Poultrygeist
Encyclopedia
Poultrygeist: Night of the Chicken Dead is a 2006 musical
-comedy horror
exploitation film
from Troma Entertainment
, directed by Lloyd Kaufman
from a screenplay by Gabriel Friedman and Daniel Bova.
Written as a satire
of the American fast food industry, Poultrygeist follows a group of people trapped inside a New Jersey
fried chicken
fast food restaurant - the American Chicken Bunker - which is being attacked by chicken
-possessed zombie
demon
s after building an establishment on top of sacred India
n burial ground
. At the center of the film is Arbie (Jason Yachanin
), an ACB employee trying to win back the heart of his ex-girlfriend Wendy (Kate Graham), an activist
protesting against the restaurant who has left Arbie for another woman.
Taking six years from script to screen, Poultrygeist was officially released on DVD
in 2008 following a limited theatrical run, meeting with the highest critical acclaim of any film in Troma's thirty-five year history.
) and Wendy (Kate Graham) meet the day before Wendy's departure to college to consummate their relationship in the Tromahawk Indian
burial ground
, promising to each other that no matter what happens, they will always stay faithful to each other. One college semester later, when Arbie returns to the spot of his one (and only) sexual encounter, he is shocked to discover two unsettling realities: not only has the burial ground been bulldozed and replaced by an American Chicken Bunker, a mega-conglomerate fast food
franchise
, but that college has turned his dear Wendy into a "left-wing
, lipstick lesbo
liberal", protesting the construction of the fried chicken menace with her activist
girlfriend Micki (Allyson Sereboff).
Disillusioned and out for revenge, Arbie decides to get a job at the American Chicken Bunker. Under the supervision of paranoid manager Denny, Arbie is thrust into the monotony of minimum wage with a variety of colorful co-workers: the effeminate Mexican Paco Bell (Khalid Rivera), the animal-loving redneck
Carl Jr. (Caleb Emerson), the burqa
-clad Muslim
Hummus (Rose Ghavami) and a mysterious 60 year-old man in the restaurant's basement who has worked as the restaurant's costumed mascot
all his life and has a virtually identical back story to Arbie.
However, strange things are afoot at the American Chicken Bunker. After the number of employees and customers starts decreasing in increasingly bloody fashions, Arbie begins to unravel a sinister plot involving the spirits of disenfranchised Native Americans
and the billions of slaughtered chickens sent to the "concentration coops
" who plan on extracting their revenge in the most gruesome ways possible. Now it's up to Arbie to try to save himself, while trapped in the restaurant by a number of possessed customers who are trying to get in.
of the same title submitted to Troma Entertainment by Daniel Bova around 2002. After a number of re-writes at the hands of several Troma employees, the script reached a final draft in 2004, completed by long-time Troma editor
Gabriel Friedman. Then given the title Poultrygeist: Attack of the Chicken Zombies, Troma heavily promoted the film in the mid-2000s in an attempt to gain funding, though ultimately failed to secure adequate financing.
The budget for Poultrygeist was roughly around $450,000, a typical budget for a Troma film. A large part of the film's financing came out-of-pocket from Lloyd Kaufman
and Michael Herz
, while Kaufman and his wife, Patricia Swinney Kaufman
, dipped into their personal retirement savings to help fund the film.
Much of Poultrygeists crew was made up entirely of volunteers who had answered advertisements posted by Troma on such websites as Craigslist
and horror-based message boards
looking for available crew members. According to Fangoria
, hundreds of people applied, and volunteers traveled from as far as Sweden
, Germany
, Australia
and numerous parts of the United States to work on the film, serving in various crew positions or as production assistant
s. Duggie Banas, who composed
the movie's musical numbers, became attached to the film after answering an online ad looking for composers who'd be willing to work on a film for free. Many of the props and masks featured in the film were donations from special effects studios from around the world.
Shot on 35 mm film
by long-time Troma cinematographer Brendan C. Flynt, principal photography
for Poultrygeist took place during the summer of 2005 at an abandoned McDonald's
in the Bailey-Kensington neighborhood of Buffalo
, New York
. Over 80 crew members and 300 unpaid extras worked on the film. A nearby abandoned church was rented out by Troma, where over 70 cast and crew members resided for the duration of the shoot, despite only housing one working bathroom.
As chronicled in Poultrygeists making-of
documentary
Poultry in Motion: Truth Is Stranger Than Chicken, the production was plagued with numerous problems, including malfunctioning special effects, delayed and over-scheduled filming, pay disputes with the actors and even the restaurant set being prematurely deconstructed on the last day of shooting. Despite the production hardships, Poultrygeist managed to successfully complete its principal photography by August 2005.
Press coverage of Poultrygeist began even in the earliest stages of the film's production. British publication Hotdog Magazine
covered the film in 2005 while filming was still in progress, while Ain't It Cool News
, Attack of the Show and Fangoria
reported on the film throughout the stages of its post-production, with the latter giving Poultrygeist a full four-page feature in mid-2007.
Poultrygeist received some media attention when Troma picketed the 2008 Tribeca Film Festival
held at Manhattan
s Village East Cinema, where Poultrygeists premiere was to be held the following month. Tribeca, who was renting out the venue for the festival, forced the theater to stop playing the film's trailers and remove its posters. In response, a number of Troma employees, including one in a chicken costume, stood outside the Village East Cinema during the days of the festival, brandishing posters, sandwich boards and giveaways in promotion of the film.
on April 14, 2007, and spent the remainder of 2007 playing international engagements in Amsterdam
, Tel Aviv
, Spain
, and film festivals including the Toronto After Dark Film Festival
, the Puchon International Fantastic Film Festival
and the Calgary International Film Festival
. The film began playing throughout the United States in early 2008, making its official cast and crew-attended premiere in New York City
on May 9, 2008.
Poultrygeists sold-out weekend run in New York earned $10,700 on a single screen, gaining the second highest per-screen average in the country, coming in just short of Iron Man
s second week national per-screen average of $12,400. Poultrygeist played in New York through July 3, followed by two-week long run at the Laemmle Sunset
in Los Angeles
on June 14.
The film continued to make sporadic theatrical engagements throughout the United States up to and even after its official DVD release. On April 17, 2009, Poultrygeist had a wide release in the Midwest, opening simultaneously in 11 theaters in eight states, including two screens each in Wisconsin
and Indiana
.
, with the general critical consensus being that it "may be relentlessly tasteless and juvenile, but it's also a lively slice of schlocky fun".
Professional critics were generally positive towards the film. Owen Gleiberman
of Entertainment Weekly
awarded the film a B+ rating, calling it "an exploitation movie with soul" and noting "it's genuine sick fun, and there isn't a boring moment in it". Nathan Lee of The New York Times
spoke of the film as being "as perfect as a film predicated on the joys of projectile vomiting
and explosive diarrhea
can be", describing it as "liberating" in a "lowbrow way". Both New York magazine
and Salon.com
selected Poultrygeist as a Critic's Pick, the latter calling it "disgusting, deranged and thoroughly brilliant". Reading into the film's subtext, The Guardian
noted the film as "a wonderfully bold satirical comment on the chemical-industrial food complex that poisons us all", summarizing Poultrygeist as "the movie Fast Food Nation
could have been if it hadn't sucked". The Calgary Herald
wrote "dismissing Poultrygeist as sheer stupidity - which most will undoubtedly do - is the wrong call...Kaufman has created a rather sharp, if demented, work of political and social satire." PETA
called the film "a vegetarian-manifesto masterpiece", ranking it #1 on their list of "Top 10 Movies That Make You Go Meatless".
On the negative end of the critical spectrum, Roger Moore of the Orlando Sentinel
felt the film "wears out its joke, like all Troma films, long before that last 50-gallon keg of fake blood is tapped...it's a 40-minute short struggling to escape a 103-minute feature", giving it a rating of two out of five stars. Time Out New York gave the film two out of six stars, claiming its "half-funny" "trashiness" only appeals to horror fans, while Slant Magazine
was considerably harsher, rating the film half a star out of four, calling it "superficially turgid" and that its "strangely impressive originality doesn't even close to compensating for its everything-plus-the-kitchen-sink midnight-movie awfulness". The New York Post
, however, while criticizing the film's poor taste, acting and pacing, described the satire as "wicked" and predicted that its flaws wouldn't stop it from becoming an "underground cult hit".
In contrast to Kaufman's previous films, Terror Firmer
and Citizen Toxie: The Toxic Avenger IV
, which heavily referenced and relied on the audience's familiarity of Troma films, Poultrygeist is only loosely connected with the "Tromaverse" yet makes numerous background references to their previous films. Arbie can be seen wearing an "I Love the Monster Hero" shirt from The Toxic Avenger
in an early scene, posters of Tromeo and Juliet
and When Nature Calls
adorn the walls of Wendy's bedroom, and DVD copies of Tales from the Crapper
can be seen stuffed in a dumpster. Most notably, Poultrygeist features the infamous car flip stunt that was originally filmed in 1991 for Sgt. Kabukiman N.Y.P.D.
and has been recycled for comic effect in every Kaufman-directed film since.
for Poultrygeist was released on October 3, 2006 through Troma Entertainment, featuring the film's musical segments composed by Duggie Banas, snippets of film dialogue and a selection of punk rock
songs from bands including The Dwarves, Zombina and the Skeletones
, Scatterbox
and Potshot
. All copies of the soundtrack came with a bonus DVD featuring numerous special features including trailers and the first five minutes of the movie.
Poultrygeist received its DVD
release on October 28, 2008 in an "Eggs-clusive 3-Disc Collector's Edition", which featured the following bonus material:
Jason Foulke. Deleted scene
s, including an alternate ending
with Ron Jeremy
.
Audio commentary from Lloyd Kaufman and Gabriel Friedman.
Footage of Poultrygeists NYC premiere.
Seven behind-the-scenes featurettes, including "Recording the Songs", "Designing the Monsters", "Filming the Meat Grinder" and "Joe Fleishaker Gets a Head Mold".
The third disc was a "Kara-Yolk-E" supplement, featuring all of the film's musical numbers with an optional karaoke
track added on.
On March 31, 2009, a two-disc "Special Egg-Dition" was released, omitting the karaoke disc. On February 23, 2010, the film was issued on Blu-ray
.
detailing the future remake of The Toxic Avenger
, Kaufman noted that he was approached by "some people" interested in making a Poultrygeist remake
and that he was "in negotiations". As of 2011, there has been no news on its development.
from Orland, California
, purchased a DVD cleaning kit from a local retailer, only to later discover the cleaner disc was a disguised copy of Poultrygeist. Klawitter was deeply offended by the film's content, noting "it was horrifying", calling it "a Triple-X rated movie". According to the owner of the store the cleaner kit was purchased from, the item had come pre-packaged from a warehouse distributor in Oakland, California
. No charges were filed.
Musical film
The musical film is a film genre in which songs sung by the characters are interwoven into the narrative, sometimes accompanied by dancing. The songs usually advance the plot or develop the film's characters, though in some cases they serve merely as breaks in the storyline, often as elaborate...
-comedy horror
Comedy horror
Comedy horror, also known as horror comedy, is a literary and film genre, combining elements of comedy and horror fiction. The comedy horror genre almost always inevitably crosses over with the black comedy genre; and in some respects could be considered a subset of it.The short story "The Legend...
exploitation film
Exploitation film
Exploitation film is a type of film that is promoted by "exploiting" often lurid subject matter. The term "exploitation" is common in film marketing, used for all types of films to mean promotion or advertising. These films then need something to exploit, such as a big star, special effects, sex,...
from Troma Entertainment
Troma Entertainment
Troma Entertainment is an American independent film production and distribution company founded by Lloyd Kaufman and Michael Herz in 1974.The company produces low-budget independent movies that play on 1950s horror with elements of farce...
, directed by Lloyd Kaufman
Lloyd Kaufman
Lloyd Kaufman is an American film director, producer, screenwriter and occasional actor. With producer Michael Herz, he is the co-founder of Troma Entertainment film studio, and the director of many of their feature films, including The Toxic Avenger and Tromeo and Juliet. Kaufman also serves as...
from a screenplay by Gabriel Friedman and Daniel Bova.
Written as a satire
Satire
Satire is primarily a literary genre or form, although in practice it can also be found in the graphic and performing arts. In satire, vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ideally with the intent of shaming individuals, and society itself, into improvement...
of the American fast food industry, Poultrygeist follows a group of people trapped inside a New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
fried chicken
Fried chicken
Fried chicken is a dish consisting of chicken pieces usually from broiler chickens which have been floured or battered and then pan fried, deep fried, or pressure fried. The breading adds a crisp coating or crust to the exterior...
fast food restaurant - the American Chicken Bunker - which is being attacked by chicken
Chicken
The chicken is a domesticated fowl, a subspecies of the Red Junglefowl. As one of the most common and widespread domestic animals, and with a population of more than 24 billion in 2003, there are more chickens in the world than any other species of bird...
-possessed zombie
Zombie
Zombie is a term used to denote an animated corpse brought back to life by mystical means such as witchcraft. The term is often figuratively applied to describe a hypnotized person bereft of consciousness and self-awareness, yet ambulant and able to respond to surrounding stimuli...
demon
Demon
call - 1347 531 7769 for more infoIn Ancient Near Eastern religions as well as in the Abrahamic traditions, including ancient and medieval Christian demonology, a demon is considered an "unclean spirit" which may cause demonic possession, to be addressed with an act of exorcism...
s after building an establishment on top of sacred India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
n burial ground
Burial Ground
Burial Ground is the ninth studio album by Swedish death metal band Grave, released in June 2010.-Track listing:# "Liberation" - 3:40# "Semblance In Black" - 7:50# "Dismembered Mind" - 6:10# "Ridden With Belief" - 7:57# "Conquerer" - 4:44...
. At the center of the film is Arbie (Jason Yachanin
Jason Yachanin
Jason Yachanin is an American actor most famous for playing Arbie in the comedy horror film Poultrygeist: Night of the Chicken Dead. He also appeared in the film Friends , in which he plays Jason.-Filmography:...
), an ACB employee trying to win back the heart of his ex-girlfriend Wendy (Kate Graham), an activist
Activism
Activism consists of intentional efforts to bring about social, political, economic, or environmental change. Activism can take a wide range of forms from writing letters to newspapers or politicians, political campaigning, economic activism such as boycotts or preferentially patronizing...
protesting against the restaurant who has left Arbie for another woman.
Taking six years from script to screen, Poultrygeist was officially released on 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....
in 2008 following a limited theatrical run, meeting with the highest critical acclaim of any film in Troma's thirty-five year history.
Plot synopsis
High school sweethearts Arbie (Jason YachaninJason Yachanin
Jason Yachanin is an American actor most famous for playing Arbie in the comedy horror film Poultrygeist: Night of the Chicken Dead. He also appeared in the film Friends , in which he plays Jason.-Filmography:...
) and Wendy (Kate Graham) meet the day before Wendy's departure to college to consummate their relationship in the Tromahawk Indian
Indigenous peoples of the Americas
The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
burial ground
Burial Ground
Burial Ground is the ninth studio album by Swedish death metal band Grave, released in June 2010.-Track listing:# "Liberation" - 3:40# "Semblance In Black" - 7:50# "Dismembered Mind" - 6:10# "Ridden With Belief" - 7:57# "Conquerer" - 4:44...
, promising to each other that no matter what happens, they will always stay faithful to each other. One college semester later, when Arbie returns to the spot of his one (and only) sexual encounter, he is shocked to discover two unsettling realities: not only has the burial ground been bulldozed and replaced by an American Chicken Bunker, a mega-conglomerate fast food
Fast food
Fast food is the term given to food that can be prepared and served very quickly. While any meal with low preparation time can be considered to be fast food, typically the term refers to food sold in a restaurant or store with preheated or precooked ingredients, and served to the customer in a...
franchise
Franchising
Franchising is the practice of using another firm's successful business model. The word 'franchise' is of anglo-French derivation - from franc- meaning free, and is used both as a noun and as a verb....
, but that college has turned his dear Wendy into a "left-wing
Left-wing politics
In politics, Left, left-wing and leftist generally refer to support for social change to create a more egalitarian society...
, lipstick lesbo
Lipstick lesbian
Lipstick lesbian is a slang term used to describe lesbian and bisexual women who exhibit extremely feminine gender attributes, such as wearing make-up , wearing dresses or skirts and having other characteristics associated with feminine women...
liberal", protesting the construction of the fried chicken menace with her activist
Activism
Activism consists of intentional efforts to bring about social, political, economic, or environmental change. Activism can take a wide range of forms from writing letters to newspapers or politicians, political campaigning, economic activism such as boycotts or preferentially patronizing...
girlfriend Micki (Allyson Sereboff).
Disillusioned and out for revenge, Arbie decides to get a job at the American Chicken Bunker. Under the supervision of paranoid manager Denny, Arbie is thrust into the monotony of minimum wage with a variety of colorful co-workers: the effeminate Mexican Paco Bell (Khalid Rivera), the animal-loving redneck
Redneck
Redneck is a historically derogatory slang term used in reference to poor, uneducated white farmers, especially from the southern United States...
Carl Jr. (Caleb Emerson), the burqa
Burqa
A burqa is an enveloping outer garment worn by women in some Islamic religion to cover their bodies in public places. The burqa is usually understood to be the woman's loose body-covering , plus the head-covering , plus the face-veil .-Etymology:A speculative and unattested etymology...
-clad Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
Hummus (Rose Ghavami) and a mysterious 60 year-old man in the restaurant's basement who has worked as the restaurant's costumed mascot
Mascot
The term mascot – defined as a term for any person, animal, or object thought to bring luck – colloquially includes anything used to represent a group with a common public identity, such as a school, professional sports team, society, military unit, or brand name...
all his life and has a virtually identical back story to Arbie.
However, strange things are afoot at the American Chicken Bunker. After the number of employees and customers starts decreasing in increasingly bloody fashions, Arbie begins to unravel a sinister plot involving the spirits of disenfranchised Native Americans
Indigenous peoples of the Americas
The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
and the billions of slaughtered chickens sent to the "concentration coops
Chicken coop
A chicken coop is a building where female chickens are kept. Inside there are often nest boxes for egg laying and perches on which the birds can sleep, although coops for meat birds seldom have either of these features....
" who plan on extracting their revenge in the most gruesome ways possible. Now it's up to Arbie to try to save himself, while trapped in the restaurant by a number of possessed customers who are trying to get in.
Cast and characters
- Jason YachaninJason YachaninJason Yachanin is an American actor most famous for playing Arbie in the comedy horror film Poultrygeist: Night of the Chicken Dead. He also appeared in the film Friends , in which he plays Jason.-Filmography:...
as ArbieArby'sArby's is a fast food restaurant chain in the United States and Canada. Roark Capital Group owns 81.5% of the company, with Wendy's Company owning the other 18.5%. It is primarily known for selling roast beef sandwiches and curly fries. The Arby's menu also includes chicken sandwiches, appetizers,...
, the film's dim-witted protagonist who joins the American Chicken Bunker in an act of spite against his ex-girlfriend, though is still deeply in love with her. He becomes the only person to live, along with Wendy, before his car explodes while driving away from the ACB, presumably killing him and Wendy. - Kate Graham as WendyWendy'sWendy's is an international fast food chain restaurant founded by Dave Thomas on November 15, 1969, in Columbus, Ohio, United States. The company decided to move its headquarters to Dublin, Ohio, on January 29, 2006. It has been owned by Triarc since 2008...
, Arbie's bisexualBisexualityBisexuality is sexual behavior or an orientation involving physical or romantic attraction to both males and females, especially with regard to men and women. It is one of the three main classifications of sexual orientation, along with a heterosexual and a homosexual orientation, all a part of the...
ex-girlfriend reluctantly participating in a protest rally against the ACB. She survives before she is presumably blown up along with Arbie in his car. - Allyson Sereboff as Micki, Wendy's dykeDyke (slang)Dyke is slang terminology referring to a lesbian or lesbianism. It originated as a derogatory label for a masculine woman, and this usage still exists. However, some attempt to use it in a manner they see as positive, or simply as a neutral synonym for lesbian...
girlfriend who leads the protest. She is actually one of General Lee Roy's accomplices who is not only faking her vegetarianism, but also her lesbianism. - Robin Watkins as General Lee Roy, the villainous founder of the American Chicken Bunker, modeled after Colonel SandersColonel SandersHarland David "Colonel" Sanders was an American fast food businessman who founded the Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant chain, now re-branded as KFC...
. He apparently has a diaper fetish. - Joshua Olatunde as DennyDenny'sDenny's is a full-service coffee shop/family restaurant chain. It operates over 1,500 restaurants in the United States , Canada, Curaçao, Costa Rica, Honduras, Jamaica, Japan , Mexico, New Zealand, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates.Denny's is known for always being...
, the manager of American Chicken Bunker. - Rose Ghavami as HummusHummusHummus is high in iron and vitamin C and also has significant amounts of folate and vitamin B6. The chickpeas make it a good source of protein and dietary fiber; the tahini consists mostly of sesame seeds, which are an excellent source of the amino acid methionine, complementing the proteins in the...
, a BurqaBurqaA burqa is an enveloping outer garment worn by women in some Islamic religion to cover their bodies in public places. The burqa is usually understood to be the woman's loose body-covering , plus the head-covering , plus the face-veil .-Etymology:A speculative and unattested etymology...
-wearing MuslimMuslimA Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
line cook. She survives, but she blows herself up to kill the remaining zombies so Arbie and Wendy can survive. - Caleb Emerson as Carl Jr, a redneckRedneckRedneck is a historically derogatory slang term used in reference to poor, uneducated white farmers, especially from the southern United States...
fry cook with a sexual fetish for uncooked chicken carcasses. Dies after a mop is shoved into his crotch by Hummus when she tries to kill a chicken. - Lloyd KaufmanLloyd KaufmanLloyd Kaufman is an American film director, producer, screenwriter and occasional actor. With producer Michael Herz, he is the co-founder of Troma Entertainment film studio, and the director of many of their feature films, including The Toxic Avenger and Tromeo and Juliet. Kaufman also serves as...
as Old Arbie, Arbie's future self. He has a stash of guns which he uses to kill much of the zombies before he too, is killed. - Khalid Rivera as Paco BellTaco BellTaco Bell is an American chain of fast-food restaurants based in Irvine, California. A subsidiary of Yum! Brands, Inc., which serves American-adapted Mexican food. Taco Bell serves tacos, burritos, quesadillas, nachos, other specialty items, and a variety of "Value Menu" items...
, a gayGayGay is a word that refers to a homosexual person, especially a homosexual male. For homosexual women the specific term is "lesbian"....
Mexican ACB employee who meets his end in a meat grinderMeat grinderA meat grinder or meat mincer is a kitchen appliance for grinding, fine mincing or mixing raw or cooked meat, fish, vegetables or similar food. It replaces tools like the mincing knife, for example, which has been used to produce minced meat, filling etc. The producer puts the minced food into a...
, later resurrected into a talking Sloppy JoseSloppy joeA sloppy joe is an American dish of ground beef, onions, sweetened tomato sauce or ketchup and other seasonings, served on a hamburger bun. Commercially made sauces are also available. Textured vegetable protein may be used as a vegetarian substitute for the meat...
sandwich. - Joe FleishakerJoe FleishakerJoseph Isaac Fleishaker is an American actor most famous for his small but memorable roles in various low-budget horror and science fiction movies, usually produced by Troma. Weiging more than 500 pounds, Joe Fleishaker is, the "biggest Troma Action Star". When doing a Troma promo, Fleishaker...
as JaredJared FogleJared S. Fogle , also known as The Subway Guy, is a spokesman employed by Subway Restaurants in its advertising campaigns...
(credited as "Mega HerzMichael Herz (producer)Michael Herz is an American film producer, director and screenwriter. With Lloyd Kaufman, the two are the co-founders of Troma Entertainment, the world's longest running independent film studio, known for their comedic horror films, including the cult favorite Toxic Avenger series and the...
"), a beloved national spokesman for a submarine sandwichSubmarine sandwichA submarine sandwich, also known as a sub among other names, is a sandwich that consists of a long roll of Italian or French bread, split lengthwise either into two pieces or opened in a "V" on one side, and filled with various varieties of meat, cheese, vegetables, seasonings, and sauces. The...
diet. He is the only person to "survive" because after is killed but he is resurrected into a "skinny" version of himself. - Brian Cheverie as Father O'Houlihan, an Irish priest patron of the ACB who helps fight against the zombies.
- Ron JeremyRon JeremyRonald Jeremy Hyatt , usually called Ron Jeremy, is an American pornographic actor. Nicknamed "The Hedgehog", he was ranked by AVN at number one in their "The 50 Top Porn Stars of All Time" list...
as Crazy Ron, a local eccentric who warns the ACB employees that they're all "doomed". He is a parody of Crazy Ralph from Friday the 13thFriday the 13thFriday the 13th occurs when the thirteenth day of a month falls on a Friday, which superstition holds to be a day of bad luck. In the Gregorian calendar, this day occurs at least once, but at most three times a year...
. - Debbie RochonDebbie RochonDebbie Rochon is a Canadian B-movie actress and former stage performer, best known for her work in Troma films.-Biography:...
as Actress hit with beer
Production
Poultrygeist first began as a spec scriptSpec script
A spec script, also known as a speculative screenplay, is a non-commissioned unsolicited screenplay. It is usually written by a screenwriter who hopes to have the script optioned and eventually purchased by a producer, production company, or studio....
of the same title submitted to Troma Entertainment by Daniel Bova around 2002. After a number of re-writes at the hands of several Troma employees, the script reached a final draft in 2004, completed by long-time Troma editor
Editing
Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, visual, audible, and film media used to convey information through the processes of correction, condensation, organization, and other modifications performed with an intention of producing a correct, consistent, accurate, and complete...
Gabriel Friedman. Then given the title Poultrygeist: Attack of the Chicken Zombies, Troma heavily promoted the film in the mid-2000s in an attempt to gain funding, though ultimately failed to secure adequate financing.
Lloyd Kaufman
Lloyd Kaufman is an American film director, producer, screenwriter and occasional actor. With producer Michael Herz, he is the co-founder of Troma Entertainment film studio, and the director of many of their feature films, including The Toxic Avenger and Tromeo and Juliet. Kaufman also serves as...
and Michael Herz
Michael Herz (producer)
Michael Herz is an American film producer, director and screenwriter. With Lloyd Kaufman, the two are the co-founders of Troma Entertainment, the world's longest running independent film studio, known for their comedic horror films, including the cult favorite Toxic Avenger series and the...
, while Kaufman and his wife, Patricia Swinney Kaufman
Pat Swinney Kaufman
Patricia Swinney Kaufman is the executive director of the New York State Governor's Office for Motion Picture and Television Development and the deputy commissioner of Empire State Development. Kaufman is the former president of the Association of Film Commissioners International, where she still...
, dipped into their personal retirement savings to help fund the film.
Much of Poultrygeists crew was made up entirely of volunteers who had answered advertisements posted by Troma on such websites as Craigslist
Craigslist
Craigslist is a centralized network of online communities featuring free online classified advertisements, with sections devoted to jobs, housing, personals, for sale, services, community, gigs, résumés, and discussion forums....
and horror-based message boards
Internet forum
An Internet forum, or message board, is an online discussion site where people can hold conversations in the form of posted messages. They differ from chat rooms in that messages are at least temporarily archived...
looking for available crew members. According to Fangoria
Fangoria
Fangoria is an American magazine devoted to horror and exploitation films, which has a number of associated brands:* Fangoria Comics* Fangoria Films* Fangoria RadioFangoria may also refer to:* Fangoria , a Spanish electro pop band...
, hundreds of people applied, and volunteers traveled from as far as Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
and numerous parts of the United States to work on the film, serving in various crew positions or as production assistant
Production assistant
A production assistant, also known as a PA, is a job title used in filmmaking and television for a person responsible for various aspects of a production...
s. Duggie Banas, who composed
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
the movie's musical numbers, became attached to the film after answering an online ad looking for composers who'd be willing to work on a film for free. Many of the props and masks featured in the film were donations from special effects studios from around the world.
Shot on 35 mm film
35 mm film
35 mm film is the film gauge most commonly used for chemical still photography and motion pictures. The name of the gauge refers to the width of the photographic film, which consists of strips 35 millimeters in width...
by long-time Troma cinematographer Brendan C. Flynt, principal photography
Principal photography
thumb|300px|Film production on location in [[Newark, New Jersey]].Principal photography is the phase of film production in which the movie is filmed, with actors on set and cameras rolling, as distinct from pre-production and post-production....
for Poultrygeist took place during the summer of 2005 at an abandoned McDonald's
McDonald's
McDonald's Corporation is the world's largest chain of hamburger fast food restaurants, serving around 64 million customers daily in 119 countries. Headquartered in the United States, the company began in 1940 as a barbecue restaurant operated by the eponymous Richard and Maurice McDonald; in 1948...
in the Bailey-Kensington neighborhood of Buffalo
Buffalo, New York
Buffalo is the second most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City. Located in Western New York on the eastern shores of Lake Erie and at the head of the Niagara River across from Fort Erie, Ontario, Buffalo is the seat of Erie County and the principal city of the...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
. Over 80 crew members and 300 unpaid extras worked on the film. A nearby abandoned church was rented out by Troma, where over 70 cast and crew members resided for the duration of the shoot, despite only housing one working bathroom.
As chronicled in Poultrygeists making-of
Making-of
In cinema, a making-of, also known as behind-the-scenes, is a documentary film that features the production of a film or television program...
documentary
Documentary
A documentary is a creative work of non-fiction, including:* Documentary film, including television* Radio documentary* Documentary photographyRelated terms include:...
Poultry in Motion: Truth Is Stranger Than Chicken, the production was plagued with numerous problems, including malfunctioning special effects, delayed and over-scheduled filming, pay disputes with the actors and even the restaurant set being prematurely deconstructed on the last day of shooting. Despite the production hardships, Poultrygeist managed to successfully complete its principal photography by August 2005.
Promotion
Hotdog Magazine
Hotdog Magazine was a film magazine first published in the United Kingdom in 2000. Its publisher, Highbury Entertainment, claimed an average circulation of 17,132 between July and December 2003....
covered the film in 2005 while filming was still in progress, while Ain't It Cool News
Ain't It Cool News
Ain't It Cool News is a website founded and run by Harry Knowles, dedicated to news, rumors and reviews of upcoming and currently playing films and television projects, with an emphasis on science fiction, fantasy, horror, comic-book and action genres...
, Attack of the Show and Fangoria
Fangoria
Fangoria is an American magazine devoted to horror and exploitation films, which has a number of associated brands:* Fangoria Comics* Fangoria Films* Fangoria RadioFangoria may also refer to:* Fangoria , a Spanish electro pop band...
reported on the film throughout the stages of its post-production, with the latter giving Poultrygeist a full four-page feature in mid-2007.
Poultrygeist received some media attention when Troma picketed the 2008 Tribeca Film Festival
Tribeca Film Festival
The Tribeca Film Festival is a film festival founded in 2002 by Jane Rosenthal, Robert De Niro and Craig Hatkoff in a response to the September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center and the consequent loss of vitality in the TriBeCa neighborhood in Lower Manhattan.The mission of the festival...
held at Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
s Village East Cinema, where Poultrygeists premiere was to be held the following month. Tribeca, who was renting out the venue for the festival, forced the theater to stop playing the film's trailers and remove its posters. In response, a number of Troma employees, including one in a chicken costume, stood outside the Village East Cinema during the days of the festival, brandishing posters, sandwich boards and giveaways in promotion of the film.
Theatrical release
Poultrygeist made its first premiere at the Brussels International Festival of Fantasy FilmBrussels International Festival of Fantasy Film
The Brussels International Fantastic Film Festival , previously named Brussels International Festival of Fantastic Film was created in 1983 as a venue for horror, thriller and science fiction films. It takes place in Brussels, every year in March...
on April 14, 2007, and spent the remainder of 2007 playing international engagements in Amsterdam
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
, Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv , officially Tel Aviv-Yafo , is the second most populous city in Israel, with a population of 404,400 on a land area of . The city is located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline in west-central Israel. It is the largest and most populous city in the metropolitan area of Gush Dan, with...
, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
, and film festivals including the Toronto After Dark Film Festival
Toronto After Dark Film Festival
Toronto After Dark Film Festival is a showcase of horror, sci-fi, action and cult cinema held annually in Toronto, Canada at the Bloor Cinema. The festival premieres a diverse selection of feature-length and short-films from around the world including new works from Asia, Europe and North...
, the Puchon International Fantastic Film Festival
Puchon International Fantastic Film Festival
The Puchon International Fantastic Film Festival , or PiFan, is an international film festival held annually in July in Bucheon, South Korea...
and the Calgary International Film Festival
Calgary International Film Festival
The Calgary International Film Festival is a film festival held annually in Calgary, Alberta, Canada for ten days in late September and early October...
. The film began playing throughout the United States in early 2008, making its official cast and crew-attended premiere in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
on May 9, 2008.
Poultrygeists sold-out weekend run in New York earned $10,700 on a single screen, gaining the second highest per-screen average in the country, coming in just short of Iron Man
Iron Man (film)
Iron Man is a 2008 American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics character of the same name. Directed by Jon Favreau, the film stars Robert Downey, Jr. as Tony Stark, an industrialist and master engineer who builds a powered exoskeleton and becomes the technologically advanced superhero, Iron...
s second week national per-screen average of $12,400. Poultrygeist played in New York through July 3, followed by two-week long run at the Laemmle Sunset
Laemmle Theatres
Laemmle Theatres is a group of family-run arthouse movie theaters in the Los Angeles area. It was established in 1938 and is owned and operated by Robert Laemmle and his son Greg Laemmle....
in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
on June 14.
The film continued to make sporadic theatrical engagements throughout the United States up to and even after its official DVD release. On April 17, 2009, Poultrygeist had a wide release in the Midwest, opening simultaneously in 11 theaters in eight states, including two screens each in Wisconsin
Wisconsin
Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...
and Indiana
Indiana
Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...
.
Critical response
According to Poultry in Motion, Poultrygeist received the most critical praise of any film in Troma's 30+ year history. The film has a certified "fresh" rating of 64% on Rotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
, with the general critical consensus being that it "may be relentlessly tasteless and juvenile, but it's also a lively slice of schlocky fun".
Professional critics were generally positive towards the film. Owen Gleiberman
Owen Gleiberman
Owen Gleiberman is an American film critic for Entertainment Weekly, a position he has held since the magazine's launch in 1990. From 1981–89, he worked at the Boston Phoenix....
of Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
awarded the film a B+ rating, calling it "an exploitation movie with soul" and noting "it's genuine sick fun, and there isn't a boring moment in it". Nathan Lee of The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
spoke of the film as being "as perfect as a film predicated on the joys of projectile vomiting
Gastric outlet obstruction
Gastric outlet obstruction is a medical condition where there is an obstruction at the level of the pylorus, which is the outlet of the stomach. Individuals with gastric outlet obstruction will often have recurrent vomiting of food that has accumulated in the stomach, but which cannot pass into...
and explosive diarrhea
Diarrhea
Diarrhea , also spelled diarrhoea, is the condition of having three or more loose or liquid bowel movements per day. It is a common cause of death in developing countries and the second most common cause of infant deaths worldwide. The loss of fluids through diarrhea can cause dehydration and...
can be", describing it as "liberating" in a "lowbrow way". Both New York magazine
New York (magazine)
New York is a weekly magazine principally concerned with the life, culture, politics, and style of New York City. Founded by Milton Glaser and Clay Felker in 1968 as a competitor to The New Yorker, it was brasher and less polite than that magazine, and established itself as a cradle of New...
and Salon.com
Salon.com
Salon.com, part of Salon Media Group , often just called Salon, is an online liberal magazine, with content updated each weekday. Salon was founded by David Talbot and launched on November 20, 1995. It was the internet's first online-only commercial publication. The magazine focuses on U.S...
selected Poultrygeist as a Critic's Pick, the latter calling it "disgusting, deranged and thoroughly brilliant". Reading into the film's subtext, The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
noted the film as "a wonderfully bold satirical comment on the chemical-industrial food complex that poisons us all", summarizing Poultrygeist as "the movie Fast Food Nation
Fast Food Nation (film)
Fast Food Nation is a 2006 American/British drama film directed by Richard Linklater. The screenplay was written by Linklater and Eric Schlosser, loosely based on the latter's bestselling 2001 non-fiction book of the same name...
could have been if it hadn't sucked". The Calgary Herald
Calgary Herald
The Calgary Herald is a daily newspaper published in the Canadian city of Calgary, Alberta.- History :The paper was first published on August 31, 1883 by Andrew Armour and Thomas Braden as The Calgary Herald, Mining and Ranche Advocate and General Advertiser. It started as a weekly paper with only...
wrote "dismissing Poultrygeist as sheer stupidity - which most will undoubtedly do - is the wrong call...Kaufman has created a rather sharp, if demented, work of political and social satire." PETA
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals is an American animal rights organization based in Norfolk, Virginia, and led by Ingrid Newkirk, its international president. A non-profit corporation with 300 employees and two million members and supporters, it claims to be the largest animal rights...
called the film "a vegetarian-manifesto masterpiece", ranking it #1 on their list of "Top 10 Movies That Make You Go Meatless".
On the negative end of the critical spectrum, Roger Moore of the Orlando Sentinel
Orlando Sentinel
The Orlando Sentinel is the primary newspaper of the Orlando, Florida region. It was founded in 1876. The Sentinel is owned by Tribune Company and is overseen by the Chicago Tribune. As of 2005, the Sentinel’s president and publisher was Kathleen Waltz; she announced her resignation in February 2008...
felt the film "wears out its joke, like all Troma films, long before that last 50-gallon keg of fake blood is tapped...it's a 40-minute short struggling to escape a 103-minute feature", giving it a rating of two out of five stars. Time Out New York gave the film two out of six stars, claiming its "half-funny" "trashiness" only appeals to horror fans, while Slant Magazine
Slant Magazine
Slant Magazine is an online publication that features reviews of movies, music, TV, DVDs, theater, and video games, as well as interviews with actors, directors, and musicians. The site covers various film festivals like the New York Film Festival.- History :...
was considerably harsher, rating the film half a star out of four, calling it "superficially turgid" and that its "strangely impressive originality doesn't even close to compensating for its everything-plus-the-kitchen-sink midnight-movie awfulness". The New York Post
New York Post
The New York Post is the 13th-oldest newspaper published in the United States and is generally acknowledged as the oldest to have been published continuously as a daily, although – as is the case with most other papers – its publication has been periodically interrupted by labor actions...
, however, while criticizing the film's poor taste, acting and pacing, described the satire as "wicked" and predicted that its flaws wouldn't stop it from becoming an "underground cult hit".
Connections with previous Troma films
Terror Firmer
Terror Firmer is a 1999 American comedy horror film, directed by Lloyd Kaufman, written by Patrick Cassidy and Douglas Buck, and starring Will Keenan and Alyce LaTourelle. The film was produced by the Troma Entertainment company, known for distributing campy exploitation films...
and Citizen Toxie: The Toxic Avenger IV
Citizen Toxie: The Toxic Avenger IV
Citizen Toxie: The Toxic Avenger Part IV is a 2000 American superhero comedy film released by Troma Entertainment, directed by Lloyd Kaufman...
, which heavily referenced and relied on the audience's familiarity of Troma films, Poultrygeist is only loosely connected with the "Tromaverse" yet makes numerous background references to their previous films. Arbie can be seen wearing an "I Love the Monster Hero" shirt from The Toxic Avenger
The Toxic Avenger
The Toxic Avenger is a 1984 comedy horror film released by Troma Entertainment, known for producing low budget B-movies with campy concepts. Virtually ignored upon its first release, The Toxic Avenger caught on with filmgoers after a long and successful midnight movie engagement at the famed...
in an early scene, posters of Tromeo and Juliet
Tromeo and Juliet
Tromeo and Juliet is a 1996 independent transgressive comedy film adaptation of William Shakespeare's Romeo & Juliet from Troma Entertainment...
and When Nature Calls
When Nature Calls
When Nature Calls is a 1985 spoof comedy written and directed by Charles Kaufman and starring Academy Award nominee David Strathairn in an early performance...
adorn the walls of Wendy's bedroom, and DVD copies of Tales from the Crapper
Tales from the Crapper
Tales from the Crapper is a 2004 straight-to-video anthology film that was a spoof of the Tales from the Crypt comics. The film was released by Troma Entertainment.-Plot:...
can be seen stuffed in a dumpster. Most notably, Poultrygeist features the infamous car flip stunt that was originally filmed in 1991 for Sgt. Kabukiman N.Y.P.D.
Sgt. Kabukiman N.Y.P.D.
Sgt. Kabukiman N.Y.P.D. is a 1990 comedic superhero film directed by Lloyd Kaufman and Michael Herz and distributed by Troma Entertainment.-Synopsis:...
and has been recycled for comic effect in every Kaufman-directed film since.
Soundtrack
The soundtrack albumSoundtrack album
A soundtrack album is any album that incorporates music directly recorded from the soundtrack of a particular feature film or television program. In some cases, not all the tracks from the movie are included in the album; however there are rare cases of songs in the trailers that do not appear in...
for Poultrygeist was released on October 3, 2006 through Troma Entertainment, featuring the film's musical segments composed by Duggie Banas, snippets of film dialogue and a selection of punk rock
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
songs from bands including The Dwarves, Zombina and the Skeletones
Zombina and The Skeletones
Zombina and the Skeletones are a horror rock band from Liverpool, England, formed in 1998 around the nucleus of vocalist Zombina and songwriter Doc Horror. The majority of their tongue in cheek lyrical content deals with themes of horror and science fiction, yet their musical style is upbeat and...
, Scatterbox
Scatterbox
Scatterbox is an American punk rock band from Coeur d'Alene, Idaho. Formed in 2000, the current lineup includes Tom White , Scott Rozell , Justin E Smith , Mark Cogburn , and Ryan White . They currently are signed with Clickpop Records of Bellingham, Washington...
and Potshot
Potshot (band)
Potshot was a J-ska music group from Japan. They released their records on their own label, TV Freak, in Japan. Their first five albums were also re-released by Asian Man Records, an American label well known for signing Asian punk-pop bands. Their final album, Potshot Beat Goes On, released in May...
. All copies of the soundtrack came with a bonus DVD featuring numerous special features including trailers and the first five minutes of the movie.
DVD release
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....
release on October 28, 2008 in an "Eggs-clusive 3-Disc Collector's Edition", which featured the following bonus material:
Line producer
A line producer is the key manager during the daily operations of a motion picture production.The line producer supports the vision given by the director but does not have direct influence on the creative expression or narrative of the film....
Jason Foulke.
Deleted scene
In Entertainment, especially the film and television industry, Deleted scenes are parts of a film removed or censored from or replaced by another scene in the final "cut", or version, of a film...
s, including an alternate ending
Alternate ending
Alternate ending is a term used to describe the ending of a story that was planned or debated but ultimately unused in favor of the actual ending. Generally, alternate endings are considered to have no bearing on the canonical narrative...
with Ron Jeremy
Ron Jeremy
Ronald Jeremy Hyatt , usually called Ron Jeremy, is an American pornographic actor. Nicknamed "The Hedgehog", he was ranked by AVN at number one in their "The 50 Top Porn Stars of All Time" list...
.
The third disc was a "Kara-Yolk-E" supplement, featuring all of the film's musical numbers with an optional karaoke
Karaoke
is a form of interactive entertainment or video game in which amateur singers sing along with recorded music using a microphone and public address system. The music is typically a well-known pop song minus the lead vocal. Lyrics are usually displayed on a video screen, along with a moving symbol,...
track added on.
On March 31, 2009, a two-disc "Special Egg-Dition" was released, omitting the karaoke disc. On February 23, 2010, the film was issued on Blu-ray
Blu-ray Disc
Blu-ray Disc is an optical disc storage medium designed to supersede the DVD format. The plastic disc is 120 mm in diameter and 1.2 mm thick, the same size as DVDs and CDs. Blu-ray Discs contain 25 GB per layer, with dual layer discs being the norm for feature-length video discs...
.
Possible remake
In an April 2010 interview with Lloyd KaufmanLloyd Kaufman
Lloyd Kaufman is an American film director, producer, screenwriter and occasional actor. With producer Michael Herz, he is the co-founder of Troma Entertainment film studio, and the director of many of their feature films, including The Toxic Avenger and Tromeo and Juliet. Kaufman also serves as...
detailing the future remake of The Toxic Avenger
The Toxic Avenger
The Toxic Avenger is a 1984 comedy horror film released by Troma Entertainment, known for producing low budget B-movies with campy concepts. Virtually ignored upon its first release, The Toxic Avenger caught on with filmgoers after a long and successful midnight movie engagement at the famed...
, Kaufman noted that he was approached by "some people" interested in making a Poultrygeist remake
Remake
A remake is a piece of media based primarily on an earlier work of the same medium.-Film:The term "remake" is generally used in reference to a movie which uses an earlier movie as the main source material, rather than in reference to a second, later movie based on the same source...
and that he was "in negotiations". As of 2011, there has been no news on its development.
DVD switch controversy
Poultrygeist made national news on January 7, 2011, when Sidney Klawitter, an eccentricEccentricity (behavior)
In popular usage, eccentricity refers to unusual or odd behavior on the part of an individual. This behavior would typically be perceived as unusual or unnecessary, without being demonstrably maladaptive...
from Orland, California
Orland, California
Orland is a city in Glenn County, California. The population was 7,291 at the 2010 census, up from 6,281 at the 2000 census, making Orland the most populous city in Glenn County. Orland is located north of Willows, at an elevation of 259 feet . Interstate 5, passes west of the downtown area while...
, purchased a DVD cleaning kit from a local retailer, only to later discover the cleaner disc was a disguised copy of Poultrygeist. Klawitter was deeply offended by the film's content, noting "it was horrifying", calling it "a Triple-X rated movie". According to the owner of the store the cleaner kit was purchased from, the item had come pre-packaged from a warehouse distributor in Oakland, California
Oakland, California
Oakland is a major West Coast port city on San Francisco Bay in the U.S. state of California. It is the eighth-largest city in the state with a 2010 population of 390,724...
. No charges were filed.
External links
- Poultrygeist: Night of the Chicken Dead – at the Troma EntertainmentTroma EntertainmentTroma Entertainment is an American independent film production and distribution company founded by Lloyd Kaufman and Michael Herz in 1974.The company produces low-budget independent movies that play on 1950s horror with elements of farce...
movie database