Evan Makrogiannis and Brian Weaver Team Up with Noose Hill Entertainment to Unleash the Limited VHS Edition of THE SUPER!
With a formative history of engrossing himself in heaps of heavy metal and mounds of magnetic midnight movies, NY filmmaker Evan Makrogiannis is now a perpetual proponent of kicking it old school. From his early days of crafting crude coagulated creations in a low-budget vein captured via a store-bought home video camera, to recently wowing VHS collectors aplenty with the his token of grindhouse gratitude THE TURNPIKE KILLER in a lush big box edition, Makrogiannis has steadily stayed true to his passion and funneled his affection and energy into the creation of fringe film for the love it. And now, his film THE SUPER has been committed to limited slabs of video bliss to further propagate the nostalgic rewind of the burgeoning video revival. Sit back, relax and don't bother to lock your door, man...
tons of gore thanks to Johnny Dickie. I know there’s a million zombie films out there these days but I think people will dig this one. You get to see Matt D. HORROR BOOBS> bite someone’s face off and I hear that some handsome devil named Josh Schafer also appears in the movie, although it might be just an internet rumor ! SURVIVE should be ready for screenings this November/early December; I’m also in the midst of post-production for a new short I made called “Human”. I am very stoked about that “Human” because I got to work with some incredible talent from the world of horror, namely Bart Mastronardi who was the cinematographer and Alan Rowe Kelly who is editing.
I’m also producing Liam’s new flick, “Night of the Magician”, which is a WOG/BLOOD SUCKING FREAKS kinda flick, lots of fun. And finally, Brian and I have started working on our next feature which is called “Untermyer Park”. (All said films will get the analog treatment!)
A look at just one of the posters for THE SUPER. Have YOU paid your rent?! You bought VHS instead?! Cool.
LM: How did you get started in making films? EM: When I was a kid growing up in the 80’s, like many other horror fiends, I worshipped Tom Savini. So I would practice and create many practical FX at home, and do short videos showing off my work. Shot on my Dad’s Panasonic VHS cam, of course! I wanted to work in film since then. I’d spend countless afternoons and nights writing stories while Mercyful Fate played on my boom box and dreamed of one day possibly directing my own movie. Now my parents were cool and supportive of my film addiction as a “hobby”, but they were not so eager to support me on the level of doing it as a career, or sending me to film school. Years went by and the dream never died. I toiled through boring jobs just to make some money, actually scored a decent job at a blood lab, and everything changed one day when I got laid off. That was the point where I said, “Screw this, I’m going to do what I want. Make horror movies.” My best bud Brian Weaver (also a huge horror fiend) was in a similar situation, and that was when we decided to start Hallows Eve Films and begin pre-production on a story we had written called THE TURNPIKE KILLER… must have been about seven or eight years ago now.
Evan, Brian Weaver and actor Demetri Kallas payin' some respect to their icon Joe Spinell! DIG IT. (pun intended?)
THE SUPER was before TURNPIKE KILLER, right? Did the success of the TPK video release inspire you to put THE SUPER out? Or was just always something you had in mind? THE TURNPIKE KILLER was shot first, but due to some issues that came up at the very end of filming, we were left with essentially an incomplete product. We still had some scenes we wanted to shoot and we found ourselves without an editor. Luckily, Brian’s girlfriend at the time stepped in and got us a solid work print of the movie, which we used to promote. I believe we sent out 20 or so screeners to different writers and filmmakers and we also held several screenings in the NY area. The feedback was amazing, and there was a buzz without the movie even being released. We got some quick great reviews and there was a demand for the movie. We started shooting THE SUPER very soon after we had finished the work print of TPK. As for the VHS release of THE SUPER, it was a must have for me. As a VHS enthusiast, it was amazing for me to have TPK released in a big box, and there was no doubt from the start that I would have wanted the analog treatment for THE SUPER, as well.
A look at the full package for THE SUPER: another magnetic morsel to feed to your voracious VCR habits! DOPE.
Can you tell us a little bit about the label putting THE SUPER on tape? How did you hook up with them? Noose Hill Entertainment is a movie production company and distro based out of Connecticut, owned by a guy named Alex Lugones. Alex has always worked in the movie industry in one form or another so he has a big passion for film, especially horror. He was a big fan of THE TURNPIKE KILLER and was eager to see what Brian and I had on the stove as far as a new release in the works. So we gave him the script to THE SUPER, and he loved it. Very quickly we worked on reaching an agreement to get THE SUPER done and we were off into pre-production. It was a quick and easy process, no drama.
Noose Hill Entertainment owner Alex Lugones with Brian and Evan, accepting the award for THE SUPER as Best Movie at Texas Bloodbath! Look! It's a little bathtub! Damn, that's groovy.
Can you give us some specs on the VHS edition of THE SUPER? How many, any groovy extras, etc? With TPK, we went with the big box in the style of the great Wizard and Comet big boxes. When it came to decide on what to do with THE SUPER, we were more influenced by some of the sick clams that companies like Regal or Prism put out. With THE SUPER VHS, you get an awesome looking old school clam and the movie is true old school pan and scan full screen. Before the movie starts there is a trailer for an unreleased horror/exploitation called “Written in Blood” from the early 80’s. The clam also comes with a limited edition poster card as well. All in all, I think it’s a cool tape and I think people will dig it. The cover art is rad and the tape experience is true to 80’s form!
A look at the VHS edition perched upon its playback vessel. Lookin' GOOD, mang.
Why put this movie on tape? What is it about the format that excites you? Well, there’s a huge nostalgia aspect to releasing VHS. The entire experience of popping the tape in just gets my blood going. I love the look, the sound and feel of VHS. It’s the perfect medium for horror and exploitation. When I pop in a tape, I am immediately taken back to simpler times. Happy times of my youth, when glorious big boxes and puke colored clams adorned the local mom and pop video store shelves. I miss that, and I miss the experience of VHS, which I liken to getting a comic book or a great vinyl album. The cover art is a huge thing, as well. These days movies come out in theaters and they have shit posters that were thrown together in Photoshop whereas VHS covers feature beautiful hand painted covers, or well thought out images and logos. So, there was no doubt that this tape had to happen. The icing on the cake is that there is a community out there that has a love for VHS, so THE SUPER tape is also a way of contributing to that community.
Teaser poster art for Evan's son Liam's upcoming flesh feast SURVIVE! Artwork by the amazing Earl Kess!
What's next for you, Evan? Making more movies and video vindication? Right now, I am overseeing the production of my son Liam’s zombie gore flick called SURVIVE. It’s a sick old school zombie movie
Liam Makrogiannis, Brian Weaver, Tristian Markogiannis, Evan, Michael Gingold and The Teenage Videoore himself Johnny Dickie! One big fake-blood-soaked happy family, man!
Anything else you'd like to say to the Videovores out there? Thanks for supporting the distros that put out tapes in 2013. It’s a wonderful thing. In general it’s been amazing to see folks show their love for VHS and thank you to those who bought or will buy a copy of THE SUPER! Hope you dig it and I’ll be sure to have some more horror/exploitation coming your way on VHS! Big ups to LUNCHMEAT for keeping shit real and alive!!!Damn, thanks, Evan! I live for this stuff!! And mad ups to Evan for being a rad dude, filmmaker and father. His fervor for the format and passion for making movies is truly inspiring, and his support for his Liam's film endeavors is just too groovy, man. Be sure to clickity-click on over to the Official Site for THE SUPER and pick up your very own slab of analog awesomeness before they is history, man. And stay tuned to the blog for updates on SURVIVE and all of the totally killer film concoctions coming from the Makrogiannis camp!
Groove and Groove and play Skitchin.
Josh Schafer