Friday, March 20, 2009

Popcorn Friday

Two movies that Meredith worked on years ago doing special FX makeup that we thought for sure would never see the light of day...have finally come to light.

First up is Hallettsville, an almost typical boy haunted by his ancestor's secrets kind of film. Grandmother dies leaving the family lake front property to who doesn't want it because it brings back bad memories. The son decides that the best thing to do with a freaky old house on haunted property is to pack up all his co-eds and run out for a night of drinking and debauchery.
The scariest thing in this was Gary Busey, who wasn't even in a scary role...he's just scary 'cause he's Gary Busey. This was Meredith's first exposure to Gary but would not be her last.
Anyway, rent it if you can find it. It was shot in Austin and Johnson City and crewed by a lot of locals (including Meredith). If you really want to have fun, see if you can get drunker than Gary by the time the credits role.


Next up, the film that almost gave Meredith an ulcer, Exit Speed. Story of an eclectic group travelers on Christmas Eve trying to minimize their carbon footprint and take the bus to BFE, Texas, when their travel is interrupted by a murderous crystaled-out gang of stunt motorcycle riders (they're rampant these days). Deciding that the bus is not running on eco-friendly natural gas and they harass the bus for kicks, fun, women, money and showmanship. Fighting back with cosplay, Mexican ingenuity, and kick ass soccer moms a war ensues.
Meredith did the makeup special effects (and there are a lot of effects). She tackled a lot of last minute director "what if we..." effects.
In any event, she learned a lot on this film:
  • She learned that shooting a film in the Texas rainy season is a bad idea.
  • Discovered that they manufacturer bug zappers in tennis racket form.
  • She experienced first hand how to tell if a lawyer is lying...they opened their mouth.
She did meet a lot of fine people and learn some cool tricks to boot. Not sure if she would do it again, but I doubt she regretted doing it at all.
Overall, not a bad film. If you can find it in the bargain bin at the Super Wal*Mart pick it up. She did a great job on a pretty makeup effects laden film...worth a watch just to go "ewwwww...."

To wet your appetite here's a trailer:

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