Alice in Wasteland (2003)

Beautiful girls and lethal weapons go hand-in-hand in this deadly, tongue-in-cheek, women in prison escape romp through the surburban streets of Detroit.

Alice in Wasteland was the first opportunity for Pete Schuermann to make a “feature film”. That term is in quotations as, since the year 2000 or so, a “feature” has become much easier to produce than in years prior. Subsequently, whether released to the public or not, there has been an astronomical increase in the number of “features” produced in the years following.

 

The budget was incredibly small, the camera was a 24p NTSC prosumer camcorder and the crew was basically anyone we could grab at the time. It was quite fun to make.

 

Pete shared directing reigns with the very talented and young (at the time) Lasse Jarvi, who brought a very fresh creative sensibility to the project. It was his handheld style that helped overcome the budget and bring a sense of style to the proceedings.

 

Futhermore, this was to be the first of many collaborations with the incredibly skilled editor Dave Wruck. It was in post-production that Pete feels whatever value Alice in Wasteland has as a cinematic contribution was crafted with ingenuity, humor and again style. Quirky library music helps the framework.

 

Ultimately, Alice in Wasteland served Pete as a great stepping stone and educational platform.

 

It is available on Amazon now after a several year run on Netflix.

Monster Zero rises...

Created for Alice in Wasteland, Monster Zero Animation (formerly Pete Schuermann’s motion graphics company, Creation Animation) handled the opening credits sequence. More animation samples will be presented elsewhere on this site.

 

It is presented here to get a feel for the retro, 1970’s style of the movie. Some fabulous still photography by Greg Kleinert is combined with 2D animation for a somewhat James Bond-esque feel.

The critics weigh in...

Lewis Fowler
Lewis FowlerThe Independent/Cinefiles
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“…incredibly entertaining! …The box compares it to a Carl Hiaasen novel, but I'll go one further and say it's more reminiscent of a great Elmore Leonard yarn. Can't ask for more than that!
Warren Epstein
Warren EpsteinGazette Telegraph
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“…this girls-in-underwear, shoot em’ up is amazing!”

Distribution

Alice in Wasteland did manage to get a DVD release through York Entertainment, wound up on Netflix and was sold to foreign countries. Sometime after 2010 the distribution model changed and Alice wound up on Amazon Video and for sale on DVD.