Stranger Things VFX Artist Kevin McTurk Directing Puppet Epic The Haunted Swordsman
David Gelmini
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Although not many people saw it, and although the Academy clearly preferred Zootopia, Kubo and the Two Strings was by far the best animated film of 2016. So I for one am totally up for another samurai film. And I guess I’m in luck because a Kickstarter campaign has now been launched for The Haunted Swordsman.
Described as both a “Gothic horror adventure” and a “handcrafted epic puppet film,” The Haunted Swordsman will be a fourteen-minute live action puppetry epic about a samurai who travels through a land of monsters of Eastern folklore on a quest for revenge with his lone companion, the severed head of another samurai. If you think that sounds weird, wait until you see the campaign video below. It even has an appearance from Christopher Lloyd.
Director Kevin McTurk also bought us the horror short The Mill at Calder’s End, which achieved some success at festivals. He also worked as an effects artist on films like Jurassic Park, Wrong Turn, Hellboy, King Kong, Iron Man, Avatar, Hugo, Pacific Rim, and a ton of other blockbusters. More recently he worked as a production administrator on Netflix’s hit show “Stranger Things.” With such an impressive résumé under his belt, it seems like The Haunted Swordsman couldn’t be in better hands.
In addition to some images on the Kickstarter campaign, Birth.Movies.Death. also got their hands on some exceptionally creepy behind-the-scenes stills and concept art, which you’ll find after the jump.
The Haunted Swordsman Official Synopsis:
From Kevin McTurk, the director of the award-winning Kickstarter funded short film The Mill at Calder’s End, comes a Gothic horror adventure told with groundbreaking puppetry and innovative practical effects.
The Haunted Swordsman is a live action samurai tale set in a world of demons and ghosts that will utilize 36-inch tall bunraku puppets, traditional in-camera effects, and good old-fashioned smoke and mirrors trickery.
This short film is only a single chapter in an epic tale of a lone samurai and his odd guide, the cursed severed head of another samurai, as they traverse a world of mythical creatures and nightmares of folklore…
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