CONCEPT
Inspired by the spirit of 80's films and music, BLOOD MACHINES is a 50-minute science-fiction film written and directed by Seth Ickerman, scored by the synthwave artist Carpenter Brut. It is the sequel to the music video TURBO KILLER, their first collaboration.
STORY
Two space hunters are tracking down a machine trying to free itself. After taking it down, they witness a mystical phenomenon: the ghost of a young woman pulling herself out of the machine, as if the spaceship had a soul. Trying to understand the nature of this entity, they start chasing the woman through space...
CHARACTERS AND ACTORS
VASCAN - Anders Heinrichsen
Captain of the spaceship, Vascan is a "blade runner" who tracks down machines taken over by its artificial intelligence. In his 40's, he can be quite brutal as he takes pleasure in abusing and humiliating the machines.
When the story takes a supernatural turn, his rational personality prevents him from having any fear. An ambitious and talented hunter, he will not hesitate to risk it all in order to reach his goal.
MIMA- Joëlle Berckmans
Present in TURBO KILLER, Mima is the female ghost escaping from the machine, leading the space hunters' chase. She is a breathtakingly beautiful creature, transfigured by an unreal sensuality with graceful gestures.
COREY - Elisa Lasowski
Corey is a strange priestess who protects the machines. She leads a group of priestesses with an iron fist. Still, behind angelic features, Corey may hide a part of darkness.
LAGO - Christian Erickson
In the spaceship, Lago is Vascan's partner. In his late 60's, with a big white beard and a face wrinkled by the passing of time, Lago is a veteran full of wisdom and empathy.
As a mechanic, he looks after the machines and develops a special relationship with them. Lago is a sensitive man inclined to spirituality. At the end of his life, he wonders about the afterlife.
TURBO KILLER
TURBO KILLER IN THE MEDIA:
"Holy fuck. This may be my favorite video of 2016 and we’ve still got over half the year to go!" - Bloody Disgusting
"This is absolutely fantastic stuff and should those involved ever have the urge to expand it out you can be damn sure I'd drop my money to watch that film" - Screen Anarchy
"Usually, we do not post music videos, but this video is that awesome" - Hell Horror
"Rosemary's Baby meets Tron" - Movie Pilot
"One of the coolest and most epic music video of all time" - Geeks Are Sexy
"Turbo Killer is a shot to the technofuturist's heart" - The Creator's Project / Vice
ABOUT US
We are two French directors, working for more than 10 years under the pseudonym of Seth Ickerman. We started with the 50-minute film KAYDARA, inspired by The Matrix’s universe. Produced with a limited budget, Kaydara attracted a large audience when released online. Since then, we have worked on various projects as directors for companies such as LG, Ubisoft and Samsung, and directed the music video Turbo Killer in 2016 for Carpenter Brut. We are now developing our first science-fiction feature film ICKERMAN. We released Ickerman's proof of concept online which has received more than 1 500 000 views.
CARPENTER BRUT
In 2012, Carpenter Brut released EP I. His success was striking, especially with the music video Le Perv, a tribute to Fabio Fulci and the 80's slashers. After EP II, marked by Roller Mobster, Carpenter released EP III closing his trilogy. Turbo Killer is part of this last opus, with Seth Ickerman’s music video being a true synthesis of Carpenter Brut’s universe - developed through the three albums.
Carpenter Brut was influenced by many 80's TV shows and B-movies stuffed with synthesizers. Shrouded in mystery, the man represented by a Pentagon pays homage to the post-hippies, metal and electro culture, with a unique and striking sound. One of the leaders of the retro new wave, his music is also present in many famous video games such as Furi, Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number and The Crew (Ubisoft).
Blood Machines’ soundtrack is out!
SHUDDER
SHUDDER, AMC Networks’ premium service for genre films and series, has been our partner since the beginning.
It is exclusively streaming BLOOD MACHINES in North America, the UK and Ireland.
Other territories to be announced...
NFT CAMPAIGN
KICKSTARTER CAMPAIGN
BLOOD MACHINES was made possible thanks to two Kickstarter campaigns.
This success came as a HUGE surprise for all of us.
When the directors pitched the project before the campaign, many people responded with: « It's too crazy for a short film », «Synthwave is such a small phenomenon », etc.
Even with the success of the campaign, the mountain was not easy to climb. We officially launched the project, and a few months later the production began. A challenging endeavor as the project had the ambition of a big Hollywood production - but with the budget of an indie film.
Used to making movies in their garage, the directors’ experience was useful as they put their hands to work, surrounding themselves with passionate people who did a lot with very little. The sets, sometimes huge, required several months of work.
Surrounded by a highly-motivated team, the directors worked hard on each scene and managed to shoot enough material to make a longer film than expected. Blood Machines, which was supposed to last only 30 minutes, is now almost 50 minutes long!
