James Marsters

SHADOW PUPPETS depicts a nightmarish situation-a group of people who don’t know where or even who they are, locked in a strange facility and menaced by a homicidal supernatural force-but its release is a dream come true for writer/director Michael Winnick. Most horror films in SHADOW’s $1.2-million budget range go straight to DVD, but Winnick’s movie is hitting the big screen at the Fine Arts Theatre in Beverly Hills, CA June 22-29 (for showtimes and advance tickets, go here), with the possibility of expansion/extension before its DVD release via Anchor Bay July 24. The cast (see pics of ’em below) includes BUFFY’s James Marsters, CANDYMAN’s Tony Todd and STAR TREK: ENTERPRISE’s Jolene Blalock.

Winnick believes those names helped get SHADOW onto the big screen. “Because of all the fan support, we just knew we had to get it playing somewhere for at least a week. Especially after the James Marsters and Friends convention on the Queen Mary, where we showed about 10 minutes of footage and they seemed to like what they saw. James’ fans really took the film under their wings and have been promoting it, the Tony Todd fans have picked it up, and we believe Jolene [Blalock’s] STAR TREK: ENTERPRISE fans are about to come on board.”

Executive producer Morris Ruskin of Shoreline Entertainment, the company that made SHADOW PUPPETS, adds, “A lot of fans seem to be researching this film [on the Internet]. It’s phenomenal. Every film you make, you have a hope that it’s going to break through on a certain level. You don’t know until you know, but there’s a sense of excitement on this project, so my feeling is that we genuinely have a winner here.”

Lensed in 24p hi-def, SHADOW PUPPETS has special requirements for optimal theatrical projection, and the Fine Arts is one of the few that qualify. After meeting with Winnick, the theater’s owners decided to take a chance on the film. “They really liked the movie and said, ‘We just want to play this,’ ” Winnick says. Anchor Bay picked up the DVD rights at last year’s American Film Market; “We had a few bidders,” Winnick notes, “but they really had the best game plan.” As for the disc contents, “There’s a commentary track by myself and cinematographer Jonathan Hale, and a behind-the-scenes [featurette]. It will be in 5.1 Surround sound and widescreen. The shadow creature gets the full audio treatment-it’ll be all around you.”

It’s hoped there will be a Q&A session at the June 22 opening-night show at the Fine Arts, and in any case, Winnick says, “I will definitely be there.” In the meantime, check out the movie’s MySpace page here and look for more on the film in Fango #265, on sale in July.