Billy Club (film)
Billy Club | |
---|---|
Directed by |
Drew Rosas Nick Sommer |
Written by |
Drew Rosas Nick Sommer |
Starring |
Marshall Caswell Erin Hammond Nick Sommer |
Music by | Chris Fuller |
Cinematography | Justin Russell |
Edited by | Drew Rosas |
Production company |
D-Cent Entertainment Decent Entertainment Surgery Room |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 94 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Billy Club is a 2013 independent comedy horror film directed and written by Drew Rosas and Nick Sommer. The film had its world release on October 1, 2013 at the Milwaukee Film Festival and focuses on four friends that reunite after a long time, only to have to overcome dark secrets from their past.[1] Funding for Billy Club was partially received through a successful Kickstarter campaign.[2][3]
Plot
Fifteen years ago Bobby (Marshall Caswell) and his friends (Allan, Jay, Alison, Kevin, Phil, Vanessa, Larry, Kyle, Mitch, Barb, Dan, and Joyce) tormented their little league teammate Billy Haskins after he lost them a big game. In retaliation Billy murdered Mitch, Vanessa and their coach before he was stopped and placed in a mental institution. Bobby moved away afterwards, but has returned years later in 1996 to reconnect with everyone at a baseball stadium. This reunion is cut short when someone dressed as an old fashioned umpire begins killing any survivors from the team, making the survivors fear for their lives.
First, he suffocates Kevin by emptying a bucket of baseballs into his throat, choking him. Next, he murders Jay with a spiked baseball bat. Meanwhile, Barb and Larry have a falling out, and Barb ends up breaking up with Kyle. As the party continues, Alison begins to become worried about Kevin and Jay, but Phil tells her that they probably just left. Dan seduces Barb and the two have sex. The killer then impales Dan and Barb with a sharpened bat, killing them. Meanwhile, Larry wanders onto the field looking for Allan. He finds blood around first base. Larry lifts the base out of the ground, only to discover that Allan's severed head is impaled on the base's spike. Larry then tries to run, but the murderer shoots him dead with a pitching machine.
Alison, Phil, and Joyce plan to play a game of baseball on the field, and Kyle and Bobby head up to the announcer booth. Alison, Phil and Joyce find the dead bodies of Kevin, Jay, Dan, Barb, and Allan in the dugout. Phil and Joyce believe that Bobby is the killer. The three of them run onto the field, and Bobby makes menacing comments over the P.A. Alison, Phil and Joyce then flee the field. However, it is revealed that Bobby was just joking. Then, Kyle stabs him to death with a sharpened bat. Kyle meets the other three, and tells them that Bobby attacked him but he managed to kill Bobby. They then hear Larry's screams broadcast over the P.A. and race to save him. After the four split up, Kyle beats Joyce to death with a bat.
Alison and Phil discover the booth, where they find out that Larry's screams were prerecorded and that they are being broadcast via Kyle's phone. They also find Bobby's corpse. Alison and Phil are cornered by Kyle. He reveals that Billy was his best friend, and that he died in the mental asylum. He murdered the others out of revenge. Kyle throws a baseball at Phil's head, causing him to fall off the balcony to his death. Kyle then chases Alison through the entire park. Alison hides in the snack bar, but Kyle discovers her. He attempts to kill her with a spiked bat, but she retaliates by incapacitating him with the cash register. She then pushes a soda machine off the counter, causing it to fall and crush Kyle dead. Alison then leaves the park, the sole survivor of the attack.
Cast
- Erin Hammond as Alison McKenzie
- Nick Sommer as Kyle Tripper
- Max Williamson as Phil Mason
- Lizzy Metcalf as Joyce Cameron
- Marshall Caswell as Bobby Spooner
- Mark Metcalf as Larry Shane
- Mathew Dunlop as Allan Farcas
- Thaine H. Allison Jr. as Dan Shaymin
- Suziey Block as Barb Kennedy
- Al Bardin as Jay Powers
- Bobby Ciraldo as Kevin Simon
- Peter Batchelder as Kevin Simon
- Sebastian Weigman as Young Billy
- Trevor Burke as Young Kyle
- Kelly Cunningham as Vanessa
- Michael Denk as Mitch
- Peter Donalds as Baseball Bar Patron
- Brody Drews as Young Bobby
Production
Rosas and Sommer, both of whom had worked together previously on the film Blood Junkie, began developing Billy Club as both wanted to "make a slasher movie in the vein of the classic boogie men movies of the ‘80s and ‘90s" and felt that the theme of baseball "lends itself to the horror genre really well".[4] Funding was partially raised through a private investor as well as through Kickstarter.[5] Sommer designed the killer's weapon to incorporate a "bolt-action retractable bayonet blade that comes out the end", as he wanted to make it different from the typical "baseball bat with nails in it".[4] Filming took place in northern Wisconsin and several baseball players from McDonough, Georgia's Union Grove High School were brought on to portray the young versions of the main characters.[6][7]
Reception
Billy Club won the "Best Feature" award at the Hollywood Horror Fest, the "Best Horror Film" award at the Phoenix Film Festival, the "Award of Excellence" at Indy Fest, and the "Best Wisconsin Film" award at the Beloit International Film Festival. The film was also an official entry in the PollyGrind Film Festival, the Green Bay Horror Festival, and the Milwaukee Film Festival.
Music
The band Alison's Mailbox, from Highland, Indiana, contributed two songs to the movie. "Just Askin'" and "The Feminine Song" are from the band's first official release titled "Alison's Mailbox". The four song tape was released March 4, 1995. "Just Askin'" can be heard at two spots in the movie, at 21:06 and 21:31. "The Feminine Song" can be heard at 56:12. The scenes include the songs playing on the radio in Billy's truck.
Shock Till You Drop rated Billy Club at a 5, stating that the film was "far from perfect", but that there was "real talent on display".[8]
The official Billy Club poster created by Dog & Pony won the "Award of Distinction" at the 19th Annual Communicator Awards in 2013.[9]
See also
- The Catcher, a similarly themed film released in 1998.
References
- ↑ "Billy Club Starts Swinging at the 2013 Milwaukee Film Festival". Dread Central. Retrieved 24 December 2013.
- ↑ "Billy Club by Drew Rosas and Nick Sommer". Kickstarter. Retrieved 24 December 2013.
- ↑ "Help the makers of Blood Junkie finance their next retro-horror classic, Billy Club". The AV Club. Retrieved 24 December 2013.
- 1 2 "Shock Interview: Drew Rosas On His Slasher Film, Billy Club". STYD. Retrieved 24 December 2013.
- ↑ "Drew Rosas: Financing a Dream". DVD Verdict. Retrieved 24 December 2013.
- ↑ "Union Grove high schoolers get screen time in horror flick". Journal Times. Retrieved 24 December 2013.
- ↑ ""Billy Club" takes a stab at bringing the slasher movie back". On Milwaukee. Retrieved 24 December 2013.
- ↑ "Review: Billy Club". STYD. Retrieved 24 December 2013.
- ↑ http://www.dreadcentral.com/news/68533/get-your-first-look-billy-club-posters-stills-and-official-teaser#axzz38zEHd8tO