As some of you may or may not know, consummate badass/actor Michael Biehn directed his own little “grindhouse” film last year, The Victim (view the trailer here). While technically not his first foray into directing*, it seems to be a film that he is very proud of and one that has garnered fairly positive reactions as it has made the rounds at festivals. The film was a down and dirty production shot on the cheap…
Good time girls Annie (Jennifer Blanc) and Mary (Danielle Harris) find themselves in a life and death situation. Annie’s life is put in jeopardy when she is witness to a violent act at the hands of two Sheriff’s Deputies. Fleeing from attackers (Ryan Honey, Denny Kirkwood), she stumbles across Kyle (Michael Biehn), a recluse living in the middle of the woods. The ruggedly handsome loner stays far from civilization – that is – until a single knock on his door throws his solitary life into chaos. Two worlds collide in this psychological thriller that will make you question your trust in mankind. Who is the victim?
The film sold to Anchor Bay back in January, who plan on giving it a limited theatrical release and a VOD stint before placing it on store shelves later this year. It seems Biehn finally caught the directing bug while on set during Planet Terror‘s production, inspired by Rodriguez himself and his tell-all book, Rebel Without A Crew. Our own Rene Rangel recently had the privilege of speaking to Biehn about his experiences making the film and passed on the fact that Michael seemed to have had a blast doing it.
It seems that Biehn not only caught the writing/directing bug hard, but also loved shooting fast and loose. The actor cum director signed a 3-film production deal with Chiller Farm (an arm of Aspect Film) earlier this month. Biehn will direct and star in three films for the company. Each will be shot in sequence over a 45-day production schedule. The current working titles for the projects are The Farm, Up and Down, and The Predicator.
“The three films are action-packed and very humorous; true to the essence of the best in recent grindhouse movies, from the likes of Quentin Tarentino and Robert Rodriguez,” said Aspect Film and Chiller Films CEO Hugh Edwards in a statement.
I don’t expect a masterpiece out of The Victim or any of these future films from Biehn. That said, if you catch any interviews with him these days, his enthusiasm for filmmaking is at an all time high and he seems to have been paying attention all these years while on set with the likes of James Cameron and William Friedkin. Has any of that directorial talent rubbed off? Only time will tell. Still, it’s nice to know that one of my favorite actors has such a renewed interest in filmmaking…particularly in a Corman-esque fashion.
Many of you in the forums know I’ve repeatedly lamented the fact that we don’t have a new Corman cranking out exploitation gems (and trash) these days. I’ve stated on numerous occasions that I think someone like Robert Rodriguez, who certainly has the resources to do it, should step up to the plate and fill such a gap. Even if he never does, it looks like his buddy Michael is more than up to the task of trying. Best of luck to you, sir! I anxiously await to see what you have in store for us.
* – That honor goes to an action flick titled The Blood Bond, which to my knowledge has not been released in the US. Biehn himself has disowned the film due to an immense amount of meddling by one of the producers, both during production and editing.