Manborg

Plot

Count Draculon (Adam Brooks) and his Nazi vampire forces seek to take over Earth during the Hell Wars. A soldier (Matthew Kennedy) is killed attempting to fight the Count, then transformed into Manborg after his body is fitted with robotics. After Manborg becomes active in Mega-Death City, he meets with resistance fighters against Count Draculon. Justice (Conor Sweeney) is a gunfighter who resembles Billy Idol with an "Australian" accent who is joined by his sister Mina (Meredith Sweeney) and martial arts expert #1 Man (Ludwig Lee, voice-dubbed by Kyle Hebert).

Cast

Production

Production began in 2009, with approximately one year of filming followed by two years of post-production. Chroma key backdrops were used for most filmed scenes. Production costs were approximately $1,000 (CAD).

Release

The first public screening of Manborg was on 22 September 2011 at Fantastic Fest in Austin, Texas.

Reception

Rick Groen of The Globe and Mail took a favourable view of Manborg, declaring it "cheap and cheesy, no doubt, but with some real tang and, occasionally, a strong bite". The Toronto Star's Peter Howell deemed the film "a marvel of DIY makeup, costuming and special effects" although he believed the production "would have been a much better movie without the cheese".