May 23, 2007 (Kansas City Star / Dan Lybarger) -- Megan Goddard is Cinder, a murdered woman who has until midnight to get revenge in "Cadaverella." Santiago Vasquez is Baron Samedi.  Turning the Cinderella story into a voodoo-zombie-horror flick didn’t seem weird to Tim and Jenn Friend. "It seemed pretty natural to us," Tim said. "But the finished project turned out a little bit more unusual than we expected."

"Cadaverella," stars Megan Goddard as Cinder, a young, recently murdered woman who has until midnight to get revenge on the people who’ve wronged her.

Tim and Jenn Friend, both of Merriam, wrote the film together; he’s listed as the director and she the producer. They scored a DVD distribution deal on May 8, and "Cadaverella" debuted in April on the British cable channel Zone Horror. Local viewers can catch the film Friday through Sunday at the Horseshoe Drive In in St. Joseph.

As with any low-budget affair, the duo needed some creativity to maximize their meager budget. Several actors play dual roles, and several crew members contributed in novel ways. When a shot called for a ripple lighting effect, gaffer Joe Allen reached for the dirty dishes.

"We had eaten lunch in the afternoon from a big lasagna tin — when you’re working on a low budget, you have to feed people in large quantities," Tim said. "Joe just put some water in the pan, shined some light in it, and he got this great ripple effect on the whole side of the room."

The Friends’ next project, "Bonnie & Clyde vs. Dracula," will also be based in St. Joseph. In the spirit of independent film, Missouri Western State University will donate dorm space for cast and crew; students will work as interns; and Johnson County-based Outpost will provide production facilities. The film is scheduled to star cult film veterans Tiffany Shepis and Trent Haaga.

"It’s not what the title suggests," Tim said. "It’s not a spoof or a parody. We just forged straight ahead with the story and did what we wanted to. We were already prepared for it not to be historically accurate."

Jenn is an assistant professor at UMKC. Tim was a critic for the UMKC University News and Shock Cinema before be starting making films.

The duo have benefited from the work of their son, Alex, a junior at Shawnee Mission North High School who acts in "Cadaverella" and will provide music for "Bonnie & Clyde vs. Dracula." His parents say Alex doesn’t quite get what his parents are up to.

"He thinks we’re a little weird," Tim said. "He’s happy to help out, but he’s not impressed. We haven’t done anything to make ourselves look cool to him yet."

"He’s going to be the script supervisor," Jenn said. "And then he’s going to be one of the moonshiner kids who gets shot by Clyde."

"I hope nobody reads any subtext into this stuff," Tim said. "We’re just making do with the available resources."

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Posted by Vladimir Fri, 06/01/2007 - 13:42

 

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