Several years ago Kevin Smith set out to make a Krampus movie, but when Michael Dougherty beat him to it, Smith wound up shelving the project. However, after a little re-engineering, the project was brought back to life as a horror anthology entitled KILLROY WAS HERE, which, believe it or not, is already shooting in Florida. Like many of his recent movies, KILLROY WAS HERE originates from a conversation taken from one of his popular weekly podcasts. While speaking to his fans from the set via Facebook Live, Kevin Smith explained how they reworked the script.
We were gonna make this Krampus movie and then somebody went and made a Krampus movie. Ours was an anthology Krampus movie that played more like Creepshow. Or, to appeal to the modern day kids, Creepshow 2. Or, let’s say, Black Mirror. That's it. So yeah, it’s kinda like that. It’s an anthology series. … So our Krampus movie – which was called Comes the Krampus and then later on, Anti-Claus – it got shelved, we didn't do anything. So we decided to re-engineer that dopey script. Instead of saying "Krampus has been done," we turned it into a different movie. We just changed the Krampus character – it’s almost the same script. Took the Christmas elements out of it. Instead, we’re calling it Killroy Was Here.
"This is a monster movie in the sense of a classic morality tale," said Smith in a press-release. "No one wants to see you spill the blood of innocents, but when someone crosses the line and goes bad, you get to make them pay in horrible ways, and the audience cheers." Like The Twilight Zone, Killroy is full of ironic twists and grisly moments. Smith added, "We wanted to make an anthology film in the vein of Creepshow. Killroy is like the Golem, the Boogeyman and the Grim Reaper combined." The project is being done in partnership with Ringling College of Art and Design, which, in addition to utilizing Ringling’s resources, will also provide active production crew experience and screen credits for Ringling College students and graduates. Dr. Larry R. Thompson, President of Ringling College, said:
Killroy Was Here is an exciting project as part of our ongoing effort to provide hands-on, active production crew experience and screen credits for Ringling College students and graduates while also bringing world-renowned producers, directors and Hollywood-level entertainment productions to Sarasota to use the College’s film facilities. Working alongside entertainment professionals, the students participate in an immersive creative and production program that takes them from script to final delivery. They also are able to connect with these high-level industry professionals.
KILLROY WAS HERE will feature a long-nosed monster designed by Robert Kurtzman (TUSK) inspired by the Kilroy Was Here graffiti which originated during World War II. Well, it can't be worse than YOGA HOSERS…right?