It’s rare that fan films can present a premise for a simple concept that can be stretched in to a feature length film. It’s also rare that a fan film that can pay tribute to a beloved icon while also adding a creative twist to it that gives it a special flair that fans would love. “Pac-Man: The Movie” by James Farr changes the concept of Pac-Man while also adding a new flavor to it that works wonders. Pac-Man is, of course, the iconic video game from the eighties about a yellow disc eating pegs and avoiding various colored ghosts. What director Farr and Steelhouse Digital do is add a science fiction twist to it that’s not only incredibly entertaining but pretty damn brilliant.
Tag Archives: Indie Film
The Hidden Chapter (2012)
In truth I could kind of see where the short film from director Rodney Wess was headed, but “The Hidden Chapter” has enough potential to be a solid crime thriller, that I saw it to the end, either way. Though the film does have occasional sound problems, and some editing issues, Rodney Wess does compose a clever and sharp crime thriller short that goes beyond your normal tale of cat and mouse.
Arkham Rising (2012)

This is one of the few fan films I’ve seen that doesn’t take place prior or subsequent a film, but during the film. Unofficially considered a part of the Nolan Batman mythos, director Tito Guillen’s short is set during the time where Bane has defeated Batman and now sets every criminal in Arkham free to do whatever their hearts desire. With a thick sense of tension and dread, along with a wonderful score that channels Nolan’s films, “Arkham Rising” is a simple and short look at madness being unleashed.
Red Cloud: Deliverance (2012)
Sioux Cloud and Hezues R’s short “Red Cloud” is a film very much in the vein of “The Professional” and “Gone Baby Gone,” a short dramatic thriller that has potential to be a wider more full length story, in the end. “Red Cloud: Deliverance” is a very powerful and engrossing exploration of a man escaping his past and his demons, and in the process is confronted by a young girl facing her own demons on a daily basis.
Apocalypse of the Dead (2009)

I don’t know why indie filmmakers are still under the delusion that referencing horror maestros in some form during your film is clever or cute. Granted, it worked to some effect in “Night of the Creeps,” and in a slight degree in “Final Destination,” but now every indie filmmaker who drudges up a zombie movie feels the need to reference George Romero or Tom Savini in some way. There is actually a character off-screen named Agent Savini. Come on, quit it. I’m surprised there wasn’t a Romero hospital by Fulci street and Nicotero Lane. Hey, that’s going in my screenplay! “Apocalypse of the Dead” basically combines “Assault on Precinct 13” with “Dawn of the Dead” and completely throws the shit in the fan.
Zombie Town (2007)
Someone, somewhere thought it’d be a good idea. Whether it was the choice of the filmmakers, the producers, or the distributor, someone thought it’d be a good idea to title this zombie flick “Night of the Creeps 2: Zombie Town.” I guess someone thought since this is a zombie film revolving around parasitic slugs that create the walking dead, therefore it should be considered a sequel.
Maybe someone loved the Fred Dekker cult classic and thought this would eventually be considered a sequel if they branded it as such. In any case, “Zombie Town” is about as much of a sequel to “Night of the Creeps” as those awful Taurus Entertainment sequels “Creepshow III” and “Day of the Dead: Contagium” are to their respective classic films.
The Girl and the Ghost (2012)
Destiny and the hope for something amazing after we die, play a heavy role in animator Jacob Drake’s short film “The Girl and the Ghost.” While the film is essentially a short tale about friendship and being there for someone at their darkest times, the film itself feels like a hope that we’re not finished once we’ve passed on. There must be something beyond this world. We can all hope for that. There’s nothing wrong with wanting to continue our journey. Fates collide one night when young Annabella refuses to sleep, convinced that evil monsters are in her closet.

