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Showing posts from January, 2010

The filmmaker next door: J.R. Bookwalter, Akron’s own horror king, is still scaring audiences

Akron filmmaker J.R. Bookwalter >>> It was more than ambitious for the time. Forget digital cameras and Macs loaded with editing and special effects software – the kind of off-the-shelf film staples that define the modern no-budget filmmaker today. This was 1988. A feature-length horror epic shot on a shoestring budget and Super-8mm film in downtown Akron, Ohio? What was J.R. Bookwalter thinking? “It was a complete fluke,” the filmmaker says. “A once in a lifetime thing.” That fluke turned into The Dead Next Door , a thunderbolt fueled by flesh-eating zombies, tough-as-nails soldiers, genius scientists, insane cult leaders, and gore – lots of it. It was even named one of Top 50 Essential Gore Films by Rue Morgue magazine. While it was made on a ultra-low-budget, it comes from a rich horror pedigree. Sam Raimi , the Detroit-born writer/director/producer, known for both his low-budget, independent horror film franchise  Evil Dead and his big-budget, studio blockbusters, inclu