Strangeland (1998)

User Rating:

4.4/10   

Director:

John Pieplow

Writer:

Dee Snider (writer)

Release Date:

2 October 1998 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Thriller

Tagline:

So much flesh, so little time.

Plot:

The place is Helverton, Colorado, a town of about 350,000 people. 15-year-old Genevieve Gage and her...

Plot Keywords:

Chat Room | Torture | Revenge | Sadist | Mental Institution

Cast

Kevin Gage	...	Mike Gage
Elizabeth Peña	...	Toni Gage
Brett Harrelson	...	Steve Christian
Robert Englund	...	Jackson Roth
Linda Cardellini	...	Genevieve Gage
Tucker Smallwood	...	Captain Churchill Robbins
Ivonne Coll	...	Rose Stravelli
Amy Smart	...	Angela Stravelli
Dee Snider	...	Captain Howdy / Carleton Hendricks
Amal Rhoe	...	Tiana Moore
Robert LaSardo	...	Matt Myers
Andrew Cooper	...	Victim Bob (as Andy Cooper)
Archie Smith	...	Elderly Man
Lois Hicks	...	Mental Institution Nurse
Carey Westbrook	...	Sam the Orderly (as Carey Louis Westbrook)
Jillian McWhirter	...	Carol Anne Chalmers-Perez
Pat Mahoney	...	Wade Forrester
Lisa Nelson	...	Reporter #1
Sheila Ivy Traister	...	Reporter #2
Barbara Champion	...	Sunny MacIntosh
Leslie Wing	...	Madeline Roth
Xanthe Cook	...	Kelly Roth
John Lindsey	...	Newscaster
Laurence Curry	...	Patrolman Young (as Laurence A. Curry)
Mark Bailey	...	E.M.T. Dan Hauser
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Bob Abuse	...	BiLE (Band)
Jaymz Alexander	...	BiLE (Band)
R.H. Bear	...	BiLE (Band)
Lisa Crosato
Larry Curry Jr.	...	Patrolman Young (as Laurence A. Curry)
Krsztoff	...	BiLE (Band)
Fort LaCourt	...	BiLE (Band)
J. Cooch Lucchese	...	BiLE (band)
Brett Pirozzi	...	BiLE (Band)
Sin-D	...	BiLE (Band)
Michael Herst	...	Patrolmen Harris (uncredited)

Directed by
John Pieplow

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Dee Snider		writer

Produced by
David L. Bushell	....	producer
Joseph J. DiMartino	....	executive producer
Larry Meistrich	....	executive producer
Dee Snider	....	producer

Original Music by
Anton Sanko

Cinematography by
Goran Pavicevic

Film Editing by
Jeff Kushner
Joe Woo Jr.

Casting by
Lee Ann Groff

Production Design by
Debbie DeVilla

Art Direction by
Charles Kulsziski

Set Decoration by
Lydia Marks

Costume Design by
Jillian Kreiner

Makeup Department
Michael Burnett	....	special makeup effects artist
Michael J. Chaille	....	special makeup effects shop foreman
Rebecca Gifford	....	key makeup artist
Sabine Roller	....	key hair stylist
Brett Stern	....	special makeup effects artist
Jeff Tatman	....	makeup designer
Jeff Tatman	....	special makeup effects artist

Production Management
Ray Angelic	....	unit production manager
David L. Bushell	....	unit production manager
Peter T. DaPuzzo	....	unit manager
Jamey Pryde	....	post-production supervisor

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Michael Lee Baron	....	second unit director
Bill Blyler	....	second second assistant director
Thomas Burke	....	first assistant director (as Thomas M. Burke)
Maximillian D. Day	....	second assistant director

Art Department
Jo Ann Bender	....	set dresser
Max Biscoe	....	art director: re-shoots
Paula Davenport	....	painter
Chris DesMarais	....	property master
Chris Dysart	....	scenic artist
David Hedge	....	construction coordinator
Ari Krepostman	....	intern
Lisa McElroy	....	set dresser
John Monroe	....	carpenter
Janine Pesce	....	assistant property master
Renye Rees	....	scenic artist
Tony Smusz	....	set dresser
Laura VanTine	....	storyboard artist

Sound Department
Eric A. Christoffersen	....	stereo sound consultant: Dolby (as Eric A. Christofferson)
Ajae Clearway	....	assistant sound editor
Ryan Collison	....	foley artist
Thomas A. Gulino	....	foley editor
Bobby Johanson	....	adr engineer
Gabriel Kitinski	....	sound mixer
Peter Kitinski	....	boom operator
George A. Lara	....	foley engineer
George A. Lara	....	foley mixer
Lisa J. Levine	....	adr editor
Eric McAllister	....	editing room assistant
James H. Nau	....	sound effects editor
Mary Ellen Porto	....	dialogue editor
Jacob Ribicoff	....	adr editor
Ahmad Shirazi	....	supervising sound editor (as Maddy Shirazi)
Dominick Tavella	....	sound re-recording mixer
Brian Vancho	....	foley artist
Ananda Yorty	....	sound intern

Special Effects by
Dan Gates	....	special effects makeup
Tuck John Porter	....	special effects lab technician
Dirk Rogers	....	special effects technician: M.B.P production
Dirk Rogers	....	lab technician: M.B.P. (uncredited)

Stunts
Matthew R. Anderson	....	stunt double: Kevin Gage
Perry Barndt	....	utility stunts
Michael Lee Baron	....	stunt coordinator
John Blenkhorn	....	utility stunts
John Cade	....	assistant stunt coordinator
Warren A. Stevens	....	utility stunts
Robert Wood	....	stunt double: Howdy (as Bob Wood)

Camera and Electrical Department
Randy Allen	....	grip
William Ambrose	....	best boy grip
John Blenkhorn	....	Steadicam operator
Daryl Didier	....	electrician
Tom Fendley	....	best boy electric
Anthony Gotta	....	gaffer: additional photography
Jeff Hall	....	gaffer
Billy Holdson	....	additional assistant camera
Kevin Kansy	....	grip
Sanjay Kapoor	....	first assistant camera
Alexandra Kravetz	....	second assistant camera
Richard A. Ludt	....	key grip
David S. Marfield	....	videographer
Gene Page	....	still photographer
David Quint	....	remote camera operator
David A. Seekins	....	second assistant camera
Jessie Shows	....	additional assistant camera

Casting Department
Mark Bailey	....	extras casting
David Heber	....	extras casting assistant

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Houston Sams	....	assistant costume designer (as C. Houston Sams)

Editorial Department
Craig Cobb	....	additional assistant editor
Vivian Hengsteler	....	negative cutter
Paul Leonardo Jr.	....	post-production coordinator
Nadine Finzi Maybruck	....	assistant editor
Dan Muscarella	....	color timer
Michael Struk	....	additional assistant editor
Joe Woo Jr.	....	additional editor

Music Department
Gwen Bethel	....	music clearances
Phil Carson	....	executive in charge of music
Louis Cerborino	....	music editor
Barry Cole	....	music supervisor
Denny McNerney	....	score mixer
Denny McNerney	....	score recordist
Gordon Minette	....	orchestrator

Transportation Department
Dale Moser	....	transportation coordinator

Other crew
Keith Alexander	....	piercing consultant
Liz Augustine	....	body double: Linda Cardellini
Sarah J. Brown	....	script supervisor
Leonard John Bruno	....	promotions
Andrea F. Cannistraci	....	production legal
Elaine Diamond	....	computer graphic artist
Steven T. Duke	....	assistant location manager (as Steven Duke)
Bill Greenfield	....	set production assistant: re-shoots
Susan Hartmann	....	assistant production coordinator
Elizabeth Holt	....	production intern
Jonathan Manzo	....	location manager
David S. Marfield	....	writer/director: "porno" footage
Robert Ortiz	....	production coordinator
David Pollack	....	unit publicist
Michael Rath	....	production accountant
Christopher I. Russell	....	assistant production accountant
Mary Sunshine	....	post-production accountant
Spring Sutter	....	assistant post-production accountant

Production Companies

• Shooting Gallery
• Snider Than Thou Productions Inc.

Distributors

• Artisan Entertainment (video)
• Emerald (1999) (Argentina) (VHS)
• Foxton Entertainment (Germany)
• RCV Film Distribution (Belgium) (video)
• RCV Film Distribution (Luxembourg) (video)
• RCV Film Distribution (Netherlands) (video)
• Raucous Releasing
• Top Tape (????) (Brazil) (VHS)

Special Effects

• Digital Illusions (computer graphics)
• Michael Burnett Productions Inc.

Other Companies

• Chapman/Leonard Studio Equipment  camera dollies
• East Coast Post  post-production services
• REI Media Group  titles and opticals
• Sound One Corporation  sound re-recording
• Viv Kim Negative Cutting Service  negative cutting

Also Known As:

Dee Snider's StrangeLand (USA) (promotional title)
Rune (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated R for strong graphic torture/violence, language, nudity and sexuality.

Runtime:

85 min | Argentina:92 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Iceland:16 | USA:R (certificate #36303) | Argentina:16 | Australia:R | Denmark:15 | UK:18 | Germany:18 (JK/SPIO)

Filming Locations:

Colorado Springs, Colorado, USA

Company:

Shooting Gallery

Trivia:

When the mob gathers around Carleton Hendricks' home, someone is holding a sign that says "We're not gonna take it." This is also the title of the biggest single from Dee Snider's band Twisted Sister.

Goofs:

Audio/visual unsynchronized: The band BiLE isn't in-sync with the music playing.

Quotes:

Captain Howdy: So much flesh...so little time.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Killing Us Softly 3 (1999)

Soundtrack:

Awake

tolerable Silence of the Lambs and Se7en knockoff

That Twisted Sister's Dee Snyder wrote and produced this may have turned some people off from even giving it a try. It's also in no small part inspired by The Silence of the Lambs (from which it steals at least one scene) and Se7en, and as with other movies that have taken inspiration from those movies, such as 8mm, Feardotcom and Saw, took some flak for that too. The title is a stumper, I don't know what it means and it doesn't seem to suit the movie well. The shocking cover image is well chosen, though it might surprise some that a person's mouth sewn shut could be found in the opening scene of a movie from the early 1930s, Murders in the Zoo.

In truth, it's not all that bad. A young woman is lured to a party through an online chatroom and an IM from "Captain Howdy," and her friend turns up dead with signs of body modification-inspired torture. A large septum piercing found in the trunk of her car provides a clue (I didn't understand how it could have been accidentally left, or why it would have been planted). The cop learns a bit about "modern primitives" (I think there's a shot from the RE/ Search book of that name) and online chatrooms, still a danger to the unwary today.

Somewhat surprisingly, partway into the movie we get a "four years later" intertitle, and the discovery of a second set of victims seems awfully convenient. The ending confrontation is disappointing.

There are nods to other movies as well, as when a group of neighbors tries to lynch the bad guy, led by Jack (Robert Englund). This is quite reminiscent of the lynching of Freddie Krueger (Robert Englund again) by his neighbors in the Nightmare on Elm Street backstory.

I saw the version on video, and am not sure how the unrated DVD might differ.