I can almost say that my feature-film debut as writer and director is ready.  It only lacks final sound FX and heavily layered music score.  CRUEL is a true-to-form silent horror film.  It’s black and white, grainy, flickery-filmlook, has caption screens, etc.  The plotline is as follows:

CRUEL ( synopsis ) One by one, a killer dispatches the people responsible for wrongs done to a young, mute stricken girl - each murder done in front of the girl as a form of shock therapy for her condition. At the same time, the young girl’s father races to find her.

Just in the past week, I’ve gotten praise and/or articles from Bloody-Disgusting, Fangoria, JoBlo/Arrow in the Head News, Rue Morgue…plus I’m still emailing and/or talking to folks at Dread Central, Pitofhorror/gutsandgory and Dark Horizons.  I plan on shipping them all some promo packages pretty soon when the film is complete and screener-worthy.

My goal(s) as a filmmaker are simple….I hope I don’t suck, and I hope that horror fans are satisfied.  As a writer, though, I promise I can create some of the most disturbing shit you’ll ever read.  I do actually have two of my scripts optioned to other directors.  THE HURTING KIND and ROOK are currently in budgeting status.  THE HURTING KIND actually has two sequels to it ( one finished script, the other in the works ) and should set a new staple in the genre, I think.  ROOK will be among the creepier of my works - a film that should hit people probably days after watching it…because it’s more psychological and just doesn’t hit you all at once.

At the moment, though, you can view the teaser trailer for CRUEL and find links to articles about it via the site set up at www.myspace.com/gnomeguy3   - hope you like what you see.  Also…as a HMF exclusive…with the current line of thinking per the industry at the moment, we have been thinking that whoever picks up the film may want a sequel or sequels……………….so……..I’ve started to work on the possibility…..and it’s also going be done in a style not exclusively used today.

Duane P. Craig