Coons! Night of the Bandits of the Night
Encyclopedia
Coons! Night of the Bandits of the Night is a 2005 musical
comedy
horror
satire
film
written and directed by Travis Irvine
with a budget of $5000.
The independent film
is the first feature film
(commercial release) from Ohio University
communications undergraduate students.
It premiered at film festivals and select cinemas before being released on DVD, and is considered on its way to becoming a cult classic by at least one reviewer. It was revealed that is the first known feature in cinema history to star an assortment of real, dead, frozen animals.
Outside the small rural town of Independence, college buddies Ty Smallwood (Lehr Beidelschies) and Zach (Colin Scianamblo) join a small group of college students visiting the Raccoon Creek Campground to have what they hope will be the best summer break of their lives. Their hopes are dashed when they have run-ins with frat guys, rednecks, hippies, bible students, and an inept set of camp counselors. Things go from bad to worse when they discover that maniacal raccoons have targeted the camp with an intention to wreak havoc on all humanity. When one camper is murdered, the rest seek revenge and retaliation.
.
Inspired during a 2004 Florida camping trip when he discovered several raccoons seeming to work in a coordinated effort scavenging his campsite,
Irvine began to research "Man vs Nature" movies and raccoons in particular, learning that rabid
raccoons would act in non-typical ways to attack other animals and children, and that they have stomach bacteria that could infect the brains of humans who eat them.
While studying abroad in London, he developed the script that became the film.
With the micro-budget of $5000, the film was shot in August 2005 in the Athens and Columbus areas of Ohio.
Most cast and crew members have Ohio connections and producer Colin Scianamblo grew up with Irvine in Bexley.
Tom Lyons, who played the role of The Mayor and who works at the OhioHealth media center spoke of Irvine and Scianmblo, "They’re both Bexley High School
kids who interned for me about five or six years ago.
The film also included members of the Ohio University comedy troupe "the Wrong Man group",
and due to budget constraints, most cast were forced to play multiple roles. The commercial release of the film
marked it as the first feature film
to ever be successfully completed by Ohio University
communications undergraduate students.
The film has been remarked upon as being the first known feature in cinema history to star an assortment of real, dead, frozen animals, rather than live, trained, stuffed, animitronic, or puppet raccoons.
The most important "effect" for the film was going to be the raccoons themselves, and Irvine consulted with experts at Ohio State University as he had initially planned on having raccoons prepared by a taxidemist.
He was disappointed when he learned that it could cost hundreds of dollars just to have a single animal prepared, but the expert advised him of the usefulness of using frozen animals that could then be thawed, positioned, frozen, and thawed and then frozen for repeated repositionings, so production used seven legally donated frozen raccoons in this manner to create the killer coons.
,
which coincided with its first theatrical screening at the Drexal Gateway Theater in Columbus, Ohio
, which was sponsored by the Drexel Theaters Group and the annual Columbus International Film and Video Festival. A subsequent festival was the 2007 Fright Night Film Festival in Louisville, Kentucky
. Distribution rights to the film were acquired by Troma Entertainment
in 2006 and they released it on DVD on August 26, 2008.
wrote, "The laughs flow like rabies-infected blood in this gruesome horror comedy about a group of college campers besieged by a pack of killer raccoons". Peter Syslo of Infernal Dreams wrote, "Coons! turned out to be a very pleasant surprise. I have to admit that I was skeptical at first, due to the title and the subject matter, but I really think that these guys turned out a truly funny horror comedy", while Jamie Lisk of Cranked on Cinema wrote, "While lacking the polish of a Lloyd Kaufman
opus, the mindset to offend is the same", "(Coons) will not appeal to everybody, that’s definitely for sure. I’m guessing that this film will end up with more detractors than admirers, but if you’re like me, you’ll enjoy the film’s get-up-and-go, especially if your personal get-up-and-go already got up and went two, four or six beers ago. Irvine should be commended for crafting a fast-paced, Benny-Hill-on-crack kind of crazy, slice of sophomore cinema, one that doesn’t shy away from offering its young male target demographic what it wants – lots of blood, guts and silly, inane hilarity", and "Typical of indie films, some of the main actors have dual or triple roles here, and terrible fake moustaches are employed to help the audience separate them from each other. Dear god!" Reviewer Adam Jackson of The Lantern
wrote, "The movie was overzealous in its use of human feces as a source of comedy", "Even the most sophomoric of frat guys could get tired of the movie's use of fart and pooping sounds as a supply of comedy", and "The film's special effects are, surprisingly, one the film's strongest assets".
The Outlook reported that, "COONS! has already taken major steps to solidifying itself as a cult sensation", while The Lantern
reports that the Drexel Theater showings were held over for an additional 3 weeks due to public demand for the film, and that they plan to launch midnight weekend movies starting March 3. When the film screened at the 2007 Fright Night Film Festival in Louisville, Kentucky
, reviewer Troy H. King reported, "These guys just got picked up by TROMA
which was great for them and while watching you can tell why: It was like I time warped back to USA
's Up All Night
. Funny stuff! I'll be buying this movie."
Musical film
The musical film is a film genre in which songs sung by the characters are interwoven into the narrative, sometimes accompanied by dancing. The songs usually advance the plot or develop the film's characters, though in some cases they serve merely as breaks in the storyline, often as elaborate...
comedy
Comedy film
Comedy film is a genre of film in which the main emphasis is on humour. They are designed to elicit laughter from the audience. Comedies are mostly light-hearted dramas and are made to amuse and entertain the audiences...
horror
Horror film
Horror films seek to elicit a negative emotional reaction from viewers by playing on the audience's most primal fears. They often feature scenes that startle the viewer through the means of macabre and the supernatural, thus frequently overlapping with the fantasy and science fiction genres...
satire
Satire
Satire is primarily a literary genre or form, although in practice it can also be found in the graphic and performing arts. In satire, vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ideally with the intent of shaming individuals, and society itself, into improvement...
film
Feature film
In the film industry, a feature film is a film production made for initial distribution in theaters and being the main attraction of the screening, rather than a short film screened before it; a full length movie...
written and directed by Travis Irvine
with a budget of $5000.
The independent film
Independent film
An independent film, or indie film, is a professional film production resulting in a feature film that is produced mostly or completely outside of the major film studio system. In addition to being produced and distributed by independent entertainment companies, independent films are also produced...
is the first feature film
Feature film
In the film industry, a feature film is a film production made for initial distribution in theaters and being the main attraction of the screening, rather than a short film screened before it; a full length movie...
(commercial release) from Ohio University
Ohio University
Ohio University is a public university located in the Midwestern United States in Athens, Ohio, situated on an campus...
communications undergraduate students.
It premiered at film festivals and select cinemas before being released on DVD, and is considered on its way to becoming a cult classic by at least one reviewer. It was revealed that is the first known feature in cinema history to star an assortment of real, dead, frozen animals.
Plot
"Everyone knows someone who's had a run-in with an angry racoon. Some people even believe that racoons are smarter than people."Outside the small rural town of Independence, college buddies Ty Smallwood (Lehr Beidelschies) and Zach (Colin Scianamblo) join a small group of college students visiting the Raccoon Creek Campground to have what they hope will be the best summer break of their lives. Their hopes are dashed when they have run-ins with frat guys, rednecks, hippies, bible students, and an inept set of camp counselors. Things go from bad to worse when they discover that maniacal raccoons have targeted the camp with an intention to wreak havoc on all humanity. When one camper is murdered, the rest seek revenge and retaliation.
Cast
- Lehr Beidelschies as Ty Smallwood
- Brian Kamerer as Ranger Danger / Greg
- Nick Maier as Jones / Rex
- Zach Riedmaier as Dr. Billington / Clayton
- John Sarvas as Store Owner / Jon
- Colin Scianamblo as Zach / Rev. Pookie
- Dan Velez as Agent Charlesworth / Zane
- Travis Irvine as Dick Weener / Ryan
- Tom Lyons as The Mayor
- Alexander Raghuvir as Al Jazeera
- Kasey Cooper as Shane
- Lauren Bowman as Janine
- Marti Babcock as Christine
- Rachel Edwartoski as Melissa
Background
The film was created when Irvine was a senior at Ohio UniversityOhio University
Ohio University is a public university located in the Midwestern United States in Athens, Ohio, situated on an campus...
.
Inspired during a 2004 Florida camping trip when he discovered several raccoons seeming to work in a coordinated effort scavenging his campsite,
Irvine began to research "Man vs Nature" movies and raccoons in particular, learning that rabid
Rabid
Rabid is a 1977 horror film written and directed by David Cronenberg. It features Marilyn Chambers in the lead role, supported by Frank Moore, Howard Ryshpan, Joe Silver and Robert A...
raccoons would act in non-typical ways to attack other animals and children, and that they have stomach bacteria that could infect the brains of humans who eat them.
While studying abroad in London, he developed the script that became the film.
With the micro-budget of $5000, the film was shot in August 2005 in the Athens and Columbus areas of Ohio.
Most cast and crew members have Ohio connections and producer Colin Scianamblo grew up with Irvine in Bexley.
Tom Lyons, who played the role of The Mayor and who works at the OhioHealth media center spoke of Irvine and Scianmblo, "They’re both Bexley High School
Bexley High School
Bexley High School is a public high school located in Bexley, Ohio, an affluent suburb of Columbus, Ohio. It is in the Bexley City School District. In school year 2008-2009, BHS earned the second highest Performance Index score of any public high school in the state of Ohio. The graduation rate...
kids who interned for me about five or six years ago.
The film also included members of the Ohio University comedy troupe "the Wrong Man group",
and due to budget constraints, most cast were forced to play multiple roles. The commercial release of the film
marked it as the first feature film
Feature film
In the film industry, a feature film is a film production made for initial distribution in theaters and being the main attraction of the screening, rather than a short film screened before it; a full length movie...
to ever be successfully completed by Ohio University
Ohio University
Ohio University is a public university located in the Midwestern United States in Athens, Ohio, situated on an campus...
communications undergraduate students.
The film has been remarked upon as being the first known feature in cinema history to star an assortment of real, dead, frozen animals, rather than live, trained, stuffed, animitronic, or puppet raccoons.
The most important "effect" for the film was going to be the raccoons themselves, and Irvine consulted with experts at Ohio State University as he had initially planned on having raccoons prepared by a taxidemist.
He was disappointed when he learned that it could cost hundreds of dollars just to have a single animal prepared, but the expert advised him of the usefulness of using frozen animals that could then be thawed, positioned, frozen, and thawed and then frozen for repeated repositionings, so production used seven legally donated frozen raccoons in this manner to create the killer coons.
Release
The film first premiered December 30, 2005 and had its festival debut at the annual Tromadance Film Festival on January 28, 2006, in Salt Lake City, UtahSalt Lake City, Utah
Salt Lake City is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. The name of the city is often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC. With a population of 186,440 as of the 2010 Census, the city lies in the Salt Lake City metropolitan area, which has a total population of 1,124,197...
,
which coincided with its first theatrical screening at the Drexal Gateway Theater in Columbus, Ohio
Columbus, Ohio
Columbus is the capital of and the largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio. The broader metropolitan area encompasses several counties and is the third largest in Ohio behind those of Cleveland and Cincinnati. Columbus is the third largest city in the American Midwest, and the fifteenth largest city...
, which was sponsored by the Drexel Theaters Group and the annual Columbus International Film and Video Festival. A subsequent festival was the 2007 Fright Night Film Festival in Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kentucky, and the county seat of Jefferson County. Since 2003, the city's borders have been coterminous with those of the county because of a city-county merger. The city's population at the 2010 census was 741,096...
. Distribution rights to the film were acquired by Troma Entertainment
Troma Entertainment
Troma Entertainment is an American independent film production and distribution company founded by Lloyd Kaufman and Michael Herz in 1974.The company produces low-budget independent movies that play on 1950s horror with elements of farce...
in 2006 and they released it on DVD on August 26, 2008.
Reception
Jason Buchanan, reviewer for All Movie GuideAll Movie Guide
Allrovi is a commercial database launched by the Rovi Corporation in 2011. It compiles information about music and movies from the former services Allmovie and Allmusic.-Content:...
wrote, "The laughs flow like rabies-infected blood in this gruesome horror comedy about a group of college campers besieged by a pack of killer raccoons". Peter Syslo of Infernal Dreams wrote, "Coons! turned out to be a very pleasant surprise. I have to admit that I was skeptical at first, due to the title and the subject matter, but I really think that these guys turned out a truly funny horror comedy", while Jamie Lisk of Cranked on Cinema wrote, "While lacking the polish of a Lloyd Kaufman
Lloyd Kaufman
Lloyd Kaufman is an American film director, producer, screenwriter and occasional actor. With producer Michael Herz, he is the co-founder of Troma Entertainment film studio, and the director of many of their feature films, including The Toxic Avenger and Tromeo and Juliet. Kaufman also serves as...
opus, the mindset to offend is the same", "(Coons) will not appeal to everybody, that’s definitely for sure. I’m guessing that this film will end up with more detractors than admirers, but if you’re like me, you’ll enjoy the film’s get-up-and-go, especially if your personal get-up-and-go already got up and went two, four or six beers ago. Irvine should be commended for crafting a fast-paced, Benny-Hill-on-crack kind of crazy, slice of sophomore cinema, one that doesn’t shy away from offering its young male target demographic what it wants – lots of blood, guts and silly, inane hilarity", and "Typical of indie films, some of the main actors have dual or triple roles here, and terrible fake moustaches are employed to help the audience separate them from each other. Dear god!" Reviewer Adam Jackson of The Lantern
The Lantern
The Lantern is the name of the official, daily student-published university newspaper at The Ohio State University. It is one of the largest campus newspapers in the United States, reaching a circulation of 15,000....
wrote, "The movie was overzealous in its use of human feces as a source of comedy", "Even the most sophomoric of frat guys could get tired of the movie's use of fart and pooping sounds as a supply of comedy", and "The film's special effects are, surprisingly, one the film's strongest assets".
The Outlook reported that, "COONS! has already taken major steps to solidifying itself as a cult sensation", while The Lantern
The Lantern
The Lantern is the name of the official, daily student-published university newspaper at The Ohio State University. It is one of the largest campus newspapers in the United States, reaching a circulation of 15,000....
reports that the Drexel Theater showings were held over for an additional 3 weeks due to public demand for the film, and that they plan to launch midnight weekend movies starting March 3. When the film screened at the 2007 Fright Night Film Festival in Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kentucky, and the county seat of Jefferson County. Since 2003, the city's borders have been coterminous with those of the county because of a city-county merger. The city's population at the 2010 census was 741,096...
, reviewer Troy H. King reported, "These guys just got picked up by TROMA
Troma Entertainment
Troma Entertainment is an American independent film production and distribution company founded by Lloyd Kaufman and Michael Herz in 1974.The company produces low-budget independent movies that play on 1950s horror with elements of farce...
which was great for them and while watching you can tell why: It was like I time warped back to USA
USA Network
USA Network is an American cable television channel launched in 1971. Once a minor player in basic cable, the network has steadily gained popularity because of breakout hits like Monk, Psych, Burn Notice, Royal Pains, Covert Affairs, White Collar, Monday Night RAW, Suits, and reruns of the various...
's Up All Night
USA Up All Night
USA Up All Night is an American cable television series that aired weekly on Friday and Saturday nights on the USA Network. The show aired from 1989 to 1998.-Synopsis:...
. Funny stuff! I'll be buying this movie."
External links
- Coons! Night of the Bandits of the Night (2005) at New York Times