The Bronx-made film “Krackoon” is now a hit from coast to coast.
The film was recently shown at the Los Angeles screening of the New York International Independent Film and Video Festival, where it took home a prize for Best Cult Feature. In September, a New York audience for the same festival awarded the movie Best Horror Film honors.
“When I got the e-mail, we were like ‘wow best cult feature that’s pretty cool’,” said writer-director Jerry Landi, who was on vacation with his family when he received news about the film’s latest award. “We’re thankful we got another award. It’s nice. It shows people really appreciate our work.”
The film, which was made entirely with Throggs Neck talent, was released last year and has continued to see success with audiences that enjoy grindhouse, B-movie thrillers.
According to Landi, the film crew attended theLos Angeles festival just so they could pick up the award for best horror film. After the response the movie received at the New York screening, festival organizers insisted the movie be shown again, this time for the Los Angeles crowd.
“People in L.A. really liked it,” Landi said, adding that the laid back Los Angelenos made for a much different audience than the New York crowd. “People from all over are really interested in this.”
While in Los Angeles, Landi and the other filmmakers started laying the groundwork for a sequel, and perhaps third edition, to “Krackoon”, which was first released to Bronx audiences in March of last year.
Landi said he recently completed the script for the sequel and is looking into the possibility of filming it in 3-D. The eye-popping technology would be the perfect fit for the grindhouse inspired gore-fest, Landi said.
The first film focused on a crack-addicted raccoon that terrorizes a small town in the east Bronx and accidentally unravels a shady land deal organized by a corrupt mayor.
The movie, which is the second creation of the Bronx-based group of actors and filmmakers called Amuck Duck Productions, was completed in late 2009. Soon after completion, it was admitted to the festival.
Winners are chosen by a panel of judges, who select movies to review based on the responses of audience member questionnaires filled out after the screenings.
Landi said buzz for the movie got to Los Angeles before the crew of filmmakers arrived.
Landi said he hopes to get started on the movie soon.
The production company has been getting calls constantly from people that want to be a part of the project, but the producers plan to keep most of the talent right here in the Bronx. Landi plans to have a large casting call for interested Bronx actors soon.
“With the first one I had to practically beg for people to be in it,” he said. “Now I’m getting calls from everybody.”
