DEE SNIDER's 'Strangeland' Sequel To Be Shot In Cleveland

Mark Gillispie of The Plain Dealer reports that a Cleveland City Council committee on Tuesday (March 9) approved $1.2 million in loan guarantees for three planned feature-length films produced by Nehst Studios, a New York-based production company that has established an office in Cleveland.

On of the three films is "Strangeland: Disciple", the much-anticipated follow-up to "Strangeland" (1998),which TWISTED SISTER frontman Dee Snider wrote and starred in as antagonist Captain Howdy.

The movie will be shot in Cleveland and its suburbs, said Nehst chairman Larry Meistrich. Production will begin once all the details have been finalized, he said.

Greater Cleveland is ideal for moviemaking because of its lower cost of living and its ability to stand in for a number of disparate locations, Meistrich said.

"Within 40 miles of midtown Cleveland, you can find suburbs, ghettos, farmland, sports stadiums and a waterfront," Meistrich said. "That doesn't exist in a lot of places."

In a February 2009 interview with FlickDirect, Snider stated about "Strangeland: Disciple", "'Hostel' and 'Saw' are children of 'Strangeland'. Before that, there was no torture genre; everyone was still beating the dead horse being chased and dying of 'Halloween'. The idea of being torn into had not been developed yet.

"I did a Fangoria radio show, dedicated to the world of horror; and the makers of 'Hostel' and 'Saw' would talk about how they loved 'Strangeland'. With 'Strangeland: Disciple', I'm going to take my crown back. That calls for a really intense effort on the part of the script.

"It is the graphic nature of 'Strangeland: Disciple'. It will be NC-17. We can allow ourselves to focus more on things happening to the subjects. We don't have to cut away so rapidly — so rabidly. 'R' leaves a lot to the imagination. I tend to leave a lot less to the imagination."

Regarding his decision to shoot for an NC-17 rating NC-17 from the MPAA's ratings board for "Strangeland: Disciple", Snider said, "I wanted to make the first one NC-17, but the company making the picture said, 'No, you can't. You won't get any screens. When did you last see an NC-17 movie at the multiplex?'

"There is a conservative undercurrent in this country that won't allow [this type of movie] to be seen. Their view is that the rating is to protect the public, not educate them.

"I know, from experience, that kids are buying tickets to 'Snow White' or whatever and sneaking in to see R-rated films. So we toned down 'Strangeland'. With 'Strangeland: Disciple', we are doing the reverse of what is going on today — which is to release the R-rated movie in the theaters and then do the unrated director's cut on DVD.

"When 'The Exorcist' came out, it only showed in New York and L.A. The word spread about this insane movie. The first cut was a lot more intense, with more subliminal cuts and things like the spider-walk that got taken out of the release version. People were passing out in the theater.

"We're going to do the initial screenings with NC-17, and then a wider release at 'R.' People will be going, 'You have to see the original.'

"I'm not making an intense picture for the purpose of making an intense picture. It's reality-based. The first one was also; when I wrote it, Internet crime didn't exist. In the last movie, Captain Howdy appears to burn to death — he is on fire. When you see how he survives, people will go, 'Oh crap, I get that!' It is reality-based."