Remembering Working With Reynolds

I have been ecstatic to see that Warren F. Disbrow has been posting info from his catalogue of independent horror films on facebook. Talking to Disbrow on the phone, I get the feeling that he is getting the itch again to reintroduce himself to the fans of the horror genre. The picture above contains Colin Reynolds on the left and myself (Dominic Gregoria) from the Scarlet Moon franchise, which seems like many moons ago, but when I look at the photos seems like only yesterday.

"Scarlet Moon" was released by TROMA Team Video with many extras. There was an introduction by Lloyd Kaufman, a behind-the-scenes documentary, a commentary track, a music video by Glorion Black and Tromatic trailers. When "Scarlet Moon" was edited, there was enough footage that was intended to be a prequel to "Scarlet Moon," which has remained unreleased. Rumor has it that this movie is in the works for a special release and will remain unedited and more raunchier than the first movie. This movie is called "Dark Beginnings." In addition, Disbrow has plans to release most of his older works through a company that will remain a secret for the immediate future. These movies will be released through a deal that doesn't conflict with the TROMA contract.

I met Colin Reynolds at a record store that I was managing. My role in this franchise was Andreas, a satanic vampire who comes from a carnival background. Reynolds was a vampire with a drug problem that keeps passing out and runs the risk of being buried even though he has eternal life. When Reynolds was on his game, we possessed a certain chemistry working together. There are some scenes that will make it on the "Dark Beginnings" cut that easily could have made it as a Saturday Night Live sketch, during SNL's really funny period.

Being a production that was running basically on no money, some locations had to be obtained on the fly (did someone ask how we got the cemetery?). Some of the actors were very professionally and displayed some talent for the craft. However, there were times when we had to stop shooting because a key player needed to catch one of their favorite programs on television. Reynolds apartment was used as a location a few times and a girlfriend of his was recruited for a few scenes. There was a scene in his bedroom where Smoke is making out with a female friend until she notices that Andreas somehow appeared just to wreck their evening.

Reynolds' character Smoke often reminded me of the real Reynolds. Knowing him, I could see where he drew much of his reference points from. No matter how many times Disbrow was pulling his hair out, it was still a lot of fun working with Colin!