SEX MACHINE in FANGORIA magazine
May 4, 2007
“Sex Machine” A Modern Prometheus
By Sean Decker
“I wanted to remix Frankenstein,” says filmmaker Christopher Sharpe of his genre debut, the low-budget Sex Machine, “but set it in a modern-day, realistic environment.” Set to premiere on DVD May 1 from Anthem Pictures, the horror-pulp hybrid is “as exploitation movie with elements of an art film. It’s a blue-collar, character-driven movie that just happens to have a modern-day Frankenstein’s monster as the leading man.”
Inspired by the image “of a guy walking around with his head wrapped in bandages and based on an original comic script Sharpe penned in high school, Sex Machine revolves around the character of Frank (John Howell), “a guy who wakes up in the middle of a gangland hit,” says the director, a self-avowed genre fan and devout reader of early Marvel comics. “He has no memory, he’s in a lot of pain, his body has been stitched together out of different body parts and each of them has a mind of its own.” Although Frank winds up setting out to exact gory revenge on his creators, it’s “not as serious as it sounds,” Sharpe laughs. “There’s also bowling. And strippers!”
Co-scripted by John Oak (Razorteeth) Dalton and independently financed by the director, Sex Machine, while entirely unique in its execution, pays clear homage to many an influence, though Sharpe ways he was unconcerned about wearing them so proudly on his sleeve: “There are visual references to everything from Suspiria to [comics artist] Jack Kirby.” Employing Shogo Nakagawa as his director of photography and local young actresses to portray a bevy of reanimated strippers (secured entirely by using regional actor e-mail lists), the director says the independent production was shot “almost entirely on weekends” in and around Austin, TX and Oklahoma City, OK. “I’m guessing that there were probably 30 shooting days, but when you film a project spaced out like that, it can become very inefficient; continuity becomes a lot harder.”
In keeping with the DIY spirit, Sharpe notes that he lensed “most of the movie in my house, which we just kept converting into different locations,” as well as at “the local bowling alley, a strip joint and a rented warehouse,” the latter of which was used to realize the lair of Sex Machine’s resident mad scientist. “Everything else was just us running around town trying not to get arrested,” he laughs. “and there really was no budget. I just used whatever spare money I had at the time, which wasn’t a lot.”
Emphasizing this financial handicap, Sharpe says that his wife Leah, who served as production designer, makeup and visual FX head and co-producer, relied heavily on the lax return policies of Home Depot and Wal-Mart in order to construct and dress the film’s sets. “We’d put the stuff on credit cards,” he says, “build a set, then tear it down and take it back!” As for equipment, Sharpe reveals that for most of the shoot, all he had was “a camera and a couple lights.”
Nonetheless, he’s proud of the end result - as well he should be, given the high production quality on display. “I have probably lost some objectivity, but I’m very happy. We were determined to tell the story by any means necessary and when I watch it with audiences and they laugh and cheer at the right moments, I have to admit that it’s the ultimate high.” As for the grue on hand, Sharpe says, “There is quite a bit, and a few sequences that definitely make audiences cringe. I believe the FX are well integrated into the film’s design, which was always really important to me. People who are into this stuff really seem to get it and enjoy it.”
Filmgoers weren’t the only ones to respond with zeal; Sex Machine received Best Picture prizes at both the MicroCinema and Dead Center festivals where it screened last year, as well as attracting the attention of writer/producer Bill Cunningham, who helped in securing distribution. “I watched the movie from beginning to end without having to fast-forward, which is a testament to the story’s punch,” Cunningham says. “I called Christopher right away, and from there I took it around to my colleages in the industry. [Anthem Pictures CEO] Chuck Adelman really responded to the film’s pulpiness.” Adelman chimes in: “When we first screened Sex Machine, we knew we had a winner - not only with viewers who love movies like Reservoir Dogs or The Killer, but with the folks who like their gore. It delivers the goods.”
“Anthem does a killer job, so I am confident it will be very cool,” Sharpe says of the DVD, which is slated to include commentary by the filmmakers, a behind-the-scenes featurette, trailers and a gallery of stills and artwork. “The ultimate thing for me will be to walk into Best Buy and see it on the shelf.” And Sharpe’s appetite for the macabre hasn’t waned, as he notes that coming up is “another monster-movie remix. I’m definitely going to keep exploring these pulp-creature ideas for the next few years.”
Comments
Got something to say?