Giant Feral Cats to Scare on Screen
THE mystery big cat thought to prowl the Blue Mountains is set to star
in a horror movie.
A Sydney-based team will start filming in the coming months, drawing
inspiration from repeated sightings of the giant cat, whose existence
has yet to be officially verified.
Gone Missing will follow six friends on a camping trip who become
fodder for giant, feral cats.
Producer Kelvin Crumplin said a horror movie was "the only way we can
really get close to telling the story of these mystic beasts, which
seem to stalk communities all over the world".
"It's a story based on a myth that has many questions unanswered. It's
a bit like the prehistoric tree that they didn't find until a few
years ago - what else is out there?" he said.
Director and co-writer Ed Lyons is promising a horror fest, billing
the film as a cross between The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and An
American Werewolf in London.
Much of the film's $1.5 million budget has come from private investors
and local film companies. There are also hopes that two as yet
unsigned veteran Australian actors will have cameos.
The mystery of a large black cat in the Blue Mountains has grown with
each sighting, and has led to a one-hour special on the Discovery Channel.
"This thing has been taking down horses and dragging away the
carcasses of sheep. Just think what it can do to people," Lyons said.
"I think when people in rural areas, who have been warning about these
giant panthers, hear about the movie they will come out of the
woodwork and say, 'I told you so.' "
Lyons said he first came up with the idea for the movie on a bushwalk
with his girlfriend. "We were told about the big cats and giant
footprints before we left. About an hour in I started to realise that
I was quite scared and the movie idea was born."
"One thing is for sure, horror that is predicated on real events such
as this will certainly give people a scare."
Sydney Morning Herald: 21st May 2006
