Making movies isn’t easy for anyone, but for Richard Stanley its been an especially rocky ride. After his debut HARDWARE, made when he was in his early twenties (and which a ten-year-old Eric saw at his first drive-in theater), Stanley went on to do DUST DEVIL, which got recut and f*cked with while Stanley’s hands were tied (only just recently is his cut available on DVD). After that, he wrote and was set to direct THE ISLAND OF DR. MOREAU, but was fired approx. 4 days into production and the resulting movie was a nonsensical, ridiculous Marlon Brando-sized monstrosity – an instant camp-classic (suffice to say, not Stanley’s original intention).
But the man hasn’t packed it in yet. He co-wrote the After Dark release THE ABANDONED and has directed a couple of engagingly bizarre shorts: THE SEA OF PERDITION, about an outer-space expedition gone awry, and BLACK TULIPS, about… well man, you’re just gonna have to see for yourself. Give them a look and then come on back here to share your thoughts.
(A little fun fact: after Stanley was fired from DR. MOREAU, he snuck back onto the set, dressed as one of the freakish manimals so he could observe the destruction of his project.)
The comment section exists to allow readers to discuss the article constructively and respectfully, focused on the topic at hand.
What’s Not Allowed