TED BUNDY HAD A SON

It started just under a decade ago. A 24-year-old frustrated filmmaker down on his luck decided to see what would happen if he grabbed a digital camcorder, a girl, the money in his wallet (45 bucks) and went out and shot a movie in a single night based on the sole idea of manipulated rape and murder (without a script, putting both the actress and himself in jeopardy).

What took place after that was beyond words. The film simply spiraled out of control. It was both praised and banned World Wide. It received mainstream distribution for Home Video (from E1 Entertainment), played Theatrically, outraged Academy Award Nominee Lesley Ann Warren (so much so that she interfered with the Theatrical Release and Greatly Sabotaged the film's Promotional Efforts) and was hit with amazing unexpected acclaim by MTV, Film School Rejects, Film Threat and Mr. Skin, as well as numerous magazines, web sites and publications around the globe (even the infamous hip-hop group Wu-Tang Clan snatched an Amateur Porn Star Killer DVD before its official release and said "the film was dope!").

Director/Actor Shane Ryan immediately followed up with two sequels after the first film's success. But for the past half-plus decade he has claimed that he would never make another one. Well, after years of requests by both fans and distributors, he has finally agreed...as long as the title of the film be changed. The character is still that of the Ted Bundy-like charming serial killer/rapist (called "Brandon"), the film simply has a new title, and appropriately-so; TED BUNDY HAD A SON.

Now, YOU can be a part of this infamous, "transgressive and terribly realistic" (Film Threat) series!!! Get Producer credits, Pre-Order Your DVD and get it personalized, and even buy the lead actress' final outfit in the film! There's also a very special perk which includes Filmmaker Shane Ryan and his Leading Lady flying out to wherever you are to meet and Thank You personally, plus take you out to dinner (on them!).

And here's the Best Part! The film already has signed on a DISTRIBUTOR before it's even been shot; something practically unheard of for an Independent Film, and completely unheard of for an Underground Film like this! Sound too good to be true? Check with our Distributor yourself! The Wonderful WILD EYE RELEASING (check out their film catalogue below).

So, what the hell are you waiting for?? Still not convinced to take part in this game-changing series?

While films with budgets of $50,000, $100,000, even $1,000,000 fail to find distribution, we already have it. And even if a film finds distribution, it typically gets lost in the shuffle. Well, take a look at the recognition these no-budget APSK films have received (aside from everything we've already mentioned).

They've been written up in nearly a half-dozen PUBLISHED books (that we know of!), including; From The Arthouse to The Grindhouse, Shattered Innocence, Lost and Found, Earogenous Zones: Sound, Sexuality and Cinema, with several discussions in the recently released book from Britain called Torture Porn: Popular Horror after Saw, and exclusive interviews in The Suffering and Celebration of Life in America and the Swedish-language book Äkta skräck. The APSK series is currently getting it's own entire section (written by Dr. Steve Jones) in the upcoming anthology book from major International Leading Publisher Bloomsbury entitled Snuff: Real Death and Screen Media (edited by Dr. Shaun Kimber, author of Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer).

Did we also mention that the APSK Trilogy is getting a Special 2-Disc Box Set release this Summer? That's the 3rd release for this ground-breaking trilogy! We could keep going on and on, but what's the point? We've made it.

Go to the crowdfunding campain here: Indiegogo

Sleaze Flick Review: Amateur Porn Star Killer 2 - 2008

Amatuer Porn Star Killer 2

Director: Shane Ryan

2008

Horror

I figure that if you have any interest in this movie you have already seen the first in the trilogy. I find it unnecessary to write down a synopsis in bold letter as I usually do since it’s really more of the same thing. Brandon picks up girls, fucks and kills them.

There are two version of the film on this DVD release. There is the movie version and the snuff version. They are similar of course but also quite different. The snuff version is more to the point without a lot of the stuff going on around the movie version. Personally I like the snuff version better, it’s somewhat rougher and also what the killer really intended. The victims’ pain and humiliation comes through better!

But both versions are very hard to watch, not because of the theme – which is truly a horrible one, but because of the way the story is told. Out of order and with a very shaky hand hold camera. There is lots of nudity – both male and female. It’s one of the things that the film benefits from; it makes it a little more realistic to be sure! But for the most part I’m sorry to say that it’s quite dull. I’d rather see the first film than this at any time but I’m still looking forward for the final part which I will review soon!

Review: Amateur Porn Star Killer - 2006

Amateur Porn Star Killer

Director: Shane Ryan

2006

Horror

Brandon looks nice and doesn’t have a problem to get the girls attention. Beneath the surface lies a secret though. Stacy, the young girl he just picked up and persuaded to accompany him to his hotel room, will soon be aware of his dark personality when he manipulates himself into her mind and she “willingly” takes her clothes of one by one for him while he films the events. She has a nervous smile on her face during the “voluntary” undressing which changes when he force himself onto her, humiliates her and rape her right before he beats her to death – all on camera!

The idea itself with a sole perpetrator that kidnap young girls just to rape, humiliate and kill them on camera might not be a new one but it’s certainly an attractive one when it comes to pseudo snuff, which is what this film is all about. I have to admit that I was expecting a stronger, more explicit tale of violence but this is really a brilliant imitation of a genre so concealed in mysteries that no one has been able to prove its existence – yet!

The quality of the picture is crap and you don’t se any naughty and/or violent details at all and I think that’s the main thing. What you get is a film that the perpetrator records and this is just about what it would look like if he has lousy equipment. Very realistic indeed! One might think that he should have concentrated on capturing more graphic details if he’s going to get something out of his own recording later but that is not the case here. There is somewhat of an explanation in the end credits about this but I’m not going to give it away here.

There’s a big problem with the sound though, it’s so bad from time to time that it’s hard to hear the dialog. This might partly be for accomplishing the same effect as for the crap picture – realism, but there’s also a problem with the soundtrack, the music drown the voices, more or less. I really like the soundtrack though; it enhances the pictures and creates an atmosphere for the movie. But at the same time it’s bad for the realism, I don’t think that a real snuff film would have had any music what so ever!

Brandon (Shane Ryan) behavior towards the young woman becomes more and more violent during the film and that’s exactly the image I have of a perpetrator of his kind in my mind. Obsequious and flattering at first so that she will give in to his perversions and then a change of personality! The camera shakes and moves all over the place and with the combination of the bad picture this successfully hides what really happens and we – the viewers, must just our imagination instead. I usually claim that this is the preferred way to tell a disturbing tale but I am not certain about it in this case. I would like to have more of the violence and sex in the frame instead of outside it. It becomes kind of tame and it’s difficult to keep interested even if the movie is just around 70 minutes.

Definitely an interesting movie worth seeing, but not the masterpiece I was hoping for.

Review: T is for Tag

It took me a few screenings before I could understand this short for real. As a matter of fact I’m still not 100% sure but that’s not necessary anyway. It’s kind of a surreal story that could mean a few different things and the story itself isn’t the main thing. What’s important is the atmosphere and the awareness of the storytelling. It’s a bit difficult to explain but I guess it’s mainly about how the story is told. We are shown two sisters (twins maybe) and my conclusion is that one of them is already dead due to some tag-game when they were kids. If the dead sister is there or not, or if she’s even dead, is not certain and it doesn’t need to be. That’s the strength of it, the possibilities the viewers can decide for themselves. It’s a strong little piece which includes self mutilation and full frontal nudity. It’s high class art! …and Japanese horror from USA! 

Review: My name is A by Anonymous - 2011

My name is A by Anonymous

Director: Bonéshin

2011

Drama/Thriller

Inspired by true events. A nine year old girl disappears and is later found murdered. The movie exploits the events leading up to the death of the girl, why did it happen? What lies beneath? Was the parenting of the young perpetrators to blame or was it their need to be seen. Are they even an invention of the imagination and not real? There are no easy answers in this movie, there’s only angst and death!

This is a strange movie, no doubt about it! And I can’t say that everyone will like it. Not that everyone will dislike it either but it is kind of hard to watch and it's very provocative! It’s inspired by a true crime, a murder of a 9 year old girl in 2009. I don’t know anything about the case at all but I’ve learned over the years that “inspired by” mean almost nothing and don’t mean there are any historic facts in it at all. If may be different with independent productions such as this but I wouldn’t bet on it.

I get the impression that the real case wasn’t really solved or at least had some doubts left in it. At least this movie has that. The story isn’t told in chronological order and it’s not even clear if all the characters exist or if they’re just the product on the imagination of the perpetrator. Even more interesting is what lies beneath, is it a case of child abuse, insect, or just plain old teenage angst? I can’t really tell, but the background is certainly not a happy one!

More or less the whole movie tries to set an emotion. The plot is very vague and kind of fragmented which forces the viewer to make decisions about what’s really happening. The value of interpretations is very high. I love movies like this that makes you think. They may not be as entertaining as a brain dead action film but the overall enjoyment and intellectual gain from them is outstanding.

It’s filmed like the characters shoots the film themselves by using cell phones. Well, not all the time maybe; and I would have to say that the quality of the film exceeds that of cell phones too. But it is dirty and scratched (which would indicate film rather than a digital cell phone really, but I didn’t think about that until just now) and adds to the realism of the acting. And the acting is really good! It’s hard to tell that it's actually actors playing parts and that’s about as good as it gets! It’s a disturbing, strong movie about angst. At least it is for me, the murder is just a subplot which might help to sell this film to the audience.

Review: Warning!!! Pedophile Released - 2009

Warning!!! Pedophile Released

Director: Shane Ryan

2009

Drama

After six years imprisonment Malaci is released from prison. The accusation is sexual molestation of the twelve year old Echo, a crime that he denies. He claims that the only thing he ever wanted was to be near her like in any other relationship. She has waited for him during his time in prison and now they can finally reunite. This seems far more difficult than they ever could comprehend when there are suddenly notes all around with his face on, warning the neighbourhood about his release. He is a released Pedophile!

This is probably one of the hardest en toughest reviews I’ve ever written. Pedophilia is such a delicate subject to deal with and even the most subtle sentence may be misinterpreted as some sort of excuse for a disgusting behaviour. But keep in mind that this is just a movie and that it creates hypothetic situations where one needs to choose sides on a philosophical level if we’re going to get somewhere. The thing is to identify your own emotions and analyse the situations in a rational way.

                                                 

The point with the whole movie seems first and foremost be that it’s the sexual deviance that should be punished, not plain love. And even how immoral it may sound that’s exactly what this movie is all about, a love story! Two people want to be together, even if their difference in age, he eighteen and she twelve, makes it more or less impossible. What’s behind the accusations against him that eventually send him to jail aren’t exposed by the movie. If there’s any sexual molestation or not is something you have to figure out as a viewer yourself. But if the accusations are true I would say that the rest of the movie is about the Stockholm syndrome. How ever I doubt that this is the case even if she waits for his release so that they can be together again.

But in either case this is definitely a very provocative movie that really puts the viewer on a hard test. Is it possible to ignore you disgust for the situation itself and look for deeper meanings beyond the obvious plot? It might just be mutual love between the two? In either case the movie claims that the girl, who is twelve at the time of the accusation, loses herself in a spiral of decadence while she waits. She discovers the world in the mist brutal and ruthless way.

This is visually accomplished by rather bothersome cinematography that spins and turns more or less all the time. It’s a successful way to show her journey through life but quite disturbing to watch (which is probably the point anyway). And it’s just this voyeuristic feeling that almost the whole movie emphasises on. There’s not a whole lot of direct plot so you’ll just have to figure things out for yourself with this palette of emotions to help guide you though it.

Shane Ryan and Kai Lanette, which is also directed and/or wrote the movie plays the two biggest roles as Malachi and Echo really well! But since the film is divided into three segments and most of it is designed to visualise Echoes fate during different times she carries the biggest load along with the cinematography.