Posted in: Movies, Recent Updates | Tagged: matthew holness, warp films

Garth Marenghi Alter-Ego Matthew Holness Embarks On First Feature Film Project

Published Sun, 04 Dec 2011 17:23:01 -0600

Last updated Mon, 05 Dec 2011 09:56:25 -0600

Here's some news to make my head spin round with excitement: Matthew Holness, creator and star of the fondly-remembered Garth Marenghi's Darkplace, has decided to move into the film world with his new project The Reprisalizer, a feature length version of his short film A Gun For George. The short is about a struggling pulp fiction writer who becomes a vigilante with extremely violent tendencies.

For those not already familiar with it, Garth Marenghi's Darkplace was a fantastic and criminally short-lived TV series that spoofed the very bad low-budget horror TV shows of the eighties. It was co-created by Richard Ayoade and featured a host of then-unknown faces including The Mighty Boosh's Matt Berry and Julian Barratt, as well as giving Holness and Ayoade leading roles.

The comedy came from hilariously bad dialogue (some very nerdy fans of the show can quote whole episodes by rote … ahem), deliberate continuity errors and extremely bad special effects. What it lacked in budget it lacked on purpose and made up for in pure excellence. If you don't already own the DVD then you're a sorrier person for it.

According to producer Ally Gips, the film will not be an "out and out" comedy, since Holness is apparently trying to move away from comedy.

The writer-director will also star as the main character Terry Finch. There is an amusing mock fan website for Finch's books currently online, featuring some very interesting quotes from the books' protagonist Bob Shuter.

You toe rag. You bin. Pay attention when I break you.

Like A Gun For George, The Reprisalizer is being produced by Warp Films, who also produced This Is England, Submarine, Bunny and the Bull and Tyrannosaur. They're turning out a lot of real gems right now and hopefully Holness' film will be no exception.

According to Chortle the picture is set to start shooting next year for a summer 2013 release.

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