'Texas Chainsaw Massacre III,' 'Puppet Master'—Director Jeff Burr's best films
Hollywood director-writer-producer Jeff Burr, best known for his work on horror films, has died. His friend Eric Spudic told The Hollywood Reporter that the 60-year-old died on Tuesday due to "apparent complications from a stroke" at his home in Georgia. He attended the University of Southern California but dropped out in his third year to venture into filmmaking. Let's look at his best titles.
'Leatherface: Texas Chainsaw Massacre III'
Reportedly, Burr came aboard the commercially successful Leatherface: Texas Chainsaw Massacre III at a time when several other directors had pulled out from the project. Starring Kate Hodge, William Butler, Tom Everett, Ken Foree, Viggo Mortensen, and RA Mihailoff, this film served as the sequel to The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 (1986). Made on a budget of $2M, it made $5.8M!
'Straight Into Darkness'
Straight Into Darkness was Burr's "dream project" and "he loved [it] more than the others," Spudic told THR. The horror war drama was anchored by Ryan Francis, James LeGros, and Scott MacDonald and was reportedly shot in Romania. DVD Talk opined, "[It's] an interesting and at times almost surreal war film that does a good job of mixing horror movie elements with serious drama."
'Eddie Presley'
In Eddie Presley, Burr directed Quentin Tarantino and Bruce Campell, both of whom appeared in cameo roles as attendants of an asylum. Eddie Presley has an interesting story at its core—the titular character, essayed by Duane Whitaker, gives up his successful business to become an Elvis Presley impersonator! Whitaker had written the story, and earlier performed it during a play in Los Angeles.
'Puppet Master' series
Burr contributed to the Puppet Master franchise by directing Puppet Master 4 and Puppet 5 in 1993 and 1994 respectively. Both of them featured Guy Rolfe, Gordon Currie, Chandra West, and Teresa Hill, among others. The franchise focuses on a group of anthropomorphic puppets; while some of them are heroes, others are dangerous and life-threatening. Charles Band and Kenneth J Hall co-created the franchise.
Burr lamented being 'typecast' as only a horror director
Burr had once told OnlineAthens, "I would consider myself a storyteller with a predilection for dark or melancholy subjects, that is fair to say. I do love horror films, genre films, but they are not the only kinds I want to make. I am a lover of film and want to do all kinds of movies, but [often filmmakers are typecast like actors]."
