Greetings, all. Ambush Bug here with a special AICN HORROR: ZOMBIES & SHARKS column. I had a chance to catch up with director Fred M. Andrews and talk to him about his film CREATURE, which will be released on DVD/BluRay today! Below the interview, I’ll review the film, but first, here’s what Mr. Andrews had to say…

AMBUSH BUG (BUG): Hi, Fred. How are you doing today?
FA: Super.
BUG: Thank you for taking the time to talk with me today. I actually saw CREATURE last night. I saw it for the first time last night. It was a really cool film. It’s really funny, I just kind of wanted to…just to start out, how would you describe it to people who haven’t heard of the film or don’t know much about the film yet?
FA: You know, I think one of the ways that I would describe the film is it’s a typical horror movie setup, certainly a typical slasher movie a la WRONG TURN. It’s a WRONG TURN kind of film and hopefully, though, the thing is that once you get into the film, as it leads you down what seems like a familiar road, it becomes less familiar with the twists and the turns that it ends up taking along the storyline. So that’s what I would say. It’s kind of a unique horror film.

FA: Yes. Well, originally it was, and I’ll give you the brief version. There was an original script called LOCK JAW. The project was titled LOCK JAW to begin with by Trace Morris. Trace Morris and I have been friends and writing partners and we had, I believe back in 2002 or the early 2000’s, so I could be a year off, but we kind of tweaked this script that he had that was like a serial killer with alligator teeth into an actual monster in the swamps of Florida, originally. We were trying to get that film off the ground and we weren’t able to, but the storyline is the more I thought about the monster it kind of stuck with me. So I started doing a bunch of back story about how the monster came about, and being a visual person and an artistic person I started writing it and drawing what at the time was going to be the graphic novel, or a six issue limited series for that. Then that’s how I met my producer Paul Mason. I was talking to him about producing the graphic novel and he saw it would end up being a better script. So the original story had gone through kind of a transformation during a five year period or so, becoming more and more about the monster and more and more about the town. So we wrote the film script and Sid Sheinberg liked it and responded to it and gave us the go ahead. That’s kind of the evolution of the story there.
BUG: Very cool. One of the things that I really liked about the film was the fact that it has pretty much all practical effects. Is that correct?

BUG: Did you use any CGI?
FA: No. Actually I take that back, there is a shot in the film where they look out of the tunnel in the creature’s cave and they are looking up and you see lightning. That’s really the only CG that we did. We didn’t really have a budget for CG at all, plus I think if you can do it well, fantastic, but we weren’t financially going to be able to do it well.
BUG: I’ve seen so many…I do the horror column on Ain’t It Cool News and I see a lot of really bad CGI and I’m kind of thankful to see films that still will rely on practical effects, because when it’s bad CGI it’s so obvious and it really does take you out of the movie.
FA: I also think it goes back to my personal affinity to the Ray Harryhausen films…I’ll go back as new as CLASH OF TITANS. It’s like he created characters, so even though they are flawed, to me there’s a certain amount of nostalgic charm to having something that you actually built like having a guy in a creature suit. It’s one of those things like with the newer GODZILLA films or the new GAMERA films… When you try to go 100% CG I think it loses some of the personality in the creature, but when you put a guy in a suit and do things practically I think it just has a certain quality to it that a lot of people appreciate, certainly from my generation.

FA: I think it’s relied upon a little bit too much and not that it can’t be really great when it’s done well, because it can and I think that also too like a movie like BLADE 2 does seem a little dated now, but I think BLADE 2 was the first time that I had seen a film where the integration of practical makeup and CG worked really well. It wasn’t too far with everything being CG, so I thought definitely when you’re making a little monster film that for sure building stuff would be a better way to go, and again, certainly a lot more memorable and your actors can respond to it a little bit better.
BUG: Just in the name of the film and the fact that you have a man in a monster suit, it does bring back thoughts about like CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON and things like that. What other films inspired you in making this film?

BUG: It’s all in the editing and everything like that, it seems.
FA: Yeah, editing is very important.
BUG: Definitely. Well I did want to talk about the cast, because you’ve got a lot of really impressive…as I was watching it yesterday I was like “Hey, I know that person and I know that person.” I saw Amanda Fuller in there, and Eggs from TRUE BLOOD.

BUG: Sure. Specifically Sid Haig--I was really impressed. It seemed like a film that was made to have a character actor like Sid Haig in there. What’s it like working with him? He seems like a madman.

BUG: Yeah. I can’t talk to you without having a conversation about the theatrical run and everything. Looking back on that, what are your feelings about that? I just read a story about JOHN CARTER just the other day about how it’s this huge failure just because it didn’t make money on its opening weekend and everything and I feel that people are just really itching and rooting for films to fail.

BUG: There are so few horror films out there that are original and that are in the theaters that I try to support them as much as possible and go out and see them. It seems like there’s such a bigger market these days on just rentals and video on demand and things like that for horror. It seems like that’s where horror is moving. How do you feel about that?

BUG: Yeah. I definitely see it as a really fun throwback kind of film. You don’t see those types of films that much anymore and I appreciate you making the film and also it seems like you’ve kind of taken quite a beating here the last couple of months and it’s good to see you still pushing the film and still working for it.

BUG: What’s next for you? What are you working on now?
FA: Well let’s see. Horror film-wise, I won’t do another horror film until the fall. We are scheduled to start casting around late August or the beginning of September on a film called BLAST with Stone and right now the producer of that film is still waiting on whether we are going to shoot in the United States or whether we are going to go to Bulgaria. There’s been talk about that. That’s kind of a fun popcorn film with zombies and super soldiers and, you know, government conspiracies and stuff. It’s a lot of fun. Yeah, but that one would be in the fall. Currently right now what I’m working on is I have an animated series that’s in the pilot stage right now, but it’s more of a dark comedy. There will be horrific elements in it, but it’s primarily a comedy kind of thing and hopefully I’ll be talking about that a lot more here in the near future. (laughs)

FA: Well, you know what? The thing is, regarding my own comic work, as far as LOCK JAW is concerned, that would be up to the producers, because they own the license. So whether they would want to go forward with a comic version or not…which I would love it if they did, but I will continue with other things and other projects in that direction as well.
BUG: I appreciate you taking the time out and good luck to you in all of your projects.
FA: Hey, thank you so much man. It was nice talking to you.
BUG: You too. Take care. Thanks.
And now, here’s my review of CREATURE; released on DVD/BluRay today!

CREATURE (2011)
Directed by Fred M. AndrewsWritten by Fred M. Andrews & Tracy Morse
Starring Sid Haig, Mehcad Brooks, Serinda Swan, Amanda Fuller, Daniel Bernhardt, Aaron Hill, Pruitt Taylor Vince, David Jensen & Wayne Pere
Find out more about this film here!
Retro-reviewed by Ambush Bug
I really don’t get the ire placed on CREATURE. No, the film is not Oscar caliber, but the scrutiny placed upon this film when it was first released in theaters last fall with blogs and critics touting it as the biggest box office failure in cinematic history seem a bit off base to me. Having seen my share of stinkers since starting up this AICN HORROR column, CREATURE doesn’t even compete in the Worst of the Worst category. Sure, director Fred M. Andrews may have brought a lot of that scrutiny on himself by speaking back at the critics for panning his movie, but still after seeing the film, the unbelievable hate for the film because of mismanaged marketing which touted it as theater-worthy seems unnecessary. CREATURE may not be in the same category a big budget blockbusters, but shouldn’t fans of horror rejoice when a little film like CREATURE is given a chance to go for a stint in theaters?

CREATURE is your typical bog monster film in the same vein as BOGGY CREEK, SWAMP THING, and countless other Bigfoot/wilderness monster films. You have your group of kids aka soon to be deads, your hillbilly locals warning the kids to watch out, and finally your monster, which is a man in a suit. For some reason, practical effects seem to equal low budget these days. It appears reacting to a green screen is much more interesting to the general populace than a monster with weight and presence. Though the suit isn’t the most frightening, Andrews does a great job of only showing portions of it, and that’s where the real skill lies with practical effects; the director has to be able to sell the monster. For the most part, because of close ups and quick cuts, you don’t see any zippers or seams in the monster. He is a large slimy, toothy, spikey mess reminiscent of a cross between the Creature of the Black Lagoon, Geiger’s Alien, and the UK low budget horror film SPLIT SECOND from the 80’s. Though the facial articulation is a bit stiff and mask like, the body makeup is actually pretty great.
Andrews relies on horrors both gory and psychological with themes of incest, rape, and torture peppered through the entire film causing more than one uneasy feeling (the scene where the sister jerks off her brother while watching another couple have sex is just wrong). That said, it does add an element of horror that is unflinching and definitely leaves its mark. Moreso than the gore effects, which are a plenty, but less ooky than the sexual nature of the film.

In the end, CREATURE is not a perfect film, but definitely not as bad as people would have you believe. If you go into the film buying into the hype of its awfulness, you’re going to be pleasantly surprised like I was, but going in and expecting ALIENS will surely lead to disappointment. I found CREATURE to be a fun throwback to the man in suit monster days with enough low budget charm and a cast that makes the story all the better.





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