By MICHAEL GINGOLD
The homage to classic monster flicks was largely shot on film.
Filmmaker Richard Terrasi passed on the exclusive pics seen above and below along with info on THE MONSTER MASH, coming soon to streaming and Blu-ray from Bayview Entertainment following screenings at 17 international festivals, where it has picked up nine awards. The synopsis: “An anthology throwback to the glorious days of creature features that aired on television sets across America. Former Nazi scientist Doctor Freudstein [yes, named after the villain from Lucio Fulci’s THE HOUSE BY THE CEMETERY] and his sidekick Ludwig fumble to create a bio-mechanical experiment, all while hosting ‘The Monster Mash Triple Feature Show.’ It features three gruesome mini-horror films: ‘Whispering Hollow Road,’ a dark, shadowy noir with a monstrous twist; ‘The House,’ a modern Gothic tale of lycanthropy; and ‘Homebound Horror,’ a grimy grindhouse tale of otherworldly revenge.”
Terrasi directed the Freudstein wraparound and the “Road” and “House” stories, shooting on Ultra 16mm/Super 16mm film, while co-producer Kevin Losani helmed the digitally lensed “Homebound.” The cast is headed by Michael Gentile, Cherry Fu, William Kozy, Monica Sharma, Losani, Roschaad Milner, Tim Whalen and Justina Valentine. Shot in Syracuse, Oswego and Fishkill, New York, the movie showcases creature effects that were largely designed and created by Terrasi, with additional designs by Kyle Thompson of Midnight Studios FX and makeup effects by Megan Reed. Michael Edward Cruz and Lost Years contributed the music.
“THE MONSTER MASH is a salute to a bygone era of creature features and horror hosts–usually mad scientists,” Terrasi says. “I grew up in the late 1970s and 1980s watching classic low budget B-movies through shows like CHILLER THEATRE and MORGUS THE MAGNIFICENT. I’ve always loved monster movies and still do, and I always wanted to make something that celebrated them in the fashion of these programs I grew up watching since I was 4 years old, with characters that were fully realized with good acting and substance in between the segments with Dr. Freudstein and Ludwig as the comic relief.”
THE MONSTER MASH is dedicated to Gentile, who died from stomach cancer in 2021. “He was a talented and brilliant actor who portrayed three characters in THE MONSTER MASH: Doctor Freudstein, Andrew Lakewood in ‘Whispering Hollow Road’ and The Boss in ‘Homebound Horror.’ He also co-produced the film with me and Kevin. Besides working on two feature films of mine, Michael also became a good friend and will be deeply missed.”
