There’s a new zombie movie taking Cannes by storm -- and no, it’s not Rob Zombie’s Halloween 2. It’s the film Colin by British indie director Marc Price and it’s getting a lot of attention because of how good it is and what it cost to make. Marc Price and his production company, Nowhere Fast Productions, put the entire movie together on a anemic budget of just $70.
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It took Price eighteen months to film Colin and he did it by advertising for zombie actors on Facebook. To help keep his budget low, he had people bring their own lights, equipment and make-up.
Price told CNN during an interview:
“One of our make-up people came off ‘X-Men 3,’ so we were having the same latex that was put on Wolverine.”
Price’s story of Colin is so interesting, original and is generating so much buzz that when combined with the tiny budget, it has managed to put itself on the radar of some big Hollywood and Japanese studios.
Price said:
“A couple of friends were round a few years ago watching Romero’s ‘Dawn of the Dead’,…and I wondered if a zombie movie from a zombie’s perspective had been done before.”
What he came up with was Colin, a zombie film “with a heart,” and the web is already generating page after page of praise for the film. Zombie Friends called it “as original, compelling and thought provoking as [George] Romero’s ‘Night of the Living Dead,’ and horror magazine SCARS said it would “revolutionize zombie cinema.”
Check out the trailer for Colin below:
Trailer
Be sure to check out the next page for a clip from Colin:
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29 Comments
are you kidding me? this movie looks horrible. the only attention it should be drawing is that of the waste management group. pure garbage.
hornjordan – what was your film? I don’t remember seeing it.
Colin is a great movie and made by someone who cares about his audience.
Would have to see this all in context before rendering a verdict. NOT a fan of the ol’ “shaky-cam = drama = cheaper cost of special effects” motto though, and this film is obviously loaded with it. However, The Blair Witch Project and Cloverfield had a few hopeful glimmers in them, so, this may as well. Must keep in mind it only cost 70 bucks, the entire time you are watching it I’ll bet.
hornjordan: What exactly about this movie looks horrible? Your criticism is pointless without specifics. The film’s innovative POV and reliance on a “human” story rather than over-the-top special effects make the film seem very interesting to me. I can’t wait to see it.
Yeah, I would like to see it before I made any judgements, and I love indie films, and support them whole heartedly, but I also agree with Charles there. Shaky camera mostly just gives me a headache rather than a better opinion of the special effects.
Sad to say that the trailer doesn’t really make me want to see this film. The concept is quite intriguing, but I don’t know that it’s all that brilliant. After all, we’ve seen this done plenty of times with vampires and werewolves and other people transforming into monsters. That this a zombie just seems to leave me cold. And I will add that the quality of the trailer doesn’t inspire my faith in the quality of the film.
Well, as someone who has seen the movie I can confirm that it is excellent; very well made and incredibly well acted by Alastair Kirton in the lead role. While the ’shaky-cam’ does let the side down a little in certain scenes, the overall package is something that is fresh and exciting in a genre that has largely run out of ideas.
@DJBenz – How were you able to see the film? My understanding was the 1st public showing was in Cannes. Were you there or do you know the filmmakers? NOt questioning your your statement btw, just curious
I’ll see it, but I’ll hold my breath. I’ve been sceptic about “indie cheap independent and original” movies since The Blair Witch Vomit
Love the genre, but I think I’ll pass on this one, at least for now.
yeah the trailer is not pulling me in… i might catch it when it lands on the sci-fi channel… i’m almost sure it will but i just saw the trailer to pontypool which looked soo much better.
@Paul Young: The movie has been shown at a Zombie All-Nighter in the UK, Cannes wasn’t the first public showing. However, I got to see it because I reviewed the movie from a screener DVD.
http://www.horrortalk.com/reviews/colin/colin.htm
Also, my colleague Rosie (who is a zombie extra in the movie) did a great on set report:
http://www.horrortalk.com/reviews/Colin_Onset/Zombie_sunday.htm
(Hope links are OK, feel free to remove if you consider them spam)
I guess the links weren’t OK then! lol
@Paul Young: I’ve seen the film because I reviewed it. Horror fans should enjoy it immensely. Please don’t insult the filmmakers by mentioning it in the same breath as that awful Blair Witch rubbish!
@DJBenz – To quote Napoleon “LUCKY!!!” Since I didn’t mention BWP anywhere in my article I’m going to assume you were referring to the other comments left by people. Are you friends with or have you met Price?
Yeah, just commenting on the (natural, given the budget) link to BWP.
I keep in touch with Marc by email; he gives me updates on what the film’s doing and I tell him where I’ve seen coverage that he might not have known about (like the other night when there was a news spot on UK TV!). He keeps badgering me to come down to London for a beer, I’ll take him up on the offer one day!
Well send him over here; we don’t review many horror films on this site but his story is fascinating to me. BTW, checked out your site, nice work.
Very impressive, considering what they had to work with.
I’ve seen many independent productions made for 1,000 times the amount invested into a film like “Colin”, only to fall flat on their faces.
I can only congratulate everyone involved for pulling something worth while together. GOOD JOB!
Just from the trailer… if it is ANYTHING like cloversuck’s crappycam style, I will wait for the book or Simpson’s rippoff.
If it isn’t, I may see it.
Uhh yeah, Im a firm believer that if you have blood and brain nuggets AROUND your mouth, MAYBE JUST MAYBE, you should have a spot of blood on your teeth. Thats all Im saying.
Lets just say it looks like it was made for under $70.
And, no. No I don’t have a movie, Im just someone who watches movies, has an opinion, a computer, and enough money to pay my internet bill.
Modern Film = I could have done that. + You didn’t.
Yeah, this looks utterly ridiculous. I’ve seen some terrible zombie flicks in my day, independent and professional, and this one looks no different. I’m not seeing anything new being brought to the table. I would’ve loved to have seen at least DECENT zombie makeup, but I saw nothing but a few drops of blood around the mouth and eyeshadow. Better luck next time.
70 bucks? Looks like it’s worth it, sorry…
And, sorry again, the whole $70 thing is a bit of marketing, isn’t it? People had to eat, get to the locations, some equipment rented (or used and depreciated, for g*d’s sake), electricity bills, etc. Even if everyone involved paid for all of their personal expenses, it’s still production money. “Leftover makeup” just doesn’t cover it. But it’s a good meme, everybody is talking about the 70 bucks movie.
As I understand it it was partially filmed in London and Wales – just the transport getting between locations would cost more than 45 quid – definitaly “hidden” costs!
$70 they say and a year and a half working on it? Add in the pizzas and refreshments the director bought for his friends over that time and the gas money to get to locations and the cost of the monthly internet usage which was used to gather the free actors and crew and on and on…
It’s a clever gimmick and we wouldn’t be talking about this low end first film otherwise. Take a look at the 2nd trailer
for the film on the Colin website. It looks like a home movie made by a bunch of kids who borrowed their parents’ camcorder. I wouldn’t pay to see it.
Your personal opinions don’t make a difference to the general public. If you don’t like it, leave it and ignore it rather than kicking up a fuss like a two year old and making yourself look silly.
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