- Polonia brothers
-
Mark Polonia Born September 30, 1968
Wellsboro, Pennsylvania, United StatesOccupation Film director, film producer, screenwriter, actor John Polonia Born September 30, 1968
Wellsboro, Pennsylvania, United StatesDied February 25, 2008 (aged 39)
United StatesOccupation Film director, film producer, screenwriter, actor Mark Polonia and John Polonia (born September 30, 1968) are twin brothers who founded Polonia Bros. Entertainment[1] and Cinegraphic Productions.[2] They have written, directed and produced over 30 feature films, mostly in the genres of horror and sci fi, and are now low-budget film cult icons.[3][4]
John Polonia died suddenly at the age of 39 on February 25, 2008. Mark Polonia then continued to make films with childhood friend and longtime film collaborator Matt Satterly, through their production company Cinegraphic Productions.
Contents
Early days
The youngest of five siblings, the brothers were interested in film, and were making films, from a very early age. Their first commercial release was the notorious Splatter Farm, released on VHS by Donna Michele Productions in 1987,[5] a shot-on-video offering which found an audience more for its audacity than for its technical virtues. Written, acted, directed and filmed by the teenage brothers and a high school friend, Splatter Farm offers a combination of slow-moving home-movie-like sequences with unflinching depictions of cannibalism, murder, acts of extreme violence, torture and dismemberment.
Career
Although the brothers had mixed feelings about this film in later years (according to their DVD commentary), in part because the initial release was a rough cut and not edited to their satisfaction, it contained many of the signature elements that would come to define the Polonias' work – a primitive production quality reflecting a very limited budget; the brothers themselves appearing in key roles; liberal use of people and places available to them through their day-to-day lives, and homage to the horror films they grew up with and loved.
In 1996 the brothers' alien invasion film Feeders was picked up by Blockbuster in the aftermath of the commercial success of Independence Day, and became Blockbuster's #1 independent-film rental for the year.[6] Starring John Polonia and fellow-B-movie maker Jon McBride(Cannibal Campout, Woodchipper Massacre) in their first foray together, this film about an invasion of Earth by small rubbery flesh-eating monsters with no mouths marked the Polonias' first wide distribution, and paved the way for future releases – perhaps 20 more of them before John's death in 2008.
Jon McBride became a regular collaborator with the brothers,[7] and over time a fairly extensive group of actors, technicians, special effects artists and others came to work repeatedly with the brothers on horror films that aimed to entertain at all costs. Killer piranhas, killer Easter bunnies, haunted houses, trips to Mars, assorted demons, all were covered in the course of several decades of film-making.
In 2007 they released a new and improved cut of Splatter Farm, on DVD through Camp Motion Pictures.[8] The new version is missing a couple of the more outrageous scenes that made the original a 'cult classic', but is nonetheless a more professional-looking offering, easier to follow, and augmented by excellent and entertaining commentary and featurettes – which also have become trademarks of the brothers' DVD offerings.
Polonia films have drawn the ire of critics for their alleged 'amateur' qualities (more evident in the early works). Yet those same qualities are what draw their fans, and the fans are as passionate as the detractors.[9][10] Within the indie film community, the brothers were known for their kindness and generosity to aspiring film-makers.[11]
Polonia Brothers Entertainment and Cinegraphic Productions released Halloweenight, based on a screenplay by, and dedicated to the memory of, the late John Polonia, in October 2009.[12][13]
Filmography
- Hallucinations; 1986, released 2007 as an extra on 'Splatter Beach'
- Splatter Farm; 1986, released 1987 Donna Michelle Productions Released 2007 Camp Motion Pictures
- Lethal Nightmare; not yet released
- Saurians; not yet released
- Hellspawn; released 2003 on Brentwood 4-pack 'Spawn of the Devil'
- How to Slay a Vampire; released 2004 on Brentwood 4-pack 'Blood Hunt'
- 3000 Bullets; not yet released
- Savage Vows; released 1995 on Brentwood 4-pack 'Illicit Affairs, Savage Vows'
- Feeders; released 1996 Blockbuster, released 2003 Sub Rosa Studios
- Feeders 2: Slay Bells; released 2003 Sub Rosa Studios
- Terror House; released 2004 Sub Rosa Studios
- Nightcrawlers; currently re-released 2003 on Brentwood 4-pack 'Spawn of the Devil'
- Bad Magic; released by Sub Rosa Studios
- The House That Screamed; released 2000 Sub Rosa Studios
- Dweller; re-released 2004 on Brentwood 4-pack 'Sleazy Slashers'
- Dinosaur Chronicles; re-released 2004 on Brentwood 4-pack 'Galaxy of Terror'
- Blood Red Planet;[14][15] released 2000, re-released 2005 on Brentwood 4-pack 'Galaxy of Terror'
- Night Thirst; released 2002, re-released 2004 on Brentwood 4-pack 'Sleazy Slashers'
- Hellgate: The House that Screamed 2; released 2001 Sub Rosa Studios
- Gorrilla Warfare: Battle of the Apes; not yet released
- Preylien: Alien Predators; released 2005 on Brentwood 4-pack 'Galaxy of Terror'
- Among Us; released 2004 Sub Rosa Studios
- Peter Rottentail; released 2004 Sub Rosa Studios
- Razorteeth; released 2005 Sub Rosa Studios
- Black Mass (aka Dead Knight); released Cine Excel Entertainment in Japan
- Wildcat; released Cine Excel Entertainment in Japan
- Splatter Beach;[16] released 2007 Camp Motion Pictures
- Forest Primeval; released 2008 Tempe Entertainment
- Monster Movie; released 2008 Tempe Entertainment
- Halloweenight; released 2009 (self distributed)
- Army of Wolves; 2010[17]
References
- ^ IMDb
- ^ IMDb
- ^ Books.google.com
- ^ Cinema Slave
- ^ Bleedingskull.com
- ^ B-independent.com
- ^ Crackedoncinema.com
- ^ DVD Talk
- ^ Yahoo
- ^ Cinegraphicprod.com
- ^ Potentiallyoffensive.com
- ^ Fangoria
- ^ Stargazette.com
- ^ B-independent.com
- ^ Coldfusionvideo.com
- ^ DVD Talk
- ^ Dread Central
External links
Categories:- American film directors
- American film producers
- American screenwriters
- American film actors
- Horror film directors
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
