Whether you're onboard with Kevin Smith's latest chapter in his filmmaking career it's impossible not to like the guy and root for him. I'm a full-on fanboy of the bearded one so maybe not the most un-biased opinon, but once you dig a little deeper in what he's being doing lately, and more importantly why (no it's not just the weed) you get to a place where you can respect it even if you don't like it. Tusk and Yoga Hosers are both almost universally unliked. Tusk I'll agree with, but if I can make a side note here, the film suffers from poor editing choices and not good content. The title monster is revealed half-way through the movie, before the investigation for him even really gets underway taking any tension out of the rest of the story. Yoga Hosers, while not a classic by any means, had plenty of it's own merits. It was a fun, silly little film in the vein of budget 80's teen horror....which is exactly what was intended. Bottom line, he's very upfront about saying he made these movies because it's something he wanted to see that he didn't think anyone else would do, consequences be damned he's doing EXACTLY what any of us that ever dreamed of making films wanted to do, it just so happens that what he wants to see isn't what most other people want to see.
Next up is a film that Smith has been working on in bits and pieces for some time. Kilroy Was Here is an anthology horror film, in the spirit of Creepshow, which is based on the character from the OG meme (pictured above) which could be found painted all over Europe by American GI's during WWII. The flick is being made as a joint venture between Smith, Andy McElfresh (who co-hosted one of Smith's many podcasts), and the Ringling College of Art and Design. It's that last part that really sets this story apart. Ringling College has a program where they bring in a filmmaker to work with their students on an actual production, no student films, no teacher who never produced a single thing, real work on a real movie. The fact that Kevin Smith is going out of his way to help the next generation of filmmakers in such a direct way sets him apart for 90% of his colleagues in terms of putting his money where his mouth is.
The titular creature is being designed by legendary creature creator and make-up FX artist Robert Kurtzman (Army of Darkness, From Dusk Till Dawn) who previously worked with Smith to create the transformed Man/Walrus (Malrus?) from Tusk, regardless of your feelings on that movie you have to admit that was one disturbing monster. Seeing as how the cute little Kilroy has something ominous about him as it is, and Smith describes his Kilroy as "Golem, the Boogeyman and the Grim Reaper combined", I can't wait to see what Kurtzman delivers. As for the human characters there haven't been any big names outside of the usual Smith players announced until this morning when he posted the following to his Instagram account:
"Presenting The Gator Chaser - a nasty-ass South Florida streamer played by @chrisjerichofozzy! I’ve been shooting a horror anthology called #KillroyWasHere with the kids of @ringlingcollege,"Is Chris Jericho a noted actor? Of course not, but he IS always a stand-out presence and brings a field of fun with him wherever he goes. Add in that hte "Ayatollah of Rock n Rolla" is playing a redneck Gator hunter from Florida and you have something I want to see.
Kilroy Was Here does not currently have a release date but stay tuned to PunchDrunkCritics.com for more info as we have it..
