Sea of Dust (film)
| Sea of Dust | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Directed by | Scott Bunt |
| Written by | Scott Bunt |
| Produced by | Patrick T. Rousseau Noah Workman |
| Starring | Tom Savini Ingrid Pitt Bill Timoney Edward X. Young Troy Holland Stuart Rudin John Correll |
| Cinematography | Brian Fass |
| Edited by | Ron Kalish |
| Music by | Jasper Drew |
| Distributed by | Cinema Epoch - North America |
Release date |
|
Running time | 90 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Sea of Dust is a 2008 horror-fantasy film directed by Scott Bunt and starring Tom Savini and Ingrid Pitt. It takes its name from the boundary separating reality from religious truth, a boundary epitomized by Prester John's Sea of Dust.
Production
A stylistic tribute to the sixties work of
While the tongue-in-cheek "horror" film garnered largely positive reviews in the genre press, including such publications as Canada's Rue-Morgue, the U.K.'s
Originally shot in 2006-2007, Sea of Dust suffered post-production delays attributable to the illness of star Ingrid Pitt, which caused extensive structural revisions (detailed in the Region 1 DVD commentary). Regardless, the film obtained strong festival response, winning both the Rhode Island International Film Festival and Fright Night Film Fest, and opening Fangoria's Trinity of Terrors in Las Vegas in 2009.
Sea of Dust also gained the support of cult directors Jean Rollin and Ken Russell, no strangers to the incorporation of surreal elements into a horror context, which boosted the film's standing.
In August 2010, Sea of Dust was released in North America by Cinema Epoch DVD. This package included three trailers, all of which would be banned when the film went to cable TV. Despite the film's satiric intent, the trailers were deemed "too bloody" for mass consumption, as was a fourth that had been created as a tribute to Ingrid Pitt (who passed in November, 2010).
The same month marked the publication of the McFarland Press book, "Ingrid Pitt, Queen of Horror," by Bobb Cotter. Mr. Cotter called Sea of Dust "one of the strongest anti-intolerance statements made in recent film history" and one of Ingrid Pitt's "best latter-day showcases."[2]
Reception
Sea of Dust garnered largely positive reviews in the horror press upon its initial release.
Additionally, Sea of Dust performed admirably on the film festival circuit. Sea of Dust won the "Best Picture Grand Prize" at the 2008 Rhode Island International Horror Film Festival. In 2009, Sea of Dust won the "Best of the Fest" at Louisville's Fright Night Film Fest. The film also opened the Fangoria Trinity of Terrors Film Festival in October of that year.[7]
Issues with the film's distribution resulted in its producers withdrawing SEA OF DUST from public exhibition thereafter. Since 2009, has only been screened publicly on two occasions. In each, the film has received additional awards. In 2013, Sea of Dust was projected at Parafest at the Sands Hotel & Casino in Bethlehem, where it won the "Audience Choice Best Feature Award" and "Best Poster Award."[8] The latter provided long overdue recognition for multi-media artist Stephen Romano, whose projects included the illustrated "Shock Festival" novel and the Incident On and Off a Mountain Road episode of Showtime’s Emmy Award-winning Masters of Horror cable series (directed by Don Coscarelli).[9]
In 2014, Sea of Dust appeared at the Macabre Faire Film Festival in Long Island, New York where it again received the "Audience Choice Best Feature Award" as well as the "Best Cinematography Award."
References
- ^ Watt, Mike. "Sea of Dust Review". www.fangoria.com. Retrieved 19 August 2010.
- ISBN 978-0-7864-5888-2.
- ^ Burrell, James (October 2010). "Saviness Is Next to Godliness". Rue-Morgue Magazine (105): 72–74.
- ^ Thompson, Nathaniel. "Sea of Dust". www.mondo-digital.com.
- ^ Roland, Micah (16 August 2013). "Sea of Dust". www.bloody-disgusting.com.
- ^ Den Boer, Michael. "Sea of Dust". 10kbullets.com. Retrieved 12 August 2010.
- ^ Cling, Carol. "Las Vegas Review-Journal". www.reviewjournal.com. Retrieved 30 October 2009.
- ^ Parafest. "Parafest". Retrieved 8 September 2013.
- ^ Romano, Stephen. "Shock Festival Express".
External links
- Sea of Dust at IMDb
