A new documentary goes behind-the-scenes of a midnight cult-favorite that disappeared at the height of its popularity in 1993. OUT ON A LIMB – The Making of Arbor Day will premiere at one of the sites of its Long Island roots, the Cinema Arts Centre in Huntington, NY, on October 25, 2024. The festivities, that organizers say will include some surprises, will begin at 8:00 pm and be followed by a Q&A session featuring many members of the original Arbor Day cast and crew.
OUT ON A LIMB details the struggles of a group of inexperienced friends trying to make an indie film in the late 80’s, before the age of social media and digital video. Though connected by subject to the low-budget horror spoof Arbor Day, the filmmakers say the documentary is more centered around friendships enduring through difficult times.
From budget shortfalls and long nights, to brushes with the law, OUT ON A LIMB reveals the horror story of making a horror story with scarce resources. The group had to resort to guerrilla filmmaking techniques to overcome their limitations as they trudged forward deprived of sleep, food and of course, finances. In one segment, filmmakers tell how the Suffolk County Police showed up after they shot a late-night murder scene. Concerned neighbors feared a gruesome homicide was taking place.
OUT ON A LIMB was created by the same team who made the original Arbor Day , which included actor/filmmaker Scott Bradshaw, actor/co-writer Michael Calomino and actor William Walsh (who played the film’s iconic Elmer character).
OUT ON A LIMB will be preceded by a short mock-u-mentary about Arbor Day cast member Sir Nigel Rivendale III. The fictional Rivendale, who was alleged to have played the part of the film’s rubber hand puppet El Diablo, was rumored to be a source of constant tension on the set. Rivendale is played by actor/musician John Dorcic, who also portrayed Charlie in the original film.
Promoted as Jason Get’s Aboard Airplane at the time, Arbor Day parodied the rash of holiday horror movies of the 1980’s. While spoofing the exploitive and gratuitous shock horror genre, Arbor Day also paid homage to motion picture classics like Citizen Kane and The Wizard of Oz. Though a cult comedy, the film was the first feature by documentarian Joseph Sikorski (TOWER TO THE PEOPLE – Tesla’s Dream at Wardenclyffe, INVISIBLE THREADS – From Wireless to War). A popular weekly-midnight film (particularly on its native Long Island) , Arbor Day played independent movie theaters/art houses, colleges and even comedy clubs consistently from 1990 through 1993- prior to its disappearance from the scene. For almost 35 years, devotees (known as DAYzees) tried to track down a version of the film, which did not return from obscurity until 2023, when a crowdfund helped finance a restoration from the original negative.
Among the Arbor Day cast members for the OUT ON A LIMB post screening Q&A will be Janine Carney (Rachel), William Walsh (Elmer), Scott Bradshaw (AD/ Dad), John Dorcic (Charlie) and Dawn Graziano (Stacey) – all of whom still reside on Long Island.
OUT ON A LIMB – The Making of Arbor Day will be available for streaming on October 28, 2024 through its official site https://www.ArborDayTheMovie.com.
For fans of physical media, OUT ON A LIMB will be included on the ARBOR DAY 4K UHD Special Edition disc to be distributed by Terror Vision Films. Release date TBA.
