Originally conceived under the title "The Netherbeast of Berm-Tech Industries, Inc." the comedic horror film (or "horrific" comedy) NETHERBEAST INCORPORATED began as a skit for a three-minute horror contest. But now, the film is a full-length, full-blooded corporate American twist on the classic vampire story.Wait, scratch that. The politically-correct term for "vampire," as emphasized by an educational video within the film itself, is "Netherfolk," a much less-offensive and more humane word. After all, they are human, too.
"Netherfolk have only gotten such a bad rap over the years because Hollywood glamorized the whole 'biting-neck-and-turning-into-bat thing,'" says director Dean Rolands and screenwriter Brian Ronalds.
"In reality, they're normal people with jobs who put their nose to the grindstone like everyone else. The only difference is they need human flesh and blood to survive."
Clearly, Ronalds and Ronalds are as dedicated to raising awareness as they are to producing chuckles, also contend that vamp... I mean, Netherfolk, are going through rough times in 21st-century America.
Amongst their concerns is the fact that a large number of "First Lifers" (a term that describes all non-vampire humans) have undertaken diets of some kind.
"That makes it difficult for Netherfolk to find the nutrients that they require," says Dean and Brian. "And Netherfolk really dig trans-fats."
As far as comedies goes, Netherbeast Incorporated has an A-team cast, which includes Dave Foley, Robert Wagner, Amy Davidson, Judd Nelson, Jason Mewes, and SNL's Darrel Hammond. Each of these actors, with the exclusion of Wagner (who plays former President James Garfield), plays an employee of Berm-Tech Industries, a seemingly- innocent telephone conglomerate which acts as a front for what is really a hive of flesh-eating vampires. I mean - Netherfolk.
Additionally, Netherbeast offers a quaint and concise history of the Netherpeople, including one juicy tidbit of American history you won't find anywhere else: President Garfield was one of them.
"Yeah, and so was Florence Nightingale, Ray Milland, Vincient Van Gogh, Robert E Lee, Mozart, Jim Morrison," say the Ronalds duo. "And Ghandi."
Netherbeast Incorporated - 7:30 p.m., March 30 @ Magnolia (9:45 p.m., March 31 @ Magnolia)
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