Unearthed (2007)

Director:

Matthew Leutwyler

Writer:

Matthew Leutwyler (written by)

Genre:

Horror | Mystery | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Tagline:

Some secrets should stay buried.

Plot:

An unknown creature terrorizes an archeological dig in the middle of a desolate New Mexico town.

Plot Keywords:

Alien | Creature | Cow | Sheriff | New Mexico

Cast

Emmanuelle Vaugier	...	Sheriff Annie Flynn
Luke Goss	...	Kale
Charles Q. Murphy	...	Hank (as Charlie Murphy)
Beau Garrett	...	Caya
Tommy Dewey	...	Charlie
M.C. Gainey	...	Rob Horn
Miranda Bailey	...	Carla
Whitney Able	...	Ally
Russell Means	...	Grandpa
Tonantzin Carmelo	...	Nodin
Deborah Offner	...	Tanya the Waitress
Mark Kelly	...	Frank the Trucker
Isait De La Fuente	...	Luis
Chris Andrew Ciulla	...	Kelly
Ric Barbera	...	Curtis
Jeff Olson	...	Harlan
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Jason Hamer	...	Jason (uncredited)
Jim Jepson	...	Ranch Hand (uncredited)

Directed by
Matthew Leutwyler

Writing credits
Matthew Leutwyler		(written by)

Produced by
Miranda Bailey	....	producer
TyRuben Ellingson	....	executive producer
Francey Grace	....	producer
D.J. Marini	....	producer
Julie Sandor	....	co-producer
Jun Tan	....	producer
Michael 'Spike' Van Briesen	....	line producer

Original Music by
Joseph Bishara

Cinematography by
Ross Richardson

Film Editing by
Shawna Callahan

Casting by
Michael Testa

Production Design by
Christopher R. DeMuri

Set Decoration by
Les Boothe

Costume Design by
Annie Bloom		(re-shoots)
Carolyn Leone		(as Carolyn Leone-Smith)

Makeup Department
Ben Bornstein	....	special makeup effects shop technician: VGP
Autumn Butler	....	makeup artist
Alex Bytnar	....	special makeup effects artist
Michael Davis	....	key hair stylist
Rocky Faulkner	....	key makeup artist
Vincent J. Guastini	....	additional special makeup effects designer and creator
Don Lanning	....	sculptor
Leonard MacDonald	....	makeup animatronics
Michael Mosher	....	makeup department head
Megan Tanner	....	makeup artist: Luke Goss
Daniel N. Smith	....	assistant makeup artist (uncredited)

Production Management
Michael 'Spike' Van Briesen	....	unit production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Shawn Bisi	....	second second assistant director
Luis Bonachea	....	second second assistant director: re-shoots
Kelsey Daniels	....	first assistant director: second unit (as Kelsey Landry)
Matt Henderson	....	first assistant director
Jeff Jingle	....	second unit director
Jason Rodgers	....	second assistant director

Art Department
Brent Astrope	....	construction coordinator
Matt Harris	....	property master
Hollie Howton	....	art coordinator
Doug Kimbrough	....	lead man: reshoots
Greg Lang	....	carpenter: re-shoot
Jared L. Meadors	....	set dresser

Sound Department
Willy Allen	....	adr editor
Manvel Barsegyan	....	sound mixer: L.A. shoots
Garret Bever	....	assistant sound
Spencer Blair	....	post-sound assistant
Adam Fike	....	post sound coordinator
Rusty Fisher	....	boom operator
Rusty Fisher	....	sound mixer: second unit
Stephen M. Galvin	....	assistant dialogue editor
Patrick M. Griffith	....	supervising sound editor
Steve McCarty	....	sound effects editor
Matt McGowin	....	boom operator (as Matthew McGowan)
Timothy Pearson	....	foley artist
April Tucker	....	sound post-production (as April Cech)
April Tucker	....	sound recordist (as April Cech)

Special Effects by
Mark Ballou	....	creature effects technician: Steve Johnson's Edge FX, Inc.
Billy Bryan	....	creature effects fabrication: Steve Johnson's Edge FX, Inc.
Chris Burgoyne	....	special effects makeup (as Christopher Burgoyne)
Alex Bytnar	....	special effects lab technician
Carlton Coleman	....	special effects makeup
Carlton Coleman	....	special effects technician
Donald Frazee	....	special effects supervisor
Joe Gomez	....	mold shop supervisor: Steve Johnson's Edge FX, Inc.
Jason Hamer	....	special effects coordinator: Steve Johnson's Edge FX, Inc.
Eric Harris	....	creature painter: Steve Johnson's Edge FX, Inc.
Jeff Himmel	....	creature effects fabrication: Steve Johnson's Edge FX, Inc.
Jeff Jingle	....	animatronic creature effects: Steve Johnson's Edge FX, Inc.
Mark Killingsworth	....	creature effects fabrication: Steve Johnson's Edge FX, Inc.
Scott Lingard	....	special effects foreman
Leonard MacDonald	....	creature effects technician: Steve Johnson's Edge FX, Inc.
Robert Maverick	....	special effects makeup
Bruce D. Mitchell	....	creature effects fabrication: Steve Johnson's Edge FX, Inc.
Koji Ohmura	....	special effects makeup
Kazuyuki Okada	....	special effects makeup
Richard Redlefsen	....	fabricator
Richard Redlefsen	....	painter
Richard Redlefsen	....	special effects makeup
Todd Rex	....	sculptor: Steve Johnson's Edge FX, Inc.
Michael Roundy	....	special effects technician
Ryan Roundy	....	special effects technician
David E. Smith	....	sculptor: Steve Johnson's Edge FX, Inc.
Brett Stern	....	assistant creature painter: Steve Johnson's Edge FX, Inc.
Robert G. Willard	....	special effects

Visual Effects by
Magali Aubé	....	modeling artist
Ana Bruno	....	visual effects
Hunter Chase	....	digital artist
Shane Cook	....	CG supervisor: POV
David Dozoretz	....	visual effects supervisor
Marco Foglia	....	digital artist
Stephen Garrett	....	digital artist
Marc-André Guindon	....	CG supervisor
Lina Hum	....	texture artist
Benjamin Liu	....	digital effects artist: Persistence of Vision
Mitch Paulson	....	digital colorist

Stunts
Jeremy Fitzgerald	....	assistant stunt coordinator
Ryan Fitzgerald	....	stunt double
Kevin L. Jackson	....	stunt double
Kathy Jarvis	....	stunt double: Miss E. Vaugier
Dina L. Margolin	....	stunt double
Darrin Prescott	....	stunt coordinator
Jason Rodgers	....	stunt double
Kevin Scott	....	stunts
Craig Frosty Silva	....	utility stunts
Michael 'Spike' Van Briesen	....	stunts
Michele Waitman	....	stunt double

Camera and Electrical Department
Gabriel Copeland	....	second assistant camera
Reed Fanning	....	electrician
J.J. Gerber	....	film loader
Fred Hayes	....	still photographer
Mike Law	....	electrician
Scott Logan	....	camera loader
William Long	....	electrician (as Bill Long)
Carlos Lopez Calleja	....	first assistant camera
Kristine Lyons	....	electrician
Paul Meehan	....	dolly grip
Jason Painter	....	first assistant camera
Roger Peterson	....	grip
Eliseo Romero	....	second assistant camera
Nathan Stock	....	grip (as Nate Stock)
Robert Stone	....	gaffer
Craig Sullivan	....	key grip
David M. White	....	electrician
Tyler Winegar	....	grip

Casting Department
Dan Shaner	....	casting

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Chapin Simpson	....	costumer

Editorial Department
Tess Lindberg	....	assistant editor
Mathieu Reid	....	color timer
Elizabeth Rufenacht	....	first assistant editor

Music Department
Zach Selwyn	....	composer: additional music

Transportation Department
Britani Alexander	....	transportation coordinator
Jim DePue	....	transportation coordinator
Lottie DePue	....	transportation captain
Cody Herpin	....	driver
Eric Lichtenberg	....	set driver
Thad Paget	....	driver
Stephen Rippey	....	truck driver
Rick Spidell	....	driver: honeywagon

Other crew
Elizabeth Ann Allen	....	lead stand-in
Hayley Badham	....	production assistant
Hayley Badham	....	second unit assistant
Greg Bernstein	....	legal services
Suzanne Bingham	....	script supervisor
Shelley Marie Brown	....	promotions
Nathan Caulford	....	production assistant
Marjorie Chodorov	....	production accountant
Marc Conn	....	location supervisor
Brian David Culp	....	production assistant: re-shoots
Kelsey Daniels	....	production coordinator (as Kelsey Landry)
Stein Erickson	....	lead stand-in
Stefan Glidden	....	key set production assistant: re-shoots
Jeff Jingle	....	puppeteer
Terence Johnson	....	stand-in
Hayley Karl	....	production assistant: re-shoots
Amanda Marshall	....	assistant to producers
Amanda Marshall	....	assistant: producers
Ryan McDowell	....	assistant to director
Amanda Morten	....	production assistant: re-shoots
Brian Ray	....	production assistant
Teauhna Riley	....	set/office intern
Lalida Sujjavasin	....	production assistant: Los Angeles, re-shoots
Lansia Wann	....	production assistant
Conrad V.R. Young	....	production assistant
Jared Watkins	....	photo double (uncredited)

Thanks
Erwann G. Marshall	....	special thanks

Production Companies

• Cold Iron Pictures (presents)
• Ambush Entertainment
• Combustion Studios (in association with)

Distributors

• After Dark Films (2007) (USA) (theatrical)
• Dutch FilmWorks (DFW) (2008) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Future Film (2008) (Finland) (DVD)
• Inter Film (2008) (Japan) (DVD) (rental)
• Lionsgate Home Entertainment (2008) (USA) (DVD)
• RTL Entertainment (2010) (Netherlands) (TV) (RTL8)
• Sunfilm Entertainment (2008) (Germany) (DVD)

Special Effects

• Persistence of Vision Entertainment (visual effects)
• Realities Studio
• Steve Johnson's Edge FX (creature effects)
• Vital Distraction (previsualization)

Other Companies

• Buzz Factory, The  
• Chapman/Leonard Studio Equipment  dollies
• Monster Picture Crane  stunt rigging crane
• Redman Movies and Stories  grip and lighting equipment

Also Known As:

"Alien Rising" - Japan (English title) (DVD title)

MPAA:

Rated R for violence/gore and language

Runtime:

93 min | Germany:90 min (European Film Market)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:R | Netherlands:16 | Australia:M | UK:18 | Finland:K-18

Filming Locations:

Salt Lake City, Utah, USA

Company:

Cold Iron Pictures

Goofs:

Continuity: Kale puts a knife through the dead trucker's chest. In the close-ups the body is wearing a red shirt, which the knife goes through. In the other shots, the body is topless.

Quotes:

Nodin:[examining the alien piece from the crash] This thing is of unnatural organisms.

Soundtrack:

Lonely

Should have stayed 'Earthed'

In 2004, director Matthew Leutwyler's first feature 'Dead & Breakfast' received praise for some circles; none of which included me. Unfortunately three years on and while at least he's moved away from rubbish zombie films; he has unfortunately gone on to rubbish sci-fi/horror films, and this desert-set rendition of Alien is just that. It's a shame that this film is so terrible because the plot actually sounds like it could turn into something quite decent. The film takes place in New Mexico and focuses on a small town. A bunch of cows have been found dead and naturally the local farmers believe that a wolf is to blame. The farmers send for a Sheriff to deal with that, and a big truck accident that's blocking the road...but things take a turn for the unexpected when the Sheriff discovers that there's been an archaeological dig in the area, and that an Indian has accidentally released a giant CGI alien creature into the town. Then a bunch of people end up getting stuck and the alien picks them all off one by one.

OK, so let's break it down. Acting - terrible, special effects - terrible, plot - clichéd, death scenes - routine...so it really doesn't have all that much going for it. Emmanuelle Vaugier is the lead actress and she's very good looking, but doesn't have enough about her to carry the film. Luke Goss, one half of the awful eighties pop group 'Bros' also appears in the film (luckily, the other half isn't in it, and even luckier is the fact that he doesn't sing). The plot is turgid and uninteresting and basically gives us a little bit of info, followed by a death scene, followed by a bit more info. The central creature doesn't appear all that often - and that's really a good thing because it when it does appear, it's just disappointing CGI nonsense. The action sequences are no good either, mainly because director Matthew Leutwyler has opted for the MTv style quick cuts that never fail to ruin a movie (even, it would appear, one that is already ruined). Overall, this is a dreary and boring horror film that definitely isn't recommended.