Since they first joined forces, Dennis Widmyer and Kevin Kölsch have gained an impressive level of experience from working on big budget Hollywood films to non-paying indie shorts. Learning the many assets of filmmaking and how they operate depending on the size of the production, they spent their days on movie sets and their nights pounding out feature-length screenplays for future development. In 2002, they formed Kinky Mule Films, a company to showcase their writing and directing abilities.
Kinky Mule Film's first project was a feature length documentary on best-selling author Chuck Palahniuk (Fight Club, Choke) titled Postcards From The Future: The Chuck Palahniuk Documentary (more here). Shot on location in Edinboro, Pennsylvania, the film documents Palahniuk's landmark year of 2003, with the release of two new books and the unveiling of two world tours. Dennis and Kevin premiered the film in Portland, Oregon to a sold-out crowd and the DVD continues to sell successfully on Chuck Palahniuk's official website.
In the summer of 2005, Dennis and Kevin turned their attention back to narrative feature film with Absence¸ a low-budget thriller shot on location around Long Island, New York. Absence tells the story of a kidnapping in an idyllic suburb and how it affects three very different people, each with their own motives. The film was shot on a collage of formats. Everything from Mini DV, Super 8mm, still photography and 35mm were incorporated to tell a disturbing tale of redemption and tragedy. The film had its debut at The Long Island Film Festival and later went on to take two nominations at the Eerie Horror Film Festival. Absence recently underwent a new cut and played to a near sold-out crowd at the Action On Film International Film Festival in Pasadena, CA. The film is currently seeking distribution.
Soon after, Kevin and Dennis turned their attention back to a number of polished scripts that had long been gestating in the nether: Presence, about a Manhattan shut-in who becomes obsessed with the girl living across the hall from him, took the semi-finalist position at WriteMovies.com's script competition. Our Lady Of Sorrow, a dark mystery set among an urban-legend-saturated town where women go missing, was read and reviewed by author Chuck Palahniuk who called it, "A magnificent first." Gerry Chandler, president of Synapse Films, later commented that it was among the top ten best scripts he had ever read. The duo then turned it up a notch with ...And Hell Came With Him, a rip-roaring Western about a corrupt lawman who sets out to destroy the life of a drifter who wanders into his town. All the above scripts are seeking option and are making the rounds at various festivals and production offices.
2007/2008 proved to be a prolific time for Kevin and Dennis. The two decided it was time for a make-over Thus, Kinky Mule Films became Parallactic Pictures. This make-over, and a renewed sense of drive and aim, set the team off on their most productive years to date. They started strong with the writing of Shed, a tense horror script about a young couple who discover a kidnapped girl, bound and gagged in the shed of the cabin they're spending the weekend in. Shed has so far gone on to win 2007 The Eerie Horror Film Festival and 2007 Great Lakes Film Festival. In 2008, it continued its streak by placing in the quarter-finals of Scriptapalooza and The Page International Screenwriting Awards. And last year it scored the semi-finalist position at the 2008 Screamfest script competition, one of the the most prestigious horror festivals in the country.
With an arsenal of polished spec scripts at the ready, Parallactic Pictures focused the remainder of 2008 on a number of diverse short films. Partnering up with filmmaker Brian James Fitzpatrick, Dennis Widmyer co-directed Throwaway, a vicious little film about the perils of talking to bums. Throwaway proved such an effective film, that Ryan Daley of Bloody-Disgusting.com called it a "a tight, compelling little nightmare about a young woman's repeated encounters with a loud and intimidating homeless man that trumps anything featured in one of those listless Fangoria short film compilations currently available on DVD."
In June, Kevin Kolsch decided to take the directing helm solo with EXT. LIFE, a dark, surreal coming-of-age story about a young actress' desperate urge to escape the monotony of her life. Dennis stepped in to produce the film, which has recently been completed and is now being submitted to festivals With two short films produced in the Spring, you think the duo would take the summer to rest. Not so. In August, they plowed right into their next venture. Identical Dead Sisters tells the tale of a young woman seeking revenge against the seedy pimp that murdered her twin sister. Identical Dead Sisters is now complete and can be viewed on this site in its entirety. Watch it here.
In the fall of 2009, Kevin and Dennis wrote and directed two short 'bumper' films for the 2009 Filmmaking Frenzy. This is an contest whereby over 50 filmmakers submitted bumpers to be considered for the 2009 Fantastic Fest in Austin, TX. Both of their bumpers, ICE CREAM!!! and Demon Cat received some of the best reviews online, and ICE CREAM!!! quickly became the most viewed video on the entire site and the highest ranked video in the festival.
Currently for 2010, Kevin and Dennis are polishing up a new draft of Shed, to be developed as their next feature film. They have also recently completed their 2010 Director's Reel, which you can view here!