- Colin (film)
-
Colin 
Theatrical release posterDirected by Marc Price Produced by Marc Price, Justin Hayles (Executive Producer) Written by Marc Price Starring Alastair Kirton, Dominic Burgess, Daisy Aitkens Music by Dan Weekes, Jack Elphick Cinematography Marc Price Editing by Marc Price Release date(s) 23 October 2009 Running time 97 minutes Country United Kingdom Language English Budget £45/$70[1] Colin is a 2008 English zombie film which, after a successful run in a number of film festivals, went on to be shown at Cannes in 2009. Applauded for its success despite its low budget, the total cost of production was reportedly £45.[1] The director, Marc Price, shot Colin on a standard definition Panasonic mini-dv camcorder that he had owned for 10 years and edited the film on his home PC using Adobe Premiere software that he had been given at media college.[2] Facebook and Myspace were used to gather actors to play the zombies.[1]
Contents
Plot
Injured in the arm, Colin arrives at the house of Damien, a friend, only to find it empty. While cleaning his wound in the kitchen sink, he is attacked by Damien, now a zombie. He manages to "kill" Damien by stabbing him multiple times in the head with a kitchen knife, but soon afterwards becomes a zombie himself. Now one of the undead, Colin wanders the streets of London during the onset of a probable zombie apocalypse. He acquires the usual zombie cannibal taste for human flesh but avoids conflict. While being mugged for his trainers, he is seen by Linda, his sister. That evening zombies invade a house party and kill everyone within. Colin follows the sole survivor of the carnage (who, we later discover, reminds him of Laura, his girlfriend) before she is trapped by a madman / serial killer in his basement with a group of blinded zombies.
Linda and a friend finally capture Colin and take him to their mother's house, but Colin cannot recognise them. Linda has already been bitten by Colin when trying to save him from the muggers, and turns into a zombie, while she is reanimating she is locked in with Colin and her friend and mother leave. Colin and Linda shamble away. The film also follows a cowering group of human survivors who finally go on the offensive. Led by Pots, the humans attack a large group of zombies with a makeshift grenade, which explodes near Colin, destroying most of his face. Three of the humans are bitten during the fight and are brutally killed by the rest of the group after one starts turning.
Colin survives and finds his way to his girlfriend Laura's home (and possibly his own), where the film cuts to a flashback to when he was still human. Arriving at the house, he discovered that Laura had trapped a zombie in the bathroom. While attempting to kill the zombie, she was bitten and died in his arms, before reanimating and biting him. He then killed her before running to Damien's house, which brings the viewer back to the film's beginning.[3][4]
Premise
Colin is the first feature film to be told entirely from a zombie's perspective from the outset, the main character Colin changes in the first few minutes of the film.[5] Another feature film that deals with a story from a zombie's point of view is Andrew Parkman's I, Zombie (1998) but it is about a man gradually changing into a zombie over the whole period of the feature film and is therefore not told entirely from a zombie's perspective.[6]
Cast
- Alastair Kirton as Colin
- Daisy Aitkens as Linda
- Dominic Burgess as Pots
- Tat Whalley as Boyfriend
- Leanne Pammen as Laura
- Kate Alderman as False Laura
- Justin Mitchell Davey as Slingshot Guy
- Kerry Owen as Colin's mother
- Leigh Crocombe as Damien
- Helena Martin as Pots' wife
Crew
- Marc Vincent Price: writer, producer, director, cameraman, editor, sound recordist, sound designer, visual fx, sound design and mixing, grading.[7][8]
- Visual Effects: Justin Hayles, Leigh Crocombe
- Make-Up Unit: Michelle Webb, Christie Carrigher, Gayle Cooper, Justin Hayes, Geoff Heath and Lindsey Jones
Soundtrack
- Dan Weekes: "Colin's Theme"
- Spencer McGarry Season: "The Unfilmable Life and Life of Terry Gilliam"
- Jack Elphick: "Intro"; "Colin Broke My Keyboard"; "Boorman Lake"
- Simon Bevan: "RunAway" (acoustic)
Screenings
An early cut of the film was screened on 15 November 2008 at the Abertoir horror festival, where it drew the attention of sales agent Helen Grace of Left Films.
Grand Lumiere Auditorium, Palais, Cannes - Cannes Lions, Saatchi & Saatchi presentation of new directors, 25 June 2009.[9]
On Monday 13 July, the film had a special screening at Zombie-Aid in Manchester, with cast and crew present for Q & A
On Monday 27 July 2009, it was announced that the film would be distributed to cinemas by Kaleidoscope Entertainment (UK).[10] A preview was shown during the Frightfest fantasy and horror film festival in London during August 2009. It was released in cinemas both in London and other major UK cities (although the other venues are still to be announced) during Halloween.[11]
During November 2009, it was shown during the 19th Málaga Fantastic Film Festival (Fancine) in Spain as part of the Horror Zone section.
During September 2010, Walking Shadows announced the following US playdates: North American Theatrical Premiere Sept 23, 13th Floor Haunted House (San Antonio, TX), Sept 24 at Facets Cinematheque (Chicago, IL), October 1 at The Guild Cinema (Albuquerque, NM), October 4 at the Hollywood Theater (Portland, OR), October 15 at Telluride Horror Show (Telluride, CO), Oct 21 at Sacto Horror Film Fest (Sacramento, CA) and Spooky Movie Film Festival (Washington, DC), Oct 23 at Knoxville Horror Film Fest (Knoxville, TN) and Zombie Film Feast 3 (Albany, NY), Oct 29 at ZombieCon Film Festival (Seattle, WA), Oct 30 at The Showroom (Asbury Park, NJ) and the Vine Theater (Hollywood Blvd, CA), and Nov 14 at the Zombie Outbreak Film Fest (Chicago, IL).
DVD Release
A 2-Disc Special Edition DVD has been released and is currently available
Response
Writing in Sight and Sound, Michael Brooke compared it to Return of the Living Dead 3, which is also narrated from a zombie point of view. He commended the film's ambience of panic, assisted by the relative intimacy of a handheld camcorder as the principal instrument of filming. As a character, Colin is argued to be a sympathetic character despite his revenant status, comparable to Bub in Romero's Day of the Dead.[12]
The film holds 46% on the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes.
See also
Notes
- ^ a b c Foster, Tom (May 22, 2009). "Hollywood eyes $70 zombie movie wowing Cannes". CNN.
- ^ http://www.thebigpicturemagazine.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=115:film-making-on-a-micro-budget-an-interview-with-marc-price-director-of-colin&catid=35:interviews&Itemid=61
- ^ http://www.nowherefast.tv/PressRelease.pdf
- ^ Michael Brooke: "Review: Colin:" Sight and Sound: November 2009: 19:11: 52-53
- ^ http://www.horrortalk.com/reviews/Colin/colin.htm
- ^ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0210740/
- ^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TlxtfAxIkDQ
- ^ http://www.imdb.com/name/nm2683878/
- ^ http://www.canneslions.com/saatchinewdirectors/
- ^ http://www.kaleidoscopehomeentertainment.com
- ^ "Cinema deal for £45 zombie film". BBC News. 2009-07-27. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/south_west/8170551.stm. Retrieved 2010-04-30.
- ^ Michael Brooke: "Review: Colin" Sight and Sound: 19:11: November 2009: 52-53
External links
- COLIN - Official US Website
- COLIN - Official UK Website
- British zombie movie that cost just £45 to make is set to become surprise hit at Cannes
- Zombie movie with a budget of $70 is making a killing at Cannes
- Colin the Movie, made by Marc Price for £45, typifies Cannes spirit
- Production Company Website
- HorrorTalk.com Colin (2008) reviewed by DJBenz
- HorrorTalk.com Colin (2008) on-set report by Rosie Fletcher
- mjsimpson.co.uk Colin (2008) reviewed by MJ Simpson
- quietearth.us Colin (2008) reviewed by Ulises Silva
- fatally-yours.com Colin (2008) Review
- Low-budget zombie film pays off (2010) by Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune Review
Categories:- 2009 films
- British films
- English-language films
- 2008 films
- Camcorder films
- Films shot digitally
- Zombie films
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