Joe Augustyn

A native of Philadelphia, PA, Joe pursued a career as a painter and cartoonist before winning a FOCUS Award for writing that brought him to AFI's national film conservatory in Los Angeles as a Producing Fellow. Since then he has worked on dozens of films and videos, from shorts to features, with experience in the art department, location manager, production coordinator, assistant director, and eventually creative producer and screenwriter.

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His first feature as writer-producer was the cult classic NIGHT OF THE DEMONS which has been named on dozens of Halloween favorite lists and was cited in Robin Means Coleman's book HORROR NOIR as "a cult fan favorite among hip young adults."
It is widely regarded as the consummate 80s horror film.

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Joe wrote the screenplay and worked closely with director Kevin Tenney to ensure that every element was perfect and the tone of the original spec screenplay was preserved. Contractually guaranteed creative control, he hired casting director Tedra Gabriel, with whom he'd worked on AMERICAN DRIVE-IN and HARD ROCK ZOMBIES, trusting Tedra to find a cast of young actors who were both attractive and talented.

 

With a solid assemblage of talented department heads backing him up, director Kevin Tenney brought an able touch, handling the dark humor and delivering the scares. Special EFX wizard Steve Johnson created a wide range of impressive effects, including one of the most memorable efx scenes in horror history, involving Linnea Quigley and a tube of lipstick. The film is revered by fans of 80s horror--who have paid as much as $900 for a boxed set of the original three films, been tattooed with characters from the film, and even named their rock band after it.

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                     Young producer checking on the wardrobe department as they dress

            Amelia Kinkade as Angela for her "warming my hands by the fire" scene.

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Joe's second film NIGHT ANGEL was the first movie to be based on the ancient legend of Lilith. Unlike his first film, he agreed to give the executive producer more creative control, while bearing the brunt of the production. Unable to contain the "more is better" dabbling of his boss, things spiraled out of c control with 26 locations to be filmed in 24 days - a grueling experience that affected Joe's health. He swore off low budget producing, deciding it wasn't worth the risk without total creative control.

 

Joe was recruited to write NIGHT OF THE DEMONS 2 in hope of reviving the franchise. Working from a story co-written by playwright James Penzi, whose play GENTLEMEN OF FIFTH AVENUE had received critical acclaim at the Whitebarn Theatre in Connecticut and the Old Globe in San Diego, Joe wrote the screenplay but was not involved as producer. With more humor than the first, the film became REPUBLIC PICTURES' most successful release of the year.

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Joe continued writing screenplays, both spec and on assignment, until he took time off to care for his aging parents, who both had major health problems. In recent years he returned to writing, publishing three books and writing screenplays again.

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SUPER-FAN TATTOOS:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

http://www.horrorsociety.com/?s=Night+of+the+Demons

 

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