If you’re looking for a man built like a tank who hacks and slashes away at young adults with an axe, please don’t purchase SYFY’s Axe Giant: The Wrath of Paul Bunyan. Instead, see yourself to Amazon.com or VOD outlets and treat yourself to Axeman at Cutter’s Creek. I guarantee you it’ll be a more worthy addition to your movie collection, and it was one of the most talked about independent horror releases of 2013. So much so, in fact, that a sequel was greenlit to meet the demand for The Axeman! Speaking exclusively with franchise writer, producer and director Joston Theney, he had this to say about the budding franchise’s development, “The original film was executed in a way to stand alone without the need of a follow-up, but I knew that if the demand was there, I had structured the Axeman universe in a way to expand to a trilogy. The desire was always there from me as a creative to make this a franchise, a trilogy, but the producer in me knew that each film had to stand alone and it has to make dollars and sense to do sequels. Fortunately, we have amazing fans and an incredibly supportive horror community that made it very apparent that the film was a success despite the creative bookkeeping of the distributor.”
When the decision was made to continue with a sequel, currently titled Axeman II: Overkill, the big question was – how do you continue the story-line? Do you do a reboot even though it’s only been a two year break? Do you feature a grand return of a previous character? How do you make a direct sequel in this day and age? Theney was kind enough to divulge a few spoilers, answering these questions with, “Most will call it a sequel, more specifically a direct sequel, but I’d much rather call it a continuation. The film starts the same morning the previous film ended, just a couple hours before. And from there, it’s a race to a very bloody finish line. It expands on the legend of The Axeman but also the reality of what happened to the Talbert family and that of the families lucky enough to survive the mass killings 30 years ago, which gave birth to this axe-wielding maniac.” And why, exactly, is he killing again? Theney concludes this question with, “One of my favorite lines from the original film was when Liz (played by Erin Marie Hogan) is dying at The Axeman’s hands and she asks, ‘Why?’ and his reply is, ‘Z.’ He had no reason for killing her. Still doesn’t have a reason for why he’s killing the rest of her friends. They just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
Speaking of the cast list, I couldn’t help but notice that Axeman II: Overkill took a drasttic turn in choices. Axeman at Cutter’s Creek featured a ton of horror icons – including Brinke Stevens and Tiffany Shepis – while Axeman II features more mainstream talent. Director Joston Theney explains, “I wanted to open this film up to the masses and you can’t do that with niche performers. I wish you could but you just can’t. In order to get this film out to the masses and gain the type of exposure a film like this deserves, you have to cast it appropriately. I have nothing but the utmost respect for the talent from the first film and they did extraordinarily well with the material, but hyping up that film took way more effort than if I’d had higher profile talent. All I did was mention Farrah [Abraham]’s name and the film was on the front page of MTV for almost a week. You can’t buy that type of exposure! It’s what happens when you widen your view and shed preconceived notions. It’s what happens when you stay true to what you are creating and cast to appeal to the masses.”
I am a reality television junkie and, while I could care less about the ‘talent’ of Farrah Abraham, I’m actually a huge fan of Rachel Reilly from season’s 12 and 13 of CBS’ hit series “Big Brother.” She broke records as a competitor, brought the drama and even found love all on national television; Hi, Brendon! As a fan, I just had to ask about Joston’s experience working with the reality star. He gushed, “If you are a huge fan of Rachel’s, she’s very deserving of it. She’s one of the most awesome people I’ve met since I’ve been in Los Angeles and she was a complete blasty-blast on set. She works tirelessly to get you what you need – don’t think I ever heard her complain once – and she’s always early, off-book and brings tons of ideas to the table. Those are just a few of the great reasons I brought her back to work on my upcoming film The Letter Red, which is a modern adaptation of Macbeth. She truly is a great performer to collaborate with and a great person to know. Hi, Rachel!”
It sounds like filming went great. Everything seems… great. So, what’s the hold up? Why has Axeman II: Overkill been on the shelf for quite some time? Joston explains, “Axeman II: Overkill‘s actually been finished for quite some time. As part of my revised agreement with Blood Red Films, I was able to get final cut to preserve the integrity of the film and delivered that to them around February or March. Wish I could comment on when it will be released, but I can’t. My production company #SinningWorks was only responsible for getting the film to the point of a director’s cut then turning it over to be sweetened and color-corrected. I do know that Chris Otiko of Blood Red Films has been working diligently with the sales agents to get the film through AFM and a few other film markets.” Apparently, though, there seems to have been some disagreements during post-production and the crucial deal making processs. Joston continues, “Outside of that, I’m pretty oblivious. The experience of co-producing this film with Blood Red Films hasn’t been the best one so I’ve distanced myself from anything outside of my scope of work and divorced myself from the behind-the-scenes bullshit that left a skid mark on an otherwise awesome experience.”
Despite Joston’s experience with other parties after the film wrapped, he still seems ecstatic about the product that is awaiting release and he still finds some good in the adventure. He says, ” I’ve met some incredibly talented performers, crew and creatives working on this film that I still work with today and I know the fans will truly appreciate what we’ve done. If you liked the first film, you will LOVE this one!” And what can fans expect from this awesome movie? “To my fans who loved the original film – I’m glad you did. I’m grateful you did. But you never saw what it was supposed to be – in it’s full glory. A lot was lost trying to satisfy a new executive producer who wanted to have input as a writer (which he was new to that too), and a very green sales agent and distributor with no vision or real know-how. In Axeman II: Overkill, you will get an unflinching look into what the Axeman franchise was supposed to be. It is an unapologetic blood-soaked masterpiece. The stakes are high, the body count is higher and morality is very low. Just the way horror audiences like it.” If you’re not sold yet, the director begs the question – “Have you ever seen a man kicked so hard in the nuts that he chokes on his own testicles?”
Finally, Joston Theney is sure to invigorate the horror community by announcing that we’ll be seeing new promotional materials for the movie very soon. It’s almost time to see bits and pieces of the madness! “I’ll be releasing more pics and videos over the next few weeks and I’ll ultimately release the trailer I’ve been holding on to for almost a year! Only a couple of people have seen it, and they’ve shit their pants. It is incredible and conveys to the audience what the franchise was really supposed to be about from the beginning. It’s equal parts amazing and awesome – it’s awe-mazing.” I know I can’t wait!
And when asked if Midnight Releasing will distribute this film, as it did its predecessor, the answer is… well, no.
When a group of crazed Evangelical Christians, a band of a bank robbers and a town of revenge-seeking vigilantes descend upon the cabin in the middle of Cutter’s Creek, all-Hell will break loose and only one thing will be able to separate them… and dismember them – The Axeman at Cutter’s Creek. Cast members will include Abraham, Reilly, Michael Foster, Angelica Bridges, Maria Olsen, Monique Parent, Jacqui Holland, Brachfield, Bryan Clark, Linda Wong, Arielle Hader, Whitney Nielson, Kailena Mai and former WCW Champion Bryan E. Clark.
