Early Works

Roger Nygard’s first film was an animated short, made when he discovered his dad’s 8mm camera at the age of seven. That led to live action shorts, with siblings and friends conscripted for actors. Most of those early stories involved a chase, since that’s an easy story to tell in a silent film. Or the story was built around some kind of available prop, like a Rubik’s cube, a monster mask, or a dummy that could be thrown off a bridge.

In high school he upgraded to sound films, and in college, video was the medium, with ever increasing–he hates to use the word–sophistication, because the point of the films was to be as ridiculous as possible. His final short, before turning pro, was called WARPED, a 30 minute psychological horror film about three women in a remote farmhouse trying to kill each other.

Production Stills

The Indestructible Man. A dummy is tossed off a train trestle.

The Practical Joker’s Last Joke. David Kirshner with his legs bent back and Roger Nygard wielding the hockey stick.

The Chase. Roger Nygard with the gun, Patrick Farnand and Steven Nygard at gunpoint.

The Hauntling. Starring Partick Farnand and Gigi Kalweit.

AC/DC 8mm bootleg. Shot at the Minneapolis Met Center, Minnesota. Angus Young on guitar.

Poltercube. Starring Patrick Farnand, with the demonic cube.

Workout Frenzy. Starring Jim Thomton and Gigi Kalweit.

Outlook: The Contemporary Job Market. A Moe ventriloquist doll as Woody Caustic (voiced by Jim Thomton) and Brian Wolff as the host.

Outlook: The Contemporary Job Market. Lyle Wexler, Mo ventriloquist doll as Woody Caustic (voiced by Jim Thomton), and Brian Wolff as the host.

Outlook: The Contemporary Job Market. Scott Nimerfro as Chef Q (with a bag over his radiation-burned head), Mo ventriloquist doll as Woody Caustic (voiced by Jim Thomton), and Brian Wolff as the host.