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KillRoy Was Here

Not to be confused with Kilroy was here.

KillRoy Was Here
Official teaser image
Directed byKevin Smith
Screenplay by
  • Kevin Smith
  • Andrew McElfresh
Based onKilroy was here
by United States servicemen
Produced by
  • Andrew McElfresh
  • Tony Stopperan
  • Joseph Restaino
  • Nick Morgulis
  • Adam Yeremian
Starring
CinematographyBrandon D. Hyde
Edited byBrian Chamberlain
Music bySimon Taufique
Production
companies
Distributed byLegendao
Release date
  • July 12, 2022 (2022-07-12)
Running time
63 minutes[1]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$1 million[2]

KillRoy Was Here is a 2022 American comedy horror anthology film[3] directed by Kevin Smith and written by Smith and Andrew McElfresh. The film stars Azita Ghanizada, Ryan O'Nan, Harley Quinn Smith, Chris Jericho, Justin Kucsulain, Jason Mewes, and Ralph Garman.[4]

The film was released as 5,555 exclusive non-fungible tokens on July 12, 2022, on Legendao, Secret Network's NFT minting platform. It is the first feature film to be released as an NFT.[5]

Premise

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The film is a comedy horror anthology centred around the phenomenon of the "Kilroy was here" graffiti.[3]

In the wrap around, a teenager tries to scare a child by telling her about legends involving Killroy and to never ever say his name 3 times. When the teenager finds out her boyfriend has been cheating on her, she tricks the child into killing her boyfriend thinking it’s Kilroy, only to reveal it was to save herself from blame. Soon after, Killroy appears and kills the teenager. The child managing to summon Killroy for real. After the killing the child takes Killroy's hand and he leads her into the nearby dark forest, their fate unknown.

In the first story, a mother poisons her daughter for multiple years in order to pull off a charity scam, talking to the news and churches in order to get false donations for their sick daughter. The daughter, confused about whats happening with her, looks up the plant used in the tea her mom makes is poisonous. At a church meeting where her mother is raising funds, the daughter reveals the truth to everyone and kills herself in the name of Killroy, who soon appears and kills everyone in the building.

In the second story, a woman attempts to put on a play at an elementary school, where one of the children tells her that another performer keeps trying to summon Killroy. When the woman looks more into the legend, she learns that Killroy is used by parents in the town to scare their children into behaving. When she sneaks into the school to investigate further, she uncovers hundreds of drawings and stories about Killroy, spiraling into insanity, its soon revealed to be a prank set up by the Janitor in order to scare her, revealing that once a year: Students disappear and, in order to save themselves, make a deal with Killroy to trick an adult into summoning him so he can claim a sacrifice. Killroy appears suddenly, killing her and becoming more powerful.

In the third story, a priest takes children on a road trip to a camp site, but things take a turn when the children catch him smoking weed while driving, and a gas station cashier warns the boys that if anything bad happens, to summon Killroy. Making a different turn than the one to the campsite, the priest and children arrive at a motel, where its revealed that the priest is a part of a pedophilia ring of priests that take immigrant children with parents in legal limbo and sell them to pedophiles. The boys summon Killroy when the priest start to attack, who quickly kills the priest.

In the fourth and final story, presented as a found footage film, a southern live streamer lures gay men for sex, then shames them on camera by insulting and attacking them, while viewers laugh. After shaming someone on a live stream, the victim commits suicide and the streamer holds a celebration stream for it, showing no remorse. Soon, the streamer is kidnapped and tied to a tree, where it's revealed that the victim's wife found the stream and wants revenge by feeding him to gators, but the streamer summoning Killroy before his death. Soon after the incident, Killroy appears and ties the wife to the same tree, killing her as well.

Cast

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Production

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Development

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In April 2014, Kevin Smith announced the Christmas-themed horror movie Anti-Claus, with a script based on the episode The Christmas Special of his Edumacation podcast.[10] The script was co-written by his Edumacation co-host Andrew McElfresh, marking it the first script Smith collaborated on with another writer. Filming was initially scheduled for September 2014, with Tusk (2014) actors Justin Long, Michael Parks, and Haley Joel Osment returning as cast.[10] The movie centered around the European folklore figure Krampus, a devil-esque creature who punishes naughty children.[11]

The film is a horror anthology based on the graffiti phenomenon that Smith directed,[12] based on a script co-written by him and Andrew McElfresh, marking the first time he shares writing credit on one of his movies.[13][14] The script is a retooling of their Anti-Claus movie, which was initially cancelled after the release of Krampus (2015) due to the similar story.[15]

Filming

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Principal photography began on June 15, 2017, in Sarasota, Florida, with Brandon D. Hyde serving as cinematographer.[16][17] The film also shot scenes in areas around Ringling College of Art and Design and Nathan Benderson Park, before moving to Longboat Key.[18] In January 2018, Azita Ghanizada, Ryan O'Nan, Justin Kucsulain, Kathryn Parks, Brendan Ragen, Michael Perez, and Cindy De La Cruz were confirmed to be starring in the film,[8] while Andrew McElfresh, Tony Stopperan, Joe Restaino, Nick Morgulis, Jordan Monsanto, and Adam Yeremian signed on as producers.[19] In the same month, Smith's daughter, Harley Quinn Smith, joined the cast.[20] In August 2018, Chris Jericho was confirmed to star in the film,[21][22][23][24] before filming wrapped in October 2018.[25]

Post-production

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In April 2020, Smith revealed that the tone and style of KillRoy Was Here were inspired by Creepshow (1982), another comedy horror anthology film.[26] Robert Kurtzman designed the titular character, describing it as a "long-nosed monster".[9] Simon Taufique was revealed to have composed the score for the film.[27] By April 2022, Jason Mewes and Ralph Garman were confirmed to appear in the film.[28]

Release

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In February 2020, before the COVID-19 lockdowns, the film was set for a 2020 theatrical release.[29][30] In July 2020, during San Diego Comic-Con@Home, Smith indicated that the theatrical release had been pushed back to 2021.[31][32][33][34] In April 2021, it was announced that the film would be released exclusively as a non-fungible token (NFT).[35] The film's distribution rights were set to be auctioned off in May 2022 at Jay and Silent Bob's Crypto Studio.[36] KillRoy Was Here was ultimately released via NFT minting platform Legendao as 5,555 exclusive tokens on July 12, 2022.[37][38]

References

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  1. ^ "'KillRoy Was Here' (2022)". The Numbers. Retrieved November 25, 2023.
  2. ^ Napoli, Jessica (April 22, 2021). "Filmmaker Kevin Smith to release 'Killroy Was Here' movie as NFT". Fox Business. Retrieved December 10, 2021.
  3. ^ a b Drum, Nicole (January 2, 2018). "Kevin Smith Shares Photo From Set of His New Movie". ComicBook.com. Retrieved July 16, 2019.
  4. ^ Hough, Q.V. (October 24, 2019). "Upcoming Kevin Smith Movies". Screen Rant. Retrieved October 27, 2019.
  5. ^ Lindahl, Chris (April 6, 2022). "Kevin Smith's 'KillRoy Was Here' Will Be Exclusively Available to 1,000 NFT Holders (with a total supply of 5,555. Remaining editions in treasury)". IndieWire. Retrieved April 14, 2022.
  6. ^ Burwick, Kevin (August 16, 2018). "WWE Superstar Chris Jericho Joins Kevin Smith's 'Killroy Was Here'". MovieWeb. Retrieved July 16, 2019.
  7. ^ Burwick, Kevin (March 14, 2019). "WWE Superstar Chris Jericho Bodyslams the Set of 'Jay & Silent Bob Reboot'". MovieWeb. Retrieved July 16, 2019.
  8. ^ a b Squires, John (January 8, 2018). "First Look at the Villain in Kevin Smith's 'Killroy Was Here'". Bloody Disgusting. Retrieved July 16, 2019.
  9. ^ a b "Kevin Smith previewing new Horror film 'Killroy was Here' and more in Virtual Comic Con panel". Indie Mac User. July 13, 2020. Retrieved July 22, 2020.
  10. ^ a b Sneider, Jeff (April 28, 2014). "Kevin Smith Casts 'Tusk' Stars in Christmas-Themed Horror Movie 'Anti-Claus'". TheWrap. Retrieved July 16, 2019.
  11. ^ Brew, Simon (April 29, 2014). "Kevin Smith to make Christmas horror film, 'Anti-Claus'". Den of Geek. Dennis Publishing. Archived from the original on July 16, 2019. Retrieved July 16, 2019.
  12. ^ Hough, Q.V. (October 9, 2019). "'Clerks III' Story Is Inspired by Kevin Smith's Real-Life Heart Attack". Screen Rant. Retrieved October 27, 2019.
  13. ^ Goldberg, Matt (June 15, 2017). "Kevin Smith's 'Comes the Krampus' Is Now the Horror Anthology 'Killroy Was Here'". Collider. Retrieved July 16, 2019.
  14. ^ Fraser, Kevin (June 15, 2017). "Kevin Smith's New Horror Anthology 'Killroy Was Here' Begins Shooting". JoBlo.com. Retrieved July 16, 2019.
  15. ^ Suzanne-Mayer, Dominick (June 15, 2017). "Kevin Smith's 'Krampus' film is now an anthology called 'Killroy Was Here', production now underway". Consequence of Sound. Consequence Holdings, LLC. Retrieved July 16, 2019.
  16. ^ Giroux, Jack (June 15, 2017). "Kevin Smith's Monster Movie 'Killroy Was Here' Begins Filming At A Florida College". /Film. Retrieved July 16, 2019.
  17. ^ McNary, Dave (June 15, 2017). "Kevin Smith Filming Horror Movie 'Killroy Was Here' at Florida College". Variety. Penske Media Corporation. Retrieved July 16, 2019.
  18. ^ Geurts, Jimmy (August 3, 2018). "Kevin Smith returns to finish filming 'Killroy Was Here' in Sarasota with Ringling students". Jacksonville Daily News. Gannett. Retrieved June 7, 2020.
  19. ^ "First Look at Kevin Smith's Horror Anthology, 'Killroy Was Here'". MovieWeb. January 3, 2018. Retrieved July 16, 2019.
  20. ^ Sprague, Mike (January 6, 2018). "Kevin Smith's Daughter Harley Quinn Smith Joins His New Film 'Killroy Was Here'". Dread Central. Retrieved July 16, 2019.
  21. ^ Collinson, Gary (August 19, 2018). "Chris Jericho to star in Kevin Smith's horror anthology 'Killroy Was Here'". Flickering Myth. Retrieved July 16, 2019.
  22. ^ Collinson, Gary (March 16, 2019). "'Jay and Silent Bob Reboot' adds Shannon Elizabeth, Chris Jericho and more". Flickering Myth. Retrieved July 16, 2019.
  23. ^ Quarrinton, Norm (March 14, 2019). "Chris Jericho Films Cameo In 'Jay And Silent Bob Reboot'". Pro Wrestling Sheet. Retrieved July 24, 2019.
  24. ^ Squires, John (August 15, 2018). "Wrestling Legend Chris Jericho Joins Kevin Smith's Horror Anthology 'Killroy Was Here'". Bloody Disgusting. Retrieved July 16, 2019.
  25. ^ Geurts, Jimmy (October 22, 2018). "Ringling College brings filmmakers to Sarasota despite loss of Florida tax incentives". Daily Commercial. Gannett. Retrieved July 16, 2019.
  26. ^ Cavanaugh, Patrick (April 7, 2020). "Kevin Smith Compares His New Horror Anthology to 'Creepshow'". ComicBook.com. Retrieved May 28, 2020.
  27. ^ "Clients | Simon TaufiQue - Composer". Musiquetaufique.com. Retrieved July 10, 2022.
  28. ^ Collinson, Gary (April 6, 2022). "Kevin Smith to sell horror anthology KillRoy Was Here as NFTs, new trailer released". Flickering Myth. Retrieved July 15, 2022.
  29. ^ Geurts, Jimmy (February 25, 2020). "Kevin Smith returns to Sarasota to visit Ringling College". Sarasota Herald-Tribune. Gannett. Retrieved March 12, 2020.
  30. ^ Hamman, Cody (February 26, 2020). "Kevin Smith's Horror Anthology 'Killroy Was Here' Aiming For Fall Release". JoBlo.com. Retrieved March 27, 2020.
  31. ^ Bui, Hoai-Tran (July 27, 2020). "'Killroy Was Here' Trailer: Kevin Smith Unveils Schlocky Comedy-Horror Anthology Movie". Slash Film. Retrieved July 28, 2020.
  32. ^ Johnston, Rich (July 12, 2020). "Kevin Smith Unveils 'Killroy Was Here' and Funko POP at Comic-Con@Home". Bleeding Cool. Avatar Press. Retrieved July 13, 2020.
  33. ^ Burwick, Kevin (July 25, 2020). "'Killroy Was Here' Trailer Comes to Comic-Con from Kevin Smith". MovieWeb. Retrieved July 26, 2020.
  34. ^ Crow, David (July 25, 2020). "Kevin Smith Reveals Trailer for New Film 'Killroy Was Here'". Den of Geek. Retrieved July 26, 2020.
  35. ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (April 13, 2021). "Kevin Smith To Sell Horror Movie 'Killroy Was Here' As NFT, Launches Jay And Silent Bob's Crypto Studio". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved April 14, 2021.
  36. ^ Alexander, Bryan (April 15, 2022). "Kevin Smith reveals why he's auctioning off new his film 'Killroy Was Here' as an NFT". USA Today. Retrieved April 23, 2022.
  37. ^ Grobar, Matt (April 6, 2022). "Kevin Smith Partners With Secret Network's Legendao On Distribution Of 'KillRoy Was Here', First Film Minted As NFT". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved April 14, 2022.
  38. ^ Jirak, Jamie (July 13, 2022). "KillRoy Was Here: Kevin Smith's NFT Movie Released". ComicBook.com. Retrieved July 14, 2022.
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