A week or so ago I ran a short film in the ‘Watch This Now’ column; Panic Attack is an Uruguayan scifi short about a bunch of giant robots attacking Montevideo. Done on a low budget but with an expansive imagination, Panic Attack managed to thrill ten times as much as Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen but with a fraction of the running time.
Now the director of that short, Fede Alvarez, is reaping the internet buzz he sowed. Ghost House, Sam Raimi’s production company, has signed a deal with Alvarez based on an original alien invasion concept he pitched to them. The film would be made on the cheap, and Ghost House is now looking for a writer to turn the high concept into a script.
Can Alvarez do a feature? It would be cool if he could, and if he could follow in the footsteps of District 9 and make a low budget scifi film that blows the big boys out of the water.
You can watch Panic Attack below.
12 comments
I don't get it. The film is only good because of the visual effects ad not because of the director's storytelling capabilities.
Sam Raimi should hire the guys who made "Treevenge" or the portuguese kids who made "Papá Wrestling".
Saw this last week and I'm not impressed at all. Surely he didn't get a feature film deal based solely on this, did he? The quality difference between Blomkamp's shorts and this are quite staggering. This is Michael Bay light…
at least its one of the more efficient alien invasions seen on film.. hopefully there isn't a main character that no one cares about (transformers) and just a human reaction to the devastation from various countries.. a low budget film can allow this to happen..
Not too bad from an effects standpoint, and I dig the ambiguousness of the short, but to use the music from 28 Days Later? For shame.
Looks good, but I hope they actually come up with a story/likeable characters if this gets made. Unlike Skycaptain and the world of tomorrow, which also started out as a glorified FX demo.
some great stuff, good luck. Although it felt a bit like one of those over long and self indulgent car adverts. Nice Emmerich homage though.
Do you guys realise this cost the man $300 to make? And you sit there and give us your "I'm not impressed" bullshit. You know what doesn't impress me? Your shitty attitude. The day you make anything even close to 'Panic Attack' with such little resources, then maybe you can talk.
I think letting someone direct a movie after just one 5min short is crazy..
Bah! Hollywood is a one way street and it needs to stay that way! This new guy hasn't been tested! Give it to Emmerich! I resent everything! *weeps*
There's a boom on Latin America of genre filmmaking. Argentine and Brazil have a few representants also.
ARGENTINE
"El Eternauta"
Adaptation of one of the greatest latin american sci-fi comic.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KPv5jhx1DX8
"Plaga Zombie 2"
A sequel to an independent hit from a few years ago.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nAqZP2WgAks
BRAZIL
"Akai"
An horror film that was show in several festivals. It has visuals inspired by Bava and Argento, in their good times.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ihuq9F4352s
"Beyond the Grave"
A low budget sci-fi/horror/road movie that is in the works.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FKiZW2XbdzM
"Embodiment of Evil"
Has been circling the festivals and is quite an impressive film.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KtPQh1AMl2Q
I don't think any of them can cross over, as "Panic Attack" has, but they seem very cool.
I agree. Short films like Treevenge and ATTACKAZOIDS! deserve to get made into features. Though Panic Attack looked good, those other films had story, heart and were incredibly unique.
Eh, it's a fun short but it has no legs as a long form piece (and the group-bomb tactic at the end is idiotic), unless it's a Twilight Zone sort of deal where the kid at the beginning's fantasies come to life? That at least would allow for fun retro monsters and whatnot. Re: $300 budget – what does that even mean? How many man-hours did he spend on the CGI? How many personal favours did he pull in with the actors? It's flashy for an amateur piece or beginner's show-reel, but it's nothing near the quality of Blomkamp's pre-D9 output.
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