A message from the editor
The Indie Digital Buzz is a new feature from Monsters at Play and Horrorview that allows our readers to get the inside scoop straight from the source in the world of indie horror. I felt that indie horror was an untapped medium and not given the proper respect it surely deserves. Yes, there are those indie horror flicks out there that are slapped together in a heartbeat and passed off as quality cinema, while they remain complete and utter garbage. Then there are those who really enjoy the craft of filmmaking and pour their heart, sweat and tears into each production. Most of these people work normal 9-5 jobs and make movies on the weekend as a hobby. They spend little money on these flicks and they make little money from them, but the films speak for themselves. I felt our readers could benefit from some inside knowledge including anecdotes from the indie movie set and info on upcoming titles that may be of interest. I hope you enjoy reading these articles as much as I have. Expect to see 3 or 4 of these a month, enjoy!

...and don't forget, Beware the Monsters!!!
Lawrence P. Raffel, Editor-in-Chief, Monsters at Play

Introduction
Hey all! Busterface is back! I know it has been a long time since we had an edition of the infamous (LOL) DIGITAL BUZZ but I have been busy with my own productions (kids). I recently had the chance to go to the premiere of an independent feature named AMPHETAMINE. I know the director quite well and I was very excited to see his feature debut. It was held at a beautiful venue and the place was packed with over 700 people. And I can honestly say that NOBODY was let down. I asked the director if he would be interested in sharing some of his tribulations with the internet crowd. He agreed. The director's name is Chris Grega and this is one story from the set of his top notch feature, AMPHETAMINE. Enjoy!

I was recently listening to the DVD commentary track of an independent movie that I like (I won't mention the name here) and I heard the director complaining about the fact that they "Only had $800,000 to work with" and I thought, "shit, try $800.00, see how far that gets ya!" This got me to thinking about my own movie, AMPHETAMINE, and some of the hell we went through in order to bring it to completion. What follows is a true story. None of the names have been changed to protect the innocent. I had this idea for a climactic, end-of-the-movie shoot-out scene: 30 people, huge location, guns, blood, chaos, everything. Our location was going to be an old brewery complex that was built in the late 19th century. Cool as hell. About a week before our scheduled shoot time, the brewery people flaked out and started asking for a truckload of money. Of course, we had nothing to give, so they said tough luck. Now I was faced with a dilemma. I had the shoot-out scheduled for February (2002), and I think it was the second to last scene we were shooting. The problem was, of course, time. If I waited too long, it would be spring before I knew it, and that could put things off for another year! I sent out the crew to look for a replacement and eventually we found an old cement factory in north St. Louis.

This place was even better than the original, but there were two problems: One - since the place was currently being used as a clean debris landfill, there would be trucks constantly going in and out of the place and... Two - we only had one day to do it in. Having nothing else, I said yes. We shot from sun-up to sundown. Almost from the start, shit began to go wrong! The place we were shooting in was kind of like a wind tunnel, with 90 mph winds whipping up dust and little rocks EVERYWHERE. Then there were the trucks, driving into our shot every ten minutes. LIKE CLOCKWORK. NON-STOP. One of our main actors could not remember his lines to save his life. I think it took about 15 takes to get it close to right. All of the guns started messing up (the dust) they would maybe get off 2-3 blanks and then jam up and have to be cleaned. For one reason or another, only one of the squib shots worked. We only got one decent wide shot and the lighting didn't match anything else. By the time we were done for the day, it was like 9:00 at night. When I got a look at the footage, I realized that I was screwed. I didn't have enough coverage of anything, and what I did have was anything but bloody and chaotic! About a week later I did what any self respecting filmmaker would do. I snuck back in the place! I took one actor and one crew member, and between the three of us, we shot all of the gun cutaways with my little Panasonic palmcorder. Still, I wasn't happy with the footage that I had, so about two months later Eric Stanze and I shot all of the squib hits in my back yard. He ran camera and popped the squibs off while I staggered around getting bloody. I think I ended up getting killed 9 times! That's pretty much how everything went down. I think if I had to do it over again, I would have just paid off the first location, or maybe even rewritten the scene. As they say, hindsight is always 20/20.

Featured Title this Week: AMPHETAMINE

SYNOPSIS
Four hitmen who work for an urban crime czar decide to double cross him and intercept the biggest shipment of "merchandise" to ever hit the city. The four of them come up with a complex scheme that quickly builds to an out-of-control situation, as personal differences and rivalries bring an uncertain future to their master plan.

Amphetamine is a movie about betrayal, seduction, perception - who's doing what to whom; all done with style, baby! It'll keep you guessing right up to the end in the same vein as Fight Club, Snatch and Reservoir Dogs.

What the critics are saying:

"Catch the rush of AMPHETAMINE - it's worth the ride."
Monstersatplay.com

"This is a film that comes at you with both guns loaded and a wicked grin at the end."
Next Tuesday Magazine

A NOTE FROM BUSTERFACE:
Attention distributors!!! Amphetamine is searching for domestic and overseas distribution. As a member of the independent film business for 15 years, I suggest you grab this title quickly. It has all the makings for a cult hit and Chris Grega's future in film making is laced with goodness! Check out what else Chris Grega and his crew have going on at http://88mm.net/

youdontneedgoddamnhollywoodtomakeafuckingmovie

Don't forget to read The Monsters review of Amphetamine here!