New Cinema Wallpaper of the Day
Saturday, September 13, 2008
Deadgirl has been getting a lot of buzz lately after its TIFF ‘08 Midnight Madness world premiere. It strikes Austin at Fantastic Fest 2008 in the coming days and should be interesting to see how the crowds react. The coverage below should give you a good overview for this controversial conversation starter indie horror film.
Upcoming Film Festival Appearances:
::: Fantastic Fest
::: Sitges Film Festival
::: Leeds International Film Festival
Related Coverage:
::: TIFF ‘08 Midnight Madness Listing
::: Dread Central Review
::: They Shoot Actors Don’t They Review
::: indieWIRE Capsule Review
::: Moviemartyr Review
::: Todd Brown Review
::: Little White Lies Review
::: John Allison Row Three Review
::: Bloody Disgusting Review
::: El Giante Review – AICN
::: Crunchy Squirrel Goes to Toronto Capsule Review
::: Peter Sciretta Capsule Review
::: SpaceBlog Capsule Review
::: mathew5000 Capsule Review
::: Deadgirl Intro & Q&A – TIFF ‘08 Midnight Madness Blog
::: World Premiere Video – TIFF ‘08 Midnight Madness Blog
::: Deadgirl-Related PSA – TIFF ‘08 Midnight Madness Blog
::: Interview with Trent Haaga – TIFF ‘08 Midnight Madness Blog
::: Conversation From The Line Reaction to Deadgirl – TIFF ‘08 Midnight Madness Blog
::: Deadgirl – Urban Exploration – TIFF ‘08 Midnight Madness Blog
::: Deadgirl: Extreme Objectification – TIFF ‘08 Midnight Madness Blog
::: INTERVIEW: Deadgirl (TIFF 08): Directors Marcel Sarmiento & Gadi Harel – Bloody Disgusting
::: INTERVIEW: EXCL: Deadgirl’s Marcel Sarmiento & Gadi Harel – ShockTillYouDrop.com
::: Mayhem reigns in Toronto’s “Midnight Madness” films
DIRECTORS’ STATEMENT
By Marcel Sarmiento and Gadi HarelOur involvement in Deadgirl originated with our interest in making a film that explored the pain of being young and the confusion of growing up, but in a way that felt altogether new. We were also intrigued by the challenge of taking a traditional genre film, and turning it on its head. What excited us about Trent Haaga’s script was the way it told a story that felt familiar at first, but then took a dramatic and terrifying turn into a direction no one could possibly anticipate.
It touched upon typical teen fears – intimacy, abandonment, uncertainty – and spun from realism to the surreal, and then back again. We felt the very nature of the script embodied what it was like to be a teenager – uncompromising and rebellious, while at the same time maintaining an earnestness, even in the most desperate of circumstances. That emotion, as well as some pretty dark humor, was important to keep us connected to the characters, even when their actions turned horrifying or uncomfortable.
When we first meet Rickie and JT, they appear to be characters we all recognize: troubled teens at a precipice in their lives. We think we know what is about to happen to them, and we think we understand where their lives are about to take them. It could be the start of any teenage horror flick—except we wanted to test our characters by making them face a surprising villain—themselves. Instead of killing a monster or outrunning some psycho to live another day, Rickie and JT are forced to battle and confront their most animalistic instincts to survive.
We were very lucky to have the opportunity to cast Shiloh Fernandez and Noah Segan, who understood that Rickie and JT needed to be more than stock characters. In order for a challenging story like this work, they would need to make them into flesh-and-blood human beings. Both imbued their characters with real emotions, insecurities, tenderness, fears and hope. Deadgirl becomes disturbing beyond its basic premise because the audience is invested in these two young men as real people.
The idea of addressing how people fight their urges and find ways to justify the unspeakable acts that they are capable of, is not only fascinating but continuously relevant. There’s a point in life when many see for themselves a disappointing future that differs greatly from the one they always expected. It can be a painful moment –what we see as the “horror of growing up“– and as filmmakers, we were excited to explore the theme through such an uncompromising, unique, and hopefully unforgettable story.
