“TREAD,” the documentary film about the 2004 bulldozer rampage in Granby, will premiere Feb. 28 in Grand County at The Foundry Cinema and Bowl for a week’s run.
According to a news release, Patrick Brower, author of “KILLDOZER: The True Story of the Colorado Bulldozer Rampage,” will have a Q&A after the showing on Feb. 28 and Feb. 29. Brower’s book was used as source material for the film.
“Director Paul Solet and his Hollywood-based production crew did an excellent job in conveying this disturbing event and the personality behind it,” said Brower, who worked as a consulting producer on the film.
The film relies on tapes Marvin Heemeyer left behind, interviews with his friends and victims of the rampage, and recreations of the bulldozer rampage and its backstory.
“Much of the original footage, both still and video, is presented in the film,” Brower said in the release. “But there are also some new photographs and video and newer, more extended interviews that add dramatic perspective to the event.”
The documentary also features a rebuilt version of the bulldozer. The film crew was able to find a Komatsu D-355A, the same model used by Heemeyer in the rampage, and hired a Hollywood prop designer to make an authentic facsimile of Heemeyer’s homemade tank.
That facsimile was used in several re-enactments of the early part of the rampage, which caused $10 million in damage. The actual tank was armored with a shell of concrete and steel that featured four firing ports from which three firearms were placed.
Although no one else was killed in the rampage, Heemeyer fired at a perceived enemy and law enforcement. He also attempted to cause an explosion in eastern Granby by shooting at large propane tanks. Heemeyer killed himself in the tank after the machine overheated in the devastated foundation of the Gambles building in downtown Granby.
