| Creating Rem Lezar | |
|---|---|
 VHS cover | |
| Directed by | Scott Zakarin |
| Written by | Scott Zakarin |
| Produced by | Scott Zakarin Phil Meyerowitz |
| Starring | Jack Mulcahy Courtney Kernaghan Jonathan Goch |
| Cinematography | Richard E. Brooks |
| Music by | James E. Graseck Bernie Maloney Mark Mulé Peter Spirer |
Production company | Rem Lezar Corporation |
| Distributed by | Valley Studios |
Release date |
|
Running time | 48 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Creating Rem Lezar/ˈrɛmləˈzɑːr/ is a 1989 American children'smusical film directed, written, and produced byScott Zakarin and was releaseddirect-to-video.[1][2][3][4]
Two children have the same dream about the sameimaginary friend, a superhero named Rem Lezar. They build a mannequin to look like their dream hero, which comes to life. However, he doesn't have hisQuixotic Medallion, which he needs to live longer than a day. They are taunted by the evil Vorock, a floating entity who threatens them from the sky, who has hidden the Medallion "at the highest point that the mind can go". The group travels to New York City in search of the Medallion. They meet various characters along the way, such as a dancing quartet who sing to themselves, and visit landmarks likeCentral Park and theTwin Towers. When they fail to find the Medallion, they return to Vorock, and are able to turn him good by telling him that they love him. The children go back home and find that Rem Lezar has returned to the form of a mannequin, but Zack still has the Quixotic Medallion. The children go back to sleep and dream of Rem Lezar.
Creating Rem Lezar was filmed in a variety of locations inNew York state:The Bellmores,New York City,Roslyn andSpring Glen.
It was also shot on16 mm film.[5]
In 2005, the film came to prominence on the websiteeBaum's World, with the musical number "Day and Night" (featuring a late-1980sdoo-wop group,hip-hop MC andviolinist) becoming aviral hit.[6]
Creating Rem Lezar (described as "creepy/fascinating" and "very strange") appeared in a 2014BuzzFeedlisticle of 26 films thatScarecrow Video were trying to keep available to the public, as a reminder of "how many rare titles are still only available as physical media thanks to market forces, rights issues, corporate wrangling, and other reasons."[7]
Courtney Kernaghan, the actress who played Ashlee, passed away in 2017 at the age of 40.[8]
Creating Rem Lezar was featured on a 2019 episode ofRedLetterMedia's "Best of the Worst" series.[9] The crew voted the film the best video they had watched that night, and have since made it part of their Best of the Worst Hall of Fame.
Scott Zakarin, the film's director, has himself described the film as "a critical success but a commercial failure."[10]
The character of Rem Lezar became incredibly popular with twitch streamerVinesauce and his online audience, which led to the streamer conducting an interview with the character's actor Jack Mulcahy about the film on August 30, 2022.[11]
RiffTrax, consisting of formerMystery Science Theater 3000 alumniKevin Murphy,Bill Corbett andMichael J. Nelson, commented on the film March 22, 2024.[12]
In 2022, the film was remastered from the original 1 inch master tape and released on DVD and Blu-ray for the first time on September 13, 2022, commemorating the film's 35th anniversary.[13]
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)Creating Rem Lezar.