The Splat Pack - An Overview

I'd like to be able to objectively and officially review The Splat Pack — because I genuinely think it's worthy of being seen by a wide audience — but as an interviewee in the doc, I must recuse myself. But I'm happy to provide an overview and a few of my observations on the hour-long program, set for release in late August (just in time to coincide with splat-pack member Alexandre Aja's Piranha 3D).

Directed by Mark Henry and Frank H. Woodward of Wyrd Studios, this movie takes a fearless look back at the first decade of 21st century horror movies and the filmmakers who wound up re-energizing the entire genre worldwide. The story of the splatter flick —told directly through filmmakers (Aja, Darren Lynn Bousman, Adam Green, Greg Mclean, Neil Marshall, Greg Nicotero, and Eli Roth), and journalists (Alan Jones, Harry Knowles, and myself… I'm the only female in a bevy of boys; love it) — is linear.

The arc starts with a brief overview of theatrical entertainment in the 70s and 80s, touches on the horror-comedy craze of the 90s, and then settles into the brutal and unflinching torture films of the 00s in which Saw, Hostel, The Devil's Rejects and a few others are considered seminal. (Missing are interviews with Saw director James Wan and TDR director Rob Zombie — but each is well-represented with film clips and insightful commentary.)

While it's difficult to make a talking head retrospective much more than just that, the Wyrd guys have managed to mix up the visuals with cherry-picked film clips (definitely the UNRATED versions!) and cool poster and billboard art, plus they've perked up the audio component with a strong yet subtle original score by Mars of Dead House Music.

As Michelangelo said at age 78, "I'm still learning!" To wit, I learned (or maybe just re-remembered) a lot from watching my counterparts' interviews. Roth's recollections of the test screening from his first film, Cabin Fever, are wonderful to hear, as are Aja's stories about the art of compromise. The stories he tells about the controversial twist in High Tension, and the parakeet-biting scene in his The Hills Have Eyes remake, are zingers (I was both laughing and squeamishly squirming when he was describing a certain scenario that *didn't* make it into THHE!).

There are also some interesting understatements and ironic asides (McLean: "I don't think my films are particularly gory." Me, re Saw: "I didn't see that one coming." Bousman: "Bad reviews are good reviews; nothing beats the reaction of upset people.")

The term itself, The Splat Pack, is attributed to Jones and its propagation credited to Roth — that evolution is discussed, as is the inevitable backlash in the nomenclature "torture porn" and so on. There's a little forecasting from everyone, then it's over. All's well that ends well, and coming in at right about an hour, The Splat Pack is bite-sized entertainment.

Check www.wyrdstuff.com for release date and download options.

What's Next?

Alexandre Aja - Piranha 3D (director)
Darren Lynn Bousman - Mother's Day (director)
Adam Green - Hatchet 2 (director)
Alan Jones - Guillermo del Toro biography (writer)
Harry Knowles - AICN.com
Greg Mclean - Red Hill (producer)
Neil Marshall - Centurion (director)
Greg Nicotero - The Walking Dead (makeup f/x)
Eli Roth - The Last Exorcism (producer)
Staci Layne Wilson - The 50 Best Horror Movies You've Never Seen (interviewee)

The Wyrd Studios Crew - Men in Suits doc

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Staci Layne Wilson reporting