His commercial debut, All About Evil, has received positive reviews from critics (with Variety stating; “Over-the-top perfs and colorful low-budget production polish hit the right notes of knowing cheese”) and co-stars Cassandra Peterson (Elvira: Mistress of the Dark), Thomas Dekker (Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles) and Natasha Lyonne (American Pie).

Joshua discusses both his career as Peaches Christ and All About Evil…

Do you recall a specific movie or filmmaker that caused you to fall in love with cinema and how important was film to you as you were growing up?
“I remember seeing Disney films and The Wizard Of Oz as a REALLY little kid and I loved the villains, witches, evil queens, and bad guys. They were always my favorite and I think I always loved movies. I cannot remember a time I didn’t like scary things, and it was around the time of Poltergeist coming out and first seeing Psycho that I first started saying I wanted to grow up to make movies. I was maybe eight or nine.”

Peaches Christ was first ‘born’ during the making of your university film Jizzmopper: A Love Story when you were forced to replace one of your actors. Did you find that this character was one you easily embraced that first time and would you say she was a repressed aspect of your personality that was finally able to be released?
“I think that Peaches definitely allows me to express parts of myself that would otherwise be repressed, or at best a bit more dull. I think I took to playing the character pretty quickly, both because we had to shoot the film and also because I really enjoy performing. I had studied improv in high school so Peaches allowed me to exercise that stuff when the movie was finished and I continued performing onstage.”

Many performers create a flamboyant alter ego as in real life they are relatively shy or withdrawn. Would you say that this was the case and do you feel that when you are Peaches Christ it gives you license to say and do things that Joshua Grannell would be unable to do?
“Definitely. I realize this more now having made All About Evil, and getting to hear stories about the difference between having Peaches on-set versus Joshua.”

You have developed the character of Peaches Christ so successfully that you both have separate IMDb pages. Was this an error on the part of the site or did you intentionally create two personalities through your work: Peaches Christ and Joshua Grannell?
“I like to see Peaches Christ as a fully realized character, separate from my own identity. I love that IMDB has the two different pages.”

Was Midnight Mass in any way inspired by the late night movie circuit of Times Square during the late 1970s and early ’80s, particularly the Deuce? Often sex and violence would be heavily featured in the movies shown at that time and the surrounding area would be full of all types of eccentric characters.
“It was actually inspired by moving to San Francisco and hearing all these great stories about what The Cockettes had done here with midnight movies in North Beach at The Palace Theatre. Fantastic stuff! I also grew up in Maryland going to Rocky Horror and worshipping at the altar of John Waters. I think all of that inspired us to create Midnight Mass.”

Do you consider yourself primarily a filmmaker or performer and how do you balance the two when you are working on your movies?
“I think of myself as an entertainer and it all kinda melds together for me. Whether I’m performing as Peaches or writing and directing a movie as Joshua, I really do think that my job is to entertain my audience. I think story-telling is the key and understanding pacing, comedy, gags, and narrative structure informs what I do both onstage and behind the camera. It’s all about entertaining people.”

Were you tempted at all to make your first commercial feature film about Peaches Christ and did you ever give thought to making her the protagonist of All About Evil?
“No, I really wasn’t. I know I wasn’t ready for that. I stand by that decision. Maybe sometime in the future there’ll be a Peaches driven feature.”

Having worked with Cassandra Peterson on the movie, have you both discussed the possibility of making a movie where she plays Elvira: Mistress of the Dark and you play Peaches Christ?
“We have definitely toyed around with the idea. While I’d do it in a heartbeat, I’m not sure if she’s serious or not. I’ll have to keep nagging her. That’s essentially how I got her to agree to do All About Evil. I nagged.”

Whilst John Waters has not only been a major influence on your work but also a collaborator what other filmmakers have had a profound effect on the development of both your character and your work?
“Doris Wishman was a huge personal inspiration for All About Evil, and William Castle, Brian De Palma, Herschell Gordon Lewis, Russ Meyer, Wes Craven, Alfred Hitchcock, David Lynch, Ed Wood, The Kuchar Brothers, Todd Solondz, Pedro Almodovar and the list could go on and on and on. I’m a movie fan and my work is often about my love of movies.”

How did your short Grindhouse develop into All About Evil and how similar are they in both story and tone?
“I think that after I had that kernel of an idea succeed in the no-budget short film Grindhouse, I just knew I wanted to flesh it out and develop it further. And I also knew that I wanted my first feature to not be a Peaches Christ vehicle. I think the tone of Grindhouse is sillier than All About Evil but essentially it’s similar, and more about black comedy than anything else.”

Do you often write characters with specific actors in mind and was this the case at all with All About Evil?
“Sometimes I do, especially when creating material for the drag queens. I usually know who’s going to do what. With All About Evil, I didn’t think about any specific actress while I was writing. I just kinda wrote the characters freely and thought about who could play the parts once I was finished a handful of drafts.”

Were you a fan of splatter movies growing up and did these inspire you in any way as you were shooting the film?
“Ohmygod YES. The splatter movies I grew up loving were my religion from 80’s slasher stuff to HG Lewis and early Peter Jackson and Sam Raimi. I loved it all. When writing All About Evil, I had a blast coming up with my own little splatter gags. A bunch of stuff was cut for financial reasons, so I’ve got some stuff already to go for the next one.”

What projects do you have lined up for the future and how do you plan to follow All About Evil?
“I have a second feature film I’m developing that’s similar in tone to All About Evil and may even be part of an Evil Trilogy. We’ve also formed Peaches Christ Productions in San Francisco and have begun production on a bunch of smaller projects and films. We will continue to create content and do touring stage-shows.”

Share on Facebook

Tweet This Post

• NEW BLOOD – Danielle Panabaker
• BIOGRAPHY – George A. Romero
• A Decade of Horror – 2006
• NEWS – The Crazies Number 3 at Box Office with $16m

Andrew discusses both the movie and his own personal beliefs on the supernatural…

To make an effective horror movie, filmmakers must confront certain subjects or themes that they fear themselves. What do you feel you are scared of the most and how have you dealt with this in your work?
“If you don’t draw on things that frighten you how can you expect your audience to be frightened in the theatres? I don’t feel I scare easily and I won’t write a story in the horror genre unless it genuinely unnerves me. I hope that means that the ideas in my scripts are frightening to the viewers of my movies. As far as themes that frighten me one of my greatest fears has always been madness. It’s more frightening than otherworldly monsters as it’s so tangible. Most people’s lives have been touched by it at some stage or another. Whether it’s dementia in an elderly relative or a personal experience. It’s a sense of plausibility that I often look for when I write horror. I’m interested in the places where horror crosses into our everyday lives. Kind of the cracks through which it creeps into our reality.

My other great fear is of death. Oddly possibly for someone who write and loves horror movies but I have a morbid fear (no pun intended) of my own mortality. This obviously sneaks into my work and I think strengthens it. When I wrote D.O.R I really wanted any death in the film to have meaning. That’s something that I don’t feel you see a lot of in horror films. I wanted a sense of real tragedy when someone died. I really wanted the audience to feel that it mattered. Ideally I’d want a situation where the audience feels a range of emotions that they don’t normally get with a horror movie. Obviously I want to create suspense and tension but I’d also like them to really care about the characters they’re watching and feel true horror and sadness when they die. I hope that comes across in the final cut of D.O.R.”

The Possession of David O’Reilly is described as a supernatural horror, but what are your own personal beliefs with regards to ghosts and afterlife?
“That’s a BIG question. I’m a sceptic but I’m very much open to persuasion. I’d love to be proven wrong! The problem is that I’ve never seen or experienced anything to change my opinion. If I made lots of money from a movie or a book I’d love to dedicate some time to being involved in some proper paranormal investigation. I’m talking more James Randi than Most Haunted though! Don’t get me started on that terrible show. Grrr!”

Many horror movies that deals with ghosts suffer from similar clichés: eerie whispers, figures running passed the door, etc. Is this something that you have tried to avoid or embrace?
“If you don’t try to avoid cliché and create something new then you aren’t doing your job properly. There’s a lot of lazy writing in horror. It’s often seen as a second class genre, one that’s easy to make money with but doesn’t require writers and directors to invent or move the genre forward. I hate that attitude. OK, I won’t always be right with my ideas, some will work and some will fail but I definitely try to bring something new to everything I do.”

How do you feel your movie compares to the horror movies that have been released over the last couple of years and what makes it stand out from the rest?
“I’m really pleased with the performances in the film. There’s a real depth to them that you’re unlikely to see in other micro budget movies. That’s one of my real strengths as a director.”

There are few successful horror movies shot in Britain compared to American and Europe, how difficult is it for a filmmaker in England to fund and promote this kind of work?
“Honestly, unless you’re born into the industry and nepotism carries you through it’s practically impossible. The British Film Industry ™ is not a meritocracy regardless of what people would have you believe. I wasn’t born into it so it’s been an uphill struggle. I wrote Inside (later David O’Reilly) back in 2003 and it wasn’t shot till 2009. That gives a bit of an idea of how long a road it can be. For others it’s much longer. I count myself as one of the very lucky ones.

I’d imagine it’s hard enough if you want to shoot a Rom Com (that UK brand of films) but if you want to make a horror, especially one that does things differently, you’re practically dead in the water.

In 2006 no one would listen to my ideas and so I decided to go it alone and make In The Dark. (www.louisepaxton.co.uk) I shot the Louise Paxton project for two reasons. I really liked the story and thought I could do something with it and because I really wanted to show off the style in which I wanted to make Inside (D.O.R.). It was In The Dark that cracked David O’Reilly for me, that got people interested. Even then some people in the industry looked at Louise Paxton and thought it was too homemade and that the style would never sell. Paranormal Activity anyone? That’s the level of forward thinking and vision I was dealing with.

It’s not all doom and gloom though. I used YouTube to get my ideas out there and all these sites which weren’t available when I started writing are a real plus to first time filmmakers. If you can get hold of a camera, shoot something and get it out there it’s a great platform to show off your style and abilities.

My only other advice is persevere. You’re going to get knocked back a thousand times but eventually, if your work’s good enough, someone will take notice. Remain true to your ideas and don’t be swayed by people who are more interested in money than film making.”

Whilst attempting to avoid comparisons to Paranormal Activity, some websites constantly reference the movie when discussing your film. Does this frustrate you and how do the two movies differ from one another?
“I’ll tell you a little bit about how David O’Reilly came about. When I wrote David O’Reilly it was called Inside. It was 2003 and I was fed up with glossy US horror movies that didn’t relate to me in anyway. They were all set in places that I had no connection to and were often populated by characters that were completely unbelievable at best and generally hateful. I wanted to find a way to bring horror back to its audience, to make it relatable and hopefully all the more frightening for it. It didn’t take me long to realise that I had to somehow set the film in the audience’s home, in the place where you live, the place where you turn the lights out every night and are swallowed into the black.

I knew the film had to be shot in a documentary style but I didn’t want to be as constrained by such a realistic choice as something like The Blair Witch. I always imagined some of the monster sequences in Inside as being like watching a documentary and then seeing something amazing and impossible happening. I wanted to audience to feel as stunned as the characters when something you’d feel was impossible burst into the film.

Originally the film was going to be about a husband and wife documentary team who set about documenting a haunting. Imagine what that could have been like!! I didn’t go with that idea in the end because I wanted to create something that looked like a documentary without the constraints of the style – someone being behind the camera all the time and the often questions of plausibility in such a situation.

I’m not unrealistic. It’s no wonder to me that other people (since 2003) have thought of similar ideas and explored similar styles. That’s the nature of film making. I don’t find it frustrating to have people reference Paranormal Activity when talking about Inside (D.O.R.). The film coming at this time it was always going to be the case. If Paranormal Activity hadn’t come about we might have been compared to Rec or The Blair Witch. David O’Reilly shares elements with these films but I think once an audience get to see it they’ll see there are marked differences between the projects. I’m still fascinated by reality in horror and it’s something I’m going to continue to explore. With that in mind I’m sure the comparisons will continue for a long time.”

Share on Facebook

Tweet This Post

• VIDEO NASTIES – Inferno
• NEWS – First Proper Look at Predators Footage and Poster
• A Decade of Horror – 2005
• VIDEO NASTIES – Night Train Murders (aka Late Night Trains)

Being a dentist by trade, how did you come to be cast in what would become Troll 2 and do you recall the audition process?
“Just for the fun of it I auditioned for the part in Park City. There were about nine non-English speaking Italians in a heavily smoke-filled room, and I read the ‘piss on hospitality’ scene.”

What were your initial thoughts when you first read the screenplay and how did you prepare for the role?
“I never read the full screenplay…. only in parts. It was so discombobulated that no one could understand the story. Very hard to decipher and to do scene analysis.”

Were you familiar at all with Claudio Fragasso or the Italian horror industry and did you view any of his earlier movies before you worked with him?
“Never even knew his name, nor even met him. Did not even know he was the director when I read for the part.”

Perhaps the most quoted line from the movie was when your character said ‘You can’t piss on hospitality, I won’t allow it!’ What was your own personal favourite and how difficult was it to remain serious as you were acting out these lines?
“My personal favorite is when I come down the stairs of the house and I say ‘Is breakfast ready, dear?’, and I was trying to act like i was still sleepy. what a joke! I never got that line right. I remember we did the take four or five times. It was hard to keep from laughing.”

Do you recall whose decision it was to rename the movie from Goblin to Troll 2 and how did you feel about this?
“Never knew the name of the movie ’til it came out so. Totally was surprised when the new title came out.”

Public screenings of Troll 2 become very interactive, with the audiences participating by reciting dialogue and shouting at the screen. This almost makes it an event, like the Rocky Horror Picture Show. Have you attended many screenings over the years and what memories do you have of these?
Just folks going crazy over the movie and seeing cast members from the film, it was like a blast from the past. Fans can’t believe they are actually meeting the cast members. It’s bigger than life for them. One unusual night was when a fellow dragged another fan in the theatre in a flower pot and he was garnished in plants and ivy.’

It seemed that for many years those who had worked on the movie had tried to distance themselves from it. Yet, more recently, you have come to embrace its legacy. At what point did you finally accept your place in movie history and how do you feel when you watch the film?
“I never watched Troll 2 in its entirety until about the third screening. It was hard to embrace and sometimes still is. Don’t think I will ever get over it. He-he, seriously, it’s been a fun ride.’

Was Claudio Fragasso aware of the film’s reputation and what memories do you have of him on set? Do you feel that he took the material seriously and how does he feel about the status the film has achieved over the years?
“Claudio is Claudio and I totally respect him and he really does not care what other folks think about his work. He simply works from his heart and does what he feels is right for himself in his directing films. And I like that about him. He makes changes at the spur of a moment and operates from his heart, not his head so much, which i think is good. He just made a simple horror films with green blood (his and Rosella’s ideas) instead of red. Which took on a totally different effect, and really made Troll 2 what it is today. We were all trying to make a really good movie, we really were… that quote comes from Darren Ewing, Arnold in Troll 2.’

How did you and the rest of the cast reunite after so many years and how come you chose to return to your career as a dentist and not pursue acting?
“Believe it or not, the internet brought all of us together, thus Best Worst Movie was made after our reunion. There was an invite on IMDb I stumbled upon in April of 2006, asking cast members to attend the first USA screening with cast members in Provo, Utah. It was April 13th, 2006. Somehow I stumbled upon IMDb on the 11th as I was getting hits on MySpace about the popularity of Troll 2 and the number 1 rank of bottom 100. So I attended the first cast screening ever of Troll 2 in USA. From there, wow, what a ride. I met Michael Paul Stephenson and he said to me, ‘Hey, wanna do a doc around this crazy phenomenon around Troll 2′ and I said, ‘Sure, I am in.’

How did Best Worst Movie first come about? With Troll 2 being so obscure, making a documentary about it must have been a gamble. Who first conceived the idea and how did you manage to convince others to join?
“First of all, it was very hard convincing other cast members to even interview with them for the doc. I can remember Michael and I both reaching out to the cast members time and time again, going through Google search to even reach them. It was really, really tough and then once we were able to reach time after tons of phone calls, then was the challenge of interviewing them. Several did not want to even let us interview, you won’t believe this but we finally found the last cast member of all, who we could not find nor inteview, for Best Worst Movie and that was the fellow who did the popcorn scene with credance the queen of the golblins.’

How long did it take to shoot and edit Best Worst Movie and what kind of support did you receive?
“It took Michael Paul Stephenson and myself from the start of July 2006 til March of 2009 to make Best Worst Movie. We started the project all on our own and then added more and more to the team, and more and more support came when they saw what we were doing.”

With the film having landed a distributor and a trailer now online, when can fans expect to see the film and will it be released theatrically or straight onto DVD?
“The film will be in independent theaters in Austin, NYC, LA and other cities starting April and then will spread out from there. Then the DVD will come about from that I am sure. Seeing Best Worst Movie in the theatre is and incredible experience. I have had folks say to me, ‘I dont know when I have laughed that hard in the theatres, period!’ It honestly is one of the funniest, yet most thought provoking and deeply layers documentaries i think you will ever see.’

How do you feel about Troll 2’s reputation as one of the worst movies of all time and how did you feel when you first saw the movie?
“Now I love the fact I can say to you, ‘Hey, I was in one of the worst movies ever made and now in one of the best documentaries (it feels more like a movie) ever made.’

Whilst there would be a movie released under the title Troll 3, there was never a proper sequel made to Fragasso’s. Had one been produced would you have been willing to take part, and have you ever considered making another movie yourself?
‘Of course I would love the opportunity to work with Claudio and Michael. Of course there can never be another Troll 2, but who knows. I have seen some pretty good sequels. I think what would be really insane and funny is to do something no one has ever done before… to do the movie exactly over again, exactly but with the same cast members. It would be insanely funny I think and bizarre.’

Share on Facebook

Tweet This Post

• NEWS – New Image of Jeff Bridges in Tron Legacy
• SLASHER – Maniac
• NEWS – Tremors TV Show Now on DVD
• NEWS – Pretty Dead Things DVD Now Available

Gabe discusses his inspiration behind the movie and his plans for the future…

Prior to being a filmmaker, you had spent several years as a support actor. How did you make the move behind the camera?
“Looking back, for so much of my acting career, my greatest influences were the larger-than-life directors I worked with. At 19 years old I was cast as a series regular on an ABC show by director, James Burrows – I was so in awe of how instinctual and versatile he was, constantly re-blocking and reworking jokes when the daily rewrites would come in. My parents, Renee Taylor and Joseph Bologna, soon after, co-directed a script I co-wrote and acted in, called, Love Is All There Is, starring Angelina Jolie: I felt so at home watching the directorial process. I also worked for Mark Rydel, Dick Van Dyke, Francis Ford Coppolla. And I guess it was when I started giving direction to Martin Landau and Martin Sheen in an HBO movie I wrote and starred in, called The Elevator, I was hooked!”

The Black Waters of Echo’s Pond sounds like an old fairy tale or urban legend. How would you describe the movie and how would it compare to the modern genre?
“The Black Waters of Echo’s Pond is the only horror film I know of, where the killer is you. Even though I drew upon the influences of early Raimi and Romero films, there is something wholeheartedly new about exposing that any one of us are actually capable of committing the unimaginable — if we just give a voice to our most repressed resentments of hatred, jealousy, and greed. The black, bottomless pond that Echo and Narcissus were trapped in, blinding them from differentiating good from evil – it’s not just a Greek Myth, it’s what happens to anyone who chooses to swim in the deep end of their darkest emotions.”

How did you manage to get such a talented cast (Robert Patrick, Danielle Harris) and did you have any actors in mind as you were writing the script?
“I was greatly flattered by how much Robert Patrick and Danielle Harris liked the script, which is what really drew them to the piece. I didn’t have anyone in mind when I developed this project, yet every time I watch the film — it feels as if every role was written for every actor in it. For example, the roles of Renee and Erica were originally not written to be twin sisters – now I can’t see them any other way. The Avellan Twins are awesome, what the hell is scarier than twins with knives?”

Some of the artwork has been somewhat reminiscent of old Roger Corman movies. What kind of films would you say have been the biggest inspiration to Black Waters and did you consider it to be an homage to older movies?
“You are talking about some grindhouse-style posters we made up for some of our horror conventions?They are really fun and stylized. I have a deep affection for posters from that era. Our film now has a more mainstream poster that more focuses on the horror and less the aestheticism of 70’s slasher flicks. But I must say, as far as I’m concerned, that was the heyday of horror films – back when attention was spent on building real suspense and fright, instead of mindless torture sequences with little or no plot. The Black Waters of Echo’s Pond is definitely a tribute to that era and has many allusions to the old school horror movies of my youth.”

What kind of feedback have you had on the movie so far? If it proves to be a success, is this the kind of story you feel lends itself to a sequel?
“I must tell you, I was not prepared for the overwhelmingly favorable responses we received from our screenings at the HorrorHound Film Festival and the Orlando Freak Show Film Festival, where we picked up Audience Choice Awards. I was told over and over by the fans how excited they were to see a refreshing twist on the genre — since everyone in the film eventually turns on one another, your allegiance to the character you are rooting for changes as fast at switching lanes on a racetrack. Parallel Media is also financing the sequel and I am writing it as we speak.”

Share on Facebook

Tweet This Post

• A Decade of Horror – 2009
• NEWS – Underworld’s Len Wiseman to Remake Total Recall
• VIDEO NASTIES – Night Train Murders (aka Late Night Trains)
• A Decade of Horror – 2001

James discusses his thoughts on Argento’s work and his experiences writing his biography…

What is it about Dario Argento that convinced you to write a book about his career?
“Dario Argento is one of my favourite film directors. His films are unique in the horror genre in that they are stunningly photographed, inimitably stylish and nightmarishly surreal. Such a provocative body of work as his really stands out and he has singlehandedly created some of the most breathtakingly beautiful and disturbing moments in horror cinema. With his stories, the destination isn’t always important, but the journey to it is. His masterful use of music and sound also add to his heady and evocative atmospheres. I had toyed with the idea of writing a book about his film work since I left university in 2003. After I built up a body of published work in my free time writing for various magazines and websites I submitted a proposal to Kamera Books and they gave me the go-head to pen a book about Argento. As well submitting the proposal to the publishers, I also sent them a piece I wrote for an independent New York based magazine called Paracinema titled Dreaming in Red: The Pornographication of Death and Violence in the films of Dario Argento. I believe this went some way to help convince them I could tackle this project.”

There have already been numerous books about his work, including Alan Jones’ Profondo Argento and Chris John Gallant’s Art of Darkness: The Cinema of Dario Argento. How have you approached the material in a new and interesting way?
“As I wrote it I tried to keep in mind what I as a fan would like to read about in a book about Dario Argento. I hope it will act as a basic and accessible introduction to Argento’s film work for those who maybe aren’t too familiar with it already. I also hope that it will appeal to hardcore fans. Hopefully some of my enthusiasm will manifest itself in the writing and it will seem fresh and appealing. An added bonus is that it covers Argento’s more recent work too – including a segment on Giallo. The only other book that is as up to date is a new edition of Maitland McDonagh’s Broken Mirrors/Broken Minds: The Dark Dreams of Dario Argento. This book is the cornerstone of all Argento studies and I can’t recommend it highly enough to anyone who wants to delve that little bit deeper into Argento’s dark world.”

How supportive was Dario Argento and how involved in the development was he?
“Unfortunately Dario Argento himself was unable to contribute his time or participate in the project, but I was lucky enough to interview several people who have worked with him – Coralina Cataldi-Tassoni, Sean Keller and Marco Werba all kindly found time to answer questions and contribute to my research. Links to the interviews I conducted with them can be found on my blog. They really helped throw some valuable insight into what it was like to work with someone as influential and respected as Argento.”

Which of his films in particular have had the greatest impact on you and what is your response to those who state his best work is long behind him?
“My favourite Argento film is probably Inferno. It was also one of the first Argento films I ever watched, so its impact is even more resonant. Outside of the films of David Lynch, another director whose work I admire deeply, Inferno is perhaps the closest any filmmaker has come to capturing the pure essence of a nightmare on celluloid. Everything from the visually stunning lighting, lush cinematography, unique atmosphere pregnant with doomful foreboding and the narrative’s defiance of logic and reason, adds to its nightmarish quality. I especially love the scenes in which Rose explores the labyrinthine basement and the underwater ballroom. The sound effects, the unreal, hellish lighting, the eerily serene atmosphere, the taut uneasiness that hangs heavy as soon as she leaves her apartment. These are the shards that combine to create one of the most beautiful and nightmarish scenes in any horror film – let alone an Argento film.”

To those who say his best work is behind him, I would say in his defense I think Dario Argento is a director who has always been true to his experimental roots and never been content to rest on his laurels. He could easily have churned out carbon copies of the likes of Suspiria and Deep Red throughout his career, but he chose to wander down other paths. Sure, the resulting destinations have not always been successful, but they have at least been interesting and daring. Argento has always been at the forefront of horror cinema and cutting edge technology. He was the first Italian filmmaker to employ the use of CGI in his work and he continues to be an influence to other filmmakers today. Not bad for a man who turns 70 this year!”

How long did the entire writing process take and did you already have a published lined up when you were finished?
“The entire writing process took about six months. The first three months I spent researching and sourcing all the films that I didn’t already own. Some of them were quite obscure and only available without subtitles or on VHS. Others were more readily available. I endeared much painstaking research as I had to spend whole afternoons and evenings watching Argento films and various other Italian horror titles. As you can imagine, I took this part of the research very seriously indeed! The latter three months were spent typing up notes I’d compiled, organizing the structure of the book and then sitting down to write it. Proofreading, amendments and such came later. As I said earlier, I already had a publisher lined up and it was just a question of keeping my head down and meeting the deadline. It was a really great experience and I surprised myself by how disciplined I was. It never felt like a chore, I enjoyed every moment of it and will hopefully have the opportunity to do it again soon.”

Do you have a second book planned and what kind of subject would you wish to tackle next?
“I have been invited to contribute a chapter to another forthcoming book on Argento’s work. As this project is still in its infancy I can’t really tell you much about it I’m afraid. I have a few other ideas for projects I’d like to embark on and the idea of throwing myself into the whole process again to write a book is really appealing. Horror cinema is my passion and where my main interests are and I hope to continue writing about it and maybe even be able to make a living out of it one day.”

Share on Facebook

Tweet This Post

• NEWS – Brad Pitt to Fight Zombies in World War Z
• REVIEW – Assault on Precinct 13
• NEWS – Parry Shen Behind the Scenes Images of Hatchet 2
• REVIEW – The Boogeyman

Sam discusses his love of cinema and his career as an artist…

How did you first come to develop an interest in illustration and what were your earliest kinds of drawings? Did you find those around you to be supportive and who or what were your main inspirations?
“I know most artists probably say this, but I’ve been drawing for as long as I can remember, and from a very early age it was something which I felt compelled to do. Thankfully it was something which my parents encouraged, and they kept my art supplies fully stocked up. I used to draw the kind of things that appealed to me a child, so I was forever drawing characters from Star Wars, Transformers, and of course lots of superheroes too.”

At what point did you decide that you were going to attempt to make a career out of your art and how did you get your first break?
“It wasn’t so much that one day I ‘decided’ anything, more that I can’t really imagine how I would do anything else. I just worked incredibly hard for a few years, developing my style and technique (and of course that process continues today). My first official illustration commission was a tutorial for a magazine called Digital Arts back in 2004. I should also make it clear that I haven’t yet made a career purely from illustration, and doubt that will ever happen. I continue to design for web and print all the time. Luckily I love this too, so there’s no great conflict or anything. Getting paid to create things is such an honour and I ‘always’ knew that was what I wanted to do.”

What kind of illustrations do you most enjoy doing and what would you say are your strengths and weaknesses?
“That’s a difficult one – I think you’ve got to try and find something that ‘fits’ you in every piece, and that’s a skill which develops over time. Yeah sure, I love drawing cult movie stars and robots, but last year I worked on a few purely observational landscape pieces from photos I’d taken here and there, and that was a really rewarding process. Just the act of making marks is where the joy is, and seeing something emerge out of that blank canvas. I’d argue that my strengths are also my weaknesses, in that I love bright colour and lots of detail, but also admire those with a facility for a much simpler, and less saturated style. Illustration fees don’t often take into account just how long your style takes compared to any another, so let’s just say that my more detailed renders aren’t as, er, economically viable as some other styles, certainly when it comes to editorial!”

Having worked on numerous projects, what would you say is your most acclaimed work to date?
“When you say acclaimed, do you mean the one that most people like? I have no idea, and of course that’s entirely subjective, so I can’t really answer that. I have no awards to my name and it’s not something I’m seeking. Still, because I don’t want to be totally non-commital(!), I’d have to point towards my Hot Fuzz piece as that definitely marked some kind of turning point for me. Not simply because Edgar Wright (the director of the film) was a huge fan and got a canvas made, but also because it incorporated a level of technical detail and ambition which I’d not attempted before. In short, once I made that piece I realised that anything was possible.”

Have you worked on many graphic novels or similar projects and do you prefer to create characters from scratch or base your drawings on real-life people?
“I’ve yet to work on a graphic novel but it’s something I would really love to do. But the fact is it’s a huge investment of time and resources, and whilst my style is clearly influenced by a lifetime of reading and appreciating comics, I’m not so naive as to think that it’s something I can just dive into. Still, I hope that at some point the right project will come along, and I know that I ‘could’ do it. I think a first step would be to do comic covers. That’s really where I’d like to start. Wherever possible my work is observational, and really I suppose that’s the core of my style. I know that’s obvious from the portraits of actors especially, but if there’s a specific pose or expression I need reference for, I’ll take photos of my friends or have them photograph me. I normally have a very clear idea in mind of what I want, so it’ll just be case of taking a few quick snaps and getting to work. Early on I used to try working without reference, and well, I’m happy to say that I’ve moved on.”

What projects do you currently have in the works and what are your intentions for the foreseeable future?
“I don’t want to say to much about current projects, as things can change, and until they’re finished and out there they’re just something in my head. I’m not actually superstitious, but I suppose there’s something very private and personal about the process of illustration. I recently created a flyer for Edgar Wright’s presentation of cult classic Death Wish 3 at the Curzon Soho in London which was tons of fun. I made a widescreen version of the image which was then projected at the cinema on the night, which was a great experience. I also recently designed a print for the Renmen Project, a charity project in aid of Unicef’s Haiti appeal. I feel very honoured to have been invited to contribute. We had just 20 copies printed, and the time of writing there are a handful left (if anyone is interested!). http://therenmenproject.bigcartel.com/product/sam-gilbey-trogon-bird-print.

I think it’s the greatest compliment for someone to like your work enough to put it on display in their home or at work. As for the future, I’ve done lots of promotional work recently, but, as stupid as it sounds, I simply haven’t had chance to promote it! That is actually my immediate priority, and I’m trying to find an agent to represent me. I think from there, a lot of things could be possible, but actually it’s very important now that I try and reach out a bit further. I imagine a lot of illustrators struggle with this, in that they want to be working on the next exciting piece that’s just sprung into their heads, but they need to be getting their existing work in front of potential commissioners. Still, after saying all that, of course if I never get paid again for an illustration, no doubt I’ll still be doing it anyway. Does that make me stupid? Actually, don’t answer that…”

For more information on Sam and to view his impressive catalogue of images, please visit his official site at SamGilbeyIllustrates.com/. Click on any of the images on this page to enlarge:

Share on Facebook

Tweet This Post

• A Decade of Horror – 2008
• A Decade of Horror – 2005
• CULT – Plan 9 from Outer Space
• VIDEO NASTIES – The Burning

Edward Douglas discusses his love of horror and his career to date…

You are primarily known for your music through Midnight Syndicate, yet your new feature The Dead Matter is a remake of a short film you produced before your debut album. Do you consider yourself a musician first or a filmmaker?
“Music, horror, and the supernatural were my first loves but most of my formal education has been in theatre and filmmaking. Like a lot of filmmakers I was borrowing my parent’s camera and shooting “horror” movies at a young age. My first feature was an EC Comics and Creepshow-style film I did in college called Journey Into Dementia. The next project was the original The Dead Matter movie in ‘95. At that time I was looking for a way to combine all of my interests and that’s how Midnight Syndicate developed. Creating CDs that were soundtracks to imaginary films and then producing concerts that would combine live music, theatrics, and films I directed. I did one series of live concerts in March of ’98, but then (due to the sheer amount of time and resources involved in producing the shows) I shelved that element in order to focus on just developing the music. Midnight Syndicate was my only focus for the following eight years until Ethan Dettenmaier and Robert Kurtzman brought me back along the film track when they asked me to score their films. Scoring The Rage helped put the pieces in place for a return to directing which I eventually did with the remake of The Dead Matter (coming this July). Everything has come full circle for me but the wild thing is that doesn’t end there because just this past weekend Midnight Syndicate wrapped production on our first music video. It was directed by my friend and Mushroomhead video producer David Greathouse and co-produced by Kurtzman’s Precinct 13. Gavin and I couldn’t be more stoked about how it went. It definitely sets the stage for more video productions and possibly a return to the type of live shows I was producing back when we started.”

Your music features gothic elements and are structured like horror movie soundtracks. Was this your intention and how inspired by film scores is your work?
“From the beginning it was always my goal for Midnight Syndicate to create “soundtracks to imaginary films.” CDs that blend music and sound effects designed to transport you to a world or a movie of your own creation. Similar to film scores each CD tells a story only with our discs that story is left entirely up to the listener. We try to give enough details to spark your imagination without imposing our own interpretation. Film composers like Bernard Herrmann, Danny Elfman, John Carpenter, James Horner, and Hans Zimmer are big musical influences for both Gavin and I. That and the classical composers who influenced them as well as artists like Black Sabbath, Sisters of Mercy, King Diamond, and early Genesis. I’m also a fan of the old radio dramas and their use of sound design to create environments.”

You have collaborated several times with FX artist/filmmaker Robert Kurtzman, most notably on The Rage. How did you come to score the music for that movie and how does this differ to creating music for your own movie?
“I love working with Bob because not only is he an incredibly talented artist but he’s a great person. In addition to his team at P13, he introduced me to Gary Jones who ended up co-producing The Dead Matter with us. Bob first approached me to score The Rage because he was a fan of Midnight Syndicate’s music. Scoring that film was a good challenge for me. For one, it demanded a much more aggressive style than anything I had done with Midnight Syndicate to that point. Additionally, as a composer (and not the director or producer) I had to continually double check my work to make sure that what I was doing was best for the film and furthered the director’s vision. Quite different from the workflow on a Midnight Syndicate disc. The Dead Matter was easier to score because the film is very much in the style of Midnight Syndicate’s music. In fact, many of the first Midnight Syndicate tracks I wrote (on Midnight Syndicate and Born of the Night) were taken from my scoring sessions (and outtakes) from the original 1995 The Dead Matter. On the new score, I had some definite ideas heading into it, I also had great contributions from Gavin and was also able to hijack some Syndicate tracks that I felt really worked for certain scenes.”

When you are writing a screenplay, are you always conscious of what kind of music you would want to use for a specific scene and in what ways does your music influence your films?
“I co-wrote The Dead Matter with Tony Demci who really contributed a lot of his own scenes and vision to the new version. I suppose in some cases I definitely have strong ideas about what music I will want to use in particular scenes. For the most part though, at the writing stage I’m just trying to create a compelling story and script that will make for a film that’s strong enough to stand on it’s own without any music. That way when I finally do add the music it just takes the whole thing to the next level. Midnight Syndicate is very influenced by classic horror so as far as the music influencing the type of films I do, I would say I tend towards producing similar classic Universal, Hammer, EC Comics-influenced horror.”

You have hosted several competitions through its website, including the chance for filmmakers to make a music video or silent film to a Midnight Syndicate track and be featured on the upcoming The Dead Matter DVD. How important is it for you to interact with your fan base and have them involved in your work?
“It’s everything to us. Hearing from our fans about how they enjoy the music or use it for inspiration in their own work whether it’s drawing, writing, designing haunted houses, sculpting really fuels us. Additionally we never had the support of any major labels or commercial radio stations and we’ve never toured so we owe our success to all of our fans and supporters who bought our CDs and then turned their friends on to our work. We’ve always enjoyed MySpace but we’ve also just now started up on Facebook as well which I’m really liking.”

What are your thoughts on the current horror climate and how does The Dead Matter fit in with the current trends?
“I love horror films and I especially love old horror films – not only the way they looked but the way they were shot.. everything. I’m a huge fan of Hammer films. So that being said, I’m not really into all the remakes although I understand why they are the norm right now. The financial climate in the film industry is tenuous at best – and any type of financial success outside the blockbusters is becoming more and more rare. I think that there are still a lot of great horror films being made today. I thought Let the Right One In was brilliant. Dead Girl, End of the Line, Grace, The Burrowers, The Abandoned are just some that come to mind recently.

To answer your question, I don’t think that The Dead Matter fits in with current trends. A lot of those movies I just listed really push the boundaries – very visceral, in your face. The Dead Matter is a bit of a throwback. As I mentioned, I am heavily influenced by Hammer Horror films and EC Comics and you can tell that by watching The Dead Matter. The shooting style is a bit retro (as is our Super 16 footage) and when you take that and mix it with the classic horror influences of Midnight Syndicate’s music, you have a bit of an anachronism. However, although our themes are nothing new it’s how we present those themes along with the twists and turns we throw the audiences’ way that will engage them and keep them guessing throughout the movie. I’m really proud of how it came together. If you like classic horror and classic horror themes (vampires, zombies, séances) with a bunch of unexpected twists and turns, then you are going to like The Dead Matter. We’ll have a new trailer up in a few weeks as well as a killer, new interactive website at www.TheDeadMatter.com. The DVD will be released July 30th, and will be available at Hot Topic stores. We’re building a new Midnight Syndicate website (www.MidnightSyndicate.com) as well as releasing that new music video (for Dark Legacy off our Dead Matter: Cemetery Gates CD) in early April. It’s Midnight Syndicate’s 13th Anniversary so we have a ton of stuff planned this year including a “best of” CD, contests, and more. Hopefully some good things for folks to consider when they are looking for Halloween music this October.”

Share on Facebook

Tweet This Post

• INTERVIEW – MATTHEW REEL talks Art & Cinema
• REVIEW – Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!
• TRIBUTE – Hitchcock and Bava; Thirty Years Later
• NEWS – Fritz Lang’s M Coming to Blu-ray

The film itself is available to view on Vimeo. Lee Hardcastle shares his experience in the making of his own Evil Dead…

How did you first develop an interest in animation and how did university prepare you for a career in the industry?
“As a child I had an interest in stop motion animation and always said I was gonna go work for Wallace & Gromit but then I grew out of it and started watching violent films and decided in my teens that I wanted to be the next Sam Raimi.

I got to film school at 18 and everyone was a bit older than me and had more experience & network skills, my first year at film school was horrible- non of my projects got made, I had no idea how to sell the ideas and I ended up being a monkey on other productions. Half way through film school I was suddenly exposed to stop motion animation, I had a go at using some old action figures and it turned out pretty well, I was like ‘cool, I did that by myself’. Through this; the teachers at the school were able to see what I could do so a couple of my own projects were funded and made- forcing me to specialise in stop motion animation as a means to make the films I wanted to make.

The film school was great and has been a big defining point of my life but once I graduated, that was that. I didn’t know what I was suppose to do next, so I got a job as a runner at a Post-Production house in London- which anyone can do despite 3 years of film school.”

Were you always a fan of horror movies when you were growing up and how did these influence your style?
“Always a fan of horror films, I remember watching the The Thing when I was 11 and covering my eyes ’cause it was so messed up. Another I remember is watching 80’s The Blob remake, I turned it off a third in and I’d have serious nightmares about these films, to me they were real, real characters in these awful situations! I bought The Thing on VHS, confronted it and felt really proud of myself and from there on I was very obsessed teen when it came to horror movies. My style, it’s a mish-mash that’s still developing- I love the goofy horror movies with what I call “rollercoaster plots” and I like to make a short, music video or whatever while keeping in mind how the viewer would react & think to what they’re watching, that’s the whole point of the video.”

Evil Dead in 60 Seconds was created as part of a competition run by Empire, in which filmmakers were to recreate their favourite film in one minute. What made you decide on The Evil Dead and how did you set about adapting a feature into such a short piece?
“I was going to enter it in 2008 with a live-action remake of Jaws but my friends with their respectively busy lifes couldn’t pull through and that was that. Back to 2010, I’m reading the magazine and they’re showing off the entries so far and someone had entered a Star Wars stop motion- my heart stopped, like, “I can make an animation, I can pull something off!” because, I didn’t if stop-motion animation was something they’d accept. There was exactly 10 days to plan it, shoot it, do sound and send it- I was determined to do it.

As a 17 year old, I watched Evil Dead about a hundred times, I was obsessed- bought books, video games, lunch boxes, I was the Evil Dead geek. It’s embarrassing to admit this now but what the hell, it’s true. Can you understand now why I had no social skills when starting at film school? So, acting fast and visualising the fact that I could pull of the Evil Dead based on the fact that it has one location, few characters, I knew the plot, the gags and the story behind all of it inside out.

It was tough stuff.”

How long did the entire process of designing the characters and shooting the film take and how many collaborators did you have on the project?
“I had 10 days to pull this off to meet the competition deadline so I blasted out a story board, quickly pitched the idea to a couple of sound engineers to help me. Built one crappy cardboard set, 4 crappy clay figures, my girlfriend made the clothes for the characters out of my old shirts- I’m such a bad boyfriend for not crediting her at the end so here I go; Puppet Costumes by Josephine Barat. I have a full time job, 10 hours a day, 5 days a week- I went home every night and worked solid on the props, set, puppets ’til midnight. Even on my 25th birthday I was doing this, a ‘no time to celebrate’ situation. Come the weekend, I animated solid, did not sleep. I only had one weekend to animate! With four days left until the dead line, I spent the evenings in a sound studio recording the voices while a good friend of mine, Tim Atkins, worked on the sound design on his mac at home to the offline I’d animated.

I couldn’t have made it if it wasn’t for Patrick Baker (Sound VO engineer), Tim Atkins (Sound Designer) and Josephine Barat who has to put up with the mess in the apartment. Oh and the guy who plays Scott’s part, Jack Willcock, a guy I work with- this was my proudest moment getting him into the sound booth and directing him, he’s a Runner and I wanted more people doing voices rather than just myself. He was so close to going home but he saw what I’d done so far and he said ‘Why not’ I’m really happy he decided to do it.”

What was the greatest challenge you faced throughout the whole process and do you regret any decisions that you made?
“I don’t regret anything, I think as a film-maker you’ve really got to kick your own ass into motivation ’cause no-one else is going to do it for you and if you’re a serious film-maker you will over come obstacles, never give up, keep going, going and going like the Duracell bunny otherwise it’s not gonna get done and if you quit, well, someone else is going to come along and steal your thunder.”

Other submissions included one minute piece based on Fight Club, Donnie Darko and even Who Framed Roger Rabbit?. Aside from claymation, what kind of niche do you feel you gave your film for it to be shortlisted?
“I was stunned by the fact it got shortlisted, really surprised, I keep entering stuff and it get’s rejected 90% of the time and I’m just like ‘oh well, next time’. So, what the organizer saw in the Evil Dead- I suppose it was different in tone and style. Because the other entries literally tell most of the whole plot of a film in 60 seconds and it’s funny as hell ’cause you blink and miss a micro-reference to the original, it’s funny- I love that type of humor and with mine I really focused on the timing and the gags to breath and sink in with the viewer. I’m talking rubbish of course but that’s what I was going for!”

Having short various short films, how would you compare your other work to your Evil Dead piece? What plans do you have for the future and do you intend on seeking permission to release the film?
“My previous shorts, well, they’re a bit off and weird and I don’t expect everyone to understand them but I’m proud of everything I make. Only recently I’ve started focusing on the viewer & what they’ll enjoy or get a kick out of from uploading my stuff to YouTube for years and you obviously know when you’ve done something right when one video has 3 stars and some very hateful comments and the other one has a solid 5 star rating with 10’s of thousands of hits- it’s called demand and supply, right? Anyone can have the Evil Dead movie, depends on the Empire guys now really. I make stuff for the people at the moment, it would be special to be reconised and hired for your own unique skills but that day still has to come, ’til then, I’ll keep entering these movie making competitions and hope something like that comes out of it. But here’s the cliché, it’s been my life long dream to make a feature film even if it’s sat on my shelf and no one likes it, I am going to make one- you watch.”

Watch the film here:

Share on Facebook

Tweet This Post

• TOP TEN Moments from Friday the 13th
• COMICS – Transformers: City of Fear
• REVIEW – Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives
• CULT – Eraserhead

Co-star Jason Cope discusses his experiences in District 9…

How did you first come to work with Neill Blomkamp and how did Alive in Joburg originate?
“Alive In Joburg was a concept that Neill had been thinking about – as a sci-fi fan, he had been thinking of the concept of creating a science fiction story in and around the environment that he grew up in. At the time I worked on the production side of visual effects, for a company owned by Sharlto. Neill came to Johannesburg to shoot his idea as a creative exercise, and we helped him to put it together.”

Due to your involvement in the short film, were you a part of District 9 from the very beginning and how did the project first originate? What part did Peter Jackson play in the overall development?
“Sharlto and I initially helped from a production side – It was clear that for alive the budget was going to be very small, and that we’d need to be creative. Sharlto and I were old hands at maximising extremely small budgets – We’d simply just do everything ourselves – wardrobe, art department, acting – a non-stop do-everything-right-now approach, combined with much creative networking, was the way we used to shoot. On the piece I ended up playing some of the aliens and a UN soldier, Sharlto played a sniper – while doing these we’d constantly be on our cellphones; organising the way ahead. I took Neill and Sharlto to meet Dave, a community leader in Soweto that I knew from a TV show that I’d been shooting. Together the small group of us organised everything for shoot: the actors, the guns, the aliens – we had a couple of days prep and then shot on the fly for a few days. Most of the stock footage in the piece comes from the South African Police video unit – after our shoot I went and scoured the police archives and picked up some interesting bits and pieces. Neill completed all of the post on the piece by himself, including doing all of the animation.

A long while later, and Peter Jackson had asked Neill to direct Halo; an adaption of the video game. By now, Neill was a highly acclaimed commercial director. When the film collapsed during the planning phase, Fran Walsh and Peter suggested that Neill adapt Alive for the big screen.”

How many different characters did you portray throughout the movie and how did you prepare for these roles?
“I have no idea. It must be close on fifty, perhaps more, but that is rough guess: There’s no real way to count. I’m not sure how I should define a “character” – is it an alien scuttling in the background, created using mo-cap? Or is it only the on set aliens with dialogue that count? There were some other motion capture guys that we used for mo-cap too. I did voices for the film too – that was fun – a lot of the reporter, chopper pilot voices and so on – it fools everyone except my close friends. A friend who came to the premiere was very confused: “why do you do so many of the voices too?” We laughed, but he was the only one who noticed, so it turned out fine. Whatever the case is, almost all of my time was spent as Christopher Johnson. I spent more time thinking about him than everything else combined.”

How were the special effects for Christopher Johnson achieved and how did you perform the character?
“Imagine Engine is a fantastic Canadian VFX company. They were in charge of the Alien VFX for the film. The aliens were designed by Neill and the Weta guys, and image engine and myself would have to bring them to life. Developing the character of Christopher was a long process. Sharlto and I spent about a month work-shopping the major scenes of the film before we started shooting. I tried out a vast array of alien personas: from raging and animalistic to timid and emotional: During this time we developed a library of movements and states for the creatures. Christopher was one of the most difficult things I’ve done: The layers of abstraction over his character were intense: He was a star wars VFX alien who couldn’t speak English and looked like a giant roach. And yet, the audience would have to end up liking Christopher, and nobody else. Neill wanted a journey for the audience: from revulsion to acceptance: working on than journey was challenging. We had to create a senstive, caring dad in the guise of giant roach, and yet not walk an OTT Disney road. With the great writing of Neill and Terry, a powerful creative environment and an incredible company like Image Engine, we all finally manged to create something that fitted the needs of the film.”

Due to the digital effects being added later, was your co-star, Sharlto Copley, present on set for you to interact with or was it shot as normal and then the CGI painted over you?
“In the large majority of scenes I was on camera – especially for scenes when Sharlto and I are talking to each other. I was then painted out and my movements used to provide a rfernce for the animators.”

District 9 is noted for its political subtext, with the aliens being restricted to a ghetto and referred to racially as ‘pawns.’ Would you say that this mirrors the current racial climate of Johannesburg and was Blomkamp making a statement with this story?
“Well, the film deals a lot with the concept of the “Other”. It’s steeped in apartheid references and littered with nods to the South Africa that we grew up in. We’re still a country that faces many problems with xenophobia, and a slew of other toxic social issues. The film was only coincidentally linked to theethnic murders that took place in Johannesburg while we were shooting. I think all in all, that one can have an interesting time dissecting the film, but I also enjoy just watching it in a Hollywood way: This is South Africa and yes; we have a twisted and often brutal past: But perhaps we’re gettingourselves a bit and just making an action flick. I enjoy watching the film in South Africa and hearing the audience bellowing with laughter at all of the bizarre things that are aspects of our lives.”

The ending of the movie is left open, allowing for Christopher to return to Earth to save Wikus Van De Merwe, yet instead Blomkamp has allegedly expressed interest in a prequel. Do you know if either is being seriously considered and which would you prefer to take part in?
“Well, I think nothing has been decided yet. I’m whatever will be shot will be fun to do.”

District 9 has been nominated for several Academy Awards. How do you feel about the success and acclaim this movie has received and what affect has it had on your career?
“It’s a little strange for us. What started out as a small group of guys making an extremely low budget short, for love of film alone, has ballooned into something global. I feel a little shocked. Then again, it’s wonderful to see the hard work of everybody being recognised. We worked with an extremely dedicated, passionate cast and crew; people who poured themselves wholeheartedly into the picture. Well done to all of them.”

Share on Facebook

Tweet This Post

• REVIEW – Best Worst Movie
• NEWS – Caroline Munro and Joe Spinell Come to Blu-ray for StarCrash
• TRIBUTE – Hitchcock and Bava; Thirty Years Later
• NEWS – Predator 2 Screening in LA This April

Caroline discusses the making of the movie…

Your feature debut, Dans ton sommeil (In Their Sleep), was co-directed with Eric Du Potet. What kind of problems did the two of you face, having to share directorial decisions and how did you both come to work together on the project?
“As we are brother and sister, we know each other very well. We grew with the same film influences. Before our feature, we made six short movies together, so it wasn’t really a new experience for us…

We try to discuss a lot together before the shooting in order to agree on all the details and not contradict ourselves in front of the crew and the actors.

I like staying with the chief operator, facing the actors. Eric prefers standing back behind the combo, to have a general view of the scene.”

How did the project first originate and where did the concept for the story come from? How would you describe the tone of the movie and what filmmakers were the greatest influence on you as you were developing the movie?
“At the beginning, this project was born of our desire to make a French thriller. The concept of the story originated on the idea that appearances can be deceptive and the “monster” is not the one who seems to be… Unlike the classical villain which is always a beast without any feelings, we wanted to create an ambivalent character, half demon, half angel…

We wanted the tone of the movie was tough, with no humor. But it was also important to include some dark poetry with shots of nature and insist on the growing feelings between the two main characters…

Our biggest influences were Sam Peckinpah with Straw Dogs and John Boorman’s Deliverance.”

French horror cinema has become to gain a lot of international attention from over the last few years, prompting many of the directors to try their hand at shooting a Hollywood film. Why do you feel there is a renewed interest in French cinema?
“Ten years ago, it was almost impossible to make a horror film in France. There were only comedies or intimist dramas. Then, a new generation of filmmakers raised with US thrillers, like Alexandre Aja, started to initiate the movement. So young producers decided to produce some genre films, almost always feature debuts and low-budget films…

Hollywood studios are very interested in these new directors, because they are often very good technicians with an original author’s style.”

How would you describe the atmosphere on set and was this a particularly grueling shoot? How long did filming last and what major obstacles did you face?
“Shooting conditions were very hard. We had only thirty days of filming, almost always during the night, in the forest, in the rain (which was not planned in the script…)! Nevertheless, the atmosphere on set was great. All the crew loved the project and threw herself completely into the film.

There were several difficult scenes like the one where both characters are upside down after the car crash. We had to invent a system with a handle to quickly turn over the framework of the car toward and backward not to let the actors in this uncomfortable position too long…”

Are there any specific moments from the movie that you feel will become a major talking point once the film has been released and do you feel it is important for a horror film to have these kind of shocks?
“We knew from the writing of the script that the choice of showing the death of the little girl could shock people. But it was very important for us to keep that scene because it really shows the killer’s madness. As we didn’t want to be eye-catching, we chose to film the face of the killer at this moment and not the girl. Anyway, we think horror movies’ audience is waiting for these kind of shocks… and we didn’t want to disappoint the fans of the genre…”

Was it difficult to gain distribution for the movie outside of France and when are you hoping to have it released in other countries? Has the film been screened at any festivals and how has it been received by critics?
“The foreign distribution of the movie is quite difficult because it’s both a thriller and a horror film, and the mix of genres can be unsettling for international buyers.

Nevertheless, the film has been already bought by several countries like Canada, Turkey, Indonesia, Taiwan, Middle East, etc… and should be released over there in the next months.

The film has been screened at EKWA festival, in the Reunion Isle, and makes the opening of Gerardmer, the first fantastic film festival in France. We hope to participate in other festivals this year…

For the moment, critics haven’t seen the film yet…”

Share on Facebook

Tweet This Post

• VIDEO NASTIES – Madhouse
• SLASHERS – Slumber Party Massacre
• NEWS – V: The Complete First Season Blu-ray Set to Arrive in November
• NEWS – Rock and Shock This Halloween