DTF - Movies - Empire

Title: Empire
Length: 80 minutes
Date Premiered: 1992
Production Time: 2 years
Cast Members:

Johnny Lion
James C. Lion
Alisa Perry
Dana Cline
Chris Garozziano
Scott Bergsma
Billy (an Evil Doll)

Empire was Johnny's second film, but the first where he controlled all aspects of production. His brother, James C. Lion, played the lead role as well as Assistant Art Director. This movie was a gothic fantasy set in modern times. The movie begins as an evil character, The Scarecrow, emerges from the underworld to recruit disciples for his evil plot to take over the world. The Scarecrow's diabolical assistant, Billy (an evil doll), specialized in prophecies of the spirit world and fortelling the future. Johnny, playing the character The Lion, is revealed at the starting of the film, but is very weak in power. He passes out and falls into a coma, but is later found by Becky (played by Alisa Perry). She takes him to her house, where she watches over him until he wakes. He has a dream about The Scarecrow, which reveals that his destiny is to battle against this malevolent creature and Billy. The Lion then goes through a spiritual and physical transformation before his epic confrontation with the evil duo.

This feature-length movie is a grand, larger-than-life production. Much more planning, costume-design, and special effects (mainly Johnny's pyromaniac tactics) went into this production than Dark Light. This movie is the longest of Johnny's films, running 80 minutes in length and taking over two years to make. It was filmed in Bremerton and Ollala (between Port Orchard and Purdy). Like Dark Light, it was originally filmed on Super-8 mm film, but was later converted to VHS. With the weird, dark costuming of the scarecrow and the gothic transformation of The Lion, Empire proves to be a gothic turning point in Johnny's filmmaking career. This style will flourish in his later films. Empire, along with it's sequel Attack Of The Evil Dolls, will forever be recognized as Johnny's most monumental achievements.

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