One of our favorite short films of the year, The Legend of Beaver Dam (review here), is poised to make a splash at this year’s Sundance Film Festival screening ahead of the highly anticipated Hobo with a Shotgun in the “Park City at Midnight” lineup, and we’ve got all the info for ya!
The short tells the story of Danny Zigwitz, a nerdy youngster who needs to save his fellow campers from a bloody massacre when a campfire ghost story comes to life. Little kids, an evil monster, a gory fight to the death in the woods — and it’s a rock musical.
It has already won several awards, including “Best Horror Short Film” at Fantastic Fest and “Best Short Film” at both Screamfest LA and SITGES Festival Internacional de Cinema Fantàstic de Catalunya, the number one fantasy/horror fest in the world. Believe us when we say it deserves every damned one of them, too.
The Legend of Beaver Dam is the brainchild of Sable & Batalion, a musical theatre duo from Montreal, Canada, comprised of writers-composers Jerome Sable and Eli Batalion, who have now made the transition to filmmaking with Sable at the helm directing. “We wanted to do something that both horror fans and musical geeks like us would like,” says Sable, who got his MFA in directing from USC film school, “so we hand-picked the cream of the crop musical theatre talent for the cast and then assembled the best horror special effects filmmaking team for the crew. What comes out at the other end is, we hope, a scare and a laugh and a catchy tune.”