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Not to be confused with Abruption.
Abruptio
Theatrical release poster
Directed byEvan Marlowe
Written byEvan Marlowe
Produced by
  • Barry Finlayson
  • Kerry Marlowe
  • Martin White
  • Susan Finlayson
Starring
CinematographyEvan Marlowe
Edited byEvan Marlowe
Music by
Production
companies
  • HellBent Pictures, LLC.
  • Sweet Home Films
Release date
  • January 17, 2023 (2023-01-17) (Santa Monica Film Festival)
Running time
94 minutes[1]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Abruptio is a 2023 American puppet horror film written, edited, and directed by Evan Marlowe. Produced by Barry Finlayson, Kerry Marlowe, Martin White, and Susan Finlayson, the film stars James Marsters, Hana Mae Lee, Christopher McDonald, Jordan Peele, Robert Englund, and Sid Haig in his final film before his death on September 21, 2019.[2][3][4]

Abruptio had its world premiere online at the Santa Monica Film Festival on January 17, 2023.

Premise

Les Hackel (James Marsters) is a guy down on his luck who wakes to find an explosive device has been implanted in his neck. He must carry out heinous crimes in order to stay alive while trying to identify the mastermind manipulating the now twisted and strange world around him.[5]

— Evan Marlowe

Cast

Production

Voice recording

Voice recording started on May 23, 2015, in Los Angeles, California, with Evan Marlowe serving as cinematographer.[13][14][15] Recording sessions wrapped on December 2, 2017.[16] In December 2017, several actors were confirmed to have voiced characters, including James Marsters, Robert Englund, Sid Haig, Jordan Peele, Hana Mae Lee, and Christopher McDonald.[17]

Production

On September 23, 2019, the film's crew relayed their feelings towards the passing of co-star Sid Haig, while confirming they would finish production on Abruptio soon, for a then-projected release in 2020.[18] In April 2020, Marlowe revealed information about the film's production:

Abruptio is a puppet movie. We resolved (for some insane reason) to use only realistic lifelike hand puppets in actual settings, just like any other movie. No CGI backgrounds or actors wearing prosthetic makeup. This sort of thing has never been done. The Dark Crystal comes close, though there, the designers weren't bound by the confines of reality. We've had a few incredibly skilled people helping out. Jeff Farley has been our lead puppet fabricator. Again, this kind of work isn't common, so some amount of trial and error has been needed to find the balance of aesthetic, durability and function. Meaning, the heads need to look great on camera, hold up well under shooting environments that are often hostile, and let the puppeteer emote without too much effort. When it comes to the actual shoot, our puppeteer Danny Montooth lip syncs with each line, played on loop on my magical iPad until all the aspects (lighting, camera movement, mouth motion, eye line) are just right. Once I've got the footage, I edit it up and then our visual effects guy John Sellings smooths out any problems. When a scene is done, it gets color-corrected and graded, and then the sound and score are added. I'd estimate a good 30% of the film is ready to go. We were set to shoot another 30% this year when the coronavirus shut down production. Who knows what the immediate future of film production will be, not only for major studio work but small-scale (read: zero crew) productions like ours? We hope we can rev back up this year.[17]

In a June 2020 interview, the film's director Evan Marlowe revealed that with "six years in, we're still not quite halfway done filming. We plan to pick up where we left off in the coming months."[12] In August 2020, production resumed, with coronavirus safety protocols in place, including limited crew members.[19] Filming wrapped on March 4, 2021,[20] before post-production wrapped by March 2022.[21][22] In August 2022, the film was completed.[23]

Release

Abruptio had its online world premiere at the Santa Monica Film Festival on January 17, 2023.[24][25] The film also streamed online at the Cinequest Film & Creativity Festival on March 1, before its physical screenings on August 26 and 29, 2023.[26][27][28] It had its public theatrical premiere at the Panic Film Fest on April 15,[29][30][31] before having its International debut at the Fantaspoa Film Festival on April 28 and 30[32][1] and its European premiere at the Dundead Film Festival on May 12.[33][34] It also played theatrically at the Malibu Film Festival on May 21,[35] the Dark Bridges Film Festival on June 4,[36] the Lighthouse International Film Festival on June 9,[37] the Desertscape Film Festival and Days of the Dead Indianapolis Film Festival on June 23,[38][39][40] the Film Invasion LA festival on June 25,[41][42] the Galacticat Film Festival on June 26 and 29,[43][44][45] the Motor City Nightmares Film Festival on July 28,[46] the Atlanta Underground Film Festival on August 4,[47] the Popcorn Frights Film Festival on August 12,[48][49] the Rhode Island International Film Festival on August 13,[50] the Macabro Film Festival on August 18 and 19,[51][52] the HorrorHound Film Fest on August 20,[53] the Days of the Dead Los Angeles Film Festival on August 26,[54] Grimmfest on October 8,[55][56] the Atlanta Horror Film Festival and the Fargo Fantastic Film Festival on October 14,[57][58] the Fright Nights Film Festival and Ramaskrik Film Festival on October 19,[59][60][61] the TOHorror Fantastic Film Festival on October 20,[62] and the Tucson Terrorfest and the Chicago Horror Film Fest on October 22.[63][64] It is also set to play at the Cine-Excess and Tysvær Skrekkfest on October 27,[65][66] the Nightmares Film Festival on October 28,[67] the South African Horrorfest on November 2,[68] and the Soho Horror Film Festival on November 30.[69][70] The film was originally set for release in 2021.[71]

Reception

Critical response

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 89% of 9 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 8/10.[72]

David Gelmini of Dread Central wrote, "Viewers who are not perturbed by the use of human-sized puppets will commend Abruptio for its unique visual-style and its audacious premise. And those who are too perturbed by its irregularity will still find it too damn strange to completely ignore".[73] Stephanie Malone writing for Morbidly Beautiful gave it 5 out of 5 butterflies, calling the film "the total package", while praising the story, character development and detail of the puppets.[74] Anton Bitel, writing for Projected Figures, said the film "is a schizophrenic skedaddle from reality, reflected even in the heavily stylised medium that Marlowe has adopted, and ending with one hell of a hangover. The ensuing cavalcade of unease and wrong disturbs and repels, both in equal measure, and in the best possible way."[75] Carla Davis of 1428 Elm called the film "a trippy, gory puppet horror masterpiece," particularly noting its visuals as "eye-popping" and the level of voice talent and writing which "takes it over the top."[76] Jennie Kermode of Eye for Film gave a positive review, writing the film "stands out because of its format but has a strong narrative and smart ideas behind it".[77] Alan French of Sunshine State Cineplex gave a positive review, summarizing that the film is "one of the most visually unique films of 2023".[78] In a negative review, Kyle Logan of Cultured Vultures said the film "is a singular film on almost every level, which makes it worth seeking out for fans of weird movies, but it has some ideological issues and isn't quite good enough to transcend its niche.[79]

Accolades

At the 2023 Panic Film Fest, the film won the award for Best Visual Effects.[80] At the 2023 Days of the Dead Film Festival, Sid Haig's posthumous performance was nominated for Best Villain,[81] while James Marsters won the award for Best Actor and Evan Marlowe won for Best Director.[82] At Film Invasion Los Angeles, the film won the awards for Best Director (Feature), Best Screenplay (Feature), Best Horror Feature, and Best Performance by a Full Cast.[83] At the 2023 Galacticat Film Festival, the film won the award for Best Effects.[84] At the 2023 Motor City Nightmares Film Festival, the film won the award for Best Effects.[85] At the 2023 Film Invasion LA festival, the film won the awards for Best Feature Film and Best Director.[86]

References

  1. ^ a b Abruptio at the Fantaspoa Film Festival
  2. ^ "'Jackie Brown' and 'House of 1000 Corpses' star Sid Haig has died". Yahoo Sports. Verizon Media. September 23, 2019. Retrieved September 23, 2019.
  3. ^ Roffmanon, Michael (September 7, 2019). "'The Devil's Rejects' star Sid Haig hospitalized in ICU". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved September 23, 2019.
  4. ^ Oller, Jacob (September 23, 2019). "Sid Haig, Rob Zombie's Captain Spaulding and Horror Icon, Dies at 80". Syfy Wire. NBCUniversal. Retrieved September 23, 2019.
  5. ^ Barkan, Jonathan (June 9, 2016). "Jordan Peele Joins Puppet Horror Film 'Abruptio'". Bloody Disgusting. Retrieved June 28, 2018.
  6. ^ Aguilar, Matthew (September 6, 2019). "Devil's Rejects and 3 From Hell Star Sid Haig Moved to ICU". ComicBook.com. Retrieved September 23, 2019.
  7. ^ Ivie, Devon (February 27, 2019). "And Now, Every Jordan Peele Project Currently in Development". Vulture. Vox Media. Retrieved October 20, 2019.
  8. ^ "Jordan Peele joins the cast of puppet horror 'Abruptio'". Film Industry Network. June 9, 2016. Retrieved June 29, 2019.
  9. ^ Hamman, Cody (June 10, 2016). "Jordan Peele Joins Robert Englund, Sid Haig in Puppet Film 'Abruptio'". JoBlo.com. Retrieved March 13, 2020.
  10. ^ Squires, John (June 10, 2016). "Jordan Peele Joins Robert Englund and Sid Haig in 'Abruptio'". Dread Central. Retrieved March 13, 2020.
  11. ^ Gallagher, Brian (January 20, 2016). "Freddy Krueger Is Hosting El Rey's Valentine's Day Horror Marathon". MovieWeb. Retrieved January 2, 2019.
  12. ^ a b "Meet Lloyd". June 6, 2020. Retrieved June 7, 2020.
  13. ^ Squires, John (June 19, 2015). "Sid Haig Voicing Lifelike Puppet In Boldly Original Movie 'Abruptio'". Dread Central. Retrieved March 13, 2020.
  14. ^ Jones, Tamika (August 24, 2014). "Indie Spotlight". Daily Dead. Retrieved June 28, 2018.
  15. ^ McNeely, Kelli Marchman (June 21, 2015). "'Abruptio', A New Kind Of Horror Movie". Horror Fuel. Retrieved March 13, 2020.
  16. ^ Abruptio News
  17. ^ a b "Puppetus Interruptus". April 16, 2020. Retrieved May 19, 2020.
  18. ^ Deerwester, Jayme (September 23, 2019). "Sid Haig, star of 'House of 1000 Corpses,' 'Devil's Rejects,' dies at 80". USA Today. Gannett. Retrieved September 23, 2019.
  19. ^ "Filmmaking in the Time of Covid". August 14, 2020. Retrieved September 6, 2020.
  20. ^ "That's A Wrap". March 4, 2021. Retrieved March 9, 2021.
  21. ^ "Congrats to Bryan Bowen, the sound effects designer behind 007's latest. We're busy in postproduction on Abruptio and expect to have it all wrapped by early next year". Facebook. November 5, 2021. Retrieved December 10, 2021.
  22. ^ "Happy to announce the visual portion of post-production is over and we move on now to the audio portion". Facebook. March 9, 2022. Retrieved March 19, 2022.
  23. ^ It only took 7 years but Abruptio is Done
  24. ^ "After 8 long years, we finally present to you, the world premiere of Abruptio!! For the next few weeks, the film will be live on xolo.tv as part of the Santa Monica Film Festival. The subscription is 5 bucks (cancel anytime). Needless to say, this one isn't for the children". Facebook. January 17, 2023. Retrieved January 27, 2023.
  25. ^ "Abruptio has been named an Official Selection of the SMFF! We'll be having our world premiere during the festival. Dates TBA, but you'll be able to watch the film online. Congrats to our hard-working team of artists who made this possible, and thanks so much to the Santa Monica Film Festival". Facebook. December 9, 2022. Retrieved January 11, 2023.
  26. ^ "More great news! Abruptio is an Official Selection of Cinequest". Facebook. Retrieved February 11, 2023.
  27. ^ Abruptio Creatics
  28. ^ Abruptio Cinequest
  29. ^ Musnicky, Sarah (March 14, 2023). "Panic Fest Announces Full 2023 Line-Up". Nightmarish Conjurings. Retrieved March 17, 2023.
  30. ^ Panic Film Fest Schedule
  31. ^ Abruptio at the Panic Film Fest
  32. ^ Bohannon, Sharai (March 9, 2023). "Wave Of Horrific Titles". DreadCentral. Retrieved March 10, 2023.
  33. ^ "Dundead 2023 programme announced". Dundee Contemporary Arts. March 30, 2023. Retrieved March 30, 2023.
  34. ^ Abruptio (European Premiere)
  35. ^ Abruptio at the Malibu Film Festival
  36. ^ Abruptio at the Dark Bridges film festival
  37. ^ Mack, Andrew (May 10, 2023). "Lighthouse 2023: Brooklyn 45 and Abruptio Headline Darkhouse Program". Screen Anarchy. Retrieved May 11, 2023.
  38. ^ Abruptio at the Desertscape Film Festival
  39. ^ "We are thrilled to announce our first official selection of the Summer Cycle!!! "Abruptio" will be making it's Indiana Premiere at #daysofthedeadfilmfestival". Facebook. March 15, 2023. Retrieved March 17, 2023.
  40. ^ Abruptio at the Days of the Dead Indianapolis Film Festival
  41. ^ Abruptio at the Film Invasion LA
  42. ^ Film Invasion LA programme
  43. ^ Abruptio at the Galacticat Film Festival
  44. ^ The Galacticat of Tàrrega Expands its Format in the Tenth Edition of the Festival, Dedicated to the Classic 'The Exorcist'
  45. ^ Galacticat Film Festival program
  46. ^ Abruptio at the Motor City Nightmares Film Festival
  47. ^ Abruptio at the Atlanta Underground Film Festival
  48. ^ McAndrews, Mary Beth (June 29, 2023). "Popcorn Frights Announces The First Wave Of Its 2023 Festival Lineup". Dread Central. Retrieved June 30, 2023.
  49. ^ Abruptio at the Popcorn Frights Film Festival
  50. ^ Abruptio at the Rhode Island International Film Festival
  51. ^ Abruptio at the Macabro Film Festival
  52. ^ Macabro Film Festival Events
  53. ^ Abruptio at the HorrorHound Film Fest
  54. ^ Abruptio at the Days of the Dead Los Angeles Film Festival
  55. ^ Abruptio at Grimmfest
  56. ^ T, Amber (August 18, 2023). "Exclusive: Grimmfest Unveils Fantastic Feature Film Lineup". Fangoria. Retrieved August 18, 2023.
  57. ^ Abruptio at the Atlanta Horror Film Festival
  58. ^ Abruptio at the Fargo Fantastic Film Festival
  59. ^ Abruptio at the Fright Nights Film Festival
  60. ^ Fright Nights Film Festival Time Table
  61. ^ Abruptio at the Ramaskrik Film Festival
  62. ^ Abruptio at the TOHorror Fantastic Film Festival
  63. ^ Abruptio at the Tucson Terrorfest
  64. ^ Abruptio at the Chicago Horror Film Fest
  65. ^ Abruptio at Cine-Excess
  66. ^ Abruptio at the Tysvær Skrekkfest
  67. ^ Squires, John (September 21, 2023). "Nightmares Film Festival 2023 Lineup Includes 'Santa Isn't Real', 'How to Kill Monsters' and More!". Bloody Disgusting!. Retrieved September 24, 2023.
  68. ^ Abruptio at the South African Horrorfest
  69. ^ T, Amber (October 13, 2023). "Exclusive: Soho Horror Film Festival's 2023 Lineup Brings Carnage To London". Fangoria. Retrieved October 15, 2023.
  70. ^ Abruptio at the Soho Horror Film Festival
  71. ^ "What?!? Who's this freaky little dude?". October 3, 2020. Retrieved November 16, 2020.
  72. ^ "'Abruptio'". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved October 11, 2023.
  73. ^ Gelmini, David (March 17, 2023). "'Abruptio' Is A Bizarre And Compelling Puppet Horror Film [Review]". Dread Central. Retrieved April 22, 2023.
  74. ^ Malone, Stephanie (March 27, 2023). "Reel Review: Abruptio (2023)". Morbidly Beautiful. Retrieved April 22, 2023.
  75. ^ Bitel, Anton (April 12, 2023). "Abruptio (2023)". Projected Figures. Retrieved April 22, 2023.
  76. ^ Davis, Carla (March 12, 2023). "Abruptio is a trippy, gory puppet horror masterpiece". 1428 Elm. Retrieved April 22, 2023.
  77. ^ Kermode, Jennie (April 27, 2023). "Abruptio Review". Eye for Film. Retrieved May 1, 2023.
  78. ^ French, Alan (May 2, 2023). "Fantaspoa 2023: 'Abruptio' – Puppets and Horror Blend to Create a Nightmarish Reality". Sunshine State Cineplex. Retrieved May 3, 2023.
  79. ^ Logan, Kyle (March 14, 2023). "Abruptio Review – Too Weird to Hate, Not Good Enough to Love". Cultured Vultures. Retrieved April 24, 2023.
  80. ^ Panic Film Fest 2023 Awards
  81. ^ If you'll be at Days of the Dead next week, make sure to vote for Sid Haig, who got a posthumous nomination for Best Villain
  82. ^ So thrilled that James Marsters and Evan were recognized for acting and directing. What a great honor from true horror fans at Days of the Dead.
  83. ^ Holy cow! We're so honored that Film Invasion L.A.'s Grand Jury awarded Abruptio...BEST HORROR FEATURE BEST FEATURE DIRECTOR BEST FEATURE SCREENPLAY BEST PERFORMANCE BY A FULL CAST We're over the moon. Congrats to everyone who made it possible.
  84. ^ Congrats to Jeff Farley for his special effects work on the film!!
  85. ^ Abruptio award at the Motor City Nightmares Film Festival
  86. ^ Film Invasion LA awards
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