Kevin Smith has debuted the first trailer for his new upcoming horror film anthology, Killroy Was Here. Smith is primarily known for comedy, but the last several years have seen Smith begin to experiment with low-budget horror filmmaking. Lately, it seems that whenever talk of Smith takes place, it’s to report on the progress of the third installment of his Clerks franchise or the upcoming sequel to 1995’s Mallrats. Both Clerks and Mallrats have played a huge role in the advancement of Smith’s career, and even today, nearly thirty years after the release of the films, many consider these to be his best work.
However, over the better part of the past decade, Smith’s work on films like Red State and Tusk have cast the filmmaker in a different light. While not for everyone, Smith’s version of horror has mixed elements of classic slasher films with the sort of stoner humor that many of his other films are famous for. The end results don’t typically satisfy critics, but Smith’s dedicated fanbase seems to consistently appreciate the passion projects. His latest take on the genre is an anthology film called Killroy Was Here, which stars long time pal, Jason Mewes.
As previously mentioned, Killroy Was Here has been overshadowed to date by news of Clerks 3 and Mallrats 2. But during Comic-Con@Home, Smith took the opportunity to talk a little bit about the new film, as well as to give the world its first taste of Killroy Was Here. Though repeatedly emphasizing that this is not the trailer for the horror anthology, but rather a trailer, it still remains the first look that the public has had of Smith’s upcoming horror project. At present there isn’t an exact official release date for Killroy Was Here, but Smith does say that the film will “probably” be released by early 2021. Check out the full trailer below:
For those unfamiliar with the graffiti symbol “Killroy Was Here”, it originated during World War II among American GI’s. The image is of a cartoon man with an especially prominent nose, peering over a wall. It’s unknown exactly who Killroy is or was, or why the graffiti came to exist in the first place. What is known is that it has persisted for decades, showing up in some of the unlikeliest of places.
Smith’s project offers a fictionalized account of Killroy’s origins while delivering an anthology film of tales involving the character. Made partly prior to the filmmaker’s massive heart attack in 2018 and partly after his recovery, Killroy Was Here enlisted the help and talents of students at Florida’s Ringling College of Art and Design. Smith seems genuinely thrilled about the students’ participation in the project, so much so that it’s hard not to feel that his enthusiasm for his work is contagious.
Smith has always been devoted to the stories he tells and has pursued the sort of filmmaking that he believes in and supports. Fiercely independent at times, he’s proven on numerous occasions that a filmmaker doesn’t necessarily need hundreds of millions of dollars to bring their creations to life. It’s clear from this first trailer for Killroy Was Here that the film was made on a strict budget, and although it’s unlikely to take Hollywood by storm upon its release, Smith’s dedication and drive are sure to be apparent in every single frame of the horror anthology.
Source: Comic-Con@Home