User:Cindyinmaine/Polonia brothers

Polonia Brothers Mark and John Polonia (b. 9/30/1968 in Wellsboro, PA) are twin brothers who made and released over 30 films, mostly in the genre of horror, and who are now film cult icons. John Polonia passed away suddenly at the age of 39 on February 25, 2008. Mark then continued to make films with childhood friend and longtime film collaborator Matt Satterly, through their production company Cinegraphic Productions. Sadly, Matt also passed away on May 23, 2009. The youngest of five siblings, the brothers were interested in film, and were making films, from a very early age. Their first commercial release was the notorious 'Splatter Farm', released on VHS by Donna Michele Productions in 1987, a shot-on-video offering which found an audience more for its audacity than for its technical virtues. Written, acted, directed and filmed by the teenage brothers and a high school friend, Splatter Farm offers a combination of slow-moving home-movie-like sequences with unflinching depictions of cannibalism, murder, assorted sexual perversions, homosexual rape, torture and dismemberment. Altho 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 #1 independent-film rental for the year. 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. In 2007 they released a new and improved cut of Splatter Farm, on DVD through Camp Motion Pictures. 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. Polonia films have drawn the ire of many critics for their alleged 'amateur' qualities. Yet those same qualities are what draw their fans, and the fans are as passionate as the detractors .

Polonia Brothers Entertainment and Cinegraphic Productions released HalloweeNight, based on a screenplay of, and dedicated to the memory of, the late John Polonia, in October of 2009.

Filmography: 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; not yet released Saurians; not yet released 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; not yet released 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; released 2003 on Brentwood 4-pack 'Spawn of the Devil' Bad Magic; out of print, originally released by Sub Rosa Studios The House that Screamed: released 2000 Sub Rosa Studios Dweller; released 2004 on Brentwood 4-pack 'Sleazy Slashers' Dinosaur Chronicles; released 2004 on Brentwood 4-pack 'Galaxy of Terror' Blood Red Planet; released 2005 on Brentwood 4-pack 'Galaxy of Terror' Night Thirst; released 2004 on Brentwood 4-pack 'Sleazy Slashers' Hellgate: The House that Screamed 2; released 2001 Sub Rosa Studios Gorrilla 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 (aka Dead Knight); released Cine Excel Entertainment in Japan Wildcat; released Cine Excel Entertainment in Japan Splatter Beach; released 2007 Camp Motion Pictures Forest Primeval; released 2008 Tempe Entertainment Monster Movie; released 2008 Tempe Entertainment HalloweeNight: released 2009 (self distributed) Links: Official website: http://www.cinegraphicprod.com

HalloweeNight: http://www.halloweennightmovie.com