|
The
Hammer Will Fall by Tim Ritter
DROPPING
THE HAMMER WITH TIM RITTER
by Mathew Lee
Four One One Magazine, December 2001 Issue
South Florida has a new problem, in the form a vicious gang
of teen hooligans that are overrunning their most elite high
school, making the staff cower with fear and dread at their
very mentioning. But wait a minute, the new educator on the
block, Al Hammer, is a former police officer...and he's not
gonna stand for this kind of unruliness in his classroom!
If he gets pushed, he'll push back. Beware, PUNKS, because
this shop teacher's HAMMER WILL FALL... on you!
Sounds almost like a B-movie plot, doesn't it? Well, guess
again folks! Lake Worth born Tim Ritter is at it again, only
this time around, it's not a movie that he's hawking, it's
his first novel! True addicts of contemporary B-Movies will
instantly know Ritter's name. As the screenwriter behind the
Palm Beach County-lensed horror cult classics including the
"Truth or Dare?" trilogy or the grisly features
"Creep" and "Killing Spree," Ritter has
been terrifying and entertaining audiences with his intense,
envelope-pushing approach to storytelling that liberally mix
pulse-banging suspense with unapologetic violence.
Although it seemed he literally dropped off the planet after
1998's hit "Screaming For Sanity," nothing could
be further from the truth. I recently caught up Ritter in
an Ohio editing suite, where he was putting the final touches
on a contribution to Kevin Lindenmuth's upcoming ALIEN CONSPIRACY
film, BEYOND THE LOST WORLD.
"No,
I haven't quit the scene," Ritter said on a relaxing
coffee break. "I simply moved up north to experience
a lower-key lifestyle and perhaps write a novel or two. After
making so many B-movies for so long, I decided it was time
to slow down and try a new approach, maybe expand my audience
a bit."
The inspiration for Ritter's first novel was taking his father's
true life experiences as a Florida shop teacher and twisting
them into a suspense-thriller/B-movie format, seeing if it
all gelled. He believes it did.
"It
came out pretty wild," Ritter reflected. "I think
fans of my movies will like it, and people who read thrillers
will enjoy it, too. There's a little something for everyone,
and the material isn't so rough that young adults have to
avoid it. It's just amusing escapism."
Completing the manuscript in 2000, it took over a year and
a half to find a publisher. Now that HAMMER has just been
released by PublishAmerica.com, Ritter will be supporting
the book with promotions and in-store signings all throughout
2002.
"It
should be interesting trying to get [the novel] out there,"
he stated. "It's always a challenge, and everyone should
be able to relate to the lead character in this book, Al Hammer.
He's an underdog, a likable guy, simply trying to do the right
thing, and things just get out of control. It's that way in
life sometimes."
As for what's next, Ritter sees another book for 2003 and
more movies, of course. "What else would I be doing?"
he grinned.
|
