Post by Superheidi on Jan 5, 2004 18:00:48 GMT -5
Project Valkyrie is a film that instantly reveals its influences to anyone remotely familiar with horror and science fiction films. The Evil Dead trilogy by Sam Raimi, Dead Alive and Bad Taste by New Zealander Peter Jackson, Asian action flicks, and adventure serials like Indiana Jones all left their mark on the makers of Project Valkyrie, and on the movie itself. Not that project Valkyrie isn’t an original film: the script itself copies from no one, apologizes to no one, and has it’s own set of rules. The production team of Hero Headquarters (Steve Foland, Nic Pesante, and Jeff Waltrowski) certainly were hampered by the generic plagues that low-budget indie flicks usually are, but have miraculously developed an immunity to such set-backs and came out with a remarkable film.
Valkyrie is a robot designed by scientist/adventurer Jack Cranston (cleverly and charmingly portrayed by Jeff Waltrowski) during WWII to aid in the battle against the Nazis. It seems the Nazis have developed a substance that fills one’s body with “nanitesâ€, or tiny metal robots that invade your system and reproduce like a virus. These “nanites†give you superhuman strength and a fierce loyalty to the ideals of Nazism. Valkyrie proves to be a valiant Nazi-slayer and the prized creation of professor Jack Cranston as she hacks and slashes them in a very Power-Rangers sort of way.
Years later, as Jim Cranston, the grandson of famed scientist Jack, is going through his inheritance from his grandfather (mostly old crates or discarded equipment) he comes across the pieces of Valkyrie. Re-assembled by Jim’s nimble yet inexperienced hands, Valkyrie comes to life once again. Just in time, too, it seems; for Frank, the brother of a lovely lounge singer named Anne and leader of the neo-Nazi movement has just bought one of these crates from Jim containing the remnants of the nanites-substance developed by the Nazis so many years ago. Needless to say, Frank uses them with some gruesome consequences. Jim Cranston, Valkyrie, and Anne then team up to stop the Nazis from taking over the world and spreading the foulness of the nanites to innocent people everywhere.
What makes this film stand out so particularly are the characters. This is partly due to a creative and superbly original script, and partly due to some impressive and charismatic actors. Steve Foland steals the film completely. He delivers his lines in a way that transcends the quality of the film, indeed, of most indie films. He is at once funny and believable as the loserly, unemployed, and sarcastic grandson of the illustrious Dr. Cranston. Jeff Waltrowski’s Dr. Cranston has the dynamic and depth of Johnny Depp as Ed Wood. Even Valkyrie herself, brought to life by Jacob R. Ross, though silent subtly delivers emotions and intelligence; an almost impossible task through the featureless cartoon-like mask that is her face. Randy Fey as the gangster Foley appears on the screen way too seldom. He delivers a Reservoir Dogs-ish speech about Thanksgiving with as much gusto and brilliance as Harvey Keitel would himself.
There are actors in the film who do not shine quite so brightly, but are still decent enough. Frank, played by Dave Droxler, is a generic villain and plays the part with consistency and relative competence. Anne Richardson, who comes off as bland and dull throughout the film, plays Anne. It’s not that she is a terrible actress; it’s that her performance is constantly overshadowed by Jeff Waltrowski’s. She is not able to hold her own on the screen with a strong personality like his. She has trouble delivering her lines in a believable way, and never really creates a character we can root for.
The writing in this film is very well done. The storyline never falters and is never slow. There are numerous and clever references to other films that have obviously inspired this one. There is a scene where Jim Cranston repeats word for word a line said by the character Ash from Army of Darkness (the third film in Sam Raimi’s Evil Dead Trilogy). It comes off as clever and well done.
There is another scene that parodies the fistfight between Indiana Jones and a Nazi in Raiders of the Lost Ark. Let’s not forget the fighting scenes between Valkyrie and her Nazi opponents: if you’ve never seen a Hong Kong action flick, you’ll want to after this. There is a Sam Raimi influence in the jerky camera shots, and the quick and engaging fighting scenes. Even the Texas Chainsaw Massacre is paid tribute to.
One thing about having a low budget and a screenplay like this that is always an obstacle for indie filmmakers is the need for expensive special effects. This film tries to avoid cheaply done Computer Generated Images as much as possible (which is a good thing). The CGI that is in the film is unrealistic and thankfully short. There are some effects (done by Steve Tolin and Greg Piotrowski) that are extremely remarkable for the small budget that they had. I have never seen blood look as realistic in any indie flick as it does in Project Valkyrie. There is some gore that is not for the squeamish; the blood is very realistic and the results are sometimes very disgusting. Gunshot and gunshot wounds from automatic weapons look impressively executed and boggle the mind of the viewer. At several points, you may find yourself asking, “How did they do that?â€- Impressive for any film, low budget or not. The masks of the nanite-infected Nazis are not as high quality as the rest of the hands-on special effects, but they are cool looking.
Sound quality is not a strong point of this film and is truly the only thing that detracts from it. It’s difficult to hear some of the actors at times because of poor sound quality.
There is a compelling soundtrack that truly adds to the enjoyment of this film.
Electric Hellfire Club ends the film with a stirring rendition if U2’s “Bloody Sunday†(much better than the original) and Gordon Bash does a nice job creating an appropriate, and at times chilling, score.
Despite the obvious shortcomings (a lack of money and some inexperienced actors), Project Valkyrie is funny, interesting, and entertaining. The storyline borders on the extraordinary and the special effects are commendable at the least. I can’t help but feel that this movie has surpassed everyone’s expectations and deserves to be re-made with a much higher budget. This movie is the closest thing to genius I’ve seen in an independent film in a very long time, and it certainly falls into the category of “greatâ€.
Valkyrie is a robot designed by scientist/adventurer Jack Cranston (cleverly and charmingly portrayed by Jeff Waltrowski) during WWII to aid in the battle against the Nazis. It seems the Nazis have developed a substance that fills one’s body with “nanitesâ€, or tiny metal robots that invade your system and reproduce like a virus. These “nanites†give you superhuman strength and a fierce loyalty to the ideals of Nazism. Valkyrie proves to be a valiant Nazi-slayer and the prized creation of professor Jack Cranston as she hacks and slashes them in a very Power-Rangers sort of way.
Years later, as Jim Cranston, the grandson of famed scientist Jack, is going through his inheritance from his grandfather (mostly old crates or discarded equipment) he comes across the pieces of Valkyrie. Re-assembled by Jim’s nimble yet inexperienced hands, Valkyrie comes to life once again. Just in time, too, it seems; for Frank, the brother of a lovely lounge singer named Anne and leader of the neo-Nazi movement has just bought one of these crates from Jim containing the remnants of the nanites-substance developed by the Nazis so many years ago. Needless to say, Frank uses them with some gruesome consequences. Jim Cranston, Valkyrie, and Anne then team up to stop the Nazis from taking over the world and spreading the foulness of the nanites to innocent people everywhere.
What makes this film stand out so particularly are the characters. This is partly due to a creative and superbly original script, and partly due to some impressive and charismatic actors. Steve Foland steals the film completely. He delivers his lines in a way that transcends the quality of the film, indeed, of most indie films. He is at once funny and believable as the loserly, unemployed, and sarcastic grandson of the illustrious Dr. Cranston. Jeff Waltrowski’s Dr. Cranston has the dynamic and depth of Johnny Depp as Ed Wood. Even Valkyrie herself, brought to life by Jacob R. Ross, though silent subtly delivers emotions and intelligence; an almost impossible task through the featureless cartoon-like mask that is her face. Randy Fey as the gangster Foley appears on the screen way too seldom. He delivers a Reservoir Dogs-ish speech about Thanksgiving with as much gusto and brilliance as Harvey Keitel would himself.
There are actors in the film who do not shine quite so brightly, but are still decent enough. Frank, played by Dave Droxler, is a generic villain and plays the part with consistency and relative competence. Anne Richardson, who comes off as bland and dull throughout the film, plays Anne. It’s not that she is a terrible actress; it’s that her performance is constantly overshadowed by Jeff Waltrowski’s. She is not able to hold her own on the screen with a strong personality like his. She has trouble delivering her lines in a believable way, and never really creates a character we can root for.
The writing in this film is very well done. The storyline never falters and is never slow. There are numerous and clever references to other films that have obviously inspired this one. There is a scene where Jim Cranston repeats word for word a line said by the character Ash from Army of Darkness (the third film in Sam Raimi’s Evil Dead Trilogy). It comes off as clever and well done.
There is another scene that parodies the fistfight between Indiana Jones and a Nazi in Raiders of the Lost Ark. Let’s not forget the fighting scenes between Valkyrie and her Nazi opponents: if you’ve never seen a Hong Kong action flick, you’ll want to after this. There is a Sam Raimi influence in the jerky camera shots, and the quick and engaging fighting scenes. Even the Texas Chainsaw Massacre is paid tribute to.
One thing about having a low budget and a screenplay like this that is always an obstacle for indie filmmakers is the need for expensive special effects. This film tries to avoid cheaply done Computer Generated Images as much as possible (which is a good thing). The CGI that is in the film is unrealistic and thankfully short. There are some effects (done by Steve Tolin and Greg Piotrowski) that are extremely remarkable for the small budget that they had. I have never seen blood look as realistic in any indie flick as it does in Project Valkyrie. There is some gore that is not for the squeamish; the blood is very realistic and the results are sometimes very disgusting. Gunshot and gunshot wounds from automatic weapons look impressively executed and boggle the mind of the viewer. At several points, you may find yourself asking, “How did they do that?â€- Impressive for any film, low budget or not. The masks of the nanite-infected Nazis are not as high quality as the rest of the hands-on special effects, but they are cool looking.
Sound quality is not a strong point of this film and is truly the only thing that detracts from it. It’s difficult to hear some of the actors at times because of poor sound quality.
There is a compelling soundtrack that truly adds to the enjoyment of this film.
Electric Hellfire Club ends the film with a stirring rendition if U2’s “Bloody Sunday†(much better than the original) and Gordon Bash does a nice job creating an appropriate, and at times chilling, score.
Despite the obvious shortcomings (a lack of money and some inexperienced actors), Project Valkyrie is funny, interesting, and entertaining. The storyline borders on the extraordinary and the special effects are commendable at the least. I can’t help but feel that this movie has surpassed everyone’s expectations and deserves to be re-made with a much higher budget. This movie is the closest thing to genius I’ve seen in an independent film in a very long time, and it certainly falls into the category of “greatâ€.