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Brian Yuzna
Brian Yuzna Cropped Picture.jpg
Yuzna in 2022
Born
Manila, Philippines
Nationality American
Occupation Film producer
film director
screenwriter
Spouse(s) Cathy Cherry Yuzna
Children 5, including Logan Yuzna

Brian Yuzna is an American producer, director, and writer. He is best known for his work in the science fiction and horror film genres. Yuzna began his career as a producer for several films by director Stuart Gordon, such as Re-Animator (1985) and From Beyond (1986), before making his directorial debut with the satirical body horror film Society (1989).

He also served as a co-writer for the comedy Honey, I Shrunk the Kids (1989). Yuzna was the first American filmmaker to adapt a manga, Bio Booster Armor Guyver, into a live-action feature, The Guyver (1991). He has helmed several adaptations of the work of H. P. Lovecraft, and has assisted many first time directors, including Stuart Gordon, Christophe Gans, and Luis De La Madrid, in getting their projects made.

Early life

Yuzna was born in Manila, Philippines, to American parents. He grew up in Nicaragua, Puerto Rico, and Panama, before moving to the United States in the 1960s, settling in Atlanta, Georgia. Yuzna was raised a Roman Catholic. Throughout 1970s, Yuzna lived on a commune in North Carolina and worked jobs as a carpenter and at a restaurant.

Career

Yuzna began his career as a producer, co-producing the horror films Re-Animator (1985), From Beyond (1986), and Dolls (1987) for his friend, director Stuart Gordon. He also co-wrote From Beyond. The same year, Yuzna co-wrote the comedy Honey, I Shrunk the Kids alongside Gordon. In 1989, he made his directorial debut with the satirical body horror film Society, which focuses on a wealthy Beverly Hills community who are of a mutant species who feed on the social classes beneath them.

Yuzna went on to direct a series of horror sequels, including Bride of Re-Animator (1990), Silent Night, Deadly Night 4: Initiation (1990), and Return of the Living Dead 3 (1993), before directing The Dentist (1996), a horror film about a murderous Los Angeles dentist who dentally tortures his victims. Yuzna also directed its sequel, The Dentist 2 (1998).

Having collected a large following in Europe, Yuzna started Fantastic Factory, with Julio Fernández, a label under the Barcelona film company Filmax, in the early-2000s. His goal was to produce "modestly budgeted genre (horror, science fiction, fantasy) films for the international market (shot in English language) using genre talent from all around the world and to develop local talent".

He was last working as the producer of the Wehrmacht zombie movie Worst Case Scenario, directed by Richard Raaphorst, which takes place after a fictional World Cup 2006 finale between Germany and Netherlands where Germany loses and seeks revenge with a zombie invasion. In May 2009, it was announced that this project was dead. The film eventually became Frankenstein's Army and was released in 2013. After four years, he returned to the director's chair and filmed Amphibious 3-D which stars Michael Paré and Francis Magee.

In 2014, in Hollywood, the Cinefamily screened and celebrated the 25th anniversary of Honey, I Shrunk the Kids with Yuzna as guest of honor. In 2015, a retrospective of his work of 30 years, Brian Yuzna, A Retrospective, was presented and screened at the theater in the Soho House West Hollywood, curated by Diana Lado and produced by Logan Yuzna. In 2016, a new Yuzna-directed film was announced, The Plastic Surgeon, starring Corbin Bernsen and producer by Yuzna's production house, Dark Arts Entertainment.

Distinctions

  • 2014: Honorary Member of the Catalan Academy of Cinema in Barcelona

Personal life

He is married to Cathy Cherry Yuzna. They have four children: Conan Yuzna, Zoe Yuzna, Noah Yuzna and Logan Yuzna. He also has a daughter, Mercedes Bauer / Mercedes Perez-Bode from a previous relationship.

Filmography

As producer

Release Date Title Directors Role Refs
1985 Re-Animator Stuart Gordon Producer
1986 From Beyond Stuart Gordon Producer
1987 Dolls Stuart Gordon Producer
1989 Honey, I Shrunk the Kids Joe Johnston Executive producer
1989 Warlock Steve Miner Executive producer
1990 Bride of Re-Animator Brian Yuzna Producer
1991 The Guyver Screaming Mad George Producer
1992 Silent Night, Deadly Night 5: The Toy Maker Martin Kitrosser Executive producer
1993 Ticks Tony Randel Executive producer
1993 Return of the Living Dead 3 Brian Yuzna Producer
1993 Necronomicon Brian Yuzna
Christophe Gans
Shusuke Kaneko
Producer
1995 Crying Freeman Christophe Gans Producer
2000 Faust: Love of the Damned Brian Yuzna Producer
2001 Arachnid Jack Sholder Producer
2001 Dagon Stuart Gordon Producer
2002 Darkness Jaume Balagueró Producer
2003 Beyond Re-Animator Brian Yuzna Producer
2004 Romasanta Paco Plaza Producer
2004 Rottweiler Brian Yuzna Producer
2005 The Nun Luis De La Madrid Producer
2005 Beneath Still Waters Brian Yuzna Producer
2008 Takut: Faces of Fear Executive producer
2009 Worst Case Scenario Richard Raaphorst Executive producer
2010 Everdark Executive producer
2022 Bloody Bridget Associate producer
2022 The Thing on the Doorstep Executive producer

As director

  • Society (1989)
  • Bride of Re-Animator (1990)
  • Silent Night, Deadly Night 4: Initiation (1990)
  • Return of the Living Dead 3 (1993)
  • Necronomicon (segments "The Library" & "Whispers") (1993)
  • Tarzan: The Epic Adventures (episode "Tarzan's Return") (1996)
  • The Dentist (1996)
  • Progeny (1998)
  • The Dentist 2 (1998)
  • Faust: Love of the Damned (2000)
  • Beyond Re-Animator (2003)
  • Rottweiler (2004)
  • Beneath Still Waters (2005)
  • Amphibious (2010)
  • 60 Seconds of Solitude in Year Zero (2011)

As writer

  • From Beyond (1986)
  • Honey, I Shrunk the Kids (1989)
  • Bride of Re-Animator (1990)
  • Silent Night, Deadly Night 4: Initiation (1990)
  • Silent Night, Deadly Night 5: The Toy Maker (1992)
  • Necronomicon (segments "The Library" & "Whispers") (1993)
  • Beyond Re-Animator (2003)

As actor

  • H.P. Lovecraft's: Necronomicon (1993)
  • The Dentist (1996)

Guest appearances

  • Stephen King's World of Horror (1986)
  • The Incredibly Strange Film Show (1989)
  • Fear in the Dark (1991)
  • Clive Barker's A-Z of Horror (1997)
  • Metrópolis (2001)
  • Working with a Master: Stuart Gordon (2006)
  • Re-Animator Resurrectus (2007)
  • Durch die Nacht mit … (2007)
  • Science of Horror (2008)
  • Nightmares in Red, White and Blue (2009)

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Brian Yuzna para niños

National Hispanic Heritage Month on Kiddle
Outstanding Hispanic athletes
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