Eli Roth Adam Green Sick Minds Think Alike

Horror fans everywhere are getting to know Adam Green, one of horror's newest filmmakers. Green has suddenly gained popularity with his newest movie Frozen and is slated to direct the new film Killer Pizza, a big-budget film based on the popular kid's novel of the same title. If you know Adam Green's work, you might notice that he and Eli Roth seem to have a few things in common. They can both create movies based on unlikely but possible events that turn into tragedies and shock the audience. Roth's film Cabin Fever and Green's Frozen both bring drama and horror together for a perfect mix offering unique but believable stories and deliver a their fair share of gore. Green and Roth are not the only filmmakers in the industry that enjoy adapting horror into real-life situations.

French film director Alexandre Aja also knows how to make a great thriller with a very limited budget. You may not have heard of the independent film High Tension as it didn't include well-known American actors and a major production company obviously did not release it. When movies are made on a small budget there is usually little money for advertising and gems like this could go undiscovered. I was lucky enough to catch a preview of High Tension on a DVD rental so I high-tailed it to the video store to rent it the next day. This was another film that reminded me just how great a movie can be when you focus more on the plot and story rather than flashy special effects and an over-the-top budget.

Other filmmakers that know how to shock their audience and turn their unique ideas into hit films are Rob Zombie, Darren Lynn Bousman, Neil Marshall, Greg McLean, James Wan and Leigh Whannell. We all know Rob Zombie by now and he has become so popular that the press already has wind of his plans to make a new movie in Salem, Massachusetts based on witches that return to town from over 200 years ago. He hasn't even written it yet but everyone's already eagerly awaiting Lords of Salem and checking the internet every day for new updates. I am a Massachusetts native and have been an extra on the set of a movie that was filmed here. I'd like another opportunity to be on the big set and although Zombie uses very few (if any) extras in his films, there's always hope to get behind the scenes on this future thriller.

Darren Lynn Bousman is probably not a name that you hear every day but he is the mastermind behind the hit movies Saw II, III and IV. Bousman wrote and directed these films and though one or two of them may not have been your favorites of the series, you have to admit that the guy has a knack for coming up with nail-biting catch-22 situations that keep you entertained and begging for more. If you already know Bousman, you may be aware of his film Repo! The Genetic Opera.

Who is Neil Marshall? He is the writer behind the movies Killing Time, Dog Soldiers, The Descent, Doomsday, Centurion and was the executive producer of The Descent Part 2. I'm not a huge fan of The Descent films but Dog Soldiers won Marshall an award at the The Brussels International Festival of Fantastic Film in 2002. This is a British werewolf movie that I will be watching soon. If a werewolf movie can convince me, then it is a huge accomplishment in my book. Rotten Tomatoes seems to think that Dog Soldiers is above average, giving it a rating of 76% "fresh" rather than "rotten". Something tells me that the best is yet to come for Marshall.

Greg McLean is at the edge of directing a new movie titled Insidious and it sounds like just that. A family's child is comatose yet the boy keeps attracting evil spirits. His family tries to hold on to their hope while praying for the safety of their child. It's movies like these that hit home and make you question, "What if?" McLean was the writer and director of the original Saw and the producer of Saw II-IV as well as Saw 3-D. Chances are McLean won't be putting out too many low-budget films considering the size of his wallet by now. Leigh Whannell is writer of Saw I-III, Dead Silence and the upcoming film Insidious. He is also an actor and starred in over ten movies.

Why am I giving you the rundown on all of these moviemakers? Because I have a feeling you'll start hearing much more about them. What do they all have in common? Well, I'm sure you notice that a few of these guys were involved with the Saw films but this is not what ties all of these stars together. They are known as the "Splat Pack" and no, I didn't coin the term, though I wish I had. Starting in 2002 these filmmakers came out with a slew of hit movies and many of them shared a common theme...they brought torture back to the big screen. They are not best friends with the MPAA but of course most of us want to see their work even more for this very reason. The PG-13 horror movie is not enough to get the crowd riled up, they want all-out, no boundaries, eye-popping thrillers. These guys have shown us that there is not always a need for a outrageous budget to make a good film. All you need is a great plot, decent acting and a boatload of creativity and they have what it takes.

Adam Green is currently struggling to get his future film Hatchet 2 down to an R-rating. I'm looking forward to seeing this movie for the controversy alone and because it should be dramatically different from the original. It is movies like these that prompted film critic Alan Jones of Total Film to group these individual filmmakers together an call them the "Splat Pack" after their love for gore and violence. Keep your eyes open, you never know if they will one day combine their efforts and make the most whacked horror flick of all time. I'd love to see what happens should these sick minds collaborate on a new project that totally breaks the mold.


By: Francis David


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