While he’s probably best-known for mocking movies through his hosting gig on Mystery Science Theater 3000, Jonah Ray Rodrigues is about to lead a film of his own with Shudder’s Destroy All Neighbors. Due out on January 12th as a streaming premiere, the film co-stars none other than Bill S. Preston Esq. himself, Alex Winter, in what’s being dubbed a splatter comedy, perhaps in the vein of Return of the Living Dead and other 80s classics.
Sporting a title that’s clearly a nod to the classic Godzilla movie Destroy All Monsters, Destroy All Neighbors is a horror comedy about William Brown (Jonah Ray Rodrigues), a neurotic, self-absorbed musician determined to finish his prog-rock magnum opus, faces a creative roadblock in the form of a noisy and grotesque neighbor named Vlad (Alex Winter). Finally working up the nerve to demand that Vlad keep it down, William inadvertently decapitates him. But, while attempting to cover up one murder, William’s accidental reign of terror causes victims to pile up and become undead corpses who torment and create more bloody detours on his road to prog-rock Valhalla. DESTROY ALL NEIGHBORS is a twisted splatter-comedy about a deranged journey of self-discovery full of goopy practical FX, a well-known ensemble cast, and LOTS of blood.
Josh Forbes, who made his feature directorial debut with Contracted: Phase II, directed Destroy All Neighbors from a screenplay by Mike Benner, Jared Logan, and Charles Pieper. The film is being produced by Russell Sanzgiri, alongside Rodrigues and Winter.
Shudder’s Craig Engler had this to say about the project: “We’re so excited for Josh, Jonah and Alex to bring this hilariously dark take on ‘the neighbor from hell’ to our members. Giving this tentpole feature as big of a launchpad as possible with our partners at RLJE Films is sure to get the whole ‘neighborhood’ talking.”
Winter added: “We’re thrilled to be working with Shudder and RLJE on this labor of love. Our film is a return to the kind of physical effects-driven genre comedy that’s all too rare these days.”
Well, I’m sold already. Seeing Rodrigues and Winter bounce off each other in an old school horror comedy should be a lot of fun.
How does Destroy All Neighbors sound to you? Share your thoughts by leaving a comment below. Here’s the poster:
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