The First Images From Jesse Cook's MONSTER BRAWL

Written By: Ken Hulsey
Sources: Fangoria / Avery Guerra

Over the past few months I have written a couple of articles about the Canadian horror/comedy "Monster Brawl" under the direction of Jesse Cook.

Now the film is done shooting and Cook has released the first images from it via Fangoria.

New details about "Monster Brawl" have also surfaced. It seems that this monster 'fight club' that takes place in an abandoned and cursed graveyard is actually a national televised event and will be presented in the format of a pay-per-view WWE telecast that will include announcers, Buzz Chambers and Sasquatch Sid Tucker, behind-the-scenes footage and bios on the monsters.

The contestants reportedly will include Frankenstein, Dracula, The Mummy and Zombies all divided into two teams The Undead and The Creatures.

This is how Cook explained it to Fangoria, “Fans will want to see monsters fighting, as the title implies, but it was important to inject a dark and powerful storyline behind each creature. After all, they’re the main characters, and we want to know where they came from, how they got involved in this tournament and, for some, how they came back to life. The fight sequences will speak for themselves—especially the grisly final showdown—but at the end of the day, the movie is about the story behind each fighter, much like in real wrestling. Betrayals, heels, babyfaces, pre-fight trash-talking—otherwise, it would be pure carnage. You can have all the moves you want, but without the story you have nothing. It’s essentially good vs. evil. I wanted to make a film that I would watch over and over again with friends when I was 16. Everyone can cheer for their favorite monster and experience the highs and lows that come with defeat and victory.”

Sounds like the film maker really is going to take a good stab at professional (?) wrestling and using monsters to parody the sports (?) top talent is a stroke of genius.

Alongside the for mentioned Chambers and Tucker the cast of "Monster Brawl" includes Dave Foley, MMA referee Herb Dean, wrestlers Jimmy Hart and Kevin Nash, Robert Maillet and Lance Henriksen and Art Hindle.

While the editing of "Monster Brawl" has already begun, Cook, Matt Wiele, and director John Geddes have already begun working on their next film, "Exit Humanity" which will feature the undead during the Civil War. That film is scheduled to begin filming in October near Toronto.

See Also: MONSTER BRAWL Update! - Teaser Art And Casting News / Frankenstein, Dracula, The Mummy And Zombies - Let's Get Ready To Rumble!

MONSTER BRAWL Update! - Teaser Art And Casting News

Written By: Ken Hulsey
Sources: Joblo / Avery Guerra

Here is an update on "Monster Brawl" a little monster "Fight Club" comedy that is being produced up in Ontario undere the direction of film maker Jesse Cook.

As I reported back in June, "Monster Brawl" centers around a film crew that is making a documentary about an underground monster fighting turnament that features zombies, Dracula, Frankenstein, The Mummy and The wolfman, just to name a few.

Of course all of this takes place in an abandoned graveyard that has been turned into a wresling venue.

Foresight Features, the company making the flick, has just releashed the first teaser image (above) and an updated cast list which includes comedian Dave Foley, MMA referee Herb Dean, wrestlers Jimmy Hart and Kevin Nash, Robert Maillet and Lance Henriksen, who will star alongside the already announced, Art Hindle (Porky's, Dallas, Beverly Hills 90210, Murder She Wrote).

Filming for "Monster Brawl" began in June and is expected to run through the end of August. no word on a potential release date yet.

See Also: Frankenstein, Dracula, The Mummy And Zombies - Let's Get Ready To Rumble! / Del Toro Ready To Begin Makeup Tests For FRANKENSTEIN / Monster DVD Madness! DEMEKING, GAMERA And HOUSE OF THE WOLF MAN / Halcyon International Pictures Teams Up With Famous Monsters Of Filmland To Reboot Classic Universal Horrors / Famous Monsters To Bring Back The Creature, The Mummy, Frankenstein And Others To The Silver Screen? / Movie Review: "The Wolfman" (2010) / The Wolfman (2010)(Universal) / Universal's Monsters: Legacy / More Monsterpalooza Photos / Eric Swelstad Promises A More Violent Monster In "Frankenstein Rising" / The Top Ten Hottest Monsters Of 2009

Frankenstein, Dracula, The Mummy And Zombies - Let's Get Ready To Rumble!

Written By: Ken Hulsey
Sources: The Sun Times / Avery Guerra

Over the past half decade as a writer that specializes in the monster movie genre I have had the pleasure of tracking several trends in independent sci fi/horror movies that have come in waves. First there was the retro sci fi/space movies, then there was the giant monster wave, after that, the Bigfoot movie wave, which was followed by the mermaid/mutant sea creature wave.

Of course, these groups of similar films overlapped each other, and sometimes a film type from one wave would be produced while another type was popular, but for the most part, these films all seemed to spring up at around the same time and likewise, fade away at about the same time.

Naturally one would assume that these similar film ideas would come from film makers copying, or stealing, ideas from one another, but amazingly they didn't. After talking to several independent film makers, I discovered that they genuinely had no idea that there were other films similar to their own being produced.

Or so they all claim.

That brings me to the latest popular film idea to spring from the minds of these independent monster movie makers. Films that feature the classic Universal horror icons, Dracula, Frankenstein, The Mummy and their cousins.

Granted, there have been literally thousands of movies made over the past decades that feature these monsters, so this is nothing new, yet it has only been over the past couple of months that new films about these horror mainstays have began to surface yet again.

The latest film maker to revisit the world's greatest monsters is non other than Canadian director Jesse Cook, who started production this past May on "Monster Brawl", a movie that will feature a creature on creature battle royal between, Frankenstein, Dracula, The Mummy and Zombies.

Where would such an epic battle take place? A graveyard in Transylvania? Well, not exactly, the film maker from the great white north has chosen the rather lovely area around Inglis Falls, Ontario, as the backdrop for his monster on monster smash up.

It seems that even monsters like to take in the wonders of nature from time to time just like the rest of us. Besides, how would you rather spend your Summer, filming around three of the most scenic water falls in Canada, or in some old, ugly, village in Romania?

The choice is simple.

In fact, Cook and his production company, Foresight Features, plan to use the local for their next ten films.

"We will be doing a good percentage of the shooting in and around the Grey County area," said Cook. "We want to use some of the stunning landscapes Grey County (Ontario) has to offer. Inglis Falls is one of the areas we are looking at."

The plot for "Monster Brawl" centers around a film crew that is producing a documentary about an underground monster fighting tournament.

According to Cook, "Monster Brawl" will be played on the lighter side, for more laughs than frights.

The film maker was able to land fellow Canadian, Art Hindle (Porky's, Dallas, Beverly Hills 90210, Murder She Wrote) who is veteran of both television and feature films as his lead actor for "Brawl".

Cook already has plans for his next feature, which will begin shooting later this summer after "Monster Brawl" is finished, yet another Zombie film, which is actually one of those trends that I forgot to mention earlier.

Are there more movies with Frankenstain, Dracula, The Mummy and the Wolfman on the horizon? Most certainly. As we speak Halcyon International Pictures along with Famous Monsters of Filmland magazine and even Universal Studios themselves are planning a new films featuring these monsters.

Though, after the week showing of The Wofman, Universal may not be ready to rush any of their films into production in the immediate future. (More on that in my next article)

See Also: Halcyon International Pictures Teams Up With Famous Monsters Of Filmland To Reboot Classic Universal Horrors / Famous Monsters To Bring Back The Creature, The Mummy, Frankenstein And Others To The Silver Screen? / Movie Review: "The Wolfman" (2010) / The Wolfman (2010)(Universal) / Universal's Monsters: Legacy / More Monsterpalooza Photos / Eric Swelstad Promises A More Violent Monster In "Frankenstein Rising" / The Top Ten Hottest Monsters Of 2009