The Demon - Day 8, Scene 45, Shot 2, Take 2

As we first posted a couple of weeks ago, the film, "Demon: Story of Chupacabra", tells the story of El Chupacabra, the "goat-sucker," who supposedly sucks the blood out of its prey, mostly goats, sheep, and small animals.

Curious that a film crew was spending nearly two weeks creating a movie on our Lido Key... your editors visited "The Demon's" outdoor location on Saturday, September 3rd. The set was nestled in the Australian pine forest behind north Lido beach, between Emerson Street and Westway Drive. The area is supposed to represent a swamp in the middle of Florida. Both George Tatge, manager of Sarasota County Beaches, Parks and Recreation, and Police Captain Sutton worked with the crew in overseeing and approving the location.

Scene 45 had an actor, armed with a real AK-47 but no ammunition, who, upon waking up, discovers his partner missing and begins to stealthily search for her. In the next scene, the actor's search is over when he finds and is sickened by the sight of his partner's decomposing body. The crew cleverly devised a way for the actor to realistically vomit during multiple takes by having him vigorously chew peanut butter cheese crackers washed down with Coca-Cola. All-in-all a bit unsavory.

David Zietz, a producer and full-time Sarasota resident, introduced us to director Rob Walker. Walker is a very jovial Englishman with 20-years experience in the theater, an author of 12 plays, director of many Shakespearen productions and TV miniseries as well as films such as "Circus" from 2000, starring Famke Jannsen and Eddie Izzard.

The production headed to Ruskin, Florida on Monday, filming chase scenes with 3 airboats. Tuesday they wrapped up the filming back in Sarasota. Then the post-production phase begins, editing the sound, music and visual effects to create the final film. This stage takes up to several months to complete, usually longer than the actual shooting of the film.

The cast and crew said they were thrilled to shoot "Demon" in Sarasota, especially because the city was so extremely cooperative and supportive. Of the two film companies involved, Canyon Pictures from Arizona and Ocean Productions based in Orlando, Ocean is planning to move its entire operation to Sarasota in the near future. Looking forward to our close-ups! ~ JM + BT

"Take 2 on North Lido Beach!"

Demon director Rob Walker consults with the cinematographer

Walker directs the next scene

Eating crackers to help simulate getting "sick"