Interview with Dominic Brunt & Joanne Mitchell

Ahead of the Horror Channel’s UK TV premiere of Attack of the Adult Babies, on Jan 5, 9pm, director Dominic Brunt and actor / producer partner Joanne Mitchell unpin the nappies…

On the 5th of January, ATTACK OF THE ADULT BABIES will receive its UK TV premiere on Horror Channel. Are you both excited?

DOMINIC: I’m over the moon. As a fan of horror, I’m also a fan of the Horror Channel. It’s an honour to have our work premiered with one of our favourite channels. The Horror Channel (along with Fright Fest and Metrodome) took Before Dawn under its wing when that was released as our debut feature film. It marked our transition from horror fen geeks to horror film makers and we were well looked after indeed.

JOANNE: We’re delighted and incredibly excited that the film will get its TV premiere with the brilliant Horror Channel. We’ve always been massive fans and the channel has always been incredibly supportive of us and our movies as well as so many other film makers.


What would you like TV viewers to take away from the film?

DOMINIC: We’d like viewers to watch it first and foremost as entertainment but to hopefully take time to reflect on any wider meanings and intentions. We’ve really enjoyed the fact that the film has been embraced as a roller coaster of gore and insanity!

JOANNE: Primarily I’d like viewers to just enjoy themselves and give in to the crazy ride. We dared to make something totally different from anything else we’ve ever made and are proud that it has been called a stand out horror movie. It’s a lot of fun, and was to make too!

Dominic, do you think your Emmerdale fans will be surprised / shocked to find you’re directing full-bloodied horror films?

I think they’ll either ignore what I’m up to, in regards to horror films, or they go along with the idea and support what we have “out there” on Netflix and Amazon etc. I’ve been involved in genre festivals in Leeds for over a decade and Before Dawn was made almost eight years ago. We’ve had clips shown on day time TV from a couple of the films so I’m not sure there’s any shock at what we do any more (although hopefully the content of our films is willfully so). Before Dawn and Adult Babies are pure fantasy without any spite, and you can’t argue that we weren’t sincere with our intentions regarding Bait.


Joanne, you’ve played four characters in Emmerdale and you’ve recently appeared in a lead role In Coronation Street. How does soapland compare with splatterland? 

Oh my goodness, they couldn’t be more polarised! However, each genre is a great platform for stories and characters, just that soaps are much quicker and very slick. With indie horror films though you can take more risks!

AOTAB, underneath all the satirical fun and gore, deals with some pretty dark issues. Was it always your intention to make a politically-motivated horror comedy?

DOMINIC: I do believe you can make an allegorical, political point without being dull or boring or preachy. Bait is incredibly political but it is clothed and presented as a thriller and (hopefully) a gripping story first and foremost. I don’t think we’ll ever make a film that isn’t a metaphor or allegorical of something other than the surface story.

JOANNE: Yes, it was our intention – the idea of big adult babies making important decisions within our society tickled us – such a great terrifying image. We wanted to see how far we could take it – and I think we succeeded in taking it pretty bloody far!


Class issues rear their ugly head. Dominic, do you feel they are just as embedded in UK society as they were in the past – hence just as topical?

DOMINIC: Always were and always will be. For one single instance, look at the laws on hunting as a microcosm of the whole of society and the laws imposed on the working classes. Who adheres to what, and who carries on regardless?  Who turns a blind eye, and in some cases actively supports the breaking of the laws passed in the same parliament supposedly enforced by the same police force created for “all of us”? The anger is hidden but it is there. I’m 48 so I’ve seen the unions crushed, raves stopped, films banned, ancient monuments cordoned off and football monetised to the maximum, traveler friends assaulted and stigmatised for living an alternative lifestyle.


The movie certainly caught the attention of reviewers, Hey You Guys called it “…the sort of deranged, balls-to-the-wall grossness that only ever seems to show up once in a generation”. How confident were you that you that the film could chime with audiences?

JOANNE: To be honest, you just never ever know. Audiences can be so different. The FrightFest audience, for example, are always very supportive, but then it went down a storm with the regional festivals too, as well as abroad. The French audience for example (Paris) was a surprise – the film had subtitles and I really wasn’t sure if it would translate well, but they had a great time watching it and really got it.  We knew it would work well within the genre festivals though as I think horror fans are open to seeking and watching something different, it is a wonderful exciting platform to keep telling stories. So hopefully the fans of the Horror Channel will enjoy it too.

DOMINIC: Well it’s hardly the new Star Wars but within its own little niche, I’m absolutely delighted. We have to be thankful for a good release in the form of distribution through Nucleus and AMP supporting us, and then people like FrightFest and The Horror Channel being there to broadcast our ideas and stories. Otherwise you’re shouting at a wall.

Its chaotic sexual anarchy made it felt quite Orton-esque in some media corners. Was Joe Orton an inspiration? Who did inspire you? Were there any films that were particularly influential?

DOMINIC: I LOVE Joe Orton but he wasn’t on our minds at all I don’t think. It’s more a visual representation of the old EC horror comics from the 50’s which I like reading. We tried to make them flesh around Jo’s story and Paul Shrimpton’s script.

JOANNE:  There was a mass of influences really, both from myself and Dominic, especially regarding political figures, exploitative male bosses and various scandals from the society we live in, with movie influences including the Blob, the stuff, all the saucy Carry On and Benny Hill farcical kinky humour too


Joanne, it was your idea to centre the film around the world of infantilism. How did you first discover this clandestine world?

It was an amalgamation of things really. I’d spent talking to a very intelligent and articulate young woman who was a dominatrix. She ran her own dungeon and was very successful doing so. She fascinated me. She spoke fairly discreetly about what her job entailed – from what I could glimpse of that world it was pretty bizarre and interesting: Businessmen who wanted nothing more than to spend the day regressing as an infant or baby, relinquishing all the pressures and stresses of their high powered jobs. It piqued my interest and my imagination.


Dominic, the acting was very strong and the casting of cult TV comedian Charlie Chuck particularly stands out. Was it difficult to get the actors you wanted?

I think at our level you have to cast and audition for the part rather than fill your film with faces and names. We were lucky to have Kate Coogan, Sally Dexter, Jo, Andy Dunn, Nicky Evans, Thaila Zucchi, Seamus O’Neil, Laurence Harvey, Charlie Chuck etc who are all character actors of much experience, but we are limited by a budget so you have to cast smart. They liked the script first and foremost (fortunately) and not necessarily the budget.


Your production company Mitchell-Brunt Films has been going for seven years and you must be proud of what you’ve achieved so far (feature films BEFORE DAWN & BAIT) What plans do you have for the future?

DOMINIC: Several folders FULL of stuff.  Also, 101 films are looking to re-release Before Dawn and Bait on BluRay, with lots of new extras. They’ve only been previously released on DVD, so we’re very pleased and flattered about that.

JOANNE: We’ve more ideas for films in the future and currently have one film in development, Lost Dogs by Jeff Lemire. I’ve also just directed my first short film, SYBIL, which is currently doing the rounds on the festival circuit.


Following the success of the LE Blu-ray edition, Nucleus Films is releasing a standard edition Blu-ray on Jan 28, 2019.

Buy from Amazon by clicking here (Opens in a new window)

Interview with Dominic Brunt

Dominic Brunt (left) is probably best known as Paddy in the ever-popular EMMERDALE FARM but he is increasingly gaining a reputation as a first-class horror filmmaker, and on the eve of BEFORE DAWN receiving its network TV premiere on the Horror Channel, Brunt reveals how a row with his wife led to the making of the film, news on his next feature DELETED  and why he’s always been a massive horror fan.

BEFORE DAWN is broadcast on Saturday 23 Nov, 10.40pm


Q: What inspired you to make BEFORE DAWN?

DB: I have always been a massive horror fan and within the genre, I have always enjoyed a good zombie film the best. I co-run the Leeds Zombie Film Festival each April so this gives me an excellent excuse to watch many more. My wife however, really doesn’t fancy them much at all and always criticised my choice of viewing. She is much more interested in European cinema and in particular, French cinema.

Before Dawn was really born from a healthy row between the two of us as to how she would make a zombie film in the European style with detailed characters and a realistic, very British set up.

Q: BEFORE DAWN has been described as ‘horror with a heart’. What came first when you developed the story – the zombies or the relationship between you and your on-screen wife?

DB:  We were both fighting our own corner where the heart of the story is concerned. It was always going to be a zombie story but Jo was really insistent that we bring the characters back story and relationship to the fore. The film had to be intriguing from the start, before there was any sign of a threat.

Q: You cast your wife opposite you.  Does this mean BEFORE DAWN has an autobiographical thread running through it?

DB: Well, we played to our strengths and brought our own differences to our performances. I’m Northern, Jo is Southern. I’m from a working class background, Jo is from a middle class background. I think the fact that you have a male and a female together in a serious situation is grounds for enough tension and drama.

Q: Most people know you as veterinarian Paddy Kirk in ‘Emmerdale’. Does the horror genre give you a chance to express your darker side?

DB:  The horror genre has been a huge part of my life since I was 13. I could sit and quote every line from Dawn of the Dead, Evil Dead, The Exorcist etc and I still watch mostly horror films, classic and contemporary almost every night.  I like being scared and I like a good special effect. I really enjoy watching a situation played out to it’s worse case scenario.

Q: You followed BEFORE DAWN with a short called SHELL SHOCKED, both of which have been premiered at FrightFest. Did you have a good experience on both occasions?

DB:  We have been very fortunate to have had the support of FrightFest. So many other opportunities opened up to us as a result. It really did seem, we were all of a sudden taken very seriously by other film festivals from around the world and at home. This in turn has led to distribution in all sorts of territories and gaining distribution from the fantastic Metrodome in the UK . I’ve also made life long friendships at FrightFest. I met the best people and watched the best films.

Q: Are you planning another feature film soon? If you are, what can you tell us about it?

DB: We are in pre-production on our next feature, “Deleted”. It’s a violent, female revenge drama which starts shooting on March/April.

Q: Ever thought of turning EMMERDALE into a horror film?

DB: I’d love to do a one-off late night special with zombies running amok through the village.

Q: Do you eventually want to move away from television acting and focus full-time on directing feature films?

DB: NO!!! I want to stay at Emmerdale. I love the job, I love the people and I really love playing the character of Paddy. I think it’s possible to make a feature every two or three years with a short in between without any adverse negative effects on the show. I don’t want to do anything by half.

Q: BEFORE DAWN is receiving its UK TV premiere on Horror Channel. You must be pleased.

DB: We’re over the moon. We can’t wait. Obviously I’ve seen it hundreds of times with various edits and dubs but to turn the telly on and watch the film we all slaved over for two years is going to be emotional. There have been many highlights to Before Dawn including festivals, holding the official DVD box for the first time, seeing it in on sale in the local supermarket, seeing a Japanese poster for the film but showing on Sky Horror Channel will be a real benchmark in how far we’ve come.  I’ll be there with my hot chocolate.

Q: What are your top three favourite horror films?

DB: Dawn of the Dead, Night of the Demon, Evil Dead

Q: And finally, have you got a real-life horror story you can tell us?

DB: There are loads of really terrible things that we all go through in life, like losing someone you love or a truly eye watering tax bill but I love submerging myself in a fantasy and using film as an escape. Being told a good story whether it be horror or any genre is the reason I keep watching films. Watching other people go through all the drama is a great way of drawing your attention away from the fears of just being alive.

Dominic Brunt, thanks you very much

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