Matt Konopka discusses the works of filmmaker Jordan Downey and why ‘The Cycle’ proves he deserves more respect put on his name.
Jordan Downey is a talented filmmaker, and it’s about time more people recognized that.
Best known for the Thankskilling films, Downey began his career as an intern at Midnight Pictures, the banner Wes Craven co-founded. At around age 22, he released Thankskilling. Simple in premise, the film follows a killer turkey with a penchant for one-liners as he hunts down college students during Thanksgiving break. While not exactly a masterpiece, the film gained enough of a cult following that Downey returned with Thankskilling 3 four years later (the title a joke, since there is no part two).
Think what you want of those films and that foul-mouthed turkey, but each put on full display what makes Downey a horror filmmaker worth watching: Ambition and a deep passion for well-crafted practical effects.
Filmed on a budget of around three-thousand bucks (!), Downey fills Thankskilling with delightful puppetry and elaborate gore gags. Rather than incorporate some cheap CG monstrosity as the villain Turkey, Downey opted for a puppet, even working as the puppeteer (and editor). Jordan Downey does it all. Throughout his first feature, Turkey pecks, stabs, and tears his way through dim-witted college kids, even popping out of the chest of one in a gory splatter. It plays like a live-action violent cartoon you might stumble upon late one night on Adult Swim.
Some of you may not like Thankskilling, but it’s hard not to appreciate what Downey accomplished on a non-existent budget. That’s drive. That’s passion. That’s the confidence in talent blended with the ambition of someone who sees his vision through no matter what. Every great filmmaker needs that, and Downey has it in spades.
Not to mention, the film became one of the most-watched Thanksgiving horror films at the time, next to Blood Rage. Sure, there weren’t (and still aren’t) many great genre films set around the holiday, but that’s still incredibly impressive for a twenty-two-year-old.
Equipped with a much larger budget (estimated around 100K), Downey puts every penny on screen in Thankskilling 3. I’m not going to sugarcoat it; it’s not a good movie, but it again showcases a filmmaker with the guts to give the finger to budgetary constraints. Downey’s sequel stuffs the screen with outrageous effects and a goofy scenario that follows a cast of puppets on a mission to find the long-lost Thankskilling 2. It’s very meta, very obnoxious, and utterly remarkable. Most filmmakers would’ve glanced at the script, then the budget, and said, hell no. Not Downey. Did it work? No. But give me a director with the confidence and the skill set to take on ambitious projects every time.
Despite some success with Thankskilling, critics and general audiences alike didn’t take Downey as seriously as they should have. I think that lit a fire under him, because he came back swinging with The Head Hunter six years after Thankskilling 3.
Set during medieval times, Downey’s ambitious third feature follows a warrior with a gruesome collection of monster heads. He needs only one more to complete it…the head of the creature that killed his daughter.
With The Head Hunter, Downey sought to prove that he could deliver more than crude one-liners and gore. He did so and then some.
Courtesy of Vertical Entertainment
I found myself in awe while watching The Head Hunter. It’s a masterclass in creativity and working with what’s available to you. Sure, you can wish for more monster action, but hordes of monsters weren’t the point. Downey establishes a medieval setting that feels genuine, and on a budget of around 30K, no less. It’s a film of revenge, grief, and rage, the polar opposite of Thankskilling. The Head Hunter was Downey’s way of saying he was more than capable of crafting an emotional horror film that went beyond cool effects and silly jokes. Altogether, it’s an exceptional piece of work that professors could use to teach students about working within a budget, if they so choose.
Penned by Downey and writing partner Kevin Stewart, The Cycle introduces us to forensics specialist Meg (Deborah Ann Woll). On a dreary afternoon, the police arrive at her office, requesting that she help with a mysterious murder. See, the cops have found a body near a vicious murder scene…the body of Meg’s father, who disappeared decades ago. Turns out, he’s been dead for some time. So, how did he get to the crime scene, and who…or what…murdered those people? As Meg digs into her dad’s flesh and his history, she uncovers a terrifying truth that no one sees coming.
I mean it. I did not see the film’s twist coming, and I’m usually pretty good at that.
Courtesy of Shudder
As we discover—here comes that big SPOILER—Meg’s father is a werewolf. Or was a werewolf. Hard to say. In this case, the werewolf curse doesn’t work like we’re used to. Normally, you kill the cursed person, and poof, werewolf problem over. But not in The Cycle. In this story, the wolf is the ultimate curse because once it destroys your life, the people you love, and, finally, you…it keeps living. Every full moon, the wolf returns to the body of Meg’s dead dad, and every full moon, he kills again. The bloodshed never ends.
How awful. How frightening. And how cool and unique from what we’ve seen before.
If you didn’t know already, I’m a bit of a werewolf nut. I’ve seen it all, from Werewolf of London to An American Werewolf in London and the upcoming Werwulf, which I hear was shot near London. I’m a defender of The Howling franchise (I get it, it’s bad, but at least it’s not as bad as the books). I have a massive collection of werewolf merch that includes, I shit you not, a wolf man bubble maker. Maybe ten people on Earth would find any of this cool. I’m not saying it to impress. I’m saying it so you know I have a pretty good idea of what makes a good werewolf film, and The Cycle is a damn good werewolf movie.
Following in the armored footsteps of The Head Hunter, The Cycle doesn’t come roaring at you out of the gate. It doesn’t throw jump scare after jump scare your way. It takes its time to set the scene. Downey carefully builds dread as the horror creeps closer to Meg and her most personal fears. I’d even relate the film to The Autopsy of Jane Doe, a masterfully crafted haunter that uses the human body as a revelation of horror. With each discovery, Meg learns about the curse that has existed in her family for decades. And perhaps most brilliantly of all, Downey uses the protagonist’s visions of her father’s corpse and the overall mystery to distract viewers from her father’s hairy truth.
Courtesy of Shudder
Watching the first hour or so, you’d be forgiven for thinking The Cycle wasn’t directed by the same filmmaker as the guy who did Thankskilling. They are night and day in terms of tone and craft. Then we meet the werewolf, and all becomes clear.
During a pivotal scene, the corpse of Meg’s father unexpectedly transforms into the ravenous creature that cannot be satiated. Through stiff bones and rotting flesh, it emerges, a gothic horror up there with some of the more frightening werewolf incarnations. Think of the creature from An American Werewolf in London, but a hungrier, more ghoulish version that looks like it stalks the cemetery at night. It’s a stunning transformation. Even better, it’s all done practically. And any werewolf fan will tell you the transformation is key. The filmmaker has to get it right. Downey understands that.
Virtually all reviews of The Cycle have praised its effects. They’re right to. What Downey and his team accomplish is nothing short of miraculous. On a budget that I imagine pales in comparison to your usual big studio creature feature, the filmmaker shows them all up by showcasing what’s possible with a few well-crafted puppets and talented artists. That’s especially noteworthy and vital in a time when studios want to replace everyone with A.I. Downey knows real artistry comes from the craftsmanship of actual people. And The Cycle is all the better for it.
I don’t blame anyone for not liking the Thankskilling films. If you want to hold them against Downey, then fine, so be it. But in my mind, The Head Hunter and The Cycle have further proven that he’s a serious filmmaker, and should be treated as such. If they aren’t already, big studios should be blowing up his phone to get him on their next creature feature. Who knows, maybe Downey’s the kind of indie guy who told them to gobble gobble, motherfucker, and hung up. Only he knows for sure.
Whatever the case, we always need more filmmakers like Jordan Downey. Passionate, talented people who can achieve ambitious visions within a budget. Old-school horror directors with a love for practical effects that burst through the screen. People like Downey who can do all of that while scaring the shit out of audiences and breaking our hearts.
Yeah, it’s time for us to put our paws together and howl for Jordan Downey. He’s always been a fantastic filmmaker. With any luck, The Cycle has finally made that clear.
Either way, I can’t wait to bite into whatever he does next.
