Turkey Legs

"….But does Dracula know there is no such thing as Dracula ! "

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  • ” …But does Dracula know there is no such thing as Dracula?”

    Halloween is next week, so I thought I would put out an extra Halloween theme blog. I will share some of my favorite Halloween/horror genre films that are not well known, or from the past, that some people may not have seen or even heard of. Some of them are classics, Like this first one:

    Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948).

    Quentin Tarantino has said that this is one of his all-time favorite films. Abbott and Costello were the most popular comedy team of the 1940s and 1950s, and in 1948, made what could be, the first horror/comedy movie. And it will always be one of the best.

    If you have never watched this movie, watch it this Halloween. It is old, but it is still hilarious.

    OK, now for the main Horror film list, and there is nothing funny about these. These are “bloody” good horror films. They are in no particular order. There are no crazy, gore fest, mindless violence for violence sake films on this list. I do not like that stuff. These films all have some combination of qualities like: great story, acting, concept or filmmaking in general and that is why they are on this list.

    It Follows (2015)

    The Thing (1982)

    The Rental (2020)

    House of the Devil (2009)

    The Innkeepers (2011)

    You’re Next (2011)

    Upgrade (2018)

    The Invitation (2015)

    It Follows

    Written and directed by David Robert Mitchell, his second feature film. It stars Maika Monroe who is great as the young woman pursued by a supernatural entity.

    The Thing (1982)

    Another one of Quentin Tarantino’s favorite films, John Carpenter’s The Thing, has been appraised as one of the best science fiction/horror films ever made.

    The Rental (2020)

    This film is technically a “slasher” film but it is so much more than that. Yes there is a slasher in it, but this film would work as a drama without the slasher element. The reasons are because the writing and the acting are first class.

    Directed by Dave Franco, written by Dave Franco and Joe Swanberg. Joe Swanberg is a Chicago based writer, director and actor, who was a major figure in the “mumblecore” film movement along with Greta Gerwig ( Lady Bird, Barbie).

    The main actors: Dan Stevens, Alison Brie, Jeremy Allen White and, one of my favorites, Sheila Van, all turn in stellar performances. If there was an Oscar for horror film dramatic performances – Sheila Vand should get one.

    House of the Devil (2009)

    This is the film that put writer/director Ti West on the map. It also made Jocelin Donahue an indie film icon. It is set in the 1980’s and is a bit of a slow burn, but the whirlwind third act is worth the wait. Greta Gerwig has a great supporting role in this one as well.

    The Innkeepers (2011)

    Ti West’s next film after House of the Devil. It is a slow burn as well, but another great one from West. Sara Paxton stars as Claire, the employee of the hotel “dead set” (sorry) on finding a ghost.

    You’re Next (2011)

    Adam Wingard made this film for $1 million and had a bunch of his actor and director friends star in it. The film made $27 million and he has been making Hollywood blockbusters ever since. It’s a slasher-ish movie with a twist. Without giving too much away, the film shows us why murderers need to be more careful about choosing which families to kill, like, one of the women could have been raised in a survivalist compound in Australia. Nuff said.

    There is one funny scene where one of the bothers (Joe Swanberg) is belittling his sister’s (Amy Seimetz) boyfriend (Ti West) because he is an underground filmmaker. In real life they are all independent filmmakers.

    Upgrade (2018)

    Written and directed by Leigh Whannell, this is my favorite Blumhouse Productions (Get Out) film. They made it with $3 million, but it looks and feels 30x more expensive. The real reason this film is so good, however, is because of one of my favorite American actors – Logan Marshall-Green. He is awesome in this. The film is worth watching for his acting alone.

    His heartbreaking portrayal of a man left paralyzed, and his wife murdered in a vicious mugging, is really something to watch. It is a master class in the fine art of acting.

    Then the film goes techno-bat shit crazy. But it’s still great.

    The Invitation (2015)

    Directed by Karyn Kusama, this is the second film on my list starring Logan Marshall-Green. This movie is another slow burner that builds up to a terrific crescendo you won’t forget. And again, Logan Marshall-Green is fantastic and heartbreaking in this. Another acting master class.

    That’s my list for this Halloween and I’m stick’n to it.

    If you get a chance, watch a couple of these films this Halloween, you will not be sorry. Or you might be sorry….just leave the lights on when you go to bed.

    Ciao for now,

    Tom McGarry

  • This brain belonged to Abby someone….Abby Normal.

    Hello everyone, welcome to my first “blog” concerning all things pertaining to the production of my short film – Turkey Legs. I will post once or twice a month on various topics such as: films that inspired the writing of the screenplay, articles on the film making process, any art or character designs that are developed, so on. It’s not homework, just sharing, read whatever you want or have time for, I know everyone is busy. Please excuse any misspelling or grammatical errors, it’s not my strongpoint. At least you know I did not use A.(bloody)I. to write this. I do think this will be a useful resource to really understand what the origins of this film are and what I am trying to create. And at some point I do have to create a monster, which brings me to the subject of my first blog.

    Turkey Legs ( or Atomic Leprechaun Is The Best Wine In The Known Universe ) is a Horror/Comedy short film concept, inspired by classic Horror/Comedies of the past like Young Frankenstein. Most people my age have seen this film, some multiple times, because this film is, beyond a shadow of a doubt…a Classic. If you have not seen this film, and you like comedies, you must see this movie.

    Young Frankenstein (1974) was directed by Mel Brooks, written by Mel Brooks and Gene Wilder. It starred Gene Wilder as Dr. Frankenstein, Peter Boyle as the Monster, Teri Garr as the beautiful lab assistant and the one and only Marty Feldman as Igor.

    Quentin Tarantino has publicly stated that he considers Young Frankenstein to be a perfect movie.

    There is a documentary on Netflix called Remembering Gene Wilder, it has some wonderful insights into the making of Young Frankenstein. There is a part in the documentary where Mel Brooks relates how he knew the film was going to be a success. They had a hard time getting scenes done, because the crew kept bursting out laughing during filming. He said, he actually went out and bought 100 white handkerchiefs and gave them out to the crew. And he knew when a scene was working when during filming, he would look back at the crew and there would be a sea of white handkerchiefs held over people’s faces.

    Mel Brooks’ Young Frankenstein is a spoof of the Universal Pictures 1931 horror classic Frankenstein. Brooks wanted to stay as true to the original as possible, filming in black and white, something the studio was not happy about, and even using equipment from the original 1931 film. They pretty much copied some scenes exactly like the original, except Brooks added the comedy elements into the mix.

    Brooks even managed to convince Gene Hackman to play the role of the blind hermit who tries to befriend the monster. Another scene taken directly from the original 1935 sequel Bride of Frankenstein. Gene Hackman had just won the Oscar for Best Actor in 1972 for The French Connection, an extremely dramatic portrayal of a hardened New York cop trying to bust up an international heroin operation. So, having Gene Hackman playing the comedic role of the blind hermit in Brooks’ film was bizarre in itself. But Hackman was great. Hilarious. He played it straight against the physical humor of Peter Boyle’s monster. It was one of the funniest scenes in the film.

    All the influences and inspiration from Young Frankenstein that may have seeped over into my screenplay were subtle at best. Nothing was directly copied or reproduced, they were mere shadows, hints of references. All but one. I just couldn’t resist paying tribute and showing my great love and admiration for Young Frankenstein in some small, funny way. Those of you who have read Turkey Legs and have seen Young Frankenstein may have caught it.

    Without giving away any spoilers from Young Frankenstein, at the end of the hilarious, blind hermit scene in that movie, Gene Hackman ( the blind hermit) follows the monster ( who has just ran THROUGH his front door to escape the hermit’s home) outside. The hermit stands outside alone, blindly searching for his lost new friend, and delivered an ADLIBBED line no one expected –

    ” Wait….where are you going, I was going to make ESPRESSO”

    It was one of those times the cast and crew burst out laughing as the scene went black.

    So, in my screenplay, my ” tip of the hat” to this film was when Uncle Pat was standing on his front porch after everyone had ran away from the Turkey-Spider and says:

    “Wait…I was going to serve Gelato”

    Again, I couldn’t resist.

    That’s my story and I’m stick’n to it.

    Hope you guys like this blog and find it helpful and entertaining. Again, I will try and get one or two posts out every month, time permitting. Thanks for your time.

    Remember, no matter how bad things get…it could be worse….it could be raining.

    Ciao for now.

    Tom McGarry