Rodney Ascher and Tim Kirk, the filmmakers behind atypical work like Room 237 and sleep paralysis horror-doc The Nightmare have teamed with Terror of Frankenstein star and Kubrick collaborator Leon Vitali for Directors Commentary: Terror of Frankenstein. What is this project? Seemingly, a movie-within-a-commentary, playing out a fictional auditory horror story in the format of behind-the-scenes documentary that plays over the real late 70s Frankenstein adaptation (starring Vitali). Sound nutty? Check out the first clip for a clearer grasp.
The filmmakers describe Directors Commentary: Terror of Frankenstein as an original commentary track for an existing 1970s-era Frankenstein movie. This project transforms the film into an entirely new, all too human, horror story. Its less Mystery Science Theater 3000 and more Sartre, an icy satire of the monsters onscreen, behind the camera, and in the audience.
Directed by Kirk, Directors Commentarys cast includes the great Clu Gulager, Vitali and Zack Norman. It apparently reunites Vitali with his Terror director and the two ultimately reveal the horrors behind the scenes of the movie unfolding before our eyes.
What effect will the dissonance between audio and visual create? Is this an entirely fun, new kind of horror story?
Twitch debuted the first clip from the film, giving you a tease of where it all might go. Directors Commentary: Terror of Frankenstein is set to premiere at the upcoming Stanley Film Festival (where Ascher & Kirk met Vitali) on Friday, May 1st. In anticipation of the screening, the filmmakers are in the midst of a Kickstarter campaign to give the film a proper finish.
