A locally produced film got its video debut in Throggs Neck to the delight of Bronx horror movie fans.
Locust Point director/writer Jerry Landi and several of his stars, including Playboy Playmate Cindy Guyer and local actor Sal Amore, autographed DVD boxes of the sequel to the horror flick “Krackoon,” “Bloodmarsh Krackoon,” at The Video Zoo at 3808 E. Tremont Ave. on Wednesday, May 20.
The celebration of the DVD release capped off more than a year of success for the sequel on film festival circuit across the country, said Landi.
The tongue-in-cheek horror-comedy centers around a crack-addicted raccoon, and his offspring terrorizing part of the Bronx, but they also act as anti-heros who go after villains.
Festival winner
“We did very well on the film festival circuit, and I won a best director award at the New York International Independent Film and Video Festival,” he said, as well as a strong reception at festivals in Buffalo, NY; San Francisco and Los Angeles.
Bloodmarsh Krackoon is also being released on several streaming Video on Demand (VOD) services, as well as through marketers with video rental kiosks, he said. The producers and Landi are currently negotiating television rights, he added.
The film was first screened in April 2013, and a reputable distributor found by November, said Landi, which he called phenomenal and unusual for a micro-budget horror film.
Local scenes
The local video premiere was an apt location, since the film was shot entirely in the Bronx and used local businesses like Patricia’s Throggs Neck for catering and Frank Bee for costumes, said Landi.
“People in the neighborhood will recognize a lot of places that they know,” said Amore, who played the character Deputy Mayor Peter Rabitt.
Amore added that the cast and crew “practically lived” on weekends for a time at the office of Dr. Emilio Biagiotti, a Waterbury-LaSalle family practice doctor that let the crew film in his office when it was not in use.
First-time film actress Lisa Giordano, who plays Nurse Kelly and was also a production assistant, said “Seeing Jerry’s enthusiasm really makes me believe in what we are doing.”
One of executive producers, Martin Vanihel, who plays a thug named “Marty” said the film’s essence is a horror-comedy that does not take itself too seriously.
He called it in the vein of blood and gore movies “that we all grew up on.”
The tagline for the film, “No one dumps on the Bronx…and lives,” came about in part because of a scene where the Krackoon attacks men dumping toxic waste in a playground, said Landi. The villains tend to be folks who are up to some kind of no good.
To learn more about the film, visit www.bloodmarshkrackoon.com
