mark (11/20/2011)

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Simply the BEST! :D And I'm still quitting.... forever this time :D

Capemedia (11/20/2011)

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Quitting what?

jakechief

Movie: Haunters of the Dark

Director: Biggstrek

Runtime: 27:10

Made with: Iclone

I got the opportunity to go to watch the premiere, along with 64 others, at the Machinima Expo. This movie won the two biggest awards during the Expo, and it was well deserved. The first thing that captured my eye was imagery. I was so moved and inspired by the imagery, that I could not move my eyes. It was as if Biggstrek glued my eyes to my computer. He made Iclone go to the next level. I personally do not use iclone, however from other Iclone movies I have seen, Biggstrek has brought everything to live. The characters showed there emotion wondrously. He said it took him two years to make this movie, and it shows it. It looks like he paid so much attention to detail. As Ricky Grove said, and he was wonderful as the lead character, he said that everytime he watched the movie, which was many times, he always noticed something new. Like a mouse running across the floorboards. Something like that, I like. Just little things of detail that is not distracting that he puts in the background, I am quite fond of. This is also one of very, very, very few films in Machinima today, that has made me jump once or twice. SPOILER: Like the time when we see the main character dead while sitting, when we thought that he is alive, was scary to me. And that is another thing. The lighting was spectacular. The way he has the light shining on one side and pitch black on the other seems really hard to do in iclone. Like I said before, when the main character is in a chair, we can only see the outline of the character. So, we think he is a live. Then, when someone turns on the lights, we see him covered in blood and dead. SPOILER IS DONE. This is my favorite movie by Biggstrek, which is saying something. What I really know him for, and what many others do as well, was his Underpants Man movies. This was a big switch. Underpants Man was a comedy movie, and Haunters of the Dark was a thriller/Horror movie. Biggstrek tackles the horror genre really well. The lighting makes it a dark, scary look. The Cinematography is amazing. The Voice Acting by all the cast was spectacular. Ricky Grove was a stand out to me. He has been acting for years, and yet, he has bever been better. His voice fits the character perfect. He was able to understand and capture the character really well. He seemed to understand what was going on and it looked like he was actually there, doing the acting himself. Biggstek did Iclone real well, and was able to meneuver Iclone really well. Like at one point, there was documents that were going across the screen while Ricky's character was talking, and it looked so cool. Biggstrek makes Iclone look amazing, and look so different. This is the year's best film! A

capemedia
This is a very good production and one of the best iClone made films to date.

Congrats :)

smallWstudio
Truly an awesome production. And most deserving of it's MAJOR AWARD!!! Way to go BIGGS!

josephkw
First off, CONGRATULATIONS on winning the "Audience Award" at the machinexpo! Well-deserved. Being a "H. P. connoisseur" myself ;) I can't lavish enough praise on your monumental achievement. The pacing, the visuals (I have to mention the innovative passage of time and current events montage) was inspired. I know you toiled long and hard to complete this epic project, but I hope that does not cause you to balk at creating another masterpiece like this. Us connoisseurs want MORE :D

MikeDBoing
What a production. It is an incredible story brought to life by a master of the arts. Evey facet of this movie shows the attention to detail that only a true H.P Lovecraft connoisseur would put in such an endeavor. This is one for the books.
Hats off to the many voice talents that worked on this, the tone and delivery was just on the mark.
BRAVO! Biggs BRAVO!

Killian

As a fellow "Lovecraft Fan" I can only second what Joseph said; I knew when you were kind enough to allow us a sneak peak a while ago that this would be your "tour de force" so far... and it appears I was right!

There is so, so much about this movie that is just RIGHT that to try and list everything would be a momentous task. The visuals, the lighting, the brilliant performance by Ricky, the sound design (also the redoubtable Mr Grove), your musical touch, and a very well executed rendition of the seminal Howard Philips classic that really does stand up to multiple repeat viewings; once for the marvel of the exquisitely put together movie, then again for the nuances of the performance and again to boggle at the shot-craft... and again, just to see all the little things you missed the first three times round!

Justifiably awarded the two top awards at this year's Expo, this is a Lovecraftian piece "par excellence". There remains but one last thing to say...

Platypus.

I rest my case ;)

Excellent work, Phil. Let's hope it doesn't take you two years to get the next one out ;)

WarLord

Nothing second class about this movie. Not just the best iClone movie to date but one of the best movies I have seen anywhere and I am no great fan Lovecraft but I enjoyed this very much. The scene build outs , attention to detail, craftsmanship are all top of the genre. You have indeed raised the bar on iClone productions to an entirely new level. This film stands alone.

This film also faced stiff competition including Mark from SmallWStudios with his usual fantastic production values. Great to see iClone flicks in the Jury selection plus the usual round of superb works. Quite an accomplishment to come out on top in this premier event.

A lot of us can do well for a few minutes but to maintain continuity like you did for as long as you did is the most incredible part of this production to me.

thebiz

Watching at the expo I was impressed. Watching it again in HD with time to contemplate and enjoy I am just about stunned. As story based machinima I have seen none better. A whole lot of great moments and inspired scenes. Outstanding camerawork, lighting and set creation (oh my the sets). The supernatural sequences (gazing upon the shiny) were very well done That you made the music as well is just cake. Wonderful.

Uber

Nice work Biggs, looks great.

Bezzer

This may have been two years in the making, but by god, you have truly ended up with something special here.
There are just way too many inspiring moments in this movie to count.
Tiny details that could easily be overlooked, make several viewings of this essential to truly spot and appreciate those moments.

This had me talking out loud to myself at parts...'wow, look at the lighting here' 'hey, look at that for an effects shot' 'that's a really cool transition' etc.

The cast was fantastic and pretty much the icing on an already delicious cake.

First class work in all departments Biggs...once again, truly worth all the hard work you put into it sir.

Grey Dingo

I spent quite a few minutes wondering just how to begin - considering such an event as BiggsTrek's "The Haunter Of The Dark". Quite a few.

Herein is an example of a filmmaker who not only knows the craft, but has the art, the ability, the patience and the passion.

"The Haunter Of The Dark" is an extraordinary achievement. It is an enormous undertaking in the machinima world to adopt a sory with such atmosphere, tension and character and pull it off with exquisite aplomb. This instant classic combines everything one could wish for in a short, and deserves to be seen by an audience far beyond this site's humble companionship.

There is no point or purpose in detailing the extraordinary attention to detail to every conceivable facet of this production. It's all there. So much so that one takes it all for granted - but look again, closely, and you realise the infinite amount of work that goes into producing such a work, and you gasp anew. That is the mark of a moviemaker that should be treading the boards of any of the realworld studios, and I hope to God that this is noticed by those who matter.

Every now and then we are graced by truly talented examples of work that guide and inspire us. Biggs - you certainly inspire me. An unreserved 5 stars twice over and above.

FoxStudios

Wow! great movie! First of all, what a great story, and you told it so freakin' well! Amazing.

cecil_evans

Wow! That was a PLEASANT surprise. On the weekends I usually manage to watch at least one cheesy horror movie on tv. Fearnet on cable is a great place for obscure classics, where scantily clad young women run from blood-curdling zombies. But this weekend, I didn't get my fix of video frights. Other commitments, you know. Just when I was ready to give in and watch the Simpsons, BiggsTrek comes to the rescue! Man, this is a stroke of genius, a masterpiece. Not a thing wrong that I could see, with the possible exception of my bad accent. Worth the wait, indeed.
After all is said and done, we are making cartoons. It's not easy to portray horror with an animation. You managed quite well. While the story wasn't frighteningly scary, it was creepy and gruesome, and it had just the right mood. Exactly what I needed while sitting on the couch, in the dark, on a Sunday night.

I don't usually appreciate long title sequences, but in this case, I didn't mind at all. They were worthy of the big screen. I could say that about the whole production. "I didn't mind that it was long and it was worthy of the big screen."
Bravo. Bellisimo. (And by the way, how did an Ozzy living in America get the Italian right?)

Nahton

I can't believe I haven't reviewed this since you posted it. I was privileged to get a sneak peak and comment at that time but I would be remiss not to say publicly what a fine piece of art this movie is. The awards were well deserved and I didn't have a moment of doubt they were destined as well after seeing this. The amount of effort and perseverance you put into making this film is on display for all to see. There were numerous challenges in bringing the story to screen due to the nature of the narrative and you met them head on by finding creative ways to stage the scenes and convey the story to the viewer. The attention to detail for every scene added additional enrichment to the production. The cast all performed admirably and Ricky was outstanding in the lead.