With Project Shamrock, Jason Eisener is back in the shorts game. If you're a fan of genre films, you can't help but be a fan of Jason Eisener. Hobo with a Shotgun, Kids vs. Aliens, and Dark Side of the Ring have helped make him a favorite among folks with good taste, but real ones know that Eisener is also responsible for some truly incredible short horror films, like the perfectly executed One Last Dive or one of my personal holiday traditions, Treevenge.
But now Eisener is returning to his roots in grindhouse horror with Project Shamrock, an unauthorized fan film that reimagines John Carpenter’s Halloween mythology through the lens of a long-lost industrial film reel. Set in the years leading up to the events of Halloween (1978) and Halloween III: Season of the Witch (1982), the horror short presents disturbing footage purportedly dating back to Halloween 1960. Eisener presents it as a recently discovered artifact, uncovering evidence of a top-secret Silver Shamrock Corporation program operating under the codename “Project Shamrock.”
Of course, no good has ever come of scientists allegedly testing Halloween mask prototypes on the young children of factory employees, especially in the case of a three-year-old boy named Michael Myers. The story follows a small-town janitor, played by Dave Brunt (the original Hobo with a Shotgun from the trailer Eisener made for Grindhouse), who is brought in for questioning about his time at the Silver Shamrock Factory and the disturbing allegations surrounding its experiments.
Through this reluctant witness's perspective, Project Shamrock explores a sinister chapter of Halloween mythology that predates the franchise’s best-known installments. Not content to only reference the major films, the short also incorporates nods to Halloween 5: The Return of Michael Myers (1989) and Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers (1995), weaving together elements from across the franchise in an attempt to connect its disparate storylines in a way never before explored within its established canon. Considering the Halloween canon might as well be held together with leftover trick-or-treat candy wrappers and chewed-up bubble gum, this is a hell of an audacious story.
Eisener and his team shot the film over two days in Dartmouth and Halifax, Nova Scotia, on 8mm and 16mm film to evoke the look and feel of a vintage industrial production. The analog approach reinforces the film’s conceit as forgotten corporate propaganda, lending unsettling authenticity to its archival-style footage. Anyone familiar with Eisener's work knows he's the best of the best at capturing that old-school look and feel, and Project Shamrock is no different.
Behind the camera, cinematographer Andy Appelle (Deathstalker) lent the project its distinctive film-based aesthetic, while composer Andrew Gordon Macpherson (Dark Side of the Ring) provided the music and sound. Practical horror effects came courtesy of Steven Kostanski (Psycho Goreman), who created a grotesque prosthetic head for the production. Katie McQueston oversaw production design, props, wardrobe, and special effects supervision.
Eisener wrote, directed, and edited Project Shamrock, which stars Brunt as The Janitor, alongside Mark Palermo, Johnny Purcell, Cher Hann, Ziggy Bell, Jovie Bell, Connor King, and Paul Doucette. The supporting cast includes Ian Matheson, Jermaine Arsenault, Jess Patenaude, Dawson Farrell, Lara Lewis, Clark Goodwin, Cúan Heaton, Joseph “Mojo” Widgery, Gerald V. Holmes, Tim Barnett, Jack Eisener, and David Jones.
Produced by Jen Yamato and Ian Matheson, with Appelle also serving as co-producer, Project Shamrock is a not-for-profit fan film made purely for entertainment that combines vintage filmmaking techniques, practical effects, and deep-cut franchise references to imagine a disturbing new piece of Halloween history.
You can check out the film right here, but all of Eisener's shorts are available on his YouTube channel.
