Things (film)
| Things | |
|---|---|
 Film poster |
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| Directed by | Andrew Jordan |
| Produced by | Barry J. Gillis Andrew Jordan |
| Written by | Barry J. Gillis Andrew Jordan |
| Starring | Amber Lynn Barry J. Gillis Doug Bunston Bruce Roach |
| Music by | Jack Procher, Familiar Strangers, Stryk-9. |
| Cinematography | Dan Riggs |
| Editing by | Barry J. Gillis Andrew Jordan |
| Studio | Left Field Productions |
| Distributed by | InterAmerican Entertainment Corp Left Field Productions |
| Release date(s) | 1989 |
| Running time | 83 minutes |
| Country | Canada |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $ 35,000 |
THINGS is a 1989 low budget independent feature length B-movie grade horror exploitation film written and produced by Andrew Jordan & Barry J. Gillis.[1][2] Marking the 1989 mainstream film debut of porn star Amber Lynn,[3][4] the film has a cult following[4] of fans who call themselves "Things-ites".[5][6]
Contents |
[edit] Synopsis
The film centers on a husband whose fanatical desire but inability to father children drives him to force his wife to undergo a dangerous experiment. This results in hatching a non-human life form in his wife's womb, and the birth of a multitude of THINGS.[4]
[edit] Cast
- Barry J. Gillis as Don Drake / TV Maniac
- Amber Lynn as Reporter
- Bruce Hamilton as In Dream
- Robert Allen as TV Victim
- Bruce Roach as Fred Horton
- Doug Bunston as Doug Drake
- Jan W. Pachul as Dr. Lucas
- Patricia Sadler as Susan Drake
[edit] Production
With a budget between $35,000, and $40,000 the film was shot on both super 8 and 16mm film.[4] Andrew Jordan figured that they would not get any publicity for the movie if the true budget was announced. So he convinced Barry J. Gillis to go along with the lie that the movie was shot on $350,000 dollars. It wasn't until recent years that Gillis and Jordan began revealing the true budget for the movie.
[edit] Homages
THINGS pays homage to several horror icons and films: George A. Romero and his feature film Night Of The Living Dead,[7] by having the film play on a television screen in the background while porn queen Amber Lynn talks about the copyright case Romero fought in the courts to try and rescue Night Of The Living Dead from the public domain,[7] the 16mm feature film The Evil Dead when one of the players in the movie finds an old tape recorder, clicks play and weird chants, and weird diologue blast through the recorders speaker, the original Last House On The Left when one of the players mentions Wes Craven's movie by name, and to filmmaker David Cronenberg in some of its underlying themes.[4]
[edit] Reception
Bavota San of Oddity Cinema reported that Ed Brisson, director of the horror film Graveyard, felt that THINGS should head the list of "so bad its good".[6] Severed Cinema notes the 19½ year anniversary of the film's re-release, opining that "Things is the work of a genius, or a madman", and writing "a new generation of horror fans and people who have been desperately seeking this glistening turd for years can now experience this infamous abomination".[8] Critic Online notes the various other-film references and writes that THINGS "is definitely one of the worst atrocities ever committed to film. Yet it's one of the funniest movies I've ever seen too!"[7] Obscure Horror notes the film being bad with a "...jumbled mess of visuals, plot veins, and cheesy effects", and grants what "makes the film watchable and a treat to behold, is the dialogue", and that "the actor's [sic] interactions with each other are quite funny", and that even though the "news reporter's acting is so brutal... ...you will fall off your chair laughing at it".[9] Oh The Horror opines "Things is bad. Really really bad.", and "Everything that sucks about shitty movies is here in one 84 minute package", but granted it's worth it; "To get the full effect of Things you need two things: a group of friends and enough beers to kill your kidneys.[10] Only then can you see the greatness of Things and laugh yourself silly". They panned the lighting, the audio, and the music, offering "Things is the epitome of bad Canadian horror", yet warmly concluded that the film "earns it's [sic] place as the Worst Canadian Horror Film Ever Made and definitely defines what a cult movie really is".[11] The Video Graveyard also found the film awful and delightful at the same time, writing "no doubt about it this is possibly the worst horror film ever made. So pathetic you wonder if the filmmakers weren't aware they were making this piece of cinematic shit during filming, but it's the perfect 'so bad, it's good' film for lovers of bad cinema",[12] and in the 2005 "wishlist" of DVDs they'd like to see made, they'd "like to close-up with a what’s got to be the worst movie I’ve ever seen. A movie so bad that you can’t help but love it - yes, I’m taking about 1989’s Things".[13]
[edit] Release
THINGS was originally released on VHS in September 1989, and re-released 19 years later on DVD in August 2008 when it was launched at the Rue Morgue Festival of Fear in Toronto, Canada.[14] The DVD contains extras,[11] including hours of audio commentary with Director Andrew Jordon, stars Barry J. Gillis, Doug Bunston, Jan W. Pachul and Victoria Elizabeth Turnbull (Gillis’s daughter), unused footage, Gillis messing with vocal effects, film outtakes, and behind-the-scenes footage.[8] On November 1, 2009, THINGS was screened at the South African Horrorfest in Cape Town, South Africa[15] On March 20, 2009, THINGS was classified as a restricted movie by the Ontario Film Review Board.[16] THINGS has been re-released worldwide by Intervision Pictures Corporation on July 12th, 2011.ref http://www.amazon.com/Things-Barry-J-Gillis/dp/B0052G4P26/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=moviestv-tradein&qid=1310778508&sr=1-1
[edit] Sequel, and Comic Book Adaption
Interest in THINGS part 2 by hardcore fans has been around for a few years now. A comic book adaption of THINGS has been produced.[17]
[edit] Additional reading
- Oddity Cinema, Bavota San interview of Andrew Jordan[6]
- Science Fiction, Horror & Fantasy Film and Television Credits: Filmography by Harris M. Lentz ISBN 0786409517[2]
- They Came from Within: A History of Canadian Horror Cinema by Caelum Vatnsdal ISBN 1894037219[18]
- Rue Morgue Magazine review in issue #82[19]
- Canuxploitation review of Things[4]
- Shock Cinema Magazine review in issue #36[20]
- Danse Macabre interview of Barry J. Gillis and Andrew Jordan[21]
- Psychotronic Video Guide to Film review of THINGS
- Through the Mousehole: Interview with Barry J. Gillis at The Sins of Cinema
[edit] References
- ^ "Things". Variety. http://www.variety.com/profiles/Film/main/120798/Things.html?dataSet=1. Retrieved June 7, 2009.[dead link]
- ^ a b Lentz, Harris M. (2000). Science Fiction, Horror & Fantasy Film and Television Credits: Filmography (2, revised ed.). McFarland. pp. page 1598. ISBN 0786409517, 9780786409518. http://books.google.com/books?id=a21ZAAAAMAAJ&q=Science+Fiction,+Horror+%26+Fantasy+Film+and+Television+Credits:+Filmography&dq=Science+Fiction,+Horror+%26+Fantasy+Film+and+Television+Credits:+Filmography&pgis=1. Retrieved June 7, 2009.
- ^ a b "Things overview". film.com. http://www.film.com/movies/things/14695279. Retrieved June 7, 2009.
- ^ a b c d e f "Things review". Canuxploitation. http://www.canuxploitation.com/review/things.html. Retrieved June 7, 2009.
- ^ "Supplemental Material". Severed Cinema. http://severed-cinema.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=141&Itemid=26. Retrieved June 7, 2009.
- ^ a b c San, Bavota (2008). "Andrew Jordan Interview". Oddity Cinema. http://www.odditycinema.com/interviews/andrew-jordan-interview/. Retrieved June 7, 2009.
- ^ a b c "Films on the Fringe: Things (1989)". Critic Online. http://www.critcononline.com/films_on_the_fringe.htm. Retrieved June 7, 2009.
- ^ a b "Things - Left Field Productions". Severed Cinema. http://severed-cinema.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=141&Itemid=26. Retrieved June 7, 2009.
- ^ "Things (1989)". Obscure Horror. http://www.obscurehorror.com/things.html. Retrieved June 7, 2009.
- ^ Barry J Gillis interviews Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Poltergeist director Tobe Hooper for an upcoming feature documentary plus more videos
- ^ a b "Things (1989)". Oh The Horror. http://www.oh-the-horror.com/page.php?id=390. Retrieved June 7, 2009.
- ^ "The Good, The Bad, and The Wretched". The Video Graveyard. http://www.thevideograveyard.com/t/things89.html. Retrieved June 7, 2009.
- ^ "Our Most wanted Discs". The Video Graveyard. http://www.thevideograveyard.com/iwantmydvd.html. Retrieved June 7, 2009.
- ^ http://www.THINGS1989.com
- ^ "South African Horrorfest wrap-up and short film winners". shadowrealminc.com. South African Horrorfest. http://shadowrealminc.com/horrorfest/2008horrorfest.htm. Retrieved June 7, 2009.
- ^ "THINGS". Ontario Film Review Board. http://www.ofrb.gov.on.ca/ofrb/OfrbWelcomeAction.do. Retrieved June 7, 2009.
- ^ "Things (COMIC BOOK ADAPTION OF THE CULT FEATURE FILM)". Indy Planet. May 2009. http://www.indyplanet.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=1422. Retrieved June 7, 2009.[dead link]
- ^ Vatnsdal, Caelum (2004). They Came from Within: A History of Canadian Horror Cinema (illustrated ed.). Arbeiter Ring. ISBN 1894037219, 9781894037211. http://books.google.com/books?id=N25zAAAACAAJ&dq=They+Came+from+Within:. Retrieved June 7, 2009.
- ^ "Cinemacabre: review of Things". Rue Morgue Magazine. http://www.rue-morgue.com/mag_82.php. Retrieved June 7, 2009.
- ^ "Things review". Shock Cinema magazine. http://www.shockcinemamagazine.com/main.html. Retrieved June 7, 2009.
- ^ "Danse Macabre, Interview: Barry J. Gillis and Andrew Jordan, "Things" (1989)" (in Polish). http://translate.google.com/translate?js=n&prev=_t&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.dansemacabre.pl%2Fteksty%2F43.html&sl=pl&tl=en&history_state0=. Retrieved June 7, 2009.
