I bought this film sending a message to the authors, on "Dead at the Box Office" Myspace page. It's been an interesting experience to watch a film, knowing then I'd communicate my impressions to... Dr. Eisner in person! Well, despite some flaws on the "thrilling" side, I guess you should appreciate this movie for what it is: a low-budget, willingly camp, horror comedy! As a child of its time, it shows conscious approach to a genre that, if not dead, sure has changed much! Since Mr. Ryan A. Markle's answer to my letter contains hints about the film nobody else could give (not a watcher, at least), I'd like to copy & paste portions (the whole thing would exceed the number of words allowed in this comment) of our exchange of letters (Since Ryan himself divided my e-mail in parts he separately answered to in his letter, I'll just add our names to this sort of unintentional mutual interview we had!)
Dario: First of all, let me say it was really a nice surprise to find English subtitles in the DVD's menu! I'm quite used to watch films in English but... having matching subtitles too! I didn't miss a word and learned some new ones too!
Ryan: We're actually fans of English subtitles ourselves, even though English is our native language. Sometimes it's hard to understand what's being said in any movie, and having the subtitles makes sure that the viewer can catch everything the writer wanted to get across in the story. So we put them on there because, if we were watching it for the first time, WE would want them to be there.
Dario: The plot was good! My favourite characters were Eric, Curtis and Yours! The bite scene (a due homage to good ol' Dawn of the Dead!) let me know I was going to enjoy fantastic splatter & gore SFX! I'm not saying I'd expected some fu**in' computer graphic or other latest Hollywood's crap, but, you know, you may never know what to expect from indie films and low budget cinema in general... You seem to know the old formula, though!
Ryan: That was the goal! We love the movies that made horror great, especially the ones that were made with almost no money but were rich in creativity. And of course none of them use CGI! As filmmakers, we believe that CG should only be used to enhance practical effects -- not to replace them altogether.
Dario: Some of the siege and chasing scenes reminded of some Italian horrors I adore like Lamberto Bava's "Demoni" (Demons) or Andrea Bianchi's "Le Notti del Terrore" (Burial Ground). In its (deliberate, I know) campiness it kinda reminded me of Timothy O' Rawe's "Ghoul School" too...
Ryan: High praise, all the way around! You definitely know your horror history -- exactly the kind of person we made the movie for! :)
Dario: I absolutely loved the laughing reaction of the stereotyped audience, when the nazi logo shows on screen. Lloyd Kaufman's presence was already in the air when he showed up and the Rocky Horror Show-like pseudo-happy ending, finally released the Hollywood's parody that was around the bend (that made me think of early John Waters' films, somehow).
Ryan: We've definitely been influenced by Lloyd Kaufman and Troma (not to mention 'Rocky Horror'), but I never really thought about how much the campy shock twists in 'Pink Flamingos' -- a movie several of us watched over and over when we were teenagers -- have contributed to our style. You probably have something there!
Dario: I'd liked to see more of "Harry's Daughter" though... I found priceless the final scene (unexpected after ALL the end titles!).. will you make a sequel?!
Ryan: We had discussed it, but after finishing 'Dead at the Box Office', we all pretty much went our separate ways. We made the movie near Chicago, but after it was finished, the actor who played Eric (who also co-wrote the script with me) and the director both moved to New York, while I moved to Los Angeles. If the movie is a hit, maybe we can get the financing to get back together for a sequel ... but since we're living 3000 miles apart, it won't be easy!
Dario: OK... sure there's more I could say on the positive side, but it doesn't come to mind now... The only spot I'd recall, thinking of this basically good time I had with Dead at the Box Office, would be maybe the pacing of the action scenes. The "zombies" were a little too... unwilling; and I'd swear I've seen a couple of them laughing too, but... I know, I know! This horror movie is a self-conscious campy comedy as well, right? Maybe It's just that blood was so convincing, I'd loved to get some thrill too!
Ryan: I understand completely. Looking back, we realize that we might have tried too hard to make the movie equal parts comedy and horror, when we should have concentrated more on one or the other. We really wanted horror fans to love it, so if we had the chance to do it all again, we would have concentrated a little more on the tension and action.
Dario: By the way... It still has very interesting cues, not only for gorehounds and... I totally agree with the revolutionary spirit of Romero's films!
Dario: First of all, let me say it was really a nice surprise to find English subtitles in the DVD's menu! I'm quite used to watch films in English but... having matching subtitles too! I didn't miss a word and learned some new ones too!
Ryan: We're actually fans of English subtitles ourselves, even though English is our native language. Sometimes it's hard to understand what's being said in any movie, and having the subtitles makes sure that the viewer can catch everything the writer wanted to get across in the story. So we put them on there because, if we were watching it for the first time, WE would want them to be there.
Dario: The plot was good! My favourite characters were Eric, Curtis and Yours! The bite scene (a due homage to good ol' Dawn of the Dead!) let me know I was going to enjoy fantastic splatter & gore SFX! I'm not saying I'd expected some fu**in' computer graphic or other latest Hollywood's crap, but, you know, you may never know what to expect from indie films and low budget cinema in general... You seem to know the old formula, though!
Ryan: That was the goal! We love the movies that made horror great, especially the ones that were made with almost no money but were rich in creativity. And of course none of them use CGI! As filmmakers, we believe that CG should only be used to enhance practical effects -- not to replace them altogether.
Dario: Some of the siege and chasing scenes reminded of some Italian horrors I adore like Lamberto Bava's "Demoni" (Demons) or Andrea Bianchi's "Le Notti del Terrore" (Burial Ground). In its (deliberate, I know) campiness it kinda reminded me of Timothy O' Rawe's "Ghoul School" too...
Ryan: High praise, all the way around! You definitely know your horror history -- exactly the kind of person we made the movie for! :)
Dario: I absolutely loved the laughing reaction of the stereotyped audience, when the nazi logo shows on screen. Lloyd Kaufman's presence was already in the air when he showed up and the Rocky Horror Show-like pseudo-happy ending, finally released the Hollywood's parody that was around the bend (that made me think of early John Waters' films, somehow).
Ryan: We've definitely been influenced by Lloyd Kaufman and Troma (not to mention 'Rocky Horror'), but I never really thought about how much the campy shock twists in 'Pink Flamingos' -- a movie several of us watched over and over when we were teenagers -- have contributed to our style. You probably have something there!
Dario: I'd liked to see more of "Harry's Daughter" though... I found priceless the final scene (unexpected after ALL the end titles!).. will you make a sequel?!
Ryan: We had discussed it, but after finishing 'Dead at the Box Office', we all pretty much went our separate ways. We made the movie near Chicago, but after it was finished, the actor who played Eric (who also co-wrote the script with me) and the director both moved to New York, while I moved to Los Angeles. If the movie is a hit, maybe we can get the financing to get back together for a sequel ... but since we're living 3000 miles apart, it won't be easy!
Dario: OK... sure there's more I could say on the positive side, but it doesn't come to mind now... The only spot I'd recall, thinking of this basically good time I had with Dead at the Box Office, would be maybe the pacing of the action scenes. The "zombies" were a little too... unwilling; and I'd swear I've seen a couple of them laughing too, but... I know, I know! This horror movie is a self-conscious campy comedy as well, right? Maybe It's just that blood was so convincing, I'd loved to get some thrill too!
Ryan: I understand completely. Looking back, we realize that we might have tried too hard to make the movie equal parts comedy and horror, when we should have concentrated more on one or the other. We really wanted horror fans to love it, so if we had the chance to do it all again, we would have concentrated a little more on the tension and action.
Dario: By the way... It still has very interesting cues, not only for gorehounds and... I totally agree with the revolutionary spirit of Romero's films!