Filmmaker Christopher Sharpe got in touch with Fango to chat about his debut genre outing, a horror/pulp hybrid titled SEX MACHINE. The movie, whose official site can be found here, was recently acquired by a href=”http://www.anthemdvd.com/” target=”_blank”>Anthem Pictures, which has it slated for a March DVD premiere. “I was interested in mixing an exploitation movie with an ‘art’ movie,” Sharpe, who also produced and co-scripted MACHINE with John Oak (PETER ROTTENTAIL) Dalton, tells Fango. “The idea was to take this crazy concept and character and set them in a realistic rundown working-class environment, because that’s the kind of area I grew up in.”
Sharpe’s screen concept grew out of an original comic script he penned while in high school. “I wanted to remix FRANKENSTEIN, but set it in a modern-day, realistic environment, like [director Richard Linklater’s] SLACKER, with bowling and strippers!” The low-budget flick, shot over the course of several months (as cast and crew were available) in and around Austin, TX and Oklahoma City, OK, revolves around “Frank, who wakes up in the middle of a gangland hit to discover that his limbs are not his own,” according to the synopsis. “A tough-talking patchwork assassin, Frank is stitched together from the body parts of other failed assassins, [and] when he learns that his ex-girlfriend is the next test subject, he opens both barrels on his ‘creators’ and unleashes a gory bloodbath of revenge.”
A self-avowed genre fan and devout reader of early Marvel Comics, Sharpe notes that he’s also a fan of pulp—which, given the visual style displayed in the trailer, is no surprise. “I’ve always looked at it as a real blue-collar medium,” says the director, “and that’s what I wanted this movie to be. Since this was my first feature and I was financing it myself, I decided not to worry about wearing my influences on my sleeve. There are visual references to everything from SUSPIRIA to [comics artist] Jack Kirby.”
Employing Shogo Nakagawa as his director of photography and myriad young actresses to portray a bevy of reanimated strippers, Sharpe says, “Making this movie was such an amazing experience that I have probably lost some objectivity, but I’m very happy. We were determined to tell the story by any means necessary, and when I watch it with audiences and they laugh and cheer at the right moments, I have to admit that it’s the ultimate high. Audiences who are into this stuff really seem to get it and enjoy it.”
Filmgoers weren’t the only ones to respond favorably; SEX MACHINE walked away with Best Picture prizes at both the 2006 MicroCinema and Dead Center festivals where it screened, as well as attracting the attention of writer/producer Bill (GORE GORE GORE-MET) Cunningham, who helped in procuring distribution. “I watched the movie from beginning to end without having to fast-forward, which is a testament to the story’s punch,” Cunningham says. “I called Christopher right away, and from there I took it around to my colleagues in the industry. [Anthem Pictures CEO] Chuck Adelman really responded to the film’s pulpiness.” Adelman chimes in: “When we first screened SEX MACHINE, we knew we had a winner; not only with viewers who love movies like RESERVOIR DOGS or THE KILLER, but with the folks who like their gore. It really delivers the goods.”
“I’m glad Anthem is going to get the movie out there right,” Sharpe says of the film’s DVD treatment, which is slated to include commentary by the filmmakers, a behind-the-scenes feature, trailers and a gallery of stills and artwork. As for future projects, the filmmaker’s appetite for the macabre hasn’t waned, as he tells us that next up is “Another classic monster remix that’s set in the same world as SEX MACHINE, but doesn’t feature any of the same characters. For now, I have to keep that creature a surprise. But it’s going to be really kick-ass.” —Sean Decker
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