NEWS

“Reader Beware: You’re in for a Scare” is how I used to start my Halloween. But this year, I did it a little differently.

Ogden’s award-winning director Ryan McDonald has been on the festival circuit for the past year with his newest short film, “Ancient Evil: FrankenCock,” the latest installment of the Ancient Evil series by New Ogden Cinema. “FrankenCock is the second in the series he directed after “Ancient Evil: Moon's Blood.” Both are filled with gore, monsters, and comedy. 

McDonald started his film career after a ninth-grade meeting with his school counselors to discuss his high school career path. He thought about being a cop because of Dick Tracy, or a lawyer until “Regarding Henry,” or a spy like James Bond, then realized what he wanted to do was make movies, especially writing. 

He started taking TV courses — film courses were not available then — and saved up for a camera to recreate famous film scenes. The first film he ever made was called “The Smell of Napalm,” utilizing fireworks and plastic army men in his backyard, inspired by movies such as “Apocalypse Now” and “Platoon.”

When McDonald graduated high school he attended the University of Florida and got a degree in film. He then returned to Utah and settled in Ogden as a Utah filmmaker. Originally, the plan was to go to California but McDonald became a true Ogdenite, getting involved downtown with Perry’s Egyptian Theater and Ogden’s Big Lebowski Festival, which is coming to Ogden on Nov. 9 for its 10th anniversary.

Before his last two Ancient Evil horror films, McDonald made “talking heads” — dialogue-heavy short films where the actors and the drama shine. Part of the reason was budget and learning to make movies with what you have to work with, but he always added a dark comedy twist to his films.

McDonald’s friends were making horror films, and he acted in a few before making his scary shorts with blood, gore, twists, and, yes, even humor. However, it wasn’t just his friends encouraging him, but his wife, too. 

”She’s a big fan of my work, which is always great,” he said. “If she’s laughing then I know that it was gold.”

I have to agree. Watching the movies brought me back to watching the original Evil Dead series with my dad around Halloween. The creepy themes, the gore, the twists, and the comedy all pulled “Moon’s Blood” and “FrankenCock” into a refreshing and nostalgic film experience perfect for an irreverent Halloween movie night. 

McDonald’s horror films are not only great short flicks to watch with your friends – they’re award-winning. “Moons Blood” won best special effects thanks to his special effects creator Shawn Gordon, and best director. FrankenCock won five out of the seven categories at the Chicago Film Festival, including Best Actor, Best Short Film, and Best Special Effects. At other festivals, it won audience choice, best score, best director, best film, and, once again, best special effects. 

If you like horror, gore, and irreverent morbid comedy, you don’t have to take my word for it. As the awards suggest, both movies are worth the time. 

McDonald said there may be a follow-up to the Ancient Evil series. He’s happy making horror comedies but says he’s looking into other genres: crime dramas, romances, and other films fit into his talking-head works. But that does not mean the end of FrankenCock or WolfMan. He’s considering making a feature-length film where the two meet.

One of McDonald’s other goals resonates with me as a movie fan. He entered FrankenCock into a film festival hosted by my favorite director Kevin Smith. 

“Even though we didn’t make it this year, we’re happy we had a film to submit and it’s still a goal to create something zany enough that could make it for next season,” McDonald said. 

Whatever the future holds for McDonald, whether it be a feature-length film of FrankenCock meets the Wolfman, or he gets to show off for Kevin Smith, I look forward to what comes next. And I’ll always appreciate these new Halloween classics. Watch ‘FrankenCock’ below and the rest of the Ancient Evil series on New Ogden Cinema’s YouTube channel.