Welcome back to Rotten Ink and to another spooky “From Horror Movie To Horror Comic” update that will this time take us to the world of shot-on-video horror and the haunted barn and cursed land of Farmer Joe, a classic cult short film that is from Ohio that was released in 2003 on VHS and entertained and spooked viewers around the state of Ohio. In the late 90’s, a group of friends created a film production group called Independent B Movie and made horror, action and dark comedy films and did so for many years and released many amazing films like Werewolf Of Ohio, Who Keeps Feeding Grandpa, Teen Suicide, One Second To Late and Farmer Joe, to name a few. And with this update we will be talking about Farmer Joe and the Blood Scream Comic based on it, and like always due to my connection with both Blood Scream Comics and Farmer Joe I will not be giving this comic a star rating, as that would just be silly. So if you are ready, let’s make our way to the cursed land and barn of Farmer Joe and see what horrors await us.
Before we head too far into this update we need to take a look at the evil killing spirit of Farmer Joe, a farmer who was sold bad seeds that ruined his crop and poisoned his land and then who slaughtered his own cattle in a fit of rage before mysteriously dying and placing a curse on the land and those who trespass on it. Farmer Joe was a normal man who was sold bad seeds by a dealer that made his land toxic, and this made him snap and kill all his cattle and placed a curse on his farm, barn and land. Once dead, he became an urban legend in his small town and his evil ghostly spirit now wonders his curse land looking to kill, torture and haunt those living people that wonder on his land and scream his name and promise new seeds for him. Farmer Joe’s massive appearance as well as his booming voice puts fear into the hearts of his victims and cause them to panic and leave themselves open for the kill. He also has control of the weather around his land making night time sunny and even creating storms if he chooses. His main means of dealing death is his hoe that he swings into the skulls of his victims causing them a very quick, bloody and painful death. Being a ghost, Farmer Joe does not have many weaknesses as its only rumored that he will break his curse on you if you make a deal and plant seeds that come from the relatives of the dealer who sold him the toxic ones. The one main weakness for Farmer Joe is that he is stuck roaming his land and cannot leave it making it hard for him to rack up a body count as he has to wait for people that are foolish enough to enter his land. Over all while Farmer Joe might not be the deadliest killer ghost spirit we have covered here on a “From Horror Movie To Horror Comic” update, he still is one mean and evil being that loves to kill.
Now that we have chatted about the sinister Ghost of Farmer Joe, I think it is time we take a look at the shot on video short film he is from! And like always I will be getting the film’s write up from our friends at IMDB and after that I will write about the film’s production and then will also write a little about my thoughts on the film. So if you are ready, let’s grab some seeds for Joe the plant and chat about this cult SOV film from Ohio.
Farmer Joe (2003)
“Danny is a young boy who is looking to fit in and the local bullies dare him to go to the haunted farm of Farmer Joe and call on his evil spirit in order to join their gang, but what was suppose to be a prank goes wrong when the spirit of the killer farmer comes back from the grave and is looking for blood and revenge on those who did him wrong and spoke his name. Now Danny’s Dad must find a way to save his son and the bullies from becoming victims to the curse of Farmer Joe.”
Farmer Joe was a short horror film from 2003 that was the brain child of writer Mike Ritchie who wrote a short story about a haunted farm and a murderous farmer after being inspired when reading books like “Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark & “Haunted Ohio” and a short time latter Mike would start developing the story to be made into a film and would do so with Independent B Movie, a small production company based out of Dayton, Ohio under the Dark Soul Productions banner that had released the Werewolf Of Ohio films as well as Wolf Hunter. The film went from being a short story to a script in a very short amount of time and then location scouting started to take place with Beavercreek, Ohio being the main location for the run down barn and haunted field that sat beside a church, and other shots being filmed around the Kettering and Dayton area. When casting the film names like Henrique Couto, Matt Hoffman, Josh Weinberg, Misty Altick and Zac Prater were brought on and John Phaneuf would be hired to play the part of Farmer Joe. The film would take around a month to film as this was the first film Mike ever directed so some issues would come up on set with one actor even leaving the production over Mike’s inexperience. The film would be released on VHS in 2003 and make its debut at the October Cinema Wasteland Convention and would be a good seller for Independent B Movie at the time as Mike Ritchie and Misty Altick were on hand to sign copies. The short film would make it rounds at several conventions over the years both being sold on physical media as well as being shown in screenings. It would later also be released on DVD by both Independent B Movie and later SOV Horror and its mirco-cult statues is still growing to this day. The film would also get a comic book in 2017 and would be hosted by both Baron Von Porkchop and The Creeper on their shows respectively. The short film was meet with mixed reviews from critics and fans with most of the reviews being positive, but the one thing people would say is that they wanted more Farmer Joe and wanted more kills from him. The film in 2003 was released alongside such other films as Bloody Giblets: The Legend Of Lady Vandalay, Mummy Sleepover Massacre, Escape From The Dead, The Bonesetter, Black Sun, Hatchetman, Killer Rats, Beyond Re-Animator and Darkness Falls to name a few.
Farmer Joe is one of those short horror films that I was involved in that was a nightmare while filming and acting in as Mike was very new to film and was making many mistakes and causing delay, but once done became one of my favorites as I have lots of great memories of hanging with the cast and crew who were all my friends with one of them even being my fiancé at the time as she played the first victim in the film. And I can remember the world premiere of the film being done at a big meeting that was being held at a friend’s house and we had many friends over to check it out as later the film was slated to play at some conventions. I have always been a fan of this film from the old Independent B Movie days as while it has lots of flaws, it has a spooky charm that takes me back to the old days of telling ghost stories with friends late nights as well as the stories of ghosts, killers and monsters that were spoken about in the small village I am from. What also works for this film is that actor Matt Hoffman was known for playing two types of rolls in these indie films at the time with one being Matt a bullied kid who was beat up all the time and even when trying to fight back still was on the losing end of life and the other was The Wolf Hunter a macho hero who hunted and killed werewolves…so he had the two extremes a weak hero to a macho hero. But Hoffman’s role in Farmer Joe allowed him to be Bart a snarky leader of a gang who used his standing in the small town to push around those he looked at as weaker than him, and I have to say Hoffman really shines in the role. The other standout would be John Phaneuf who played Farmer Joe as his voice was booming and he looked like a crazy man as we filmed his rage scene. Farmer Joe was slated to get a sequel and had many different scripts and started filming twice, but always seemed to get cancelled by Mike Ritchie who had lots of going on in his personal life at the times. The sequels would have seen names like Plexi Starr and Bob Hinton (A. Ghastlee Ghoul) joining the cast with names like Matt Hoffman, Henrique Couto, Zach Prater and Josh Weinberg returning from the original. While Farmer Joe us a very small micro budgeted film that is mostly known for being a cult short film in Ohio it has made it mark on horror Ohio cinema.
I am sure many of you readers have never heard of Farmer Joe, but I do hope that this update has made you want to see it as if you like micro budget backyard style horror films with some actors that went on to star, direct and produce bigger well known films and shows this is one for you. And now we are at the part of the update that we talk about the comic book and like others that we have covered that were released by Blood Scream Comics we will not be doing any kind of star rating do to my connection to that publisher as well as my connection to the film Farmer Joe, so keep that in mind no stars will be given. I would like to thank Blood Scream Comics as well as the creative team of Juliet Fromholt, Jeff Potter and Jason Gilmore who made this comic and update possible. I would like to also thank Mike Ritchie for being the creator, director, writer and actor in the film Farmer Joe that this comic is based off of. So with that, let’s head into the barn of Farmer Joe and see what terrors he has in store for us.
Farmer Joe # 0
Released in 2017 Cover Price $1.99 Blood Scream # 0 of 0
Danny’s Dad is speaking into an old tape recorder as he is driving to a cursed barn alongside two of his sons bullies about the legend of Farmer Joe that had him being sold bad seeds that ruined his crops and drove him mad as he slaughtered all his livestock, plus even in death as his evil spirit haunts his old land and how he was after his son Danny and his bullies Bart, Gunner and Sam after they taunted the spirit of Joe on his own land. He tells of how the bully Bart has been chosen by Farmer Joe to help spread his curse outside his land and sends him to kidnap Danny and his mother, bringing them to Farmer Joe to lure Danny’s Dad to them. And that is why now Danny’s Dad is with Gunner and Sam heading toward the cursed barn in order to get them back. But as they get there and close to the barn Gunner is killed by a ghost bull that gores him with its massive horns and once inside they find the dead and rotted body of Bart as Farmer Joe had no need for him now! Sam is killed next as Farmer Joe uses his hoe to take off his head, and Danny’s Dad soon is shocked when he finds the bodies of his wife and son as they have as well be murdered! And after falling down in fright and shock he himself is killed and Farmer Joe has now got his revenge on them all and yet his evil spirit wants more bloodshed as he drags the body of Danny’s Dad away.
I first have to say that Farmer Joe makes for a very spooky horror comic book and this 12-page comic is able to bring the reader a quick look at the events from the short film and them bring its own twisted tale of supernatural murder and mayhem. The plot has Farmer Joe luring a father to his cursed barn by taking his wife and son hostage, only for the father to find it was a trap all along and that he and his family have been selected to be slaughtered for daring to cross the path of the evil spirit of Farmer Joe and his cursed land. Our hero of the comic is Danny’s Dad, a father who loves his family and who is willing to once more cross into the unknown in order to save the lives of his family and hopeful end the curse once and for all. But while Danny’s Dad is a hero, he also makes big mistakes as he allow his anger and fear to cause himself to rush in and find himself just another number in the body count of Farmer Joe. Danny himself is defenseless in this one as he finds himself being kidnapped and done away with all caused by a dare he took years back. The Bullies as well this time do not do well as Bart is used and then slaughtered and Sam and Gunner who are forced to return to the barn get their lives snuffed out. The evil spirit of Farmer Joe showcases why he and his cursed land are feared as he seems to truly have control over the land and the weather around it, has a heard of ghost cattle protecting his land and like always has his trusty hoe in order to end lives and send souls to the great beyond. And it’s clear that Farmer Joe is taking great pleasure in this issue of killing people as well as ending his feud with Danny’s family once and for all. The comic is filled with lots of spooky atmosphere as well as has its share of blood, gore and violence with the best kill for me being the death of Gunner as being killed by a ghost bull is pretty cool. The cover is very cool and super eye catching for fans of Indie Horror Comics as it shows a woman on the ground as coming out of the barn doors is Farmer Joe with his hoe in hand, and I have to say I think Jason Gilmore did a great job on the colors and making it pop. The interior artwork was done by Jeff Potter and is really cool as the characters look like the actors who played them and he truly captures the nature of the short film its based on. This issue zero of Farmer Joe is a really fun read and fans of the short horror film will truly enjoy this one as it feels like an urban legend story mixed with a slasher film wrapped together to deliver one heck of a spooky read. Check out the artwork below to see the style used by Jeff Potter for this comic.
I truly think that Farmer Joe made for a great comic book series and that creators Juliet and Potter did a great job of bringing horror comic readers a very spooky and bloody good read. And a few things I need to also say is that Farmer Joe was part of a fan vote event that Blood Scream Comics held in 2017 where three issue 0 comics were made by different creators all based around the Horror Movies of Independent B Movie and Farmer Joe was one of them as was the werewolf Scars from Bark At The Moon: Scars and The Sadness Killer from The Sadness who ended up winning the vote. And for those also wondering, the haunted barn location from the film has been torn down many, many years ago, making it impossible to revisit the filming location for those of you interested in doing so. And speaking of old barns I think out time here with Farmer Joe is over and with all that said, it’s time for this update to come to an end and for me to say that our next update of course will be another From Horror Movie To Horror Comic one as we take a look at the 1986 film The Abomination and the promo comic adaptation. So until next time, read a horror comic of three, watch a horror movie or two and as always support your local Horror Host. See you next update for a gross blood splattered good time.
