Polonia brothers
Mark Polonia and John Polonia (born September 30, 1968) are twin brothers and filmmakers who founded Polonia Bros. Entertainment and Cinegraphic Productions. Between them they have written, directed and produced over 40 feature films, mostly in the genres of horror and sci fi, and are now low-budget film cult icons.[1][2]
Mark Polonia | |
|---|---|
| Born | September 30, 1968 Wellsboro, Pennsylvania, United States |
| Occupation | Film director, film producer, screenwriter, actor |
John Polonia | |
|---|---|
| Born | September 30, 1968 Wellsboro, Pennsylvania, United States |
| Died | February 25, 2008 (aged 39) United States |
| Occupation | Film director, film producer, screenwriter, actor |
John Polonia died suddenly at the age of 39 on February 25, 2008. Mark Polonia then continued to make films with childhood friend and longtime film collaborator Matt Satterly, through their production company Cinegraphic Productions.
Early days
The youngest of five siblings, the brothers were interested in and making films from a very early age. Their first commercial release was Splatter Farm, released on VHS by Donna Michele Productions in 1987,[3] a shot-on-video offering, written, acted, directed and filmed by the teenage brothers and a high school friend.
Career
Although the brothers had mixed feelings about this film in later years (according to their DVD commentary), in part because the initial release was a rough cut and not edited to their satisfaction, it contained many of the signature elements that would come to define the Polonias' work – a primitive production quality reflecting a very limited budget; the brothers themselves appearing in key roles; liberal use of people and places available to them through their day-to-day lives, and homage to the horror films they grew up with and loved.
In 1996 the brothers' alien invasion film Feeders was picked up by Blockbuster in the aftermath of the commercial success of Independence Day, and became Blockbuster's No. 1 independent-film rental for the year.[4] Starring John Polonia and fellow-B-movie maker Jon McBride (Cannibal Campout, Woodchipper Massacre) in their first foray together, this film about an invasion of Earth by small rubbery flesh-eating monsters with no mouths marked the Polonias' first wide distribution, and paved the way for future releases – perhaps 20 more of them before John's death in 2008.
Jon McBride became a regular collaborator with the brothers,[5] and over time a fairly extensive group of actors, technicians, special effects artists and others came to work repeatedly with the brothers on horror films that aimed to entertain at all costs. Killer piranhas, killer Easter bunnies, haunted houses, trips to Mars, assorted demons, all were covered in the course of several decades of film-making.
In 2007 they released a new and improved cut of Splatter Farm, on DVD through Camp Motion Pictures.[6] The new version is missing a couple of the more outrageous scenes that made the original a 'cult classic', but is nonetheless a more professional-looking offering, easier to follow, and augmented by excellent and entertaining commentary and featurettes – which also have become trademarks of the brothers' DVD offerings.
Within the indie film community, the brothers were known for their kindness and generosity to aspiring film-makers.[7]
Polonia Brothers Entertainment and Cinegraphic Productions released Halloweenight, based on a screenplay by, and dedicated to the memory of, the late John Polonia, in October 2009.[8][9]
In 2010 Mark Polonia dissolved Cinegraphic Productions after the sudden passing of partner Matt Satterly to concentrate solely on the Polonia Bros Entertainment (PBE) brand.
Since his brother's passing in 2008 Mark Polonia has been steadily producing and directing new films with long-time collaborator Brett Piper.
Filmography
- Church of the Damned; 1985, released 1985 by the Polonia Brothers
- Hallucinations; 1986, released 2007 as an extra on Splatter Beach
- Splatter Farm; 1986, released 1987 Donna Michelle Productions, released 2007 Camp Motion Pictures
- Lethal Nightmare; Filmed 1987 – released 2013 Sub Rosa / SRS Limited Release
- Saurians; released 1994 on Polonia Brothers Entertainment
- Hellspawn; released 2003 on Brentwood 4-pack "Spawn of the Devil"
- How to Slay a Vampire; released 2004 on Brentwood 4-pack "Blood Hunt"
- 3000 Bullets; unreleased
- Savage Vows; released 1995 on Brentwood 4-pack "Illicit Affairs, Savage Vows"
- Feeders; released 1996 Blockbuster, released 2003 Sub Rosa Studios
- Feeders 2: Slay Bells; released 2003 Sub Rosa Studios
- Terror House; released 2004 Sub Rosa Studios
- Nightcrawlers; currently re-released 2003 on Brentwood 4-pack "Spawn of the Devil"
- Bad Magic; released by Sub Rosa Studios
- The House That Screamed; released 2000 Sub Rosa Studios
- Dweller; re-released 2004 on Brentwood 4-pack "Sleazy Slashers"
- Dinosaur Chronicles; re-released 2004 on Brentwood 4-pack "Galaxy of Terror"
- Blood Red Planet;[10][11] released 2000, re-released 2005 on Brentwood 4-pack "Galaxy of Terror"
- Night Thirst; released 2002, re-released 2004 on Brentwood 4-pack "Sleazy Slashers"
- Hellgate: The House that Screamed 2; released 2001 Sub Rosa Studios
- Gorilla Warfare: Battle of the Apes; not yet released
- Preylien: Alien Predators; released 2005 on Brentwood 4-pack "Galaxy of Terror"
- Among Us; released 2004 Sub Rosa Studios
- Peter Rottentail; released 2004 Sub Rosa Studios
- Razorteeth; released 2005 Sub Rosa Studios
- Black Mass (a.k.a. Dead Knight); released Cine Excel Entertainment in Japan
- Wildcat; released Cine Excel Entertainment in Japan
- Splatter Beach;[12] released 2007 Camp Motion Pictures
- Forest Primeval; released 2008 Tempe Entertainment
- Monster Movie; released 2008 Tempe Entertainment
- Halloweenight; released 2009 Tempe Entertainment
- Army of Wolves; 2010[13]
- Muckman; released 2009 Chemical Burn Entertainment (Directed by Brett Piper)
- E.V.E. of Destruction; released 2012 Cine Excel Entertainment
- The Dark Sleep; Released April 2013 Retromedia Entertainment (Written and Directed by Brett Piper)
- Empire of the Apes 3D; released 2013 Sterling Entertainment
- Chainsaw Killer; released 2013 Sub Rosa Studios
- Feeders – Directors Cut; Coming June 2013 Sub Rosa Studios
- Camp Blood First Slaughter; released 2014 Sterling Entertainment
- Jurassic Prey (alternate title "Meateaters"); released 2015 Wild Eye Releasing
- Queen Crab; released 2015 Wild Eye Releasing (Written and Directed by Brett Piper)
- Amityville Death House; released 2015 Retromedia
- Bigfoot Vs. Zombies; released 2016 Wild Eye Releasing
- Sharkenstein; released 2016 Wild Eye Releasing
- Amityville Exorcism; released 2017 Wild Eye Releasing
- Land Shark; released 2017 Camp Motion Pictures
- Revolt of the Empire of the Apes; released 2017 Sterling Entertainment
- Camp Blood 7; released 2017 Sterling Entertainment
- Ghost of Camp Blood (Camp Blood 8); released 2018 Sterling Entertainment
- War Raiders; released 2018 Sterling Entertainment
- Frozen Sasquatch; released 2018 Sterling Entertainment
- Alien Surveillance; released 2018 Wild Eye Releasing
- Robowar (formerly Battle Bots); released 2018 Sterling Entertainment
- In Search Of; unreleased 2018 Camp Motion Pictures
- Camp Blood Kills; released 2019 Sterling Entertainment
- Deadly Playthings; released 2019 Sub Rosa Cinema
- Bride of the Werewolf; released 2019 Sterling Entertainment
- Amityville Island; released 2020 Wild Eye Releasing
- Shark Encounters of the Third Kind; released 2020 Wild Eye Releasing
- Return to Splatter Farm; released 2020 Wild Eye Releasing (Directed by Mark Polonia and Jeff Kirkendall)
- Children of Camp Blood; released 2020 Sterling Entertainment
- Invasion of the Empire of the Apes; anticipated 2020 release Sterling Entertainment
- Camp Murder; anticipated 2021 release SRS Cinema
- Virus Shark; anticipated 2021 release SRS Cinema
- Feeders 3: The Final Meal; anticipated 2021 release Wild Eye Releasing
References
- Books.google.com
- Cinema Slave
- Bleedingskull.com Archived March 22, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
- B-independent.com
- Crackedoncinema.com
- DVD Talk
- Potentiallyoffensive.com Archived July 15, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
- Fangoria Archived October 14, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
- Stargazette.com
- B-independent.com
- Coldfusionvideo.com
- DVD Talk
- Dread Central