05/08/2008

Get ready for a SASQUATCH ASSAULT!

Screenwriter John Doolan dropped us a line with details on SASQUATCH ASSAULT, a Bigfoot movie with a difference that he’s currently scripting for Connecticut-based Synthetic Cinema. Doolan, who also co-wrote Synthetic’s recently filmed BANSHEE!!! (see most recent item here), tells Fango, “Andrew [Gernhard], the producer, is always throwing out absolutely insane ideas for creature features, all of which would make for total bad-ass movies. When the filming of BANSHEE!!! was nearing completion, I got a text from him simply saying. ‘ASSAULT ON PRECINCT 13 with a Sasquatch.’ Of course, being an avid watcher of every phenomenally terrible Sasquatch movie on the Sci Fi channel and a lover of early John Carpenter, I replied with, ‘Brilliant!’

“The concept sounds insanely over-the-top,” he admits, “but I saw an opportunity to do something different in a Bigfoot movie. They’re all pretty much the same thing: A group of people head out into the woods and get attacked by a half-human monster. What sets SASQUATCH ASSAULT apart is that, first of all, it takes place in a city. And second, the creature isn’t just some bloodthirsty killing machine. We wanted it to have more humanlike qualities in addition to its animal instincts. The reason it attacks is because it’s provoked, and feels the need to defend itself. Not to fear, though, blood lovers—there are still plenty of creative deaths planned.”

As opposed to BANSHEE!!!, in which the monster is entirely a digital creation, Doolan says that the titular beast of his film will be a performer in a special FX costume.

“Dan Anderson, who did the original designs for the Banshee creature, is currently working on the Sasquatch, and I have no doubt that he’ll come up a great look for it,” the writer says. “Currently, I’m pretty far along in the script, and it’s coming together pretty well. In BANSHEE!!!, we introduce about 19 characters within the first half hour; the movie is exceedingly fast-paced. There are far fewer people in this one, so I’ve been able to establish them. They each have their own backstory, and—I hope—they all come off with more character development than one might expect in a film of this genre. Make no mistake, there is not a dull moment, and from the second the Sasquatch begins its assault, the action will not let up. This movie has everything: A Bigfoot, a hooker, bad-ass villains, a switchblade-wielding hot chick, over-the-top deaths and much more. We’ve already started casting and preproduction, with filming to commence later this summer.”

BANSHEE!!!, meanwhile, is coming to the end of its postproduction period, as director Colin Theys completes the last of the CGI FX. “They really bring the movie up to a level not seen in this budget range,” Doolan promises. “People are going to be extremely impressed, and I can promise that the gorehounds will definitely not be dissapointed. I’m very proud of how it came out, and can’t wait for people to see it.” We’ll keep you informed of further SASQUATCH ASSAULT developments. —Michael Gingold (Fangoria Magazine)