Saturday Morning Mystery
- June 16, 2012 (2012-06-16) (Los Angeles Film Festival)
Saturday Morning Mystery (originally released as Saturday Morning Massacre) is a 2012 independent horror film by Spencer Parsons that premiered at the 2012 Los Angeles Film Festival.[1][2] The movie is a dark parody/spoof of the Scooby-Doo cartoon series.[3] Parsons cited Re-Animator and Basket Case as inspirations for the film.[4][5]
Saturday Morning Mystery had a projected video on demand release date of July 17, 2013 and a limited theatrical release date of August 9, 2013.[6] The movie was released to DVD on August 20, 2013.[7]
Plot
The brainy Nancy (Ashley Rae Spillers) is part of a financially destitute paranormal debunking team composed of her best friend Gwen (Josephine Decker), Gwen’s boyfriend Chad (Adam Tate), Nancy’s ex-boyfriend Floyd (Jonny Mars) and his dog Hamlet. After a particularly disastrous paranormal investigation ends with the group ruining a police investigation, Nancy is keen to take a job debunking the Kyser mansion for a bank employee who wants to sell the property. On the drive to the mansion the group runs into Officer Lance (Paul Gordon), who tells them of the mansion's history. The property was purchased by the Kysers, who opened up a church and school on the grounds. The family was rumored to have performed Satanic rituals that involved the human sacrifice of their children and others, which the townspeople believe was the reason the Kysers did not want to sell their land to a real estate developer that wanted to build a mall on the property.
Lance lets the group onto the property, where they promptly discover a pentagram made of twigs. He dismisses this as a childish prank by locals, but still gives Nancy his contact information in case of emergencies as well as a way to flirt with her. During this time Chad experiences what he believes to be a psychic vision of the Kysers and their Satanic practices; however, the group's investigations discover little on the property. Later that night Floyd uses the group's monitoring equipment to spy on Chad and Gwen having sex, during which time he sees an unknown person watching them as well. He runs to warn them, which makes the couple angry until they see that the group's van is now on fire, stranding them on the property. The group becomes even more frightened and angry once Floyd reveals that he had accidentally spiked the group's drinking water in an attempt to hide his LSD from Officer Lance.
As the night progresses the group discovers the body of the bank employee that hired Nancy, forcing them to realize that there is something at the house. This is further confirmed when they try to locate the group's dog Hamlet, only to find that he has been killed and partially eaten by a feral child. The group is then picked off one by one until only Gwen and Nancy remain, trapped by a man wearing a leather mask. They're rescued by Lance and the trio tries to escape, only for the adult male killer to knock Lance unconscious and drag him off. Nancy and Gwen both go back into the house to rescue him and in the process discover the killers' lair, which is filled with children's toys. This prompts Gwen to theorize that the killers are actually Mona and Frankie, the two Kyser children that had managed to escape from their parents' attempt to kill both their children and themselves. She further opines that the Kysers had not been Satanists, but had been accused of being as such due to them refusing to sell their land to the real estate developers.
The two women try to use this revelation to their advantage when they discover that the two now-fully grown Kyser children have Lance tied to a chair. Nancy somewhat successfully tries to lure them away from Lance by distracting the Kysers with false sympathy, but Gwen is grievously injured in the process. Nancy manages to kill Frankie Kyser and attempts to help Gwen, who tells Nancy that she is beyond saving and pleads with her to end her life. She tearfully obliges Gwen's wish and then tries to escape with Lance, but is ambushed by Mona Kyser. After a struggle Nancy kills her assailant and gets Lance to his patrol car, only for the two to then be attacked by the feral child that had killed the dog.
Cast
- Ashley Rae Spillers as Nancy
- Josephine Decker as Gwen
- Adam Tate as Chad
- Jonny Mars as Floyd
- Paul Gordon as Officer Lance
- Heather Kafka as Mona Kyser
- Sean Ryan as Frankie Kyser
Production
Filming for Saturday Morning Mystery took place in Austin, Texas, with the script being written to fit the house the movie was set in.[8][9] Much of the film was shot in sequence, with Parsons stating that the shooting schedule helped set the tone for many scenes.[4]
Reception
Initial reception to Saturday Morning Mystery has been mostly positive.[10][11] Shock Till You Drop praised Paul Gordon's acting but panned the film overall, stating it didn't live up to its potential.[12] Film School Rejects gave the film a B+ rating, writing that the movie "succeeds as a horror with touches of drama and comedy all while spoofing a Saturday morning cartoon".[13] Film Threat rated the film at four stars, citing the film as "fun" while being slightly disappointed with the resolution.[14] The Hollywood Reporter panned the film, writing that "the entire project has the appearance of messy, hasty planning" and that "performances shade more toward awkward than knowing, while production quality is variable".[15] StarPulse.com chose actress Ashley Spiller as their "best performance by an actress" for the film festival and the LA Weekly praised the movie for its "good scares".[16][17] Bloody Disgusting gave the film four out of five skulls.[18] A reviewer for Ain't It Cool News called Saturday Morning Massacre "one of the best" films he'd seen this year.[19]
See also
References
- ^ Diaz, Victor (2012-06-18). "Lone Star Scene: Scooby crew stages Austin-made massacre". YNN. Retrieved 9 July 2013.
- ^ Simpson, Don. "Surviving L.A., the 'Saturday Morning Massacre' and Austin Film Festival Screenplays". Film School Rejects. Retrieved 9 July 2013.
- ^ Savage, Chris. "Scooby-Doo Goes Evil in Saturday Morning Massacre". Horror-Movies.ca. Retrieved 9 July 2013.
- ^ a b Coleman, Jason. "LA Film Fest 2012 Interview: 'Saturday Morning Massacre' Helmer Spencer Parsons Talks Horror Fun". StarPulse. Retrieved 9 July 2013.
- ^ Simpson, Don. "Austin Cinematic Limits: Saturday Morning Massacre Goes To LA Film Fest". Film School Rejects. Retrieved 9 July 2013.
- ^ "Saturday Morning Massacre Now a Mystery; Updated Trailer, Box Art, and Release Info". Dread Central. Retrieved 9 July 2013.
- ^ Turek, Ryan. "Saturday Morning Massacre is Now Saturday Morning Mystery, Release Dates Revealed". Shock Till You Drop. Retrieved 9 July 2013.
- ^ Topel, Fred. "Gratuitous Nudity: Spencer Parsons on Saturday Morning Massacre". Crave Online. Retrieved 9 July 2013.
- ^ Fader, Lainna. "LA Film Fest 2012 Interview: SATURDAY MORNING MASSACRE dir. Spencer Parsons & actor/prod. Jonny Mars on Ghosts and Scooby Doo". Twitch Film. Retrieved 9 July 2013.
- ^ "Saturday Morning Massacre Review". Horror-movies.ca. Retrieved 10 February 2013.
- ^ Weinberg, Scott. "FEARnet Movie Review: 'Saturday Morning Massacre'". Fearnet.com. Retrieved 9 July 2013.
- ^ Doro, Paul. "L.A. Film Fest Review: Saturday Morning Massacre". Shock Till You Drop. Retrieved 9 July 2013.
- ^ Loring, Allison. "LAFF 2012 Review: Satisfy Both Your Saturday Morning Cartoon and Your Horror Needs with 'Saturday Morning Massacre'". Film School Rejects. Retrieved 9 July 2013.
- ^ Bell, Mark. "Review: SATURDAY MORNING MASSACRE". Film Threat. Retrieved 9 July 2013.
- ^ Lowe, Justin (21 June 2012). "Saturday Morning Massacre: LAFF Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 9 July 2013.
- ^ Coleman, Jason. "LA Film Fest 2012 - Best Of Fest 'Wrap Up'". Star Pulse. Retrieved 9 July 2013.
- ^ Ferdman, Veronika. "Los Angeles Film Festival 2012: Saturday Morning Massacre". LA Weekly. Retrieved 9 July 2013.
- ^ "LAFF '12: 'Saturday Morning Massacre' Scares Up Some Tasty Treats". Bloody Disgusting. 17 June 2012. Retrieved 9 July 2013.
- ^ "AICN HORROR looks at SATURDAY MORNING MASSACRE!". AICN. Retrieved 9 July 2013.
External links
- Official website
- Saturday Morning Mystery at IMDb
- v
- t
- e
- Scooby-Doo
- Shaggy Rogers
- Velma Dinkley
- Daphne Blake
- Fred Jones
- Scrappy-Doo
- The Hex Girls
- Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!
- episodes (1969–70; 1978)
- The New Scooby-Doo Movies
- episodes (1972–73)
- The Scooby-Doo Show
- episodes (1976–78)
- Laff-A-Lympics (1977–78)
- Scooby-Doo and Scrappy-Doo (1979–1980)
- Scooby-Doo and Scrappy-Doo (1980–82)
- The New Scooby and Scrappy-Doo Show/The New Scooby-Doo Mysteries (1983–84)
- The 13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo (1985)
- A Pup Named Scooby-Doo
- episodes (1988–1991)
- What's New, Scooby-Doo?
- episodes (2002–06)
- Shaggy & Scooby-Doo Get a Clue! (2006–08)
- Mystery Incorporated
- episodes (2010–13)
- Be Cool, Scooby-Doo! (2015–18)
- Scooby-Doo and Guess Who? (2019–2021)
- Velma (2023–present)
programming blocks
- The Scooby-Doo/Dynomutt Hour (1976–77)
- Scooby's All-Star Laff-A-Lympics/Scooby's All-Stars (1977–78)
- The Richie Rich/Scooby-Doo Show (1980–81)
- The Scooby & Scrappy-Doo/Puppy Hour (1982)
- Scary Scooby Funnies (1984–85)
- Scooby's Mystery Funhouse (1985–86)
and specials
- Hanna-Barbera's All-Star Comedy Ice Revue (1978)
- Scooby Goes Hollywood (1979)
- Scooby-Doo Meets the Boo Brothers (1987)
- Scooby-Doo and the Ghoul School (1988)
- Scooby-Doo! and the Reluctant Werewolf (1988)
- Hanna-Barbera's 50th: A Yabba Dabba Doo Celebration (1989)
- Scooby-Doo! in Arabian Nights (1994)
- The Scooby-Doo Project (1999)
- Night of the Living Doo (2001)
- Scooby-Doo! Haunted Holidays (2012)
- Scooby-Doo! Mecha Mutt Menace (2013)
- Scooby-Doo! Ghastly Goals (2014)
- Scooby-Doo! and the Beach Beastie (2015)
- Lego Scooby-Doo! Knight Time Terror (2015)
- Scooby-Doo, Where Are You Now! (2021)
animated films
- Scooby-Doo on Zombie Island (1998)
- Scooby-Doo! and the Witch's Ghost (1999)
- Scooby-Doo and the Alien Invaders (2000)
- Scooby-Doo and the Cyber Chase (2001)
- Scooby-Doo! and the Legend of the Vampire (2003)
- Scooby-Doo! and the Monster of Mexico (2003)
- Scooby-Doo! and the Loch Ness Monster (2004)
- Aloha, Scooby-Doo! (2005)
- Scooby-Doo! in Where's My Mummy? (2005)
- Scooby-Doo! Pirates Ahoy! (2006)
- Chill Out, Scooby-Doo! (2007)
- Scooby-Doo! and the Goblin King (2008)
- Scooby-Doo! and the Samurai Sword (2009)
- Scooby-Doo! Abracadabra-Doo (2010)
- Scooby-Doo! Camp Scare (2010)
- Scooby-Doo! Legend of the Phantosaur (2011)
- Scooby-Doo! Music of the Vampire (2012)
- Big Top Scooby-Doo! (2012)
- Scooby-Doo! Mask of the Blue Falcon (2013)
- Scooby-Doo! Adventures: The Mystery Map (2013)
- Scooby-Doo! Stage Fright (2013)
- Scooby-Doo! WrestleMania Mystery (2014)
- Scooby-Doo! Frankencreepy (2014)
- Scooby-Doo! Moon Monster Madness (2015)
- Scooby-Doo! and Kiss: Rock and Roll Mystery (2015)
- Lego Scooby-Doo! Haunted Hollywood (2016)
- Scooby-Doo! and WWE: Curse of the Speed Demon (2016)
- Scooby-Doo! Shaggy's Showdown (2017)
- Lego Scooby-Doo! Blowout Beach Bash (2017)
- Scooby-Doo! & Batman: The Brave and the Bold (2018)
- Scooby-Doo! and the Gourmet Ghost (2018)
- Scooby-Doo! and the Curse of the 13th Ghost (2019)
- Scooby-Doo! Return to Zombie Island (2019)
- Happy Halloween, Scooby-Doo! (2020)
- Scooby-Doo! The Sword and the Scoob (2021)
- Straight Outta Nowhere: Scooby-Doo! Meets Courage the Cowardly Dog (2021)
- Trick or Treat Scooby-Doo! (2022)
- Scooby-Doo! and Krypto, Too! (2023)
Theatrical |
|
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TV movies | |
Direct-to-video |
|
- Scoob! (2020)
- Scoob! Holiday Haunt (unreleased)
- Scooby-Doo (1986)
- Scooby-Doo and Scrappy-Doo (1991)
- Scooby-Doo Mystery (1995)
- Scooby-Doo! Mystery of the Fun Park Phantom (1999)
- Scooby-Doo! Mystery Adventures (2000)
- Scooby-Doo! Classic Creep Capers (2000)
- Scooby-Doo and the Cyber Chase (2001)
- Scooby-Doo! Night of 100 Frights (2002)
- Scooby-Doo! Mystery Mayhem (2004)
- Scooby-Doo! Unmasked (2005)
- Scooby-Doo! Who's Watching Who? (2006)
- Scooby-Doo! First Frights (2009)
- Scooby-Doo! and the Spooky Swamp (2010)
- Lego Dimensions (2015)
- MultiVersus (2022)
- The Funtastic World of Hanna-Barbera (1990)
- Scooby's Ghoster Coaster (1998)
- Scooby-Doo's Haunted Mansion (2001)
- Scooby-Doo Spooky Coaster (2002)
- Scooby Apocalypse (2016–19)
- Scooby-Doo's Snack Tracks: The Ultimate Collection (1998)
- Scooby-Doo (2002)
- "Don't Wanna Think About You" (2004)
- Scoob! (2020)
- "Korn's Groovy Pirate Ghost Mystery" (1999)
- "Shaggy Busted" (2002)
- "One Hundred" (2010)
- Saturday Morning Mystery (2012)
- "Saturday Morning Fun Pit" (2013)
- The Demon Road Trilogy (2016)
- Meddling Kids (2017)
- Lost Mysteries
- Category