Todd and The Book of Pure Evil

Todd, Curtis, Jenny e Hannah, são alunos da Crowley High, a única escola de Ensino Médio numa pequena cidade, secretamente fundada por Satanistas.Depois de acharam um livro com vontade própria “O livro de Puro Mal”, que concede desejos um tanto quanto obscuros, eles se juntam para tentar destruí-lo. Cada episódio gira em torno de algum aluno da escola usando o livro para realizar desejos de se dar bem, que geralmente resultam em caos total. Todd e seus colegas lutam contra o que o Livro realiza, e tentam manter a escola a salvo. O conselheiro da escola Atticus Murphy, os ajuda nessa empreitada, mas é na verdade um membro do clã Satanista (que comanda secretamente a cidade), e tem a tarefa de trazer o Livro de volta ao líder do culto, que na verdade é seu próprio pai.Todd e o Livro do Puro Mal é baseado num curta de mesmo título escrito por Craig DAvid Wallace e Max Reid, e dirigido por Wallace.

 For many teenagers, high school is hell. For students at Crowley High, hell is in their high school. On Wednesday, Sept. 29 SPACE debuts its bloody good, all-new, original scripted series, TODD & THE BOOK OF PURE EVIL with two, back-to-back episodes at 9 p.m. ET and 9:30 p.m. ET. A 13-episode, half-hour original SPACE spawn, TODD & THE BOOK OF PURE EVIL is a tip of the hat to 80s teen and horror flicks that is best described as Breakfast Club meets Evil Dead and a testament to the channel’s devotion to wicked programming. A week before the mayhem is unleashed, INNERSPACE plunges into the depths of hell with a TODD & THE BOOK OF PURE EVIL special, Wednesday, Sept. 22 at 9 p.m. ET. Viewers can relive the mayhem online at spacecast.com.

On Saturday, Aug. 28 at 5 p.m. ET, the entire cast invades Toronto fan entertainment event FAN EXPO Canadaâ„¢ for an INNERSPACE LIVE: TODD & THE BOOK OF PURE EVIL panel. Hosted by INNERSPACE genre experts Teddy Wilson and Ajay Fry, the one-hour panel features a sneak peek at the entire first episode, followed by a Q&A with the cast.

 

TODD & THE BOOK OF PURE EVIL follows a book of awesome power that makes teenagers’ deepest, darkest desires come true, but at a horrifying cost. It’s The Book of Pure Evil and it’s loose in Crowley High. Thankfully, one horny teenager stands between the book and the end of the world as we know it. His name is Todd Smith and he will save their asses whether he wants to or not.

 

In the 13 horrifically hilarious episodes, The Book of Pure Evil unleashes its power in all manner of ways: via a giant evil baby, a vengeful penis monster or voracious zombie Goth band, to name a few. In the premiere episode, “Todd the Metal God,” Todd becomes the reluctant hero when he uses the Book’s power to transform himself into a heavy metal guitar god to impress his dream girl Jenny. Unfortunately glory comes with a hefty price and once the Book’s evil powers are unleashed, Crowley High’s teen dreams quickly turn into nightmares.

 

TODD & THE BOOK OF PURE EVIL stars a deadly cast including Alex House (DARK ORACLE) as pot-smokin’, heavy-metal-rock-god-wannabe Todd Smith; Maggie Castle (The Time Traveler’s Wife) as righteous babe Jenny Kolinsky; Bill Turnbull (BEING ERICA) as Todd’s best bud Curtis Weaver; Melanie Leishman (TRUE CONFESSIONS OF A HOLLYWOOD STARLET) as big-brained Hannah B. Williams; Chris Leavins (SLINGS AND ARROWS) as Crowley High’s sub-par guidance counsellor Atticus Murphy Jr.; and last but not least, Jason Mewes (Clerks, Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back) as the foul-mouthed, sex-obsessed custodian, Jimmy the Janitor.

TODD & THE BOOK OF PURE EVIL is a SPACE original production, shot in Winnipeg. Isme Bennie is Vice-President and General Manager for SPACE. Rebecca DiPasquale is Manager of Development for SPACE.

TODD & THE BOOK OF PURE EVIL is the brainchild of co-creators Craig David Wallace, Charles Picco and Anthony Leo. Executive Producing this madness are Anthony Leo and Andrew Rosen (Aircraft Pictures), Craig David Wallace (Corvid Pictures), and Jamie S. Brown (Frantic Films). Producers are Leo, Rosen and Shawn Watson (Frantic Films). TODD& THE BOOK OF PURE EVIL is based on the short film of the same name by Max Bernard Reid and Craig David Wallace, which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2003.

 

SPACE’s ongoing support of Canadian independent productions has been a major contributor to the success of series such as SANCTUARY, THE LISTENER, DEFYING GRAVITY, STORMWORLD, RABBIT FALL, GIRLY GHOSTHUNTERS and TRIPPING THE RIFT. Documentaries include FAMOUS MONSTER and PRETTY BLOODY.

The legend of Faust concerns a 16th-century German scholar and magician who, disillusioned with his lack of progress, enters into a pact with the devil—ultimately condemning his soul to eternal damnation in exchange for a period of satanic servitude. 450 years later, give or take a decade or two, this classic cautionary tale captured the imagination of Canadian filmmaker/writer Craig David Wallace, who—along with co-creators Charles Picco and Anthony Leo—applied the legend to a contemporary scholar (high school student) and magician (stoner metalhead guitarist) in pursuit of knowledge and power (to command the respect of his fellow students and ultimately get laid). The result is the Canadian comedy/horror TV series TODD AND THE BOOK OF PURE EVIL.

Debuting with two back-to-back episodes on Canada’s Space network tomorrow, Wednesday, September 29 at 9 p.m. ET, the show focuses on the titular Todd Smith (Alex House) and his best pal, the sweet but vacuous Billy Turnbull (Curtis Weaver). The duo attend Crowley High School, where they fail miserably at everything but getting high. This lack of personal success comes to a vicious head at a battle of the bands, in a very funny sequence that forces Todd to question his self-worth and propels him headlong into the path of three aged metalhead stoners with a mysterious agenda. For reasons of their own, this dodgy denim-clad trio guide Todd to the Book of Pure Evil (“Anyone who listens to metal knows the Book of Pure Evil”), insisting it will enable him to realize his ultimate desire of becoming a true “heavy metal god.”

But Todd and his friends soon discover, just as Faust did ages ago, that any deal involving demons and dark arts—not to mention a fleshbound book stitched together with the foreskin of Judas—comes with a terrible price. A spell is cast, all hell breaks loose and now Todd, with the help of his unlikely compadres, must contain the tome’s satanic forces before any more innocent souls fall under its duplicitous influence. Assisting Todd and Curtis in their quest to vanquish the evil unleashed on the unsuspecting (but often deserving) Crowley staff and students is the object of Todd’s teenaged lust, the sultry but aloof Jenny Kolinsky (Maggie Castle), and perky science nerd Hanna B. Williams (Melanie Leishman), who in turn unrequitedly lusts after Todd. Rounding out the ensemble is Jimmy, the mysterious janitor played by an uncharacteristically restrained Jason Mewes, who provides crucial plot-related advice to Todd each week like a mystical but foul-mouthed guide, and Atticus Murphy (Chris Leavins), the hopelessly incompetent guidance counselor who’s actually on a sinister quest of his own: to procure the Book of Pure Evil for his associates, a covert coven of hooded devil worshippers hellbent on bringing about the end of humanity’s dominion over the Earth.

The thirteen episodes of TODD’s first season were shot in Winnipeg, Manitoba, enabling the production team to take advantage of the attractive tax incentives offered for filming in that city. Not that budget appears to be an issue; the show’s look and feel equal the production values of its American cousins, a level of quality rarely seen in Canadian-made TV. This can be attributed to a solid cast, refreshingly irreverent writing and the conscious decision to use old-school rubber monster FX, instead of more affordable but often cheaper-looking CGI. Special makeup maestro David Scott (pictured right, from JACK BROOKS: MONSTER SLAYER and RESIDENT EVIL: AFTERLIFE among others), the creature creator responsible for the show’s latex grotesqueries, reveals that minimal digital magic was used to enhance his practical critters.

What I found really exciting was that we could use the computer to remove operators from a shot, and it opened up some windows we didn’t have before. We could still do real, physical creatures, but we could make them do things we couldn’t have done with them even 10 years ago.”

Where Faust’s saga may have provided the series’ kernel, its shell is pure ’80s old-school VHS-video horror, with the requisite metal score composed by Winnipeg’s Shawn Pierce helping drive its energy. Unfortunately, as of now, TODD AND THE BOOK OF PURE EVIL hasn’t found American distribution, but Wallace has high hopes for its future, despite the fact that “it’s a challenging show. Anything that has to do with high school and gore and blood and swearing and drug use—there’s always a challenge with that. We’re very unapologetic with our themes, and there’s a certain amount of reluctance that we’re facing. People are a little afraid of the show, but there is definitely a broadcaster out there for us.”