As you may recall, we told you about Snapper: The Man-Eating Turtle Movie That Never Got Made a few months back, a new documentary from writer/director John Campopiano (Unearthed & Untold: The Path to Pet Sematary, Pennywise: The Story of IT) that uncovers lost footage from a creature feature that never came to be, telling the tale of two friends in Massachusetts and the killer turtle they *almost* brought to life in the early ’90s.
Campopiano lets us know this week that Snapper is coming to two virtual film festivals late this month and into August, which will both allow you to watch the documentary from home.
- July 28 – August 5: Snapper will have its Pacific Northwest premiere at the Portland Horror Film Festival
- August 12 – 19: Snapper will be part of the Popcorn Frights Film Festival as part of their Hot Docs series
The filmmakers behind Snapper, Mark Veau and Mike Savino (Attack of the Killer Refrigerator), were interviewed for Campopiano’s documentary, along with special effects artist Scott Andrews. As the team explains, they were inspired by Jaws and various ’80s slasher films, with Snapper intended to be a gory lakeside creature feature centered on a giant killer turtle.
The documentary features never-before-seen footage from the never-before-seen movie, while also serving as a short and sweet love letter to independent filmmaking. Particularly, of course, indie filmmaking in the horror space, with the documentary taking us back to a time when creative ambition, wild concepts, and cool practical effects were all you really needed.
Alas, not every passion project ends up coming to life…
