SEX MACHINE in FANGORIA magazine
May 4, 2007 | Leave a Comment
“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.”
SEX MACHINE signs distribution deal
May 1, 2007 | Leave a Comment
Sex Machine Leaves Mark on Anthem Pictures
Scary Actioner – part Frankenstein, part pulp – Acquired for Worldwide Distribution
Agoura Hills, CA – Anthem Pictures President & CEO Chuck Adelman announced today it had acquired all rights to Austin, TX filmmaker Christopher Sharpe’s debut feature film, Sex Machine for worldwide distribution. The scary action-thriller is scheduled for a DVD Premiere in the United States in March 2007.
Sex Machine, which takes its name from a mysterious tattoo on the hero’s arm is the gripping story of a man who wakes up in the middle of a gangland hit to discover that his limbs are not his own. Frank is a tough-talking patchwork assassin, stitched together from the body parts of other failed assassins. When Frank learns that his ex-girlfriend is the next test subject, he opens both barrels on his “creators” and unleashes a gory bloodbath of revenge.
“When we first screened the movie we knew we had a winner – not only with the audience who love movies like Reservoir Dogs or The Killer, but with the folks who like their gore, “said Adelman. “Sex Machine really delivers the goods. This is a pulpy hybrid of horror and hitmen that really goes for the throat.”
Sex Machine, winner of the 2006 MicroCinema and DeadCenter Film Festivals was shot in and around Austin, TX and Oklahoma City, OK and comes from the demented minds of Director Christopher Sharpe and screenwriter John Oak Dalton. Shot for over several months as cast and crew were available, Sharpe and Director of Photography Shogo have infused with the movie with what critics have called, “killer visual style” from the opening credits onward. Hundreds of sketches, conceptual photos and makeup tests were completed so that the filmmakers could keep a consistent and interesting look on their meager budget. The planning paid off.
The movie was brought to Anthem by writer-producer Bill Cunningham (Scarecrow, .Com For Murder and the upcoming Gore Gore Gore-met ) when the director sent him a copy for his advice. “I watched the movie from beginning to end without having to fast forward, which is a testament to the story’s punch. I called Christopher right away and asked if the film had distribution and if he was represented by anyone. I wanted to be that guy. From there I took it around to my colleagues in the industry and Chuck really responded to what I did – the film’s pulpiness.”
Plans for the March 2007 DVD include: the feature, trailers, a DVD commentary track with the filmmakers, a behind-the-scenes feature and a gallery of stills and artwork.
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For more information and additional publicity material:
Bill Cunningham
cinexploits@gmail.com