This movie was the pet project of the now defunct Ironwood Studios, a recording house in Seattle. I chatted with the makers of the film and they told me that there was never any commercial intent in making the film, it was just a fun side project and everybody had a great time making it. I somehow stumbled across a vanity-pressed VHS of it at a record shop, and for an entirely amateur, shot-on-video movie it's actually really polished and watchable. The plot concerns a two sound engineers (employees playing themselves) who go on a camping trip in the mountains to record wildlife sounds in the night. They unwittingly pick up strange noises from an alien life form, and their sensitive data gets the attention of government brass, setting off a chase across the greater Seattle area. Let's keep supporting these amateur productions, they make life better for fans of homegrown films!
Reviews
4 Reviews
Legion of the Night
(1995)
Hilarious and probably written by a 11-year-old
20 August 2011
This is the first film I've seen that sounds exactly like a terrible action zombie movie written by a 10- or 11-year-old boy. The plot is ludicrous with a capital "WHAT", the characters' existence is an insult to cardboard, everybody is acting with a severe case of that enraged sneer disease that was caught by every 90's action cartoon hero, and not only is the dialogue purely functional and ripped-off, the writer decided to add at least one curse word to each sentence, just like a pre-pubescent boy who's seen his first R-rated movie thinks adults talk like. Attempting to create hoardes of zombie super-soldiers on a garage sale budget, this is a must-see just for how hilarious it is. Highly recommended for bad movie fans.
Tramp at the Door
(1985 TV Movie)
Warm and endearing exploration of storytelling, hucksters, and family history
17 August 2011
Tramp at the Door is the story of a stranger (Ed McNamara, perfect in this role) who charlatans his way into a family in 1930's Manitoba by claiming to be a long-unseen cousin of the father (August Schellenberg). He tells a great wealth of stories of the father's relatives which may or may not be phooey, but enrapture the family despite their suspicions he's nothing more than a hobo. The enormous charm and wealth of spirit in the stranger, calling himself Gustav, helps him to practically become a member of the family, and inspires the daughter, future Francophone writer Gabrielle Roy, towards storytelling. Very well acted and beautifully shot, this is one of the best TV-movies I've ever seen, and should be on your watch list of you're a fan of period dramas like Days of Heaven.
Nightflyers
(1987)
Great-looking, seriously fun Sci-Fi thriller that's smarter than it looks
25 April 2011
Just for the record, I haven't read the novella this is based on, though I've heard it's much better than this movie. As a movie alone, it's a very fun sci-fi thriller that looks downright incredible. It's some of the best sci-fi movie set design I've seen, and the movie doesn't waste a centimeter. The story is basically about the implications of telekinesis, and uses the Alien "trapped-onboard-a-spaceship-with-malignant-force" set-up to exploit it (with much "sturm und drang"). The film has very well-drawn characters, like the loose-cannon telekinetic (Michael Des Barres), the wistful, elderly professor (John Standing) whose search for the mythical Volkind (itself a pity case from his colleagues) is the reason for the mission, and especially Royd (Michael Preed), whose unique, reclusive existence on the ship offers the main thrust of the story. Highly recommended for fans of sci-fi and obscure cinema.
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