EDITOR'S NOTE: I only recently discovered the Palonia brothers, after interviewing filmmaker Brett Piper (BITE ME!)for an upcoming book, although I recognized several of their titles. Their Misty Mundae/Erika Smith offering, SPLATTER BEACH, was one of the first DVDs reviewed on Fear Zone. Out leading Indie Zone reviewer, Mario Dominick, often mentioned them in his encyclopedic e-mails to me, and when he mentioned how sad he was over John Palonia's recent passing, I asked him to write an obituary. We want to cover all aspects of horror at FZ, and all kinds of creators, and John Palonia certainly had a body of work.

By now, probably many of you have heard about the passing of Pennsylvania filmmaker John Polonia, the twin brother of filmmaker Mark Polonia and other half of the Polonia Brothers duo, on Monday, February 25 at the age of 39 of a heart aneurism. This is indeed a sad time in the micro budget horror world.

The Polonia Brothers have been well-known over the years for their low budget, shot-on-video horror and splatter flicks starting with the cult classic SPLATTER FARM in 1987 and continuing through the 1990s and up to today. The Polonia catalog includes HELLSPAWN, HOW TO SLAY A VAMPIRE, NIGHT CRAWLERS, FEEDERS 1 and 2, BAD MAGIC, BLOOD RED PLANET, PETER ROTTENTAIL, AMONG US, RAZORTEETH, SPLATTER BEACH, the recent FOREST PRIMEVAL and the upcoming MONSTER MOVIE.

The Polonias have proven to be a highly influential and driving force in the underground filmmaking scene. They've been very successful in getting major retailers and rental stores to carry their titles. FEEDERS was a good rental title for Blockbuster when it came out in 1996. It was the first time the Polonias teamed up with CANNIBAL CAMPOUT and WOODCHIPPER MASSACRE director Jon McBride. McBride went on to work with them on several other projects. Donna Michelle Productions, the original distributor of SPLATTER FARM, CANNIBAL CAMPOUT and WOODCHIPPER MASSACRE, played a big role in the eventual teaming of McBride's Intercoast Productions and Polonia Brothers Entertainment.

McBride and the Polonias' works have seen distribution from the major players in the indie scene such as Ron Bonk's Sub Rosa Studios, Kevin J. Lindenmuth's Brimstone Productions, Darrin Ramage's Brain Damage Films, Mike Raso's Pop Cinema, and J.R. Bookwalter's Tempe Entertainment. The Polonias have also collaborated on other projects doing editing and digital effects. Filmmaker/effects wizard Brett Piper handled the creature effects for many of their movies as well. Jeff Dylan Graham, Erin Brown, and Erika Smith are amongst the name low budget actors who have worked with the Polonias. The Polonia legacy has proven to be very vast as their work has inspired generations of other young filmmakers, and B-movie fans continue to seek out and enjoy their work to this day.

I had the pleasure of meeting John and Mark and Mark's son Anthony at the Monster Bash convention in Pittsburgh last year. John and Mark were happy to meet and talk with their fans. They were humble and gracious. I had my FEEDERS 1 and 2 Double Feature DVD with me and both of them signed it. John's signature reads, "To our #1 fan!" Mark's son Anthony is also a young filmmaker who I believe will continue to pursue his dreams in honor of his uncle.

I am happy to see that others in the low budget horror community have united to pay their respects to John and comfort Mark and his family during this rough time. I will be happy to continue honoring John's work and supporting the work that Mark and his son do in the future.

You will certainly be missed, John. It is very unfortunate that you were taken from us at such a young age. But you will still be with me as I watch your movies, listen to your commentaries and watch interviews and behind-the-scenes footage with you on DVDs. Thanks again, from your #1 fan.

--Mario Dominick