I Need You Dead!
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| I Need You Dead! | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Rocko Zevenbergen |
| Produced by | Rocko Zevenbergen
Aerin Chaklai Estevan Munoz |
| Written by | Rocko Zevenbergen |
| Starring | Estevan Muñoz
Ty Anderson Lloyd Kaufman Sean Abplanalp Lance Caver Ada Hurtado |
| Cinematography | Brooks Houser |
| Edited by | Rocko Zevenbergen |
Production company | Bad Taste Video |
Release date | November 23, 2021 |
Running time | 107 minutes |
| Country | United States of America |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $25,000 |
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I Need You Dead! (2021) is an independent horror comedy film written and directed by Rocko Zevenbergen. I Need You Dead! is Zevenbergen's directorial debut for a feature film and produced under his production company Bad Taste Video, based in New York City. The film was shot in Portland, Oregon.
Plot[edit]
Unpopular Dood (Estevan Muñoz) navigates finding the one in Schmucksville, USA. However, Dood struggles to become emotionally available as he encounters a psychedelic creature that forces him to perceive himself and the world differently.[1]
Production[edit]
Zevenbergen went to NYC and worked on Lloyd Kaufman’s film, #Shakespeare’sShitstorm. There, he would find many of the crew who would come to work on the film including, Ben Johnson (Set Designer), Kevin McClearmen (Gaffer), and Eric Fox (Creator of ‘The Creature’). Zevenbergen has cited this experience as “his film school”.
Zevenbergen returned from NYC and moved back in with his father to avoid rent costs. He began working minimum wage at a fried fish stand in the mall of his hometown in Lake Oswego, OR in an attempt to save funds for the film working 40 hour work weeks and working on pre-production at night. Zevenbergen raised additional funds through means of underground house parties utilizing connections from his days booking with his band Skelevision.
Once finances were secured Zevenbergen began working with the first iteration of the Bad Taste Video Team to bring the film into production. The team included Estevan Munoz who was to play DOOD, Brooks Houser the Director of Photography, and Aerin Chaklai as Co-Producer.
The film was shot in the spring of 2019. It was shot on a four week schedule, crew working 6 days a week, and upwards to 14 hours a day. Most crew were not paid, and those who were made as low as $200 for the whole month of shooting. Despite this, crew morale was regarded as very high, and a family-like environment formed amongst all involved. Reshoots occurred in fall of 2019, including a complete rewrite of the ending of the film which Zevenbergen has since quoted as being “insultingly stupid.”
The film was cut over the course of spring 2019 to spring 2020. Zevenbergen did the primary cutting, while Brooks Houser assisted with color grade, keying, and masking. Posters were made by Chris Barnes aka Brutal Posters and longtime collaborator of Zevenbergen’s, Noah Meihoff. The score was composed by a Portland supergroup Zevenbergen put together named “The Dummi Gummies” featuring members of Wave Action, Onion The Man, Icybox, and Fire Nuns. Experimental noise group, Sea Moss, was also brought on board to compose music for the latter more aggressive half of the film’s score. Zevenbergen scored some of the soundtrack as well under his Rocko N’ Roll moniquer. The film was booked for its local premiere at The Hollywood Theatre in NE Portland, Oregon[2]. However, the novel coronavirus pandemic had just begun shutting down venues and the premiere became at risk of being canceled. The day of the premiere, Dan Halsted, head programer at The Hollywood Theatre called Zevenbergen to inform him they would still play the film, and close the theater the next day.
Release[edit]
The film premiered on March 13th, 2020 to a sold out audience. Beyond this, booking screenings started to look impossible with the pandemic lockdown in full effect. Zevenbergen officially opened up the Bad Taste Video office in NW Industrial Portland, to meet with the now shaping Bad Taste Video Team to discuss what next steps should look like.
A decision was made to try building a drive-in for the sake of showing I Need You Dead! In a safe manner. During the fall of 2020, four screenings of I Need You Dead! played to sold out audiences drive in style, ran and operated solely by the Bad Taste Video team.
Eventually the film was picked up for distribution by Mutiny Pictures in the Summer of 2021 and had an official release on November 23rd, 2021. I Need You Dead! Became available on streaming, DVD, and at limited theaters (often attended by Rocko and members of the Bad Taste Video team with post-screening Q&A’s).
Reception[edit]
The film garnered primarily positive reviews. Long time horror magazine Rue Morgue[3] said, “I Need You Dead! Is a surprisingly deep and heartfelt film. An expectation-defying cult classic in the making, it must be experienced to be believed.” Along with Fangoria[4] proclaiming to “strap yourself in for a weird time!”. The film has often been praised for its unique meta-narrative; High on Films says that I Need You Dead! “...transcends its genre trappings to become something truly remarkable." Longtime filmmaker and pioneer of independent cinema, Lloyd Kaufman described the feature as "a microbudget masterpiece"[5].
References[edit]
- ↑ Zevenbergen, Rocko (2020-03-13), I Need You Dead! (Comedy, Horror), Bad Taste Video, retrieved 2021-12-15
- ↑ "I Need You Dead". hollywoodtheatre.org. Retrieved 2021-12-15.
- ↑ "Rocko Zevenbergen Battles Monsters of the ID With "I Need You Dead"". Rue Morgue. 2021-12-14. Retrieved 2021-12-15.
- ↑ "Exclusive: Watch I NEED YOU DEAD Trailer". Fangoria. Retrieved 2021-12-15.
- ↑ "I Need You Dead! | Film Threat". 2020-09-13. Retrieved 2022-02-10.
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