Death Kiss was a totally rad-ass throwback to the days of Cannon films, and Charles Bronson flicks and I absolutely loved the shit out of it (Don’t believe me? Click here and read for yourselves!) Well lo and behold, the incredible publisher Pulp 2.0 have gone ahead and released a terrific tome that covers the flicks production inside and out!
Beginning with a brief overview of the cinema of vengeance of the ’70’s and ’80’s, as well as Bronson’s contribution to it’s legacy, author Bill Cunningham then segues into how Writer/Director Rene Perez went about creating this neo-exploitation actioner detailing how the creative decisions were made, including the casting of Robert “Bronzi” Kovacs who bears a striking resemblance to the late Bronson (but is a solid actor in his own right) and how those decisions led to producing a low-budget picture that could sell and compete in today’s marketplace.
This gives an amazing wealth of information to any aspiring filmmaker that desires to create their own flicks for little dough (believe me I know what that’s like as it’s my other profession in the ol’ horror biz); and it does it in a concise, no bull-shit manner. I wasn’t expecting this release to contain that kind of info, but I’m sure as shit glad it did!
After that we are presented with the full script to the film (presented with plenty of full-color stills from the film), which of course is another invaluable resource for the up-and-comers out there, besides being a great read on it’s own. Following that comes an illustrated look behind the scenes, as well as sections detailing the film’s publicity campaign, as well as interviews with the cast and crew (minus Perez who’s participation or lack thereof is mentioned…and kudos on the transparency).
If you loved Death Kiss or just want to see what goes into making a successful and immensely entertaining low budget independent feature and getting it in front of the right putrid peepers (or both!); give Death Kiss: The Book of the Movie a read…and if your ambitions do lie in filmmaking keep it on hand as a constant resource…I know I will!
*Disclaimer: Yes, quotes from my review of Death Kiss appear in the book, but I didn’t know that until I was well into this review, and as you lot well know, that wouldn’t have influenced my arcane ass anyway!
