To All The Rabid Actionites -
If you aren’t familiar with the Canadian filmmaking collective Astron-6 (which I wasn’t until very recently), then check out our piece here which introduces you to them.
From what I can gather, they are a group of craven geniuses intent on basking in the glories of shot-on-video films of the early 1990s and creating their own.
Manborg tells the story of a man, who becomes a borg. And in the meantime, he teams up with the resistence and becomes a secret weapon in the battle to defeat the hordes of Hell, which have over run our planet.
At a brisk 60 minutes and change, the concept is executed somewhat perfectly without ever overstaying its welcome. What is the concept, beyond the bonkers plot I just outlined?
Well, Astron-6′s Steven Kostanski implied that the budget of his labor of love fell somewhere around $1000 (Canadian). So what you have with Manborg is a sci-fi/comedy/action extravaganza shot on a budget that would make El Mariachi-era Robert Rodriguez himself do a spit take.
What I loved about Manborg was that (along with a totally off-kilter sense of humor that totally clicked with me) you have a visually inventive, wholly realized fantasy world to enjoy all the way through. From the stop motion effects of giant demonic creatures, to the laser-light hoverboards that our enemies ride, to the wonderfully ’90s era designs of the evil fortress of Count Draculon. A lot of love and a little deviance went into the creation of this film, and every sequence is packed with more unique visuals and non-sequiters than the films they are paying homage to!
The reaction of the crowd here at ActionFest suggests that Manborg has a bright future. And I can’t wait to see more feature-length work from Astron-6 and Steven Kostanski.
Bonus Feature
Festival Director Colin Geddes also treated us Actionites with a couple of Astron-6 shorts, including Lazer Ghosts 2: Return To Lazer Cove. Check out that short and all their others at their website.
And if you get a chance to see Manborg, take it. Or face the mighty wrath of Count Draculon.
And I’m Out.
