The Bigfoot phenomenon stomps into the Nightlight Cinema in Akron for a bit of movie silliness on New Year’s Eve.
Grizzlehead: The Tale of the Cuyahoga Valley Bigfoot screens at 1 p.m. Saturday. The low-budget, independent short film was written and directed by Logan Fry of Richfield and was shot in Northeast Ohio this year.
After a Bigfoot sighting is reported by Akron’s Channel 18.5 News Team, a group of intrepid coffeehouse devotees sets off into the woods to track down the gorilla-like beast. The trek does not end well.
“I was thinking of making a movie about a plague, and I wanted to make another one about space invaders,” Fry said. “But Bigfoot just seemed to be a good character. Plus, I could get a really good gorilla suit from Mr. Fun’s [Costume and Magic Emporium] in Cuyahoga Falls for under $100.”
The cast and crew consisted primarily of folks from Ohio, and two Akron bands, Calven and Swamping Bobulus, contributed songs to the soundtrack. The tongue-in-cheek project, said Fry, cost about $1,200.
“It was long hours but it was fun to do,” said James Woolf of Streetsboro. Woolf, a firefighter and paramedic in Twinsburg, was appropriately cast as EMT Vickers Vickersly.
“I’m a Bigfoot fanatic,” Woolf said. “I go to the annual Bigfoot conference at Salt Fork [State Park]. Ohio is actually one of the top five areas for Bigfoot sightings.”
As for Grizzlehead, he said, “There are a lot of quirks in it, but that’s the beauty of being a B-movie.”
Fry attaches a triple-B label to his comedy-horror creation: “Blood, Boobs and Beast.” The bare-chested moments, however, are covered by clown heads and smiley faces to make it more acceptable for general audiences.
“There is blood and gore, but it’s on a comedy level,” said Lisa Neeld of Cortland, who plays news anchor Rebecca McGill. “It’s not like a slasher film.”
Neeld, an actress and model who once appeared on the cover of Playboy’s Hot Housewives, has worked on several indie films. She just wrapped Hellcat’s Revenge, in which she plays a biker chick who goes on a rampage. She said working with Fry was “a fun experience.” “He’s very sweet and he’s a wonderful director,” she said.
Fry, 72, who spent much of his life working as an attorney, got the movie bug when he was hired as an extra and driver on Spider-Man 3, when the superhero film was shooting action scenes in Cleveland in 2006.
Since then, he has directed eight short films, including The Bumbling Psychopath, and has appeared in small roles in more than 40 movies and videos, including the made-in-Akron 25 Hill. (His eclectic mix of “extras” parts have included: Helpful Motorist, Rabid Fan, Angry Resident, Trucker Zombie and Ten Dollar Tipper.)
Fry just finished editing Grizzlehead last week and is excited to screen it for an audience.
“I want to see how it holds up on a big screen,” he said, “and I want to develop visibility in Akron and get feedback on what works and what doesn’t.”
Clint O’Connor can be reached at 330-996-3582 or coconnor@thebeaconjournal.com. Follow him on Twitter @ClintOMovies .