Scooter McCrae is an American director known for ''

Shatter Dead ''Shatter Dead'' is a 1994 independent zombie film directed by Scooter McCrae. Its plot concerns a dystopian world where the dead no longer stay dead, but remain cognizant of the world around them; amidst this world, a woman named Susan attempts t ...

'' and '' Sixteen Tongues''.

Early life

McCrae was born in Brooklyn, New York and spent most of his formative years in Middletown, New York. As a kid, he made

Super 8 film Super 8 mm film is a motion-picture film format released in 1965 by Eastman Kodak as an improvement over the older "Double" or "Regular" 8 mm home movie format. The film is nominally 8 mm wide, the same as older formatted ...

s and was a fan of science fiction. He attended

SUNY Purchase The State University of New York at Purchase (commonly Purchase College or SUNY Purchase) is a public liberal arts college in Purchase, New York. It is one of 13 comprehensive colleges in the State University of New York (SUNY) system. It was fo ...

after being turned down for

NYU New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, the ...

, which he said was fortuitous. With the money saved from his tuition at a state college, he was able to finance his early films.

Career

McCrae says that he enjoys working with

low-budget film A low-budget film or low-budget movie is a motion picture shot with little to no funding from a major film studio or private investor. Many independent films are made on low budgets, but films made on the mainstream circuit with inexperienced or ...

s, as the details in which he is interested are more suitable for those kinds of films. His first work was with

Frank Henenlotter Frank Henenlotter (born August 29, 1950) is an American film director, screenwriter and film historian. He is known primarily for directing horror comedies, especially '' Basket Case'' (1982), ''Brain Damage'' (1988), and ''Frankenhooker'' (1990 ...

, whom he cited as a mentor. McCrae worked as a

production assistant A production assistant, also known as a PA, is a member of the film crew and is a job title used in filmmaking and television for a person responsible for various aspects of a production. The job of a PA can vary greatly depending on the budget ...

on ''

Frankenhooker ''Frankenhooker'' is a 1990 American black comedy horror film directed by Frank Henenlotter. Very loosely inspired by Mary Shelley's 1818 novel '' Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus'', the film stars James Lorinz as medical school drop-out ...

'' and ''

Basket Case 2 ''Basket Case 2'' is a 1990 American comedy horror film written and directed by Frank Henenlotter, and the sequel to the 1982 film '' Basket Case''. It stars Kevin Van Hentenryck as Duane Bradley, who moves with his deformed, formerly conjoined ...

''. McCrae's directorial debut was ''

'', a

zombie film A zombie film is a film genre. Zombies are fictional creatures usually portrayed as reanimated corpses or virally infected human beings. They are commonly portrayed as cannibalistic in nature. While zombie films generally fall into the horror ...

. He was inspired to make his own film after watching low-budget films with his friends, after which he thought to himself that he could make a better film than the ones he was renting from the video store. The film received a positive review by

Joe Bob Briggs John Irving Bloom (born January 27, 1953), known by the stage name Joe Bob Briggs, is an American syndicated film critic, writer, actor, and comic performer. He is known for having hosted ''Joe Bob's Drive-in Theater'' on The Movie Channel fro ...

. His second feature was '' Sixteen Tongues'', a film that writer Mike Watt described as "''Blade Runner'' meets ''Salo''". Watt wrote that a major studio would never make the film, as it explores themes that are totally alien outside of

independent film An independent film, independent movie, indie film, or indie movie is a feature film or short film that is produced outside the major film studio system, in addition to being produced and distributed by independent entertainment companies (or, i ...

making. He later worked again with Henenlotter as an editor on ''

Bad Biology ''Bad Biology'' is a 2008 American black comedy horror film directed by Frank Henenlotter. Produced by rapper R.A. the Rugged Man, it stars Charlee Danielson and Anthony Sneed as sexually unfulfilled people who are drawn together because of their ...

''.

Filmography

Director

* ''

'' (1994) * '' Sixteen Tongues'' (1999) * '' Saint Frankenstein'' (2015)

Editor

* ''

'' (2008)

References

Sources

* * *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:McCrae, Scooter Living people American film editors Film directors from New York (state) People from Middletown, Orange County, New York Year of birth missing (living people)