''Spike'' is a 2008 horror-romance film directed by

Robert Beaucage The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honou ...

, produced by String And A Can Productions, and starring

Edward Gusts Edward is an English given name. It is derived from the Anglo-Saxon name ''Ēadweard'', composed of the elements '' ēad'' "wealth, fortune; prosperous" and '' weard'' "guardian, protector”. History The name Edward was very popular in Anglo-Sax ...

Sarah Livingston Evans Sarah (born Sarai) is a biblical matriarch and prophetess, a major figure in Abrahamic religions. While different Abrahamic faiths portray her differently, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam all depict her character similarly, as that of a pious ...

, Anna-Marie Wayne, Nancy P. Corbo, and Jared Edwards. The film has been described by Robert Hope as "

Angela Carter Angela Olive Pearce (formerly Carter, Stalker; 7 May 1940 – 16 February 1992), who published under the name Angela Carter, was an English novelist, short story writer, poet, and journalist, known for her feminist, magical realism, and pic ...

rewriting '' La Belle et la Bête'' as an episode of '' Buffy the Vampire Slayer.''"

Plot

Through a series of

dream A dream is a succession of images, ideas, emotions, and sensations that usually occur involuntarily in the mind during certain stages of sleep. Humans spend about two hours dreaming per night, and each dream lasts around 5 to 20 minutes, al ...

like images, a girl (

) and her three friends find themselves stranded in a dark and

surrealistic Surrealism is a cultural movement that developed in Europe in the aftermath of World War I in which artists depicted unnerving, illogical scenes and developed techniques to allow the unconscious mind to express itself. Its aim was, according to l ...

forest by someone — or something (

) — who has obsessively loved, watched, and waited for the girl ever since childhood.

Cast

as The Girl * Jared Edwards as Her Boyfriend *Anna-Marie Wayne as His Sister * Nancy P. Corbo as Her Girlfriend *

as Spike

Production

The film was produced by String And A Can Productions, with

Erik Rodgers Erik Rodgers is an American film writer, director, and producer who currently resides in Los Angeles, California, CA. He is one of the founding members of String And A Can Productions, Inc. Early life Erik Rodgers was born in Albuquerque, New M ...

and Devin DiGonno serving as the principal producers on the project.

Filming

Filming for ''Spike'' took place just off the Angeles Crest Highway, high in the mountains of the

Angeles National Forest The Angeles National Forest (ANF) of the U.S. Forest Service is located in the San Gabriel Mountains and Sierra Pelona Mountains, primarily within Los Angeles County in southern California. The ANF manages a majority of the San Gabriel Mountains ...

, entirely at night in the spring of 2007 (in locations that burned down two years later in the Station Fire). Treacherous terrain and temperatures dropping below 15 °F, well below freezing, made filming difficult, and delays were caused by rain, snow, and even hail.

directed the film from a screenplay he was inspired to write by the stories of "

Cupid and Psyche Cupid and Psyche is a story originally from ''Metamorphoses'' (also called ''The Golden Ass''), written in the 2nd century AD by Lucius Apuleius Madaurensis (or Platonicus). The tale concerns the overcoming of obstacles to the love between Psyc ...

Hades Hades (; grc-gre, ᾍδης, Háidēs; ), in the ancient Greek religion and myth, is the god of the dead and the king of the underworld, with which his name became synonymous. Hades was the eldest son of Cronus and Rhea, although this also ...

and

Persephone In ancient Greek mythology and religion, Persephone ( ; gr, Περσεφόνη, Persephónē), also called Kore or Cora ( ; gr, Κόρη, Kórē, the maiden), is the daughter of Zeus and Demeter. She became the queen of the underworld afte ...

... ''

Beauty and the Beast ''Beauty and the Beast'' (french: La Belle et la Bête) is a fairy tale written by French novelist Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve and published in 1740 in ''La Jeune Américaine et les contes marins'' (''The Young American and Marine T ...

,'' as well as horror classics such as ''

Frankenstein ''Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus'' is an 1818 novel written by English author Mary Shelley. ''Frankenstein'' tells the story of Victor Frankenstein, a young scientist who creates a sapient creature in an unorthodox scientific exp ...

'' and ''

The Hunchback of Notre-Dame ''The Hunchback of Notre-Dame'' (french: Notre-Dame de Paris, translation=''Our Lady of Paris'', originally titled ''Notre-Dame de Paris. 1482'') is a French Gothic novel by Victor Hugo, published in 1831. It focuses on the unfortunate story of ...

''". He chose to shoot on 16 mm film rather than a

digital Digital usually refers to something using discrete digits, often binary digits. Technology and computing Hardware *Digital electronics, electronic circuits which operate using digital signals **Digital camera, which captures and stores digital i ...

format, despite the production's tight schedule and low budget, in order to give the film a different "feel" from the typical contemporary indie movie, the overwhelming majority of which are shot digitally.

Design

Seeking a more natural look (rather than CGI) for the film's

special effect Special effects (often abbreviated as SFX, F/X or simply FX) are illusions or visual tricks used in the theatre, film, television, video game, amusement park and simulator industries to simulate the imagined events in a story or virtual w ...

s, Beaucage chose veteran concept artist and sculptor

Jordu Schell Jordu Schell (born June 5, 1967) is an American sculptor and concept artist who has been working in the film and television industries for over twenty years. Career Jordu Schell began his career as a sculptor and Halloween mask maker. He primar ...

to create the unique design of ''Spikes title character, which Schell worked into his schedule even while concurrently shaping the design of the Na'vi with

James Cameron James Francis Cameron (born August 16, 1954) is a Canadian filmmaker. A major figure in the post- New Hollywood era, he is considered one of the industry's most innovative filmmakers, regularly pushing the boundaries of cinematic capability ...

for ''

Avatar Avatar (, ; ), is a concept within Hinduism that in Sanskrit literally means "descent". It signifies the material appearance or incarnation of a powerful deity, goddess or spirit on Earth. The relative verb to "alight, to make one's appeara ...

''.

Reception

Release

Announced in ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' as "a horror fairy tale from U.S. director Robert Beaucage, whom estival director HannahMcGill had never heard of before he wowed her with an unsolicited DVD", ''Spike'' had its

world premiere A première, also spelled premiere, is the debut (first public presentation) of a play, film, dance, or musical composition. A work will often have many premières: a world première (the first time it is shown anywhere in the world), its f ...

at the 62nd

Edinburgh International Film Festival The Edinburgh International Film Festival (EIFF) is a film festival that runs for two weeks in June each year. Established in 1947, it is the world's oldest continually running film festival. EIFF presents both UK and international films (all t ...

on 20 June 2008, the festival's first year in its new June slot after having, in previous years, taken place in autumn. The film subsequently played the

North American North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Ca ...

film festival A film festival is an organized, extended presentation of films in one or more cinemas or screening venues, usually in a single city or region. Increasingly, film festivals show some films outdoors. Films may be of recent date and, depending up ...

circuit at such festivals as the Berkshire International Film Festival and Shriekfest. ''Spike'' was released in North America on

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kin ...

in the summer of 2010 by Maverick Entertainment.

Critical analysis

When first released, ''Spike'' was referred to by '' The List'' as a film that "overturns

genre Genre () is any form or type of communication in any mode (written, spoken, digital, artistic, etc.) with socially-agreed-upon conventions developed over time. In popular usage, it normally describes a category of literature, music, or other ...

conventions to explore the darker side of fairytale

mythology Myth is a folklore genre consisting of Narrative, narratives that play a fundamental role in a society, such as foundational tales or Origin myth, origin myths. Since "myth" is widely used to imply that a story is not Objectivity (philosophy), ...

", and the ''

All Movie Guide AllMovie (previously All Movie Guide) is an online database with information about films, television programs, and screen actors. , AllMovie.com and the AllMovie consumer brand are owned by RhythmOne. History AllMovie was founded by popular-cul ...

'' called it a "dark fairy tale that's not for the faint of heart". Calum Waddell, a film critic for magazines such as ''

Dreamwatch ''Dreamwatch'' was a British magazine covering science fiction and fantasy films, books and television programmes. Published monthly by Gary Leigh (July 1983 to January 2001) and then Titan Magazines (2001 to 2007), it was a leading genre entert ...

'' and ''

Fangoria ''Fangoria'' is an internationally distributed American horror film fan magazine, in publication since 1979. It is published four times a year by Fangoria Publishing, LLC and is edited by Phil Nobile Jr. The magazine was originally released i ...

'', called ''Spike'' "assured and stylish... a promising debut" and praised its "mix of

David Lynch David Keith Lynch (born January 20, 1946) is an American filmmaker, visual artist and actor. A recipient of an Academy Honorary Award in 2019, Lynch has received three Academy Award nominations for Best Director, and the César Award for Be ...

, The

Brothers Grimm The Brothers Grimm ( or ), Jacob (1785–1863) and Wilhelm (1786–1859), were a brother duo of German academics, philologists, cultural researchers, lexicographers, and authors who together collected and published folklore. They are among th ...

, and

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...

", while adding a reservation that the film "does not seem to know what it wants to be". Others were more positive, such as the ''

North Adams Transcript The ''North Adams Transcript'', prior to being merged into ''The Berkshire Eagle'' in 2014, was an American daily newspaper published Mondays through Saturdays in North Adams, Massachusetts. It was one of four Massachusetts newspapers owned by Me ...

'' which wrote about the film's "artful" exploration of "both the tenderness and madness of monsters, as well as the many faces of

love Love encompasses a range of strong and positive emotional and mental states, from the most sublime virtue or good habit, the deepest Interpersonal relationship, interpersonal affection, to the simplest pleasure. An example of this range of ...

—most importantly, the destructive ones" and '' Moviestar'' magazine which, in its coverage of the EIFF, referred to ''Spike'' as "an original take on the genre" and said that it "delivered both thrills and chills".

Awards

''Spike'' was chosen as part of the

's Best of the Fest in 2008 and won Best

Fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy literature and drama ...

Feature Film at

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the wor ...

's Shriekfest in 2009.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Spike (2008 film) 2008 films 2008 horror films 2008 fantasy films 2000s romance films 2000s monster movies 2008 LGBT-related films American monster movies American LGBT-related films American romantic fantasy films Films based on Beauty and the Beast Bisexuality-related films Films based on fairy tales Films based on classical mythology Films shot in California American independent films LGBT-related horror films 2008 directorial debut films 2000s English-language films 2000s American films