Local filmmaker Drew Marvick will launch his first feature, Pool Party Massacre, with local theatrical screenings this week, followed by an April 20 release on DVD, Blu-ray and VOD (plus limited-edition VHS!). It’s the latest step in his efforts to corner the Vegas horror-movie market and the culmination of a lifelong obsession with the slasher movies of the 1980s. It’s also just one of many horror-related projects the busy writer, director, producer and actor has on his schedule.
On the origins of Pool Party Massacre: “I was actually on the phone with a cinematographer here in town named Brian Mills. He called me to let me know that he had just purchased a new camera and was eager to use it, and made a throwaway comment: ‘Man, I wish someone had a script so I could shoot a feature film. I happen to have the next two months pretty open.’ I decided to capitalize on that, and lied to him and told him that I had the perfect script and that we could start shooting right away. He asked me what it was called, and the first thing that popped into my head was Pool Party Massacre.”
On co-organizing October’s inaugural Sin City Horror Fest at Eclipse Theaters: “Aside from the fact that we’re all big horror fans and filmmakers, so we wanted something like this in Las Vegas anyway, with or without us, our big motivation was to bring another avenue for independent filmmakers here in town to get their work out, and to celebrate the local film community. We actually have a pretty big film community, and there’s a lot of people making great things. And there’s some great film festivals as well. But there wasn’t anything that’s horror-specific, and that’s where our sensibilities lie.”
On finishing Ten Violent Women: Part Two, the final movie by late Vegas B-movie legend Ted V. Mikels: “It’s been slow going, unfortunately, just because I’ve been overwhelmed with everything else that’s in my life. But that is definitely still going to happen, for sure. I promised Ted that it would get finished, and I would never break a promise to Ted. After he passed, his daughter gave me four pages of handwritten notes of everything that I’m supposed to shoot and how I’m supposed to shoot it. I really want to try to keep it true to what Ted was doing. Ted had his own style, whether you liked it or not. He had his way of doing things. He didn’t have a budget, and he didn’t have access to a lot of gear, and so everything had a certain Ted aspect to it.”
Pool Party Massacre April 1, 9 p.m.; April 2, 4 p.m.; $16-$18. Eclipse Theaters.
