Merrick here...
Here's something to tide over all the Albert Pyun followers patiently awaiting TALES OF AN ANCIENT EMPIRE. His movie BULLETFACE is now available via a special AICN-dedicated page HERE. As a special "thank you" to Talkbackers, Albert wanted to extend a special 50% off coupon code - "aicbullet50" - which can be used at check-out.
BULLETFACE's logline reads thusly:
A dirty DEA agent is sprung from prison and given a 60 hour furlough to avenge the murder of her brother by bringing down drug lords who are peddling a DNA altering drug derived from human spinal fluid. The bodies and addicts are pilling up along the US / Mexico border.
Here are a few words from Albert regarding about what drew him towards the project, and what he set out to accomplish with the film.
Why did I want to make Bulletface? Well, when I first read Randall Fontana's script I was drawn to the way he created a kind of throwback to the B movie noir crime thrillers of the 1940's and 50's. As Eddie Muller defines in his “Film Noir” primer:
“...its the flipside of the American Success story. It's about people who realize that following the program will never get them what they crave. So they cross the line, commit a crime and reap the consequences...they depict a world that's merciless and unforgiving.”
“Noir is about the dark, swampy dark place in the soul where crime ferments.”
That description is very much Bulletface and it is what drew me to the material initially. I really wanted it to be, stylistically, like a contemporary version of those great B crime thrillers from the poverty gulch studios of the time like Monogram. They were shot fast (Bulletface was shot in 5 days), shot on the cheap (Bulletface cost just a bit less than $100,000) and shot with a lot of creative desperation which mirrors the plights of the Bulletface characters.
The great appeal of these films was that they had characters that were generally unredeemable and very bad. It was shades of black not gray. These were hard eyed, sensationalistic films. Precurors to the exploitation movies of the 1960's and 70's.
So I wanted a lurid tone. A movie a little scruffy and ragged with sharp edges. A movie that would follow one person's 2 year descent into Hell.
I was also looking for something to star Victoria Maurette, the young Argentine star of my gothic horror western, “Left For Dead”. I wanted to bring her tough, sullen quality into a more contemporary setting. She got one of the more remarkable faces I've ever had before my camera. It's exotic, petulant and beautiful in a rough and street-wise way. Clearly not a Hollywood starlet type.
Bulletface was originally written with a male lead. A traditional silently coiled man. I thought casting Victoria in the part would open up its possibilities. I kept the romantic and sexual connections the same. So her relationships we're with women but clearly she was bi-sexual. Victoria brought a sexy earthiness into the role that made you understand her character's preference for female companionship.
With that in mind, here's a trailer:
Bulletface Trailer - HD 1280p version - Unrated from Albert Pyun on Vimeo.
For a sense of what you'll find on saide BULLETFACE DVD, here's a look at the discs' packaging (font/back):
This AICN-friendly offer expires March 5 - which is about a week away - so act quickly if you're interested.
Check out http://www.albertpyunmovies.com/ for more info on BULLETFACE, as well as past and future Pyun projects.
--- Follow Merrick on Twitter! ---
Bulletface Trailer - HD 1280p version - Unrated from Albert Pyun on Vimeo.
