

As simple as I tried to keep this movie it took a lot of folks to make it happen.  The crew and family that let us use their home in NY as our base of operations, Kimberly Amato, the lead actress who came out to work with us upstate and provided her own SUV.  Martijn Berndesen, who plays the hitchhiker and our special F/X make-up artist Margie Nugent who did the creature from scratch and the wounds all with face painting techniques.  It was a new method for me and I like they way it played out.

We shot on a $300 refurbished camera and used mostly natural light or clamp lights from a hardware store.  Mainly because I was in NY visiting family and this was work I sort of fit into the trip.  So, I had the lights and equipment that we had room for in the car and could travel with a bit.

You may have seen a large portion of this in the opening of "AV II: Rogue Element".  That was honestly decided on AFTER we had shot it and I thought that movie could use a stronger opening to hold people over until the action picked up about 15 or 20 minutes into the film.  It originally opened with just dialogue and that wasn't working for me.

I cut some footage out to leave the short as its own movie and it will be re-fleshed for 2012 to be part of the "Alien Vengeance: Hunt for the Alien" web series.  The web series will chronicle the Deputy's hunt for the alien that carries him from movie 1 to movie 2 and then pick  up again between movie 2 and movie 3 (still in preproduction).

Please, use the comments below to discuss the movie.  And thanks for watching.
Go back to the cinema here: http://www.hocfocprod.com/free_cinema

Review Joel D. Wynkoop's " The Other Side" here!

Use the comments section below to review and discuss "The Other Side".  Please be specific when referring to episodes.

Go back to the theater for more fun!

Review "The Lunar Pack"

Review "The Lunar Pack" in the comments below.

Also, do you think we should seperate the shorts and host them in Shorts Central for quicker, seperate viewing?

Robinson Crusoe reviews

Review George Anton's Robinson Crusoe in the comments below.

Visit George Anton's YouTube channel here: http://www.youtube.com/user/antonpictures

Dracula Reviews

Post your reviews of George Anton's Dracula in the comments below.

Discuss the movie.  No spoilers.

Review the Shorts

Since the shorts don't have trailers to go with them, and presumably the reviews have less ground to cover I figured we can put all of them in the comment section of this area for now.

Please put the title of the short you're reviewing in your comment and remember, don't give too much away.

Return to Shorts Central

Reviews of "Alien Vengeance II: Rogue Element"

In the comment section below please post your reviews of  "AV II: Rogue Element" so that others can make an informed decision whether or not to watch it at the free online cinema.

Return to the sci-fi theatre

Reviews of "Alien Vengeance" the first feature

In the comments section below please post  your reviews of "Alien Vengeance" so others may decide whether to watch it online for free.

 

Check the first blog for guidelines.

 

Return to the sci-fi cinema

Indiscretions starring Rachael Robbins Reviews

Use the comments section below to review "Indiscretions".

Please refer to the first blog posting for guidlines on reviews.

Return to the Cinema

Savaged starring Debbie Rochon & Killer Dog

In the comments section below please post  your reviews of "Savaged" so others may decide whether to watch it online for free.

Return to HFP's Free Cinema online Lobby

Free Cinema Reviews, the basics.

So, this is where you'll be able to post reviews to the movies you see on Hocus Focus Productions' free online cinema.  Links to the appropriate pages will be under each film and you'll find links back to the Free Cinema here.

I'll also be posting reviews of indie movies  you can find in other places, like streaming on YouTube, Netflix (when I have it) or Amazon Prime.  Lots of indie stuff on Amazon right now.  I may include some Roku channels as well.  To follow this blog and see other posts about independent filmmaking like our page on Facebook, "Indie Streams" or join the Indie Streams Group.  Or both.

A trailer for the movies will also be on each review page, so feel free to browse the blog for available movies as the selection grows.

Use the comments section of each movie's page to post your review.  Some reviews may be rejected for harsh language, spoilers or if they are rants and not reviews.

If you do post a spoiler, please specify so at the top of your post.

Enjoy the films.

Visit Hocus Focus Productions Free Online Movie Theater

The online theatre needs an update.  If you have a movie streaming for FREE on YouTube, Vimeo or in some other way that we can embed it, let us know and we'll add it if you'd like.  Comment below or contact Jason through the Facebook page listed above.