Axe Giant: The Wrath of Paul Bunyan Starts Swinging this Summer

Steve Barton   |  

Apr 11, 2013

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I’ve been looking forward to Axe Giant: The Wrath of Paul Bunyan ever since I first heard about it, and it won’t be too much longer until we all get a chance to see what happens when a great American tall tale gets a monstrous slasher makeover.

Is it correct to call it a slasher? If the killer’s preferred instrument of death is an axe and the killer in question is a giant lumberjack, then wouldn’t it be more appropriate to call it a hacker? Eh, I’m over-thinking this.

Gary Jones, the director Boogeyman 3, Spiders (the 2000 version not the new one) and Mosquito, brings us this dark, contemporary take on the tall tale of lumberjack Paul Bunyan. Kids at a first-offenders boot camp discover that the legend of Paul Bunyan is real but is much more horrifying than they could have imagined. They incur the wrath of the 15-foot monstrous giant, who was banished from town 100 years ago and thought dead.

Robert Kurtzman’s Creature Corps handled the make-up effects that help bring the axeman the horrific life. Edward Douglas of Midnight Syndicate composed the score. Country punkabilly singer Hick’ry Hawkins wrote and performed the original theme song “The Ballad of Paul Bunyan.”

Joe Estevez, Dan Haggerty (TV’s “Grizzly Adams”), Tom Downey (Syfy’s War of the Worlds), Tim Lovelace (Mosquito), Jesse Kove (son of Martin Kove), and former WWF wrestler Chris Hahn (AKA “Johnny Swinger”) are amongst the actors facing the wrath of Paul Bunyan’s axe.

Virgil Films will handle domestic DVD and VOD distribution, while Archstone Distribution will handle foreign sales and Cinema Purgatorio will handle domestic theatrical. Theatrical bookings are under way, and Virgil plans a June street date for DVD and VOD.

“We look forward to more audiences seeing this dark take on the Paul Bunyan legend,” says writer/producer Jeff Miller. “Brady Bowen at Archstone came out to our premiere in the pouring rain, Joe at Virgil has been behind the movie since he saw it, and Ray at Cinema Purgatorio is excited about showing the movie to theatrical audiences. Gary and I are pleased to have them as partners. And we will have more exciting news to announce soon.”