In Focus - What killed ‘i kill Monsters’?

Technology is changing so fast it sometimes has transitory effects on other activities, including the Yorkton Film Festival.

In 2012, the Festival launched a short-lived category called Digital Media.

For three years the Digital Media Golden Sheaf went to: “An original production, in any genre, created for and first released on digital platforms (other than television) such as mobile, web and other portable or interactive devices.

In recognition that the platform distinction rapidly became pretty much moot, the category only lasted until 2014.

In the first year, the winner was the pilot episode of what was intended to be a Canadian web series called i kill Monsters.

Unfortunately, the series was even more short-lived than the YFF Digital Media category. The pilot was good enough I would have watched more episodes, but none were ever made, despite the fact it was well-received not just here, but at IndieFest and the Accolades Global Film Competition. Horrornews.net called it “an intriguing new series.”

Launched on Halloween night, 2011, i kill Monsters tells the story of the G&B Monster Agency. The agency is a band of misfits led by a cynical man named Go (Alan Catlin), who appears to suffer from delusions of grandeur. The team consists of Go’s partner Emmett “Voice Box” Rhodes (Andre Sills), a mute, and Piper (Jenny Raven), a high-tech savvy intern.

Straddling a line between legitimacy and fraud, when reports of monsters roll in, the team rolls out amid constant bickering with a signature arsenal of low tech weapons (baseball bats, axes, chain saws). Their nemesis is Police Chief Frank Sargeant, whose self-appointed mission it is to discredit them.

The plot of Episode Only involves the accidental recruitment of a fourth member, Luke, a young man hell bent on avenging his monster-killed father.

This show was not by any means high art, but it is reasonably well-written, decently acted and its production values were solid. That was not overly surprising because producer Allan Magee is an industry pro with some pretty significant creds and connections. He has worked on Trailer Park Boys and Little Mosque on the Prairie.

If nothing else, the episode was well-made with effective use of lighting and well-timed editing to create mood and suspense.

And it was pretty funny, especially if you like campy humour. Even if not, the pace is good enough that you don’t get caught up too much in any of the deficiencies, of which there are a few.

All in all, though, it was as good or better than a lot of stuff that makes it onto TV these days. Nevertheless, it was a short-lived success in a short-lived category for the YFF.

It goes to show, perhaps, just how difficult the film industry can be. In addition to being a pretty decent effort, i kill Monsters had all the trappings of a potential success including a website, facebook and other social media pages, merchandise, good reviews, awards and recognizable if not famous actors. But all of that along with the production companies Magee TV and Gorilla Milkshak just seem to peter out shortly after its Yorkton win.

The pilot of i kill Monsters is available on Youtube.