In advance of the world premiere of his new slasher flick "Savage County" on MTV2 this Thursday, October 7, at 11 p.m. (10 p.m. Central), director David Harris guest-blogs to share some thoughts on making the film. Come back Wednesday and Thursday for additional posts by Harris.
Hey, it's David, the director of "Savage County," hoping you'll check out my movie's world premiere on MTV2 this Thursday. MTV News has been cool enough to give me this soapbox to tell you about "Savage County." And, even though I should probably be plugging the trailer, I want to take this opportunity to tell you about some of the cooler "stealth" things we've been up to.
Low-budget movie marketing has always been about showmanship (my boss, David Gale, planted Napoleon in the audience of TRL when he was releasing "Napoleon Dynamite"). But no genre beats horror when it comes to gonzo marketing -- just look at the "Paranormal Activity" trailers -- or '50s horror director William Castle, who took out life insurance policies on his audience (in case they died from fright) and put joy-buzzers under every seat in the theater to literally shock his audience.
So, we were standing on the shoulders of giants when we commission artist Vincent Castiglia to create an original "Savage County" poster in his own blood. Vincent has had his work featured in galleries across the globe, including the H.R. Giger museum, so he's the real deal as an artist ... but there's nothing more metal than having a poster for your horror movie in ACTUAL blood, never mind how badass the image is.
The next thing is much less metal, but fulfills a life long dream I've had of making a comic book. We did two FREE 22-page comic books, featuring the bad guys from "Savage" and tying into the main storyline. The first one's up now on Comic Book Resources. The second one launches this week on MTV's new Geek site. Both will be part of the iPhone apps we built (also FREE). Packed with head-crushings and decapitations (like the one at the very top of this post), nothing says October like free horror comics.
And, last, but not least is our online game. Right now, you can get the first glimpses into the world of "Savage County" by catching up on the local newspaper, following the characters' Facebook and twitter accounts, and helping find a missing girl before it's too late.
So, with a nod to all the great showmen who came before -- it's all our way to say "thanks for visiting 'Savage County.'"
Will you tune in for the savagery of "Savage County"?
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