Back in the beginning of November I went to Minnesota and attended the Crypticon Horror Convention. It was the first Con I’ve been to and a hell of a good time. I also had the pleasure of catching a premiere of Cyrus. Starring Brian Krause, Lance Henriksen, and Danielle Harris. To top it off, Tiffany Shepis and Doug Jones had a couple small parts in the film too. I was so pumped to see this movie, and I couldn’t have asked for a better viewing experience.. But it got better anyway!!! In attendance was writer / director Mark Vadik, and Troy Holbrook who did the special effects. Even got to sit next to Cyrus himself, Brian Krause. Brian and I got to talk some after the movie and the next day. Great experience for my inner horror geek. They were all really cool, down to Earth people.
Maria (Danielle Harris) is a small time reporter investigating the unexplained disappearances of numerous women. She finds herself setting up camp in a small Midwestern town called Arkham Heights. While doing her fact finding she comes into contact with Emmet (Lance Henriksen). Emmet seems to know WAY too much about Cyrus to be considered a safe reference in my book. But, against the wishes of Emmet, Maria records her interview with him, probing deeper and deeper into Cyrus’s life. Ignoring the obvious question.. What do people taste like? OH, and.. How does Emmet know the bloody details of what happened to all the people Cyrus tortured and killed. Emmet’s story reveals how Cyrus goes from hopeful husband and soon to be father. To an obsessive serial killer with his brain stuck in crazy mode by night, and quiet hometown meat cutter by day.
I was a huge fan of this movie. Honestly, there are some things we’ve seen before. But, how can you avoid that nowadays? The difference in this movie is the quality. Everyone nailed their parts and made Cyrus much more intense to watch. Lance Henriksen makes every movie he is in. As usual, Henriksen is a genius and can never get enough screen time. Brian Krause kind of steps into a role a little different than a lot of his recent movies I’ve seen. When I talked to him later that night, Brian said it was the first time he watched the finished product. When I asked him what he thought, he said, ‘Wow, that was pretty intense.’ He also mentioned that he had a great time with the part and enjoyed doing it. It was interesting hearing about the making of the movie from Brian and Mark after it was over. Mark Vadik really covered a lot of bases when creating the character. He put together a quality serial killer.
OVERALL SUMMARY
The psychotic mind of Cyrus is a dangerous place to be. But watching it work is a hell of good time. A couple predictable scenes are shadowed by the over all quality of the rest of the film. Great movie, great special effects, and some good scenes to make you go, ‘DAMN!’ Watching Cyrus is like having a front row seat to serial killer evolution. I highly recommend checking it out, might learn some new cooking techniques too.
