Bloodbucket
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| Bloodbucket | |
|---|---|
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| Directed by | Alex Clifton |
| Produced by | John Bacon |
| Written by | Alex Clifton Matthew Graham |
| Starring | Alex Clifton John Bacon Joey Paynter Mark Hamilton Ryan Beter Justin Dixon Joe Graziano Matthew Graham John Cadotte Louis McGill (in deleted scenes) |
| Release date(s) | 2004 |
| Running time | 82 min. |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $350 (estimated) |
Bloodbucket is a 2004 film directed by Alex Clifton, written by Alex Clifton and Matthew Graham, and starring Alex Clifton as Gen. Alexander "Bloodbucket" Clifton, John Bacon and Lt. Colonel Earl Livingston. The film surrounds the events that take place as the American Civil War ends. It is the third film (second in feature-length) to be produced by the Shinebox Studio troupe.
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[edit] Plot
As narrated by the mysterious Chief Smackaho, ficticious General Alexander "Bloodbucket" Clifton commands what's left of a battered Confederate States Army company in Tennessee. Waking up one morning, a southern mail carrier dressed in Union Army attire presents Clifton with a letter from General Robert E Lee. The letter tells Clifton of Lee's surrender at the Battle of Appomattox Court House and that the war has been lost to the Union. Out of insanity, Clifton kills the messenger and decides to continue fighting the Union with his soldiers. Unknown to Clifton, the messenger also told Clifton's second in command, Lt. Col. Earl Livingston, that the war had ended. Troubled by the news, but not as deeply as Clifton, Livingston checks with his company and discusses the matter with Private Kimble. The company realizes they have lost their slave, Toby, but not before Clifton addresses the group about their next mission. Livingston questions Clifton about the war ending and the blood on his uniform from when he killed the messenger. Clifton denies the end of the way and the existence of any messenger and claims he killed a dog -for Livingston. This makes Livingston suspicious of Clifton's well-being. While looking for Toby, the other soldiers are introduced. There is George "Pup" Michael who suffered a massive head injury in a battle and is now mentally handicapped. Skippy is never revealed to be anything more than a disgruntled mercenary who the company often forgets about. Later, Private Beter and "The Frenchman" are introduced, but Toby quickly kills "The Frenchman" out of desperation. When Beter warns Clifton and the rest of the company of the news, the find the dying Frenchman and eventually, Toby. Out of anger, Clifton kills Toby will a pistol whip to the head must to the dismay of Livingston.
Stunned by his actions the soldiers are not sure what to think of Clifton, but the General hastily rallies them to attack an undisclosed location. Livingston burries Toby and is even more suspicious of Clifton's sanity and confronts him about, to which Clifton almost shoots him in the face. Private Beter and Livingston then realize that Pup has been missing and find him in the woods with his eyes gouged out (apparently from Toby). Kimble now feels that it would be dangerous to cross the General and allies himself with Clifton's motives to the shock of Livingston. When Beter and Livingston present a wounded pup to the General, Clifton reluctantly agrees to seek out a confederate infirmary to help his soldiers. Accidentally leaving him behind, Union soldiers track down Skippy and kill him. On the way to the infirmary, the group encounters Chief Smackaho who offers them shelter and comfort in his "magical herbs". Hallucinating, Clifton kills Beter and Smackaho banishes them from his village (which does not exist) and the group continues on to the infirmary. The General then has a breakdown realizing all who have died because of his actions and even begins to see visions of demons. Kimble tries to address Clifton during one of these visions, and Clifton massacres Kimble.
Livingston, Pup, and Clifton (now the only survivors) continue on to seek shelter but not before Clifton suffers an injury in the forest. When he awakens, Union soldiers have the three at gunpoint and are reading off their crimes against the United States. Clifton urges the group to run, but they are all shot and killed.
Chief Smackaho concludes the tale but then drives off in a modern-day sedan, leaving the audience to wonder about the authenticity of the events that just unfolded.
[edit] Production
Originally meant to be a student project, the film's production delays inevitably led to it becoming a personal project. Alex Clifton presented the idea to the group who had recently finished Bad Traffic and there was unanimous praise for the project. What started out as a documentary on civil war medicine, grew to be a fluent narrative clocking in at an hour and twenty-two minutes. The film's estimated $350 budget came right out of the filmmakers' pockets' and not a cent was made in revenue.
The majority of shooting took place in Loudon County, Tennessee while additional photography took place in Knox County, Tennessee. As opposed to Bad Traffic, this time around the troupe utilized video editing software to dramatically enhance the quality of the film. Different takes were used to create certain scenes and music was added in post-production, in comparison to having a boom-box nearby as in earlier productions. The costumes used were a combination of clothes from Goodwill Industries and civil war-era hats rented from a nearby playhouse shop.
The film was hailed as an all-around improvement over the previous project by the members of Shinebox studios and clearly gave the necessary experience for further endeavors.
[edit] Cast
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Alex Clifton | Gen. Alexander "Bloodbucket" Clifton |
| John Bacon | Lt. Colonel Earl Livingston |
| Joey Paynter | George "Pup" Michael |
| Mark Hamilton | Private Kimble |
| Ryan Beter | Private Beter |
| Justin Dixon | Chief Smackaho |
| Joe Graziano | Skippy |
| Matthew Graham | Union Messenger / Toby / dancing creature / Union Soldier voice |
| John Cadotte | The Frenchman |
| Louis McGill (deleted scenes) | Private O'Reilly |
[edit] Reception
While the film was not shown in any theater or mass released on any format, the film has achieved cult status in Knoxville, Tennessee and surrounding vicinities. At a Knoxville Catholic High School talent show in the fall of 2004, a trailer of Bloodbucket was shown to a crowd of about 75. The reaction to the trailer was largely positive, but unfortunately, a feature-length showing never transpired.
John Bacon, the producer, made a limited amount of DVD's as Christmas presents for the cast and crew of the production. Some of the DVD's have circulated around East Tennessee and created a small fan base for the film.
