Wednesday, 5 April 2017

Interview with The Soska Sisters

On the eve of Horror Channel’s UK premiere broadcast of SEE NO EVIL 2 on April 7, the Twisted Twins, Jan and Sylvia Soska, exclusively reveal their TV ambitions, the latest on their RABID remake and being huge WWE fans.


It’s been while since we last chatted and apart from See No Evil 2 what have you both been up to?

S: It has been a while, but it's really cool that we get to chat again. We hosted a reality horror gameshow from Matador, GSN and Blumhouse called Hellevator that was like ‘Saw the gameshow’. We had a blast making it. I really can't even believe that was a job a person could have. We're still trying to get it over to the UK - I think the audience over there will really enjoy it. We have had a lot of fun working in television, it's something we're interested in pursuing more of not only in front of the camera, but behind the scenes as well.

J: Oh, it's been ages! We've been up to nothing but trouble. We made an action movie with the WWE and Lionsgate called Vendetta where we made everybody's favorite Superman Dean Cain break bad fighting the Big Show in jail. It was basically a Punisher goes to jail movie for us. We got to achieve a big bucket list dream and start writing for Marvel comics! We did a ‘Night Nurse’ and a ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ story so far and are stoked to do more with them. And we're re-making Canadian Horror King David Cronenberg's Rabid. We keep busy.


Did the incredible, international success of Dead Hooker in a Trunk surprise you?

S: We were working very hard towards getting that kind of reaction, but considering how many films and filmmakers come out now, it's always such an unpredictable journey. I remember we would carry screeners in our purse with these little booklets, just in case we met anyone who we could get the film in front of, but it really paid off. I'll always be particularly grateful to the people who saw that first film and decided to support two very different filmmakers.

J: In a way, when I really think about it, yeah. It's a weird "WTF is even happening" film and it's really "us". The humor, the insane plot, the passion, the violence, and that take no prisoners attitude. I was both surprised and delighted to learn there are so many fellow weirdos like us out there. I love all our fans, but the people who have been in our corner since Dead Hooker In A Trunk have a very special place in my heart.


How did your family react to how it took off?

S: My parents couldn't have been more proud. My dad appears as the Rabbi in the flashback, we shot at our church, we had a lot of support from our church on that one, ha ha. We're very lucky in the way that our parents have always been incredibly supportive of what we wanted to do. My mom tells me it wouldn't have made a difference because once we got an idea in our head, even as little kids, we had to make it happen.

J: My folks are the best. They've always been so supportive of our paths wanting to be artists. They're both artists themselves so they never told us to settle on "normal jobs". I think they couldn't believe how big it got. When people starting yelling, "Dead Hooker In A Trunk!!!!" at us in the street it was like, "wow, what is even happening to our lives??" They're very proud. They always get to see the early cuts and my mum will let me know when the gory bits really sell. I have no idea what's too much anymore. I don't know if I ever did, ha ha


When American Mary showed at FrightFest a few years back it gained huge critical acclaim, what are your most vivid memories of this time?

S: I remember lying awake in my hotel room with Jen at the Soho and being extremely nervous and excited. The next day our film was going to play in front of a huge crowd and we were going to be wearing these fantastic outfits made out of surgical plastic created by Enigma Arcana that we were going to wear for it. I kept thinking about what a surreal situation that was and it's kind of a vulnerable story, so I was feeling that. But I couldn't have dreamed up a better audience. I remember Mike Hewitt from Universal made sure we got a bunch of people from the European body modification community in the front rows of the theatre, so seeing their faces and getting the reactions from the crowd was a beautiful experience. I'll always be in love with the UK because of truly wonderfully they have treated us throughout the years.

J: I remember Dead Hooker fans waiting outside our hotel for autographs and photos. It was so cool, but I'm very Canadian so I was all like, "how long have you been out here? Oh no, I would've come out sooner! I didn't know!" I have never received a warmer welcome anywhere in the world. The UK fans know their horror and they got American Mary at a level I didn't expect anyone to. It meant the world to us. And FrightFest is the best. The gents there were so good to us. I'm dying to return.


Let’s chat about See No Evil 2.  How were you selected to direct and how much say did you have on the incredible cast?

S: We got the script knowing it was time sensitive and were really excited about the opportunity, but we didn't think we'd be hired. After American Mary and Dead Hooker in a Trunk, I think people kept trying to put us in this box of this is what the twins make, but we have very diverse interests and like tackling different sub genres. I hear a lot of nightmare stories about people working with a studio for the first time, but we were extremely lucky. Michael Luisi, the head of WWE Studios, hired us to bring a female perspective to the film. We got to pick our team and modify things creatively as we went along to make the sequel really special. We're fans of the material, so we kept thinking what would be like to bring, knowing we were reintroducing this character from an original that was from so many years ago.

J: We always go to bat for our actors. We love this cast. We got Glenn "Kane" Jacobs as part of it and being huge Kane and Undertaker fans it was really the opportunity of a lifetime. I had wanted to work with Danielle Harris for ages. She's an icon. True Horror Queen. And we had to bring Katie Isabelle with us. We wanted to give her something really fun to do. We sat in on every audition and met our boys. Kaj-Erik Eriksen is just the best. I met him and felt like I knew him for years. I knew Greyston Holt, a fellow Hungarian, for a while and had been wanting to get him in something of ours. We were fans of Chelan Simmons from the Final Destination series and Tucker and Dale Vs Evil. Lee was another gift from the auditions. And Michael Eklund? He's the Canadian Daniel Day Lewis. We love him. We were looking for something together for a while and this was perfect.


Were you big WWE fans before this movie? 

S: Yes. A lot of people don't know that we are huge WWE fans. One of the only dreams that my Dad didn't support was me becoming a professional wrestler and getting tattoos. I guess through working with the WWE and making American Mary, I got to experience those avenues as closely as I could. We're still such WWE fans. I think the popularity of professional wrestling is like nothing else. You have these super hero soap operas and these brilliant coordinated fights where heroes & villains fight each week and they have such positive messages about overcoming obstacles or never giving up. Then, you see them on their off time and they are visiting the troops overseas or going to a children's hospital to brighten someone's day. I still dream of maybe getting an opportunity to write an episode of RAW or maybe get in the ring. With Glenn 'Kane' Jacobs and Paul 'Big Show' Wight as back up, though. Those lady Superstars are tough, I'd love to train to get in the ring with them. Maybe take on the Bellas?

J: Only the biggest. I lose my shit at the live events. I love it so much. Getting to work with and meet so many of the WWE Superstars has only increased my love for the whole organization and what those performers put themselves through. Real life super heroes, all of them! I remember an acting teacher made fun of me for loving WWE and said it was a waste of my time. Guess he can "suck it" (Degeneration X) now.


Did you change any of the script and if so (without giving too much away) was it much and why did you change it?

S: We had a completely collaborative team and that was a very supportive environment to make the film. I don't want to give too much away, but we switched up the gender roles in this film big time. It's very subtle, so a lot of people didn't really notice it until the end. I sometimes think, oh I wish I had done this or did that, but the scene in the morgue with Katharine Isabelle and Lee Majdoub with Kane on the slab was very much us. That character went from being a dude to being Tamara and ended with such a sexy moment. We like playing with people's expectations and the team was totally down for it too.

J: Ugh, I can't say much without giving it away but we wanted to give the film that classic 80s slasher feel to it. AND we played with typical gender roles. Nuff said! Can't say more without ruining everything!


How tough was the shoot, what did you learn from it and if you could go back and do it again what would you change?

S: The worst planned moment was that the big final fight was on the last day and then Jen, Glenn, and I had two hours sleep before we had to get on a plane to fly to New York for New York Comic Con. I was ecstatic to go and it was our first time in New York which was amazing, but the three of us were so dead after shooting non-stop for weeks, then going back into it, but these are the kind of hours you have in the WWE. You don't really think about all that traveling that they do until you see it first-hand. But then again, sleep is something you can do when you're dead.

J: Any 15 day shoot is ambitious. You have got to pick your battles. You have to lose some battles to win the war. If I could change anything it would be that promo NYCC trip that made our first time in NY feel like an acid trip.


What’s Kane like in real life?

S: He's the best. He's not Kane. I mean, if anyone is Kane, it's Glenn and he's such a phenomenal performer that that character is a real guy to people. He was a real guy to me too, until I got to meet the man behind the Devil's Favourite Demon. He's very intelligent, he's ridiculously funny - I think it's a shame that we don't get to see more of that comedic genius on the show, he's very down to earth, and he's one of the kindest souls I have had the pleasure of meeting. You see him doing different charity events constantly, he's always giving back to his fellow man, and he's always visiting people in the hospital. It's funny that everyone knows him as this monster on TV, but in real life he's much closer to an angel. I don't want to ruin his street cred, but Glenn is literally the best.

J: He's the coolest. He is SUCH a nice guy. He didn't set anything on fire or murder anyone that wasn't meant to be murdered. Glenn is very down to Earth and terribly brilliant.


SNE2 is one of those rare things, a sequel that’s stronger than the original, would you agree?

S: That's what we set out to do. I think one of the most important aspects of a slasher is that you care for the cast so there's a sense of wins and losses in this horrific situation you've placed these people in. We wanted it to be visually beautiful, we wanted to revamp Jacob Goodnight so that he would be more fear-inducing, and we wanted to have a lot of fun killing whoever it is we end up killing in the film. I'm hoping with the set up in See No Evil 2, they'll let us have another round with a third instalment.

J: That's what I think, but I've heard people say the opposite. You can't make everyone happy, I suppose. And those people are idiots. No accounting for taste! I wanted to create this extension of Jacob Goodnight's world that made the audience actually feel something. I feel that's the main difference between a horror film and, say, an action film. If you care when someone dies you're probably watching a horror film and if you don't care someone did something wrong. We wanted to redesign the Jacob Goodnight character. The fans wanted a mask and we were totally into delivering. What's a horror icon without a cosplayable costume, right?


Are you pleased SNE2 is getting its UK TV premiere on Horror Channel?

S: Nothing makes me happier! They were the first ones to put us on TV and now look what's happened. Technically, this is all their fault.

J: I am deliriously excited. I LOVE the UK Horror Channel!! They've have been so deliciously delightful to us. They cared about us before anyone got aboard the band wagon! We Soskas don't forget stuff like that!


If SNE3 ever came about would you be up for it?

S: We have been talking to the team for years about making a third one. We nicknamed it 3 No Evil and we have a killer idea set up for it. The team is interested in coming back, maybe this UK TV premiere will be what gets them to say, why not, how bad could it be?

J: 3 No Evil? I've actually been dying to do a sequel to our sequel. It would be so fun to reunite with Glenn and company. We have some big plans for him in the future...


How much in the last 10 years has the movie industry changed for women? Are you now rightfully treated as equals?

S: There's definitely more of a spotlight on the inequality in hiring female directors which has opened up this dialogue that has been going strong for years. You look at filmmakers like Ana Lily Amirpour with A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night, Julia Ducournau with Raw, Agnieszka SmoczyƄska with The Lure, and so many others - and you see these unique perspective films and you see that audiences are hungry for that. There's this misconception about who the film-going audiences are and what they will pay to see in the theatres, but then you see someone try something different like Jennifer Kent did with The Babadook and its insanely successful. Yet instead of looking for more new ideas to give audiences more of a variety, they try to recreate the last success and there's no art in that. Creating true equality is an ongoing process, but I truly don't mind. There are no other sister directing teams that we are following in the footsteps of, every step is new ground that hopefully makes the path less unruly for those who come next.

J: We're getting there but we've still got a ways to go. Female filmmakers are making a lot more noise about diverse representation and the fans are echoing that call. Ladies still have to fight hard for those opportunities and get overlooked for their male counter parts. If another male director with less experience than me gets another superhero franchise I might lose my shit. With all the attention on female filmmakers right now, particularly in the horror genre, I think we're gonna see more of a shift in hiring (and paying equal wages). But ask me next time we chat, we'll see how far we came.


So, what are you working on at the moment?

S: We are very honored to have been the team chosen to take on the remake of Cronenberg's Rabid. Normally, I'm not a huge fan of remakes but that's if they don't have anything new to bring to the story. We have a unique perspective just because of who we are to tell the story from Rose's eyes as well as make a commentary on the increasingly rabid world that we live in. Also, we've been dying to get back into body horror. Ten years into David's filmmaking career, he remade The Fly and it brought him to this new level. This is ten years into our career and this will be our first film that gets a wide theatrical release, so it feels like a good pairing. We just have to make sure we don't let down our country, our fanbase, and our hero. No pressure.

J: Rabid! And sadly a bunch of stuff I can't talk too much about. I will say that one of our original scripts has now gone into production and I'm really beside myself about it. It's a dream I'd forgotten I'd even had. We wrote this particular script at the same time as American Mary and it's maybe my favorite thing we've ever written. It's a "fuck yeah" film so get stoked for that. We have quite a few films in production and Kill-Crazy Nymphos Attack!, our (very) graphic novel that we're doing with Daniel Way with artwork by Rob Dumo. It's coming this summer, so grab that if you want to be horribly offended.

See No Evil 2 is broadcast on Horror Channel, 10.50pm, Fri April 7

Saturday, 1 April 2017

WIN A KILLER BUNDLE OF REALM OF THE DAMNED GOODIES TO CELEBRATE THE ANIMATED COMIC'S RELEASE


Realm Of The Damned - Tenebris Deos is out on DVD & Bluray on the 7th of April and to celebrate we have a great competition for you and merch bundles including the film, t-shirt, mug and original graphic novel up for grabs!

Synopsis:
The monsters have won. Our world now belongs to them. Realm of the Damned: Tenebris Deos is a new UK animated motion comic of pure Black Metal horror that unleashes the classic gothic monsters on a modern rampage of redemption and damnation. Raw, fast-paced and bristling with atmosphere, this is a bloody and blasphemous epic that leaves no church unburned.

Marking the first in an upcoming four-part series, Realm of the Dead - Tenebris Deosis an animated motion comic adventure starring David Vincent (Morbid Angel), Dani Filth (Cradle of Filth) and Jill Janus (Huntress)

Realm of the Dead - Tenebris Deos is available on Blu-ray & DVD from 7th April, 2017

Check out the release on Amazon by clicking the link below: (Opens in a new window)
Realm Of The Damned - Tenebris Deos [Blu-ray]

Competition Closed



Terms and conditions
1. Closing date 16-04-17
2. No alternative prize is available
3. When the competition ends as indicated on this page, any and all entries received after this point will not count and emails blacklisted due to not checking this page first.
4. Winners will be chosen randomly and will be informed via email.

Wednesday, 29 March 2017

WIN ONE OF TWO LIMITED THE VOID T-SHIRTS TO CELEBRATE THE NEW HORROR RELEASE


Prepare for a fresh slice of terror from the warped imaginations of VFX and design masters Steven Kostanski and Jeremy Gillespie. The Void is a highly anticipated new horror following a series of successful and prestigious festival appearances. Encountering a blood-soaked man on a dark deserted road, a police officer rushes the victim to the local hospital. Soon the staff and patients are trapped by a terrifying, otherworldly threat and forced on a hellish voyage into the depths of the building to escape the nightmare.

Shocking, haunting and boasting mind-blowing practical special effects, The Void is a new must-see horror event, starring Ellen Wong (Scott Pilgrim vs the World), Kathleen Munroe (Alphas), Aaron Poole (Forsaken) Kenneth Welsh (The Aviator) and Daniel Fathers. Written and directed by Jeremy Gillespie and Steven Kostanski.

Signature Entertainment presents The Void at UK cinemas from 31st March and on Digital HD from 7th April

Cinema Tickets: ourscreen.com/film/The-Void
Digital HD link: iTunes

Competition Closed

Terms and conditions
1. Closing date 14-04-17
2. No alternative prize is available
3. When the competition ends as indicated on this page, any and all entries received after this point will not count and emails blacklisted due to not checking this page first.
4. Winners will be chosen randomly and will be informed via email.

Tuesday, 21 March 2017

Film News (UK): Soska Sisters head up Slasher Season on Horror Channel


Get ready for hooks, surgical knives and power saws as Horror Channel adds a cutting edge to April’s schedule as the UK TV premiere of the Soska Sisters’ SEE NO EVIL 2 heads up a season of contemporary slasher films. The season also has the network premieres of Stewart Hendler’s sadistically slick SORORITY ROW with Carrie Fisher, the darkly deranged GIRLHOUSE, and Nelson McCormick’s axe-crazy PROM NIGHT.

Fri 7 April @ 22:50 – SEE NO EVIL 2 (2014) *UK TV Premiere


A group of friends pays a late-night visit to the city morgue to surprise Amy (Danielle Harris) on her birthday. But the surprise is on them when the one-eyed corpse of brutal psychopath Jacob Goodnight (Glenn ‘Kane’ Jacobs) unexpectedly rises from a cold sub-basement slab. Their wild party quickly turns into a terrifying slay-fest as the sadistic mass-murderer resumes his savage rampage complete with hooks, surgical knives and power saws. Also stars Katharine Isabelle.


Fri 14 April @ 22:50 – SORORITY ROW (2009) *Network Premiere


A sorority prank goes wrong and a girl is accidentally murdered. Desperate to get on with their lives and avoid taking responsibility for their actions, the surviving sisters and their male accomplice agree to dump the body and never speak of the incident again. Just after graduation, however, a mysterious killer begins stalking everyone, leading the survivors to fight for their lives against a masked maniac with a deadly modus operandi.


Fri 21 April @ 22:50 – GIRLHOUSE (2014) *Network Premiere


In an attempt to make some extra cash while away at college, Kylie (Ali Cobrin) moves into a house that streams content to an X-rated website. After a deranged fan hacks in to determine the house's location, she finds herself in a terrifying fight for her life.


Fri 28 April @ 22:50 – PROM NIGHT (2008) *Network Premiere


After surviving a horrible tragedy, Donna has finally moved on and is enjoying her last year of high school. Surrounded by her best friends, she should be safe from the horrors of her past. But when her prom night turns deadly, there is only one person who could be responsible - a man she thought was gone forever. Now, Donna must find a way to escape the sadistic rampage of an obsessed killer. A loose remake of the 1980 film of the same name.

Other highlights this month include the UK TV premiere of Benni Diez’s enormously fun creature feature STUNG, which airs on Sat 29, 10.55pm. When illegally imported plant fertilizer infects a local species of killer wasps, a nearby fancy garden party at a country villa gets thrown into turmoil when the swarm attacks. Laying eggs in their human prey, the wasps mutate into 7-foot tall predators with a severe attitude problem. Stars Lance Henriksen.


Plus there are channel firsts for Irvin Kershner’s cult classic THE EYES OF LAURA MARS, (Sat 1 April, 11.05pm), starring Faye Dunaway and Tommy Lee Jones, Rupert Wainwright’s remake of THE FOG (Sat 15 April, 9pm), starring Selma Blair; Stuart Hazeldine’s gripping EXAM (Sat 22 April, 9pm), starring Pollyanna McIntosh, Jimi Mistry, Gemma Chan and Colin Salmon; and David Hackl’s killer bear actioner INTO THE GRIZZLY MAZE, (Sat 8 April, 9pm), starring James Marsden, Thomas Jane, and Billy Bob Thornton.

TV: Sky 319 / Virgin 149 / Freesat 138 | Freeview 70
www.horrorchannel.co.uk | twitter.com/horror_channel | facebook.com/horrorchannel




Tuesday, 14 March 2017

Competition: Win Ibiza Undead on DVD

Ibiza Undead is out on DVD on 20th March and to celebrate we have a great competition for you and 3 copies of the DVD to give away.

Synopsis:
The Inbetweeners meets Shaun of the Dead in this riotously entertaining British zombie film. A group of young people head to Ibiza for the holiday of a lifetime - all the sun, sea and debauchery they can handle.

Leaving the girls behind, the lads get in to an exclusive club where the performers are the undead. But one of the lads’ drunken antics lead to the zombies escaping their restraints… Soon all hell breaks loose and no one on the party island is safe. Starring Emily Atack (The Inbetweeners), Matt King (Peep Show), and Cara Theobold (Downton Abbey).

Check out the release on Amazon by clicking the link below: (Opens in a new window)
Ibiza Undead [DVD] [2016]

Competition Closed



Terms and conditions
1. Closing date 27-03-17
2. No alternative prize is available
3. When the competition ends as indicated on this page, any and all entries received after this point will not count and emails blacklisted due to not checking this page first.
4. Winners will be chosen randomly and will be informed via email.

Friday, 3 March 2017

Interview with Aaron Sterns by David Kempf

Aaron Sterns is the co-writer of Wolf Creek 2 (Best Screenplay Madrid International Fantastic Film Festival 2014), and author of the prequel novel Wolf Creek: Origin – which won the 2014 Australian Shadows Award for best Australian horror novel of the year.

Author of various Aurealis Award-nominated and Year’s Best Fantasy & Horror recommended short stories, including ‘The Third Rail’ and the dark werewolf-bouncer world of ‘Watchmen’ (the basis for his upcoming novel Vilkači), Sterns is a former lecturer in Gothic & Subversive Fiction, editor of The Journal of the Australian Horror Writers and Ph.D. student in postmodern horror.

He is currently at work on his next novel and a raft of screenplays.


Interview with Aaron Sterns by David Kempf

Q. When did you first become interested in screenwriting?

A. I lucked into screenwriting in many ways. Although I’ve been involved in the horror field for many years, coming from an academic background in Literature my focus was always studying and writing fiction. I loved film, which has of course become the driving force of contemporary horror, but it always seemed daunting or unattainable, especially for someone from the isolated realms of Australia. Then I stumbled upon examples of the screenplay form in collections by Dan Simmons and Dennis Etchison and Stephen King, tucked in amongst fiction pieces, and was intrigued by the style and that it seemed so much more artificial and sparse than the overdescriptive, elegiac prose I’d previously been drawn to (Cormac McCarthy, William Faulkner, etc.). 

I attempted scripts of my own in my teens, but found it too hard to format on the old word processors (Final Draft broke open the script form in many ways and probably allowed countless new writers to pour into the field). It was really only fortuitously meeting and sharing an office with Greg McLean (who would go on to direct Wolf Creek), and a director from LA called Adam Simon who started dating my best friend’s sister (and who I spent many, many long nights with discussing horror theory), that the world of screenwriting began to open up to me. The funny thing is that following Wolf Creek 2 most people see me as a screenwriter -- which I’m happy to cultivate because it’s nice to be known for something -- and yet I’ve written fiction for years and also wrote the Wolf Creek: Origin prequel novel. You go where the work is, and most of my projects now are indeed screenplay-based.


Q. How did you get involved in fantasy/horror?

A. I was fixated on death and existence from an early age, so I think I have a natural tendency to the dark. I was also a voracious reader, secluding myself in my room and churning through Orwell and Huxley and other fun reads even at the age of ten. I like the satirical and metaphorical weapons that ‘fantasy’ (as in, an alternate reality or projection or exaggeration of reality, rather than castles and dragons) provides, and the unflinching existential exploration that is at the heart of good horror.


Q. Is this a full-time job?

A. I used to think writing never could be, which is why I pursued a Ph.D. and lecturing at university in the first place – to sustain the outside career of writing. But then I got sick of talking about other people’s work and quit the academic field some twenty years ago. Since then I’ve done any number of grueling part-time jobs to keep my head above water – bouncer (a lot of years of that), actor, typist. But I’m happy to say I went full-time a couple of years ago, with my fiancĂ©e’s help, and now write whenever I’m not looking after our whirlwind four-year old daughter.


Q. Would you consider writing in other genres?

A. I’m currently working on a violent gangster movie, a scathing and funny LA horror-satire, I have a couple of SF scripts amongst my slate, so if the story or the approach is interesting enough, sure. But I tend to gravitate back to the broad field of ‘horror’ due to its ability to skewer social norms and comment on the human condition or the current political climate or the family unit without being too obvious or preachy. There’s always a way to slip something deeper into horror, even as subtext. If you don’t/can’t acknowledge the context of the world then what’s the point of story?


Q. Why do you think horror and fantasy books remain so popular?

A. Precisely because of what I’ve been saying – that they present alternate versions of the world that highlight and tear asunder assumed conventions. They can make the audience think, even unwillingly, forcing them to consider post-apocalyptic worlds in which the taken-for-granted safety and security of their current society falls apart, or to imagine their loved ones as betraying psychopaths, or the inevitability and unsympathetic nature of death (something which we in the West seem to be brought up to ignore, presumably so the good little worker bees don’t question the value of work and the quarter-acre home and the 2.4 kids in the face of eventual nothingness).


Q. What inspires your stories?

A. Everything. Every minute of every day. I’m sure all writers are inundated with story ideas constantly. It’s a matter of sifting through and blocking out all the inane detritus – the silly little ‘what-ifs’ that plague you. I do try to write the more fully-formed ideas down though, as you never know when you can develop them into something useful.


Q. The Wolf Creek saga is very disturbing. What made you think you could write so dark?

A. The world is dark. Wolf Creek is one of those horror stories that projects from real life, imagining the true happenings and terror behind the numerous murders and disappearances we’ve heard of in the outback. I think a lot of people were surprised by the novel Origin even more so than the movies. I’d obviously been storing up a lot of disturbing material and ideas about the forging of serial killers that poured out into that book. I still get comments that “I can’t believe you put such and such in”, and I have to think for a second, then admit “Did I? I can’t believe it either!”


Q. What do you think is the difference between Australian and American perspectives on horror?

A. Well, American horror is more mature in the sense it’s been developed by so many masters over the years (Hawthorne, Poe, Lovecraft right up to the present day in literature; countless Hollywood and independent films). Australia has a long tradition of gothic fiction, but a relatively smaller crop of current horror fiction writers. And while there was a bump in genre films in the 1970s thanks to the tax incentives, only a handful of horror films are made here every year (not surprisingly, considering our population). 

But there do seem to be distinctive qualities to Australian horror – a defining element of Australian gothic for instance is that the tension arises not from antiquity or architecture or romantic melodrama as it does in the European tradition, but often from our unforgiving landscape. The earliest forms of settler art depicted the bush as a mythic and impenetrable stealer of children and of hope and dreams, a theme played out in many of the early works of fiction by such writers as Lawson and Baynton. 

A period of cultural cringe seemed to quell this (the dark period of the 1990s when we put out dreck like Cut), but then Wolf Creek unashamedly embraced landscape as horror again and arguably paved the way for a resurgence that taps into this (Jamie Blanks’ remake of Long Weekend for instance, but also movies like Dying Breed, Primal, Van Diemen’s Land). And now recent entries like The Babadook are notable for the very fact they don’t rely on the geography of Australia for its effect. The American perspective on horror would take a book to detail, though I tend to find US studio films are often hampered by the need to assuage focus groups and market segments. Horror’s a naturally risky genre, so maybe it gravitates towards the independent low-budget scene to allow the greater freedom the more challenging ideas require.


Q. What do you think the legacy of fellow Australian Rocky Wood is?

A. Rocky’s legacy is still being felt in the Horror Writers Association, that’s for sure. Many of his initiatives and relentless campaigning continue to expand its numbers, and encourage exposure of the field to the wider community. He also put Australia on the map in some ways in the horror world, staunchly promoting those of us from his homeland at every opportunity (without ever being nepotistic). He was also a mentor to many of us, and was always available for finely-honed advice. His passing is still a shock now.


Q. What are your favourite horror books?

A. Cormac McCarthy’s Blood Meridian, Jack Ketchum’s The Girl Next Door, Bret Easton Ellis’s American Psycho, Peter Straub’s Koko, J.G. Ballard’s Crash. All seminal in some way.


Q. What are some of your favourite horror movies?

A. The classics: The Thing (1982 of course), The Howling, Videodrome (in fact, anything by Cronenberg), Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978). More recently Ringu, Martyrs, Inside, and the amazing Black Swan.


Q. What do you consider your greatest accomplishment as an author and screenwriter?

A. Perhaps actually getting published, and actually getting a film made? I think people assume it’s a fait accompli that a writer merely has to write something and then it gets published (or filmed in the case of a screenplay). That’s the process. The hard part in all this is convincing the powers-that-be to actually back the thing!


Q. Do you have any advice for new writers?

A. Your words aren’t golden. Be prepared to take on criticism and advice. But at the same time be unwavering in your confidence in your ability. It’s tough to walk that tightrope without becoming disillusioned, but you won’t publish anything if you quit.


Q. What is your opinion of the new self-publishing trend?

A. It’s called ‘vanity publishing’ for a reason. If your work’s not strong enough to make it past a commissioning editor there’s a reason.


Q. What are your current projects?

A. I probably have ten or twelve scripts I’m working on at the moment, in various stages of development. I’m hopeful of two going into production this year – one in New York, and the other here in Australia. But we’ll see. You never believe something will get made until the first day of shooting. I also have a novel I’d like to get back to, but as you can imagine juggling so many projects there’s not a lot of time for everything.


Q. What advice do you have for aspiring authors who want their work to be adapted into a screenplay?

A. You could always write it yourself. Failing that, you could try to convince a screenwriter (which isn’t likely – they have more than enough scripts to work on thank you very much), or somehow get it to a producer, however one does that. Just realize getting a film made is statistically much harder than a novel published (and that is incredibly hard). So if you happen to be approached for an option, consider it a nice validation of your writing, but you’ll probably never one day sit in a cinema watching an adaptation (and probably not one you’re proud of). That said, if someone does come looking get a lawyer quick smart.


Q. Please in your own words, write a paragraph about yourself & your work.

A. I’m a former university lecturer, now novelist and screenwriter, and have been involved in the horror field for over twenty years. I’m the co-writer of Wolf Creek 2, which won best screenplay at the Madrid International Fantastic Film Festival, and am the author of prequel novel Wolf Creek: Origin, which won best Australian horror novel at the Australian Shadows Awards. I’m currently writing scripts in collaboration with Greg McLean, Matthew A. Brown, Jamie Blanks and other genre masters, and find myself saying yes to far too many cool projects.


Links




Thursday, 2 March 2017

FRIGHTFEST & FAB PRESS LAUNCH THE FRIGHTFEST GUIDE TO MONSTER MOVIES

FrightFest and FAB Press once again join forces to launch THE FRIGHTFEST GUIDE TO MONSTER MOVIES, which goes exclusively on sale during Horror Channel FrightFest 2017, Aug 24 – Aug 28. Following the success of The FrightFest Guide to Exploitation Movies, this is the second in a planned series of wide appeal books for both the curious spectator and the cult connoisseur,

Written by celebrated writer, editor & critic Michael Gingold, the book contains 200 of the most frightening, fantastical and fun monster film features. Starting in the silent era, it traces the history of the genre all the way through to the present day. The films are given detailed individual reviews, with fascinating facts and critical analysis.

There are the Universal Studios favourites such as Frankenstein's Monster and the Mummy, the big bugs, atomic mutants and space invaders that terrorised the '50s. Then there's the kaiju of Japan, the full-colour fiends from Hammer and the ecological nightmares of the '70s and '80s, to the CG creatures and updated favourites of more recent years.

Cult-favourite filmmaker Frank Henenlotter, creator of some of the screen's most idiosyncratic and bizarre beings, contributes a foreword, and it's all illustrated with a ghoulish gallery of scary stills and petrifying posters representing the remarkable range of monstrous movies. Do you dare open the cover and confront the beasts within?

The official launch is at Horror Channel FrightFest, Cineworld, Leicester Square (24th to 28th August) The FrightFest exclusive hardcover will be on sale for just £20. The book's international street date is 18 September 2017. Paperback price: £16.99 (UK) $24.95 (US)

Saturday, 25 February 2017

Interview with Anthony Crowley by David Kempf


Anthony Crowley,is a Author & Poet of Horror & Speculative literature,and a non-fiction Author of Esoteric Studies and Philosophy.He also has written for Sanitarium magazine, Massacre Magazine (Founding contributor) and various Horror website sites, including lyrics and a little music composing.


When did you first become interested in writing?

Since I first held a Parker pen in my hand. I was about six years and it has been my passion ever since. I also learnt various styles of writing, especially calligraphy. I was fascinated with how the writing flow appeared to be incredibly artistic and decorative. I was then intrigued by Old English.


How did you get involved in fantasy/horror?

I was one of those children that often had bizarre and strange nightmarish dreams. To me it was a huge realization because the outside world in society played a key role. That was my initial inspiration. I then suddenly became addicted and appreciated the classic horror films of Hammer, Amicus and Universal. I used to focus on everything about the film, such as acting techniques, dialogue and camera directing. From that analysis from what I witnessed had fascinated even more. The Hitchcock films were also unforgettable and still are just like those I mentioned a moment ago


Is this a full time job?

I have many interests involved with creativity, whether writing, drawing, etc... I’m also a campaigner for naturist rights.


How would you classify the genre you write?

We are our own connoisseur to our special blend of creativity. I usually write for myself first and secondly for my readers. I find it a healthy, positive balance to write in more than one genre. I currently write speculative literature, historical, fantasy, spirituality, philosophy, science, naturism, etc.


Why do you think horror and fantasy books remain so popular?

Personally, I believe horror has never been outdated or left us. We are surrounded by horror every day in the news and the reality. Fantasy is an extension to our mind escapes which can be either dark fantasy, action fantasy and so on. My future novel series, titled Sorcero is a Roman dark fantasy idea which I’ve had for some time now. I think my readers will enjoy this adrenalin-fuelled darkness.


What inspires your stories?

There is inspiration all around us, past, present and future. I’m inspired by everything. The mind is a fascinating tool that can go travel so far.


What do you think the difference between American horror and British horror is?

Personally, I am favourable of Gothic literature and psychological themes. I enjoy reading my books which are written in British English. I maybe old-fashioned but it’s my preference. I have nothing against American style horror but I am into the classics.


What are your favorite horror books?

From those early Hammer films, I then came across the works of Dennis Wheatley who had a few adaptations into Hammer productions and another few of my early influences were Mary Shelley, Bram Stoker and Edgar Allan Poe, H.P.Lovecraft. My favourite authors of today are Clive Barker and Jack Ketchum. I had the pleasure of interviewing Jack Ketchum last year for Fear Magazine.


What are some of your favorite horror movies?

The same as my favourite literature. I enjoy the old Gothic style films like Dracula, Frankenstein and Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, though I also enjoy the classic Universal horror films too.


What do you consider your greatest accomplishment as an author?

I haven’t got there yet. I will let you know when it happens.
           

Do you have any advice for new writers?

Be real to yourself, believe in yourself and work hard.


What is your opinion of the new self-publishing trend?

It has its advantages and disadvantages such as the convenience and control of your work. The stigma that everyone can self-publish puts a dampener on it. Publishing a project is a special moment and I’ve noticed some newcomer writers and they haven’t got a clue what they’re doing because it comes down to confidence, courage and hard work but also it comes down to passion. Some minorities begin writing for the fantasy of being rich and success. It doesn’t work like that.


What are your current projects?

I’ve recently published my second full-length dark poetry collection, titled Libro de Lumine. It was an exciting project with much difference compared to its predecessor Tombstones. This collection focuses around life, death and the speculations surrounding the afterlife. The title which is also known in English as ‘The Book of the Light’ has a slight concept to some of the featured verses. Are we on Earth for a purpose? What happens to our human existence when we die?  Many people have been curious in believing that a certain light would appear when we die. Some people say it's a new beginning. While some people believe, it has a whole new meaning.

I think the book will appeal to many readers of horror but also to readers of other genres. I’m currently working on numerous projects, including another poetry collection, titled Stripped Verses which is themed around naturism and the great outdoors. A different direction but also something that is close to my heart. The book will be published by RFI Publishings. I am also working on my second novella, titled BeautEVIL. This will be my second novella since The Mirrored Room.

This story idea I had when I wrote Saturnalia which is featured in Ravenwood Quarterly and Demonology. Expect some dark themes and twists of an ancient demonic awakening within this story. I also have new industrial horror/survival horror themed short story “The Looking Glass” which will be featured in a new anthology, titled “Whirling World Standing Still” published by Tickety Boo Press


Please in your own words, write a paragraph about yourself & your work. 

I’m a positive, deep thinking, philosophical nature boy. I dislike wearing clothes. I guess I should use a pen name as the Naked Poet or something similar to that. Haha!  From the moment, I held a Parker pen in my hand it was like my destiny began to awaken. Away from the projects and creative time which is a rare moment I prefer the solitude and silence.

I’m a private person and I hardly socialize with many people. I feel awoken more so around nature and the environment. I speak to the trees and the stars in the sky. I’m also passionate about photography, art and cooking my favourite Italian and Indian dishes.

The last year I made the decision to quit eating meat and fish products. Honestly, I’m incredibly healthier now and my mind is in a better place all round. I also have an interest in script writing. I initially began writing my first script last year but at the moment I’ve had to put it on hold due to other deadlines, media interviews, etc.. I will also be making my first documentary film themed around UK naturism, which will be titled Nude Britannia. Early stages yet but it’s another direction in my creative life and something which I’ve always wanted to do. I campaign each week for equal human rights. I’ve never been such a political person but I think people should speak up and use their voice in the right direction to make a positive change.

Links
https://www.facebook.com/AnthonyCrowley.Author/ - Official Anthony Crowley Facebook Page
https://twitter.com/crowley_anthony   Official Anthony Crowley Twitter Page
https://www.instagram.com/anthonycrowleyauthorpoet/   Official Anthony Crowley Instagram
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm7994907/   Anthony Crowley at IMDB


Wednesday, 22 February 2017

Film News (UK): Bad Milo! And The Cottage amongst nine Horror Channel prems for March.


Horror Channel presents nine fear-filled premieres in March including the UK TV premiere of BAD MILO!, Jacob Vaughan’s laugh-out-loud comedy horror blending sharp social satire with copious amounts of slimy gore. Broadcast on Fri 31 March at 11.20pm, BAD MILO! stars Ken Marino as normal nice guy Duncan, who discovers that a cute bloodthirsty creature is living in his lower intestines. Every time he gets stressed, it crawls out of his rectum to feed on the flesh of those riling him up. This was a huge hit at FrightFest in 2014.


Dark laughs also run amok on Fri 3 March at 10.55pm with the network premiere of Paul Andrew Williams’ blood-drenched hostage thriller THE COTTAGE, starring Andy Serkis, Reece Shearsmith and Jennifer Ellison. Feuding brothers David (Andy Serkis) and Peter (Reece Shearsmith) abduct a young woman (Jennifer Ellison) and hole up in a remote rural cottage, But their hostage turns the tables and soon it’s all for one when they find that the deranged farmer next door is the real threat. Hellraiser’s Doug Bradley makes a cameo in this terror treat.
 
There are also network premiere for Irish hit SCHROOMS, a stylish psychedelic shocker, directed by Paddy Breathnach (Fri 10 March, 11pm), ADRIFT, Hans Horn’s emotionally wrenching sail into terror (Fri 24 March, 9pm), Steve Barker’s atmospheric Nazi zombie thriller, OUTPOST (Sat 11 March, 10.50pm), Rob Schmidt’s cult  cannibal chiller WRONG TURN (sat 25 March, 11pm) and Hammer’s THE CURSE OF THE MUMMY’S TOMB (Sat 4 March, 10.45pm).
 
Plus there are channel firsts for Dave Payne’s tongue-in-cheek horror romp REEKER, starring Michael Ironside (Fri 17 March, 9pm) and Nicholas Mastandrea’s vicious canine nail-biter THE BREED, produced by Wes Craven and starring Michelle Rodriguez (Sat 18 March, 9pm.
 
TV: Sky 319 / Virgin 149 / Freesat 138 | Freeview 70

Interview with Steven Kastrissios

Ahead of the World Premiere of his latest film BLOODLANDS at Horror Channel FrightFest Glasgow, Steven Kastrissios discusses the challenges of making the world’s first Albanian / Australian horror film.


So what have you been doing in the eight years since making your amazing debut with THE HORSEMAN, a FrightFest favourite?
 
Writing. I was just 24 when I shot ‘The Horseman’ and it was only my second feature script, so I wanted to expand my horizons and I wrote many scripts in completely different genres and styles. I developed other little projects and came close to doing other features with other people’s scripts but for various reasons they fell through, usually over the script. I also stumbled into music and that bled into my film work too.
 

How did BLOODLANDS come about as the first Australian/Albanian collaboration?
 
Coffee with my Albanian-Australian friend, Dritan Arbana. He told me about the blood-feuds and I instantly saw an idea for a story and also importantly, how to make it a viable production with limited means. Dritan is an actor with no experience or desire to be a film producer, but I trusted him and anointed him as my producing-partner and two or three months after that coffee, we were in Albania prepping the shoot.
 

Why have the Albanians shied away from the genre up to now? Because their own history is so frightening?
 
I’m not Albanian, so I can’t answer this exactly, but from what the crew told me, they had a solid industry decades ago with the USSR influenced propaganda films, but their local industry has had limited opportunities since. They tend to like local comedies more and deal with the issue of blood-feuds as straight dramas, which there has been plenty. There were no stunt-coordinators, armourers, special-effects make-up artists we could find there, so limitations like that would make it difficult for any budding local genre filmmakers. I have a post-production background so I had the advantage of knowing how to design shots where we only had to do certain minimal things on-set, like very simple make-up, and the rest would be completed in post. We could do things safely too, like have real guns but no ammunition on set. Not even dummy cartridges. No explosive squibs too. All this stuff would be done through a subtle use of VFX.
 

 
When did you come across the legend of the Shtriga?
 
During my initial research. There’s various types of witches in the Albanian and Balkan cultures. There’s even a witch that will maim you if you waste bread, so they have a witch for everything there! And fortunately the Shtriga myth fitted perfectly with the backstory I had in mind for my witch. 
 

Directing the movie in a foreign language? Much more difficult surely because you need to understand the performance shadings?
 
This was just another hurdle we had to jump through collectively, but people learn fast and adapt so it wasn’t a big problem and most of the cast/crew spoke English, so I had a team of translators around me at all times for when someone needed help understanding me and vice versa. Whilst I don’t have an ear for Albanian, I did have the advantage of being the writer and the fact that I’d based the main characters on my own family, meant that I knew these characters inside and out. 
 

How did you go about tackling the portrayal of Albanian people and their culture, which to outsiders still carries a lot of negative clichés.
 
I was not aware of the clichĂ©s so much, coming from Australia. Dritan filled me in on countless tales of Albania, but what we were exploring was at the end of the day, a horror story with fantasy elements. So we weren’t necessarily tied down to absolute reality all the time and the film is lens in a way that embraces the ominous horror elements, wherever we found them. And the story is set in the mountains of a rural village, so we weren’t exploring modern city life with local crime figures, which may be the clichĂ©s people speak of.

The Albania I saw, mainly when we were location scouting, knocking on doors and seeing into people’s home lives, gave me confidence to know that the story I’d written in Sydney felt authentic to Albania. Anything that didn’t fit we re-wrote with either the actors or with Dritan’s consultation beforehand, who translated the script for me. I’m half Greek and Albania and Greece share a border, so there was that familiarity for me as well. Although the two countries certainly have significant cultural differences, there is still a Mediterranean through-line that is similar.
 

What will Albanian audiences make of it do you think? When will it be released there? Will the film kickstart a genre industry in Albania do you think? Or hope?
 
I have no idea. I made the film for a global audience. The Albanian sensibilities in the arts is unique to itself, so it could go either way. There was certainly a lot of interest in the project when we were there shooting, so I would imagine there would be a natural curiosity about the country’s first horror film.
 

Are the Albanian cast stars in their own right, or did you discover them? 
 
They are all stars in my eyes. GĂ«zim Rudi who plays the father is one the most recognisable actors in Albania. Ilire Vinca who plays the Shtriga was in The Forgiveness of Blood and Suela Bako, playing the mother, has had a lot of experience too and is a filmmaker herself. But it’s the feature debut for most of the cast I believe.  
 

Bearing in mind how difficult it is to get indie genre films released, was it a conscious decision to not make the film in the English language?
 
Certainly having non-English language does hurt sales internationally, but what’s the alternative? Having Albanians speak English instead? People have suggested that, but I think that’s a terrible decision long-term that would seriously compromise this project. Albanian is an ancient language rarely heard outside of the region and it’s one of the few that has no root in other languages, so we should preserve it. Global audiences obviously do find foreign cultures of interest so we have that on our side and people so far do seem to be genuinely intrigued in a horror film about an Albanian witch!
 

And finally, what next?
 
I’m developing another little project while I make my first serious attempts to go to USA with a script I’ve been developing. In the past I only sent one script out to a handful of people in USA, and I wasn’t even there to do the pitch meetings, as I was based in Sydney and focusing on Australian projects mainly, with no desire to move. But after the fun I had in Albania and the speed of which it came together, I’m all for working internationally.
 
BLOODLANDS is showing at the Glasgow Film Theatre on Sat 25 Feb, 2.20pm as part of Horror Channel FrightFest Glasgow 2017.