Dead Dogs

Dead Dogs (1999) is a 90-minute movie created by Clay Eide and Regge Bulman.

Main Details[]

Plot Summary[]

Dead Dogs is a black and white suspense thriller of a motel heist that goes wrong. On Fourth of July weekend, a lonely night watchman at a small town resort passes the time in a dead-end romance with a motel maid. Years before, his volatile, small-time criminal brother had run off with his girlfriend, and now they both suddenly show up and try to con him into helping them hold up the motel.

Production Information[]

Dead Dogs was shot on 35mm film in September 1998 at the Grand Forks Holiday Inn. At the time, screenwriter Todd Bulman worked at that motel and had written the script with it in mind. His brother Regge Bulman and Montana film school classmate Clay Eide, both working as writers and on film crews in California, formed One Eight Five (1.85) Film Productions to make their own movies and decided it would be cost-effective to shoot their first film in Grand Forks using Todd's script. The film's working title was Fourth of July.

The building that served as the resort exterior was the Blue Moose restaurant in East Grand Forks, Minnesota. At the time it was still in its original location before being moved across the street to make room for the dike project.

After completing the film, Eide and Bulman toured with it across North Dakota and did the festival circuit over the next year, winning critical acclaim and a number of awards, but not the sought-after distribution deal.