Guns of El Chupacabra
Encyclopedia
Guns of El Chupacabra is a 1997 martial arts
based monster film that was directed by Donald G. Jackson
and was produced by and stars Scott Shaw
. The co-stars of this film include: Julie Strain
, Kevin Eastman
, Conrad Brooks
, Joe Estevez
, and Robert Z'Dar
.
. He enters the earth driving a vintage Plymouth Belvedere
. Once on earth he acquires several fire arms and goes on a mission to rid the earth of the Chupacabra. As it turns out, the Chupacabra are the wayward pets of Z-man, Lord Invader, (Robert Z'Dar). After Shaw has defeated Z'dar and the Chupacabra, he returns to the planet of Strain and Eastman and is knight
ed, the Reverend, Doctor, Saint Francis Blade.
Approximately half way through this film, Joe Estevez enters, playing the character, Rocket Ranger Dan Danger. This character is a narrator who is reminiscent of the science fiction
television show narrators from the 1940s and 1950s. Once this character is introduced, he goes about adding information to the ever-developing storyline.
was first born in Puerto Rico
and has since spread throughout Latin America
. The term Chupacabra literally means "Goat Sucker", as these mythical creatures are believed to be a vampire
-like creature who prey upon farm animals.
. In this episode Shaw detailed that while scouting film locations in Mexico
, Jackson and Shaw actually witnessed the attack of a Chupacabra.
s are used in the creation of a film.
Perhaps one of the most distinctive elements of this film, in regard to Zen Filmmaking, is that the film begins by presenting its characters in a traditional storyline fashion. Approximately thirty minutes into the film, a documentary film
crew is introduced into the plot. From this point forward, the film shifts between storyline and documentary until the two plot lines collide and the film becomes part theatrical presentation and part documentary. From this, the audience is left questioning where one style of filmmaking begins and the other leaves off. In addition, much of this film is shot using the hand-held camera technique, which is also a distinctive element of Zen Filmmaking.
As is the case with all of the films created by Donald G. Jackson and Scott Shaw, this film follows a non-linear storyline. Another unique element of this film, and a technique used in many Jackson/Shaw productions, is that the various segments of this film are preceded by full screen, white on black, screen credits announcing an upcoming plot twist.
, Bronson Canyon
, Los Angeles Chinatown, and Hollywood, California. Using Hollywood as a cinematic backdrop is a common element to both the films of Jackson and Shaw. Hollywood landmarks such as the Hollywood Sign
and images of Hollywood Boulevard
are seen in this film.
This film also presents scenes filmed at Los Angeles Union Station. This railway hub was built in 1939 and is considered to be, The last of America's great rail stations. It was created in an art deco
style of architecture
and is a very visual location that has been featured in many films and music videos. Union Station is a commonly presented location in the films of Scott Shaw and Donald G. Jackson.
anamorphic film process.
, DVD
, and Cable television
release in the West and Asia.
According to the interview that was presented on the episode of Strange Universe, this film is the first segment of the Guns of El Chupacabra Trilogy. The second feature of this trilogy is Guns of El Chupacabra 2: The Unseen. According to the Hollywood Reporter, Shaw will be filming the third film in the series.
Martial arts
Martial arts are extensive systems of codified practices and traditions of combat, practiced for a variety of reasons, including self-defense, competition, physical health and fitness, as well as mental and spiritual development....
based monster film that was directed by Donald G. Jackson
Donald G. Jackson
Donald G. Jackson was an American filmmaker who is often referred to in the media as the Ed Wood of the video age...
and was produced by and stars Scott Shaw
Scott Shaw
Scott Shaw is an American actor, author, journalist, film director, film producer, musician, professor and martial artist.-Early life:...
. The co-stars of this film include: Julie Strain
Julie Strain
Julie Strain is an American actress and model who was Penthouse Pet of the Month in June 1991 and later chosen as the magazine's Pet of the Year in 1993.-Early life:...
, Kevin Eastman
Kevin Eastman
Kevin Brooks Eastman is an American comic book artist and writer, best known as the creator of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Eastman is also the current owner, editor and publisher of the magazine Heavy Metal.-Early life:Eastman was born on May 30, 1962 in Springvale, Maine...
, Conrad Brooks
Conrad Brooks
Conrad Brooks is an American actor. He moved to Hollywood, California in the early 1950s to pursue a career in acting...
, Joe Estevez
Joe Estevez
Joseph "Joe" Estevez is an American actor, director, and producer.He is the younger brother of actor Martin Sheen and the uncle of Emilio Estevez, Charlie Sheen, Renée Estevez, and Ramon Estevez.-Early life:...
, and Robert Z'Dar
Robert Z'Dar
Robert J. Zdarsky , better known as Robert Z’Dar, is an American actor and film producer, perhaps best known for his role as Matt Cordell in the cult horror film Maniac Cop and its two sequels. Due to his unusual facial structure, he is often referred to as "The Chin".-Early life:Born in Chicago,...
.
Plot
This films follows the lead character Jack B. Quick, Space Sheriff, (Scott Shaw), who is sent to Earth by Queen Bee, (Julie Strain) and King Allmedia, (Kevin Eastman) to battle the ChupacabraChupacabra
The chupacabras is a legendary cryptid rumored to inhabit parts of the Americas. It is associated more recently with sightings of an allegedly unknown animal in Puerto Rico , Mexico, and the United States, especially in the latter's Latin American communities...
. He enters the earth driving a vintage Plymouth Belvedere
Plymouth Belvedere
The Plymouth Belvedere was an American automobile produced by Plymouth from 1951-1970.-1951–1953:Introduced on March 31, the 1951 Plymouth Belvedere arrived as a two-door pillarless hardtop. It was Plymouth's first vehicle of such design and was built in response to Chevrolet's Bel Air...
. Once on earth he acquires several fire arms and goes on a mission to rid the earth of the Chupacabra. As it turns out, the Chupacabra are the wayward pets of Z-man, Lord Invader, (Robert Z'Dar). After Shaw has defeated Z'dar and the Chupacabra, he returns to the planet of Strain and Eastman and is knight
Knight
A knight was a member of a class of lower nobility in the High Middle Ages.By the Late Middle Ages, the rank had become associated with the ideals of chivalry, a code of conduct for the perfect courtly Christian warrior....
ed, the Reverend, Doctor, Saint Francis Blade.
Approximately half way through this film, Joe Estevez enters, playing the character, Rocket Ranger Dan Danger. This character is a narrator who is reminiscent of the science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
television show narrators from the 1940s and 1950s. Once this character is introduced, he goes about adding information to the ever-developing storyline.
Chupacabra
The legend of the ChupacabraChupacabra
The chupacabras is a legendary cryptid rumored to inhabit parts of the Americas. It is associated more recently with sightings of an allegedly unknown animal in Puerto Rico , Mexico, and the United States, especially in the latter's Latin American communities...
was first born in Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
and has since spread throughout Latin America
Latin America
Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
. The term Chupacabra literally means "Goat Sucker", as these mythical creatures are believed to be a vampire
Vampire
Vampires are mythological or folkloric beings who subsist by feeding on the life essence of living creatures, regardless of whether they are undead or a living person...
-like creature who prey upon farm animals.
Interviews
In 1998 Shaw and Jackson were interviewed, regarding this film, on the syndicated television series Strange UniverseStrange Universe
Strange Universe was a syndicated daily half-hour program about paranormal phenomena. It was hosted by Emmitt Miller and Dana Adams. In February of 1997 Adams was dropped as co-host and miller became the only host. It was on the air from 1996 to 1998 for a total of 390 episodes.-External links:* ...
. In this episode Shaw detailed that while scouting film locations in Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
, Jackson and Shaw actually witnessed the attack of a Chupacabra.
Zen Filmmaking
This film is an ideal example of the style of filmmaking developed by Scott Shaw and Donald G. Jackson, known as Zen Filmmaking. Zen Filmmaking is a distinct style of filmmaking where the primary concept is that no scriptScreenplay
A screenplay or script is a written work that is made especially for a film or television program. Screenplays can be original works or adaptations from existing pieces of writing. In them, the movement, actions, expression, and dialogues of the characters are also narrated...
s are used in the creation of a film.
Perhaps one of the most distinctive elements of this film, in regard to Zen Filmmaking, is that the film begins by presenting its characters in a traditional storyline fashion. Approximately thirty minutes into the film, a documentary film
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
crew is introduced into the plot. From this point forward, the film shifts between storyline and documentary until the two plot lines collide and the film becomes part theatrical presentation and part documentary. From this, the audience is left questioning where one style of filmmaking begins and the other leaves off. In addition, much of this film is shot using the hand-held camera technique, which is also a distinctive element of Zen Filmmaking.
As is the case with all of the films created by Donald G. Jackson and Scott Shaw, this film follows a non-linear storyline. Another unique element of this film, and a technique used in many Jackson/Shaw productions, is that the various segments of this film are preceded by full screen, white on black, screen credits announcing an upcoming plot twist.
Locations
Traditional to Jackson/Shaw productions, Guns of El Chupacabra was filmed in many spectacular locations. These locations include the desert of Mexico, Vasquez RocksVasquez Rocks
Vasquez Rocks Natural Area Park is a 905-acre northern Los Angeles County, California, USA park acquired by the Los Angeles County government in the 1970s...
, Bronson Canyon
Bronson Canyon
Bronson Canyon, or Bronson Caves, is a section of Griffith Park in Los Angeles, California that has become famous as a filming location for a very large number of movies and TV shows, especially westerns and science fiction, from the early days of motion pictures to the present...
, Los Angeles Chinatown, and Hollywood, California. Using Hollywood as a cinematic backdrop is a common element to both the films of Jackson and Shaw. Hollywood landmarks such as the Hollywood Sign
Hollywood Sign
The Hollywood Sign is a landmark and American cultural icon in the Hollywood Hills area of Mount Lee, Santa Monica Mountains, in Los Angeles, California. The sign spells out the name of the area in and white letters. It was created as an advertisement in 1923, but garnered increasing recognition...
and images of Hollywood Boulevard
Hollywood Boulevard
-Revitalization:In recent years successful efforts have been made at cleaning up Hollywood Blvd., as the street had gained a reputation for crime and seediness. Central to these efforts was the construction of the Hollywood and Highland shopping center and adjacent Kodak Theatre in 2001...
are seen in this film.
This film also presents scenes filmed at Los Angeles Union Station. This railway hub was built in 1939 and is considered to be, The last of America's great rail stations. It was created in an art deco
Art Deco
Art deco , or deco, is an eclectic artistic and design style that began in Paris in the 1920s and flourished internationally throughout the 1930s, into the World War II era. The style influenced all areas of design, including architecture and interior design, industrial design, fashion and...
style of architecture
Architecture
Architecture is both the process and product of planning, designing and construction. Architectural works, in the material form of buildings, are often perceived as cultural and political symbols and as works of art...
and is a very visual location that has been featured in many films and music videos. Union Station is a commonly presented location in the films of Scott Shaw and Donald G. Jackson.
Filmmaking process
This feature was filmed in on 35mm film, using the PanavisionPanavision
Panavision is an American motion picture equipment company specializing in cameras and lenses, based in Woodland Hills, California. Formed by Robert Gottschalk as a small partnership to create anamorphic projection lenses during the widescreen boom in the 1950s, Panavision expanded its product...
anamorphic film process.
Distribution
This film received a theatrical release in several Latin American countries from 1998 forward, but was limited to VideotapeVideotape
A videotape is a recording of images and sounds on to magnetic tape as opposed to film stock or random access digital media. Videotapes are also used for storing scientific or medical data, such as the data produced by an electrocardiogram...
, DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
, and Cable television
Cable television
Cable television is a system of providing television programs to consumers via radio frequency signals transmitted to televisions through coaxial cables or digital light pulses through fixed optical fibers located on the subscriber's property, much like the over-the-air method used in traditional...
release in the West and Asia.
According to the interview that was presented on the episode of Strange Universe, this film is the first segment of the Guns of El Chupacabra Trilogy. The second feature of this trilogy is Guns of El Chupacabra 2: The Unseen. According to the Hollywood Reporter, Shaw will be filming the third film in the series.