Brian Yuzna
Yuzna in 2022
Born
Manila, Philippines
NationalityAmerican
Occupation(s)Film producer
film director
screenwriter
SpouseCathy Cherry Yuzna
Children5, including Logan Yuzna

Brian Yuzna is an American producer, director, and writer. He is best known for his work in the science fiction and horror film genres. Yuzna began his career as a producer for several films by director Stuart Gordon, such as Re-Animator (1985) and From Beyond (1986), before making his directorial debut with the satirical body horror film Society (1989).

He also served as a co-writer for the comedy Honey, I Shrunk the Kids (1989). Yuzna was the first American filmmaker to adapt a manga, Bio Booster Armor Guyver, into a live-action feature, The Guyver (1991). He has helmed several adaptations of the work of H. P. Lovecraft, and has assisted many first time directors, including Stuart Gordon, Christophe Gans, and Luis De La Madrid, in getting their projects made.

Early life

Yuzna was born in Manila, Philippines, to American parents.[1][2] He grew up in Nicaragua, Puerto Rico, and Panama, before moving to the United States in the 1960s, settling in Atlanta, Georgia.[1] Yuzna was raised a Roman Catholic.[1] Throughout the 1970s, Yuzna lived on a commune in North Carolina and worked jobs as a carpenter and at a restaurant.[1]

Career

Yuzna began his career as a producer, co-producing the horror films Re-Animator (1985), From Beyond (1986), and Dolls (1987) for his friend, director Stuart Gordon.[3] He also co-wrote From Beyond.[4] The same year, Yuzna co-wrote the comedy Honey, I Shrunk the Kids alongside Gordon. In 1989, he made his directorial debut with the satirical body horror film Society, which focuses on a wealthy Beverly Hills community who are of a mutant species who feed on the social classes beneath them.[5]

Yuzna went on to direct a series of horror sequels, including Bride of Re-Animator (1990), Silent Night, Deadly Night 4: Initiation (1990), and Return of the Living Dead 3 (1993),[6] before directing The Dentist (1996), a horror film about a murderous Los Angeles dentist who dentally tortures his victims.[7] Yuzna also directed its sequel, The Dentist 2 (1998).[8]

Having collected a large following in Europe, Yuzna started Fantastic Factory, with Julio Fernández, a label under the Barcelona film company Filmax, in the early-2000s. His goal was to produce "modestly budgeted genre (horror, science fiction, fantasy) films for the international market (shot in English language) using genre talent from all around the world and to develop local talent".[9]

He was last working as the producer of the Wehrmacht zombie movie Worst Case Scenario, directed by Richard Raaphorst, which takes place after a fictional World Cup 2006 finale between Germany and Netherlands where Germany loses and seeks revenge with a zombie invasion. In May 2009, it was announced that this project was dead.[10] The film eventually became Frankenstein's Army and was released in 2013. After four years, he returned to the director's chair and filmed Amphibious 3-D[11] which stars Michael Paré and Francis Magee.[12][13]

In 2014, in Hollywood, the Cinefamily screened and celebrated the 25th anniversary of Honey, I Shrunk the Kids with Yuzna as guest of honor.[14] In 2015, a retrospective of his work of 30 years, Brian Yuzna, A Retrospective, was presented and screened at the theater in the Soho House West Hollywood, curated by Diana Lado and produced by Logan Yuzna.[15] In 2016, a new Yuzna-directed film was announced, The Plastic Surgeon, starring Corbin Bernsen and producer by Yuzna's production house, Dark Arts Entertainment.[16]

Distinctions

Personal life

He is married to Cathy Cherry Yuzna. They have four children: Conan Yuzna, Zoe Yuzna, Noah Yuzna and Logan Yuzna. He also has a daughter, Mercedes Bauer / Mercedes Perez-Bode from a previous relationship.

Filmography

Year Title Director Producer Writer Notes
1978 Self Portrait in Brains Yes Yes Yes Co-directed with Jimmy Dobbins
1989 Honey, I Shrunk the Kids No Co-producer Story
Society Yes No No
1990 Bride of Re-Animator Yes Yes Yes
Silent Night, Deadly Night 4: Initiation Yes No Story Direct-to-video
1992 Silent Night, Deadly Night 5: The Toy Maker No Yes Yes
1993 Return of the Living Dead 3 Yes Yes No
Necronomicon Yes Yes Yes Segments "The Library" and "Whispers"
1996 Tarzan: The Epic Adventures Yes No No Episode "Tarzan's Return"
The Dentist Yes No No
1998 Progeny Yes No No
The Dentist 2 Yes No No
2000 Faust: Love of the Damned Yes Yes No
2003 Beyond Re-Animator Yes Yes Uncredited
2004 Rottweiler Yes No No
2005 Beneath Still Waters Yes Yes No
2008 Takut: Faces of Fear No Yes Story
2010 Amphibious Yes Yes Yes
2011 60 Seconds of Solitude in Year Zero Yes No No

Producer only

Executive producer

Guest appearances

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Towlson 2014, p. 187.
  2. ↑ Crussells 2009, p. 249.
  3. ↑ Towlson 2014, pp. 188–189.
  4. ↑ Towlson 2014, p. 189.
  5. ↑ Towlson 2014, p. 190.
  6. ↑ Towlson 2014, pp. 191–194.
  7. ↑ Towlson 2014, p. 194.
  8. ↑ Towlson 2014, p. 195.
  9. ↑ Yuzna profile Archived December 25, 2005, at the Wayback Machine, Comics2film.com; accessed September 25, 2015.
  10. ↑ "Welcome at Gorehound Canned Film". Archived from the original on December 19, 2013. Retrieved December 7, 2008.
  11. ↑ "First Creature Pics from Brian Yuzna's 'Amphibious 3-D'". November 9, 2009.
  12. ↑ "First Photos of Yuzna's Amphibious Sea Scorpions". June 8, 2012.
  13. ↑ "Italy Braces for Fantasy Horror Award Event". August 3, 2012.
  14. ↑ "HEAVY MIDNITES: Honey, I Shrunk the Kids (25th Anniversary!)". www.cinefamily.org. Archived from the original on February 5, 2016. Retrieved January 8, 2016.
  15. ↑ "BRIAN YUZNA A RETROSPECTIVE PRESENTED BY FREIXENET". AP Images. Retrieved January 8, 2016.
  16. ↑ Kieran Fisher (October 27, 2016). "Brian Yuzna and Corbin Bernsen to Reunite for The Plastic Surgeon". Dreadcentral.com. Retrieved October 1, 2022.
  17. ↑ "Parlament de Brian Yuzna al ser nomenat Membre d'Honor de l'Acadèmia del Cinema Català". academiadelcinema.cat. Retrieved January 8, 2016.
  18. ↑ Andreas Wiseman (July 28, 2022). "Heather Graham, Judah Lewis, Barbara Crampton Lead Erotic Bodyswap Horror Based On H.P. Lovecraft Short Story; Crampton Joins Producer Amp As VP". Deadline. Retrieved October 1, 2022.

Bibliography

  • Crussells, Magí (2009). Directores de cine en Cataluña: de la A a la Z (in Catalan). Barcelona, Spain: Edicions Universitat Barcelona. ISBN 978-8-447-53316-9.
  • Towlson, Jon (2014). Subversive Horror Cinema: Countercultural Messages of Films from Frankenstein to the Present. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland. ISBN 978-0-786-47469-1.
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