Goat Sword
New York City, New York | Film Feature
Comedy, Horror
An amateur black metal band faces gnarly consequences when their drummer becomes a vampire before their biggest gig yet. This horror-comedy is a love letter to the NYC metal scene and DIY horror community, created by true insiders.
Goat Sword
New York City, New York | Film Feature
Comedy, Horror
1 Campaigns | New York, United States
27 supporters | followers
Enter the amount you would like to pledge
$2,450
Goal: $20,000 for production
An amateur black metal band faces gnarly consequences when their drummer becomes a vampire before their biggest gig yet. This horror-comedy is a love letter to the NYC metal scene and DIY horror community, created by true insiders.
About The Project
- The Story
- Wishlist
- Updates
- The Team
- Community
Mission Statement
The Story
SOME PEOPLE THINK BLACK METAL IS ALL ABOUT DEATH...
BUT FOR THIS BAND, IT'S ABOUT WHAT COMES AFTER!
Amateur black metal band, Goat Sword, faces gnarly consequences when their alcoholic drummer becomes a vampire right before their biggest gig yet. Set in the gritty underground scene of NYC, this horror-comedy explores the uphill battle struggling artists face in their pursuit of success and recognition. Also, vampires!
Meet Kevin, the lead singer trying to keep up band morale. Nora, the bassist who only cares about the band's success despite her struggle to master her instrument. Brock, the lead guitarist who carries the band's lacking sound. And, of course, Neil, the alcoholic drummer who simply can't say no to a goth baddie of the night.
Can the remaining human members of the band defeat the head vampire in time to save their drummer before their next big gig? Or will they be doomed to an eternal darkness far more real than their stage personas...
"Goat Sword is What We Do In The Shadows meets Lords of Chaos."
Our movie twists the gritty reality of the NYC metal scene with the weird, comedic surrealism of vampirism. As a result, the mundane grind of real life, such as finding the next gig to pay rent, gets much higher (and funnier) stakes.
Musically, Goat Sword (the movie) will have an 80s synth-driven score while Goat Sword (the band) will sound closer to the Norwegian black metal of the early 90s, which played a crucial part in developing the black metal genre and aesthetic that we all know today.
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Visually speaking, the look and feel of Goat Sword will be heavily inspired by the lighting and practical effects of 80s horror movies; more specifically vampire films such as Fright Night, The Lost Boys, Salem's Lot, and Vamp.
These days, one of the most common missteps in filmmaking is choosing CGI over practical effects. While using CGI to enhance a scene can be awesome, we feel the most crucial element is, and always should be, the use of practical effects as a foundation to build upon.
Above are some killer shots from Rob Menzer (our DP) and Kelly Harris (our SFX makeup artist). They will both play a huge part in bringing Goat Sword to life-- uh... death? Life again?
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The band's logo was created by Christophe Szpajdel, who is best known for creating the iconic logos of extreme metal bands like Emperor, Aborted, Lord Belial, Moonspell, Borknagar, Horna, Tsjuder, Behexen, Melechesh, and many more. He was also notably commissioned by director Panos Cosmatos to create the logo for his film, Mandy, released back in 2018.
With the recent success of vampire films like Ryan Coogler's Sinners and Robert Eggers' Nosferatu, film critics are anticipating a vampire genre renaissance. This, in combination with the academy becoming more accepting of the horror genre-- even nominating films like Guillermo del Toro's Frankenstein and Coralie Fargeat's The Substance for Best Picture-- means this movie won't be immediately shoved to the sidelines, as so many horror films have.
While validating for niche communities like the metal/horror scenes, Goat Sword will also be an absolute joy to the general public. Those who are unfamiliar with our world are guaranteed to get a kick out of becoming a part of it, even for just 90 minutes or so.
It has become clear that people are hungry for new, original stories, with real, practical effects-- not tired remakes with cheesy, rushed CGI. The people are ready for Goat Sword.
Ryan Twyford-Rigley is Goat Sword's writer/director. He has a cult following in the horror community after the success of his anthology series, HOSTED BY CRYPTINA!, and Cryptina's Spook-Time Variety Show. He's also a heavy metal radio DJ under the name MT Casket.
His production partner, Steph Twyford-Rigley, is Goat Sword's producer/editor/actor (Nora). She's known for the dark comedies she's written/produced/directed/edited/shot/starred in as a one-woman force. In addition to being a filmmaker, she's the singer of her band, Sister Thieves.
Read more about our cast & crew in The Team tab above our mission statement!
Our production company, Part Time Hooligan, has a proven track record of successful short films and music videos that nail the delicate balance of horror and comedy. We've won many awards via genre festivals and have been screened internationally because of this. It's not only our experience with horror-comedy that makes us the right storytellers for this, but our personal connection to the world of Goat Sword as well.
We actually grew up in the underground metal scene and niche horror community, so we aren't making a parody of metalheads. We're giving you an accurate look into our world of heavy metal and horror-- but with a fun twist (which is vampires, if you didn't get that by now).
Goat Sword is a SAG-AFTRA Ultra Low Budget Film. Despite our full goal being $300,000 we are aiming to raise a small percent of that to get started on production and prove to investors that people really care about this getting made. That $20,000 will carry us through pre-production, help us secure our principal NYC locations, and lock in our department heads.
Ideally we would work in three phases:
- Phase 1 ($20k - this S&S campaign) Pre-Production
- Phase 2 ($180k - private equity investors) Principal Photography
- Phase 3 ($100k - grants) Post Production + Distribution
This is our timeline:
- July: Seed&Spark fundraiser
- August: Raise the remainder of the funds via grants + private investors
- September: Greenlight Goat Sword and move forward with production
- October-November: Prepare in every way you can imagine-- table reads, FX prep, consulting department heads, organizing union guidelines, finalizing locations, etc
- December: Start principal photography (the actual shoot!)
- January: Start the edit and move into the new year with the confidence that the completed Goat Sword movie will knock people's socks off!
Seed&Spark only lets you keep donated funds if you reach 80% of your goal, meaning we must hit $16,000 within 30 days or give all the money back. Any amount helps, even a single dollar! Here are some other ways to help support our indie DIY film:
- SPREAD THE WORD! Share this page to your social media accounts and forward it to all of your friends! Heck, send it to everyone you know!
- FOLLOW THIS PAGE + OUR INSTAGRAM! Seed&Spark counts followers as proof of interest. Once we hit 500 followers on S&S, they start pushing our page to other people on the site. Stay up to date via our IG (@goatswordmovie) and mailing list.
- LET US BORROW YOUR SHIT! If you have the perfect location or other resources to share, please don't be afraid to contact us at [email protected] to let us know! We promise we don't bite... yet.
Your support truly means the world to us. It is because of people like you that indie filmmaking continues to live on! Thank you from the bottom of our cold black hearts :)
Above artwork by Jason Beam.
Incentive artwork by Smo.
Wishlist
Use the WishList to Pledge cash and Loan items - or - Make a pledge by selecting an Incentive directly.
LOANED LOCATION - Creepy Basement INT.
Costs $1
Lucretia's gotta keep her giant custom made coffin somewhere!
CAST/CREW NEEDS - Travel
Costs $2,000
Some of our shoot days are out of the city and our cast/crew will need a way to get to set safely!
CAST/CREW NEEDS - Hot Lunch
Costs $6,000
We need hot lunches for the cast and crew every day of shooting! They're long days, after all.
POST - Festival Entry Fees
Costs $2,500
Once we complete our film we have to get it out to The People! The Masses! The Fans! The... uh... you know! Everybody!
POST - Hard Drive(s)
Costs $2,839
We gotta be sure to back up this footage and store the editing projects! If we lose this footage, we will lose our minds.
LOANED PROPS - Giant Wooden Coffin
Costs $1
Handmade, not a fancy type from a funeral parlor. She's a down to earth vampire! Literally?
LOANED LOCATION - Brooklyn Apt INT.
Costs $1
Neil's bachelor pad, where a handful of scenes take place. Must have a bathroom with a mirror, at least one bedroom and living room.
LOANED PICTURE CAR - Hearse
Costs $1
Lucretia's familiar rides in style! Necessary for a one or two day shoot, flexible on whether it needs to actually drive or not.
PROPS - Blood + Guts
Costs $1,000
Blood... so, so, so much blood... it's a vampire movie after all!
WARDROBE - Colored Contacts
Costs $1,050
~$150/pair. 7 sets. Cheaper ones risk the actors going blind! So not cool!
WARDROBE - Custom Fangs
Costs $1,500
$250/each. 6 sets. Cheap costume fangs fall out and when they stay in, they give the vampire a lisp... Lisps aren't very scary. Or are they?
LOANED LOCATION - Decrepit House EXT.
Costs $1
Just a few quick exterior shots, maybe a single day of shooting! We promise we won't be in the way!!!
LOANED LOCATION - Woodworking Shop INT/EXT.
Costs $1
Okay, okay, so metal doesn't pay the bills. For lead guitarist Brock, working here does!
LOANED PROPS - Band Gear
Costs $1
What's a band without their trusty instruments? We need to borrow drums, guitars, bass, microphones, amps... Whatever it takes to look cool!
LOANED LOCATION - Practice Studio INT.
Costs $1
Five days of shooting at least two band practice scenes in the movie.
WARDROBE - Lucretia (master vampire)
Costs $520
Lucretia is the head vampire that started it all. She's gothy and enticing in appearance-- or maybe that's her hypnosis at work!
WARDROBE - Brock (guitarist)
Costs $520
Brock is the lead guitarist (emphasis on lead, as he'd say). He likes to stand out on stage and really show what he's got.
WARDROBE - Neil (drummer)
Costs $520
Neil is Goat Sword's alcoholic drummer. He's going to need a proper wig and mutton chops-- that shit ain't cheap!
WARDROBE - Kevin (singer)
Costs $520
Kevin is the lead singer of the band-- obviously this means he will need some spiked gauntlets and a long, dramatic cape!
WARDROBE - Nora (bassist)
Costs $520
The bassist (and only woman) in the band. Her leather tops and spiked gauntlets aren't going to buy themselves!
LOANED LOCATION - Dive Bar INT/EXT.
Costs $1
Crucial to the plot and opening of the film! Mostly interior, some exterior shots.
LOANED LOCATION - Decrepit House INT.
Costs $1
For a huuuuge scene in the movie. The interior must be safe, exterior doesn't have to match. We will likely shoot separately.
Direct link:
Share this update!
About This Team
GOAT SWORD PRODUCTION TEAM:
GOAT SWORD MAIN CAST:
GOAT SWORD DEPARTMENT HEADS:
Current Team
Incentives
- The Story
- Wishlist
- Updates
- The Team
- Community
Mission Statement
The Story
SOME PEOPLE THINK BLACK METAL IS ALL ABOUT DEATH...
BUT FOR THIS BAND, IT'S ABOUT WHAT COMES AFTER!
Amateur black metal band, Goat Sword, faces gnarly consequences when their alcoholic drummer becomes a vampire right before their biggest gig yet. Set in the gritty underground scene of NYC, this horror-comedy explores the uphill battle struggling artists face in their pursuit of success and recognition. Also, vampires!
Meet Kevin, the lead singer trying to keep up band morale. Nora, the bassist who only cares about the band's success despite her struggle to master her instrument. Brock, the lead guitarist who carries the band's lacking sound. And, of course, Neil, the alcoholic drummer who simply can't say no to a goth baddie of the night.
Can the remaining human members of the band defeat the head vampire in time to save their drummer before their next big gig? Or will they be doomed to an eternal darkness far more real than their stage personas...
"Goat Sword is What We Do In The Shadows meets Lords of Chaos."
Our movie twists the gritty reality of the NYC metal scene with the weird, comedic surrealism of vampirism. As a result, the mundane grind of real life, such as finding the next gig to pay rent, gets much higher (and funnier) stakes.
Musically, Goat Sword (the movie) will have an 80s synth-driven score while Goat Sword (the band) will sound closer to the Norwegian black metal of the early 90s, which played a crucial part in developing the black metal genre and aesthetic that we all know today.
Visually speaking, the look and feel of Goat Sword will be heavily inspired by the lighting and practical effects of 80s horror movies; more specifically vampire films such as Fright Night, The Lost Boys, Salem's Lot, and Vamp.
These days, one of the most common missteps in filmmaking is choosing CGI over practical effects. While using CGI to enhance a scene can be awesome, we feel the most crucial element is, and always should be, the use of practical effects as a foundation to build upon.
Above are some killer shots from Rob Menzer (our DP) and Kelly Harris (our SFX makeup artist). They will both play a huge part in bringing Goat Sword to life-- uh... death? Life again?
The band's logo was created by Christophe Szpajdel, who is best known for creating the iconic logos of extreme metal bands like Emperor, Aborted, Lord Belial, Moonspell, Borknagar, Horna, Tsjuder, Behexen, Melechesh, and many more. He was also notably commissioned by director Panos Cosmatos to create the logo for his film, Mandy, released back in 2018.
With the recent success of vampire films like Ryan Coogler's Sinners and Robert Eggers' Nosferatu, film critics are anticipating a vampire genre renaissance. This, in combination with the academy becoming more accepting of the horror genre-- even nominating films like Guillermo del Toro's Frankenstein and Coralie Fargeat's The Substance for Best Picture-- means this movie won't be immediately shoved to the sidelines, as so many horror films have.
While validating for niche communities like the metal/horror scenes, Goat Sword will also be an absolute joy to the general public. Those who are unfamiliar with our world are guaranteed to get a kick out of becoming a part of it, even for just 90 minutes or so.
It has become clear that people are hungry for new, original stories, with real, practical effects-- not tired remakes with cheesy, rushed CGI. The people are ready for Goat Sword.
Ryan Twyford-Rigley is Goat Sword's writer/director. He has a cult following in the horror community after the success of his anthology series, HOSTED BY CRYPTINA!, and Cryptina's Spook-Time Variety Show. He's also a heavy metal radio DJ under the name MT Casket.
His production partner, Steph Twyford-Rigley, is Goat Sword's producer/editor/actor (Nora). She's known for the dark comedies she's written/produced/directed/edited/shot/starred in as a one-woman force. In addition to being a filmmaker, she's the singer of her band, Sister Thieves.
Read more about our cast & crew in The Team tab above our mission statement!
Our production company, Part Time Hooligan, has a proven track record of successful short films and music videos that nail the delicate balance of horror and comedy. We've won many awards via genre festivals and have been screened internationally because of this. It's not only our experience with horror-comedy that makes us the right storytellers for this, but our personal connection to the world of Goat Sword as well.
We actually grew up in the underground metal scene and niche horror community, so we aren't making a parody of metalheads. We're giving you an accurate look into our world of heavy metal and horror-- but with a fun twist (which is vampires, if you didn't get that by now).
Goat Sword is a SAG-AFTRA Ultra Low Budget Film. Despite our full goal being $300,000 we are aiming to raise a small percent of that to get started on production and prove to investors that people really care about this getting made. That $20,000 will carry us through pre-production, help us secure our principal NYC locations, and lock in our department heads.
Ideally we would work in three phases:
- Phase 1 ($20k - this S&S campaign) Pre-Production
- Phase 2 ($180k - private equity investors) Principal Photography
- Phase 3 ($100k - grants) Post Production + Distribution
This is our timeline:
- July: Seed&Spark fundraiser
- August: Raise the remainder of the funds via grants + private investors
- September: Greenlight Goat Sword and move forward with production
- October-November: Prepare in every way you can imagine-- table reads, FX prep, consulting department heads, organizing union guidelines, finalizing locations, etc
- December: Start principal photography (the actual shoot!)
- January: Start the edit and move into the new year with the confidence that the completed Goat Sword movie will knock people's socks off!
Seed&Spark only lets you keep donated funds if you reach 80% of your goal, meaning we must hit $16,000 within 30 days or give all the money back. Any amount helps, even a single dollar! Here are some other ways to help support our indie DIY film:
- SPREAD THE WORD! Share this page to your social media accounts and forward it to all of your friends! Heck, send it to everyone you know!
- FOLLOW THIS PAGE + OUR INSTAGRAM! Seed&Spark counts followers as proof of interest. Once we hit 500 followers on S&S, they start pushing our page to other people on the site. Stay up to date via our IG (@goatswordmovie) and mailing list.
- LET US BORROW YOUR SHIT! If you have the perfect location or other resources to share, please don't be afraid to contact us at [email protected] to let us know! We promise we don't bite... yet.
Your support truly means the world to us. It is because of people like you that indie filmmaking continues to live on! Thank you from the bottom of our cold black hearts :)
Above artwork by Jason Beam.
Incentive artwork by Smo.
Wishlist
Use the WishList to Pledge cash and Loan items - or - Make a pledge by selecting an Incentive directly.
LOANED LOCATION - Creepy Basement INT.
Costs $1
Lucretia's gotta keep her giant custom made coffin somewhere!
CAST/CREW NEEDS - Travel
Costs $2,000
Some of our shoot days are out of the city and our cast/crew will need a way to get to set safely!
CAST/CREW NEEDS - Hot Lunch
Costs $6,000
We need hot lunches for the cast and crew every day of shooting! They're long days, after all.
POST - Festival Entry Fees
Costs $2,500
Once we complete our film we have to get it out to The People! The Masses! The Fans! The... uh... you know! Everybody!
POST - Hard Drive(s)
Costs $2,839
We gotta be sure to back up this footage and store the editing projects! If we lose this footage, we will lose our minds.
LOANED PROPS - Giant Wooden Coffin
Costs $1
Handmade, not a fancy type from a funeral parlor. She's a down to earth vampire! Literally?
LOANED LOCATION - Brooklyn Apt INT.
Costs $1
Neil's bachelor pad, where a handful of scenes take place. Must have a bathroom with a mirror, at least one bedroom and living room.
LOANED PICTURE CAR - Hearse
Costs $1
Lucretia's familiar rides in style! Necessary for a one or two day shoot, flexible on whether it needs to actually drive or not.
PROPS - Blood + Guts
Costs $1,000
Blood... so, so, so much blood... it's a vampire movie after all!
WARDROBE - Colored Contacts
Costs $1,050
~$150/pair. 7 sets. Cheaper ones risk the actors going blind! So not cool!
WARDROBE - Custom Fangs
Costs $1,500
$250/each. 6 sets. Cheap costume fangs fall out and when they stay in, they give the vampire a lisp... Lisps aren't very scary. Or are they?
LOANED LOCATION - Decrepit House EXT.
Costs $1
Just a few quick exterior shots, maybe a single day of shooting! We promise we won't be in the way!!!
LOANED LOCATION - Woodworking Shop INT/EXT.
Costs $1
Okay, okay, so metal doesn't pay the bills. For lead guitarist Brock, working here does!
LOANED PROPS - Band Gear
Costs $1
What's a band without their trusty instruments? We need to borrow drums, guitars, bass, microphones, amps... Whatever it takes to look cool!
LOANED LOCATION - Practice Studio INT.
Costs $1
Five days of shooting at least two band practice scenes in the movie.
WARDROBE - Lucretia (master vampire)
Costs $520
Lucretia is the head vampire that started it all. She's gothy and enticing in appearance-- or maybe that's her hypnosis at work!
WARDROBE - Brock (guitarist)
Costs $520
Brock is the lead guitarist (emphasis on lead, as he'd say). He likes to stand out on stage and really show what he's got.
WARDROBE - Neil (drummer)
Costs $520
Neil is Goat Sword's alcoholic drummer. He's going to need a proper wig and mutton chops-- that shit ain't cheap!
WARDROBE - Kevin (singer)
Costs $520
Kevin is the lead singer of the band-- obviously this means he will need some spiked gauntlets and a long, dramatic cape!
WARDROBE - Nora (bassist)
Costs $520
The bassist (and only woman) in the band. Her leather tops and spiked gauntlets aren't going to buy themselves!
LOANED LOCATION - Dive Bar INT/EXT.
Costs $1
Crucial to the plot and opening of the film! Mostly interior, some exterior shots.
LOANED LOCATION - Decrepit House INT.
Costs $1
For a huuuuge scene in the movie. The interior must be safe, exterior doesn't have to match. We will likely shoot separately.
Direct link:
Share this update!
About This Team
GOAT SWORD PRODUCTION TEAM:
GOAT SWORD MAIN CAST:
GOAT SWORD DEPARTMENT HEADS: