Hex Media announces launch of new UK Horror Studio

Hex Media, the outfit behind Lord of Tears, The Unkindness of Ravens and The Black Gloves, today announced they are to establish Hex Studios, the UK’s only dedicated genre studio, committed to developing, producing and distributing horror and fantasy content, with a focus on bold, original storytelling, and nurturing diverse voices in the genre.

Having acquired a historic Gothic revival church in Fife, Scotland as their base, Hex plan to develop both a studio company and production space which will house a green screen studio, sound recording facilities and special effects workshop, as well as serving as a hub for the genre with regular events and screenings.

First on the Hex Studios slate is horror anthology For We Are Many, featuring segments from up-and-coming filmmakers from around the world. The feature-length film is to star horror legends Eileen Dietz (The Exorcist) and Laurence Harvey (The Human Centipede II) with many more to be announced.

Legendary filmmaker Roger Corman, a supporter of the new venture, said today: “Hex Studios is an ambitious new project which aims to rekindle the spirit of classic horror cinema, and gives me hope for the future of original, independent filmmaking."

Hex Studios is the brainchild of Hex Media founder and producer/director Lawrie Brewster who will head the project along with partner Sarah Daly and co-founders Richard Pate, Nick Ford and Bill Eikost.

According to Lawrie Brewster, “Hex Studios is inspired by the glory days of Hammer Horror at Bray Studios. It’s more than just a physical production space or a studio company, it's a grass-roots movement that seeks to pursue a revolutionary approach to the art and business of filmmaking.”

Hex Media partner, writer/producer Sarah Daly added: “We want to foster a resurgence in the great British tradition of horror filmmaking, as well as providing opportunities for aspiring writers, actors and filmmakers in Scotland and all over the world.”

Interview with Al Sirois - By David Kempf

Picture by Bill Stank

When did you first become interested in writing?

That question takes me back a long way. When I was a boy, not yet ten years old, I started messing around with an old typewriter I found in the attic. It was one of those big old back jobs, with a two-color ribbon (red and black). I was already a big reader, and although there was a dedicated children’s library in my home town of Fairfield, CT, I loved to go to the main library with my mother, who was a big reader.

These trips were almost weekly. I wasn’t old enough to get a library card from the adult library, so I would load my mother up with things like SCIENCE NEWS and James Thurber’s books, and Robert Benchley, and books of Al Hirschfeld’s theatrical caricatures. (The library didn’t have any Charles Addams cartoon books, but a family friend had some, and I loved them.)

The Hirschfeld stuff led me off into books about Broadway and plays, so I read things like Moss Hart’s autobiography, Act One, and so on. All this while I was reading stuff for kids, too; I discovered Heinlein juveniles in the children’s library, believe it or not, along with The Spaceship Under the Apple Tree and the Zip-Zip books, and on and on. Once I found that old typewriter it was almost inevitable that I would start teaching myself how to type, and to start writing little things. All this really took off once I discovered sf magazines on the local newsstands. I started thinking, I would love to do this to write stories!

No one told me I couldn’t do it, so I started writing. My folks got me a decent Smith-Corona portable typewriter when I was 12, but I think I had already started submitting stories to Amazing. They were terrible, of course; I had no idea what proper manuscript format was, and I typed ‘em on onion-skin paper... I made every mistake a newbie could make. Once I started reading Edgar Rice Burroughs and Ian Fleming a couple of years later, I was hooked on that sort of adventure stuff.


How did you get involved in fantasy/horror?

That came about as a direct result of the Adult Fantasy series edited by Lin Carter for Ballantine

Books. I probably picked up on Lovecraft first, but quickly fell under the spell of Lord Dunsany and Clark Ashton Smith. Then I discovered Titus Groan when I was about 17. My own writing became florid and kind of overwrought, but I think there was a strength to it nonetheless. I write assiduously through all of high school and college, though I wasn’t submitting much at that time. I guess I had finally figured out that I was too green. But I kept reading, and kept writing for myself.

Then I got a job in a bookstore in New Haven when I was 22. I was in charge of the sf and fantasy section. A dream job! One of the guys who had worked there before me still dropped in every so often. This was Grant Carrington, who had had a few things published, including a novel, and was reading slush at Amazing / Fantastic for Ted White. I showed some of my stuff to Grant, who showed it to Ted and that resulted in my first couple of professional sales. This was in 1973 and 1974.


Tell us about your music. 

Boy, you must want a book from me. J My first instrument was the accordion (don’t laugh), which I played to little effect for two or three years beginning when I was about 8. I had no aptitude for it. I tried the trumpet when I was in what is now called middle school, but had no aptitude for that, either.

This brings us up to about 1962. I had begun paying a lot of attention to music, which in those days wasn’t really “product.” I listened to Motown, surf music, whatever was coming out of the NYC stations like WINS (not news in those days) and WMCA. Two years later the Beatles exploded on to the scene, and a lot of people who, like me, had previously been avid listeners to music, decided they wanted to play it, too.

It took me another four years, but I began playing drums in 1966. I had found my axe! A couple of years later I picked up the guitar, as well, and became fairly proficient I could even accompany other musicians, and I wrote a whole bunch of songs, some of which other bands performed. I eventually stopped playing guitar (though I still own one), but my love in the drums has persisted for over 50 years. I’m still laying, and performing when I can. I am also (ineffectually) playing keyboard.


Tell us about your artwork and illustration. 

Another long story. I started scribbling and doodling when I was quite young. I suppose it never occurred to me that I couldn’t draw, though I didn’t start to become more skilled at it until I was in my teens. Then I discovered that I was actually pretty good. I majored in Graphic Design in college, but dropped out after two years and went to work. I started doing art for fanzines in the early 1970s, and gradually improved.

Then I was hired by comic book artist Wally Wood as his assistant in 1975 or so, while I was living in New Haven. (He had joined an sf fan group I belonged to because he was interested in one of the women there; that’s how I met him.) I was a huge admirer of his work, but I didn’t gush or make a fool of myself when he introduced himself to me. My art at that time had a certain crude energy, and I guess he thought I could be helpful to him because he took me on.

That was the beginning of my career in comics. I worked hard to improve, and he was a patient teacher. Later I branched off more into illustration and painting primarily Impressionist landscape painting. I still do some fan art, and I try to take any illustration work I can get. I have lots of other influences besides Wood, of course, but it would take me too long to get into all of that. I could go on for hours! (Just ask my drawing students.) At age 67, I still feel that I have a long way to go until I am the artist I wish to be. There is always more to learn!


How would you classify the genre you write?

Well, I have always loved sf and the first things I tried to write were in that genre. I later branched out a bit to fantasy, then I tried to do some mainstream stories. Meanwhile I started selling some science fiction, so I stuck with that for a long time. Even today, most of what I write is sf, but I have also developed some young adult works, and I recently had a fantasy novel published by a small press. Next year, 2018, I will have a horror novel published by another small press. I have also done a lot of ghostwriting, mostly sf and fantasy, so there are several books in those genres as well even though my name isn’t on them. I also write mysteries. So whatever sells, you know.


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

They tap into deep veins in our psyches: fear of the unknown coupled with a desire to somehow conquer it; and escapism. As long as human nature remains what it is, fantasy and horror will be with us.


What inspires your stories?

Jeez, what doesn’t? An event; a news item; a character; a situation; an image—it could be anything. Sometimes I am simply cheesed off about something (or someone) and want to get “paper revenge.”


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

I am probably not the one to answer this. I could talk about British vs. American science fiction, but I can’t discuss horror with any degree of expertise. I simply don’t read enough of it.


What are your favorite horror books?

This is another tough one. I don’t care for overly-violent material, preferring to feel the psychological screws tighten rather than being bathed in blood. I’d have to say that Lovecraft’s At the Mountains of Madness tops the list. Shirley Jackson’s The Haunting of Hill House is another. I have read it several times and it never fails to creep me out. Probably my favorite horror writer is Stephen King.

The Shining is among my favorites of his work. I’d include Ray Bradbury’s Something Wicked This Way Comes as one of the best horror novels I’ve read. I’d also classify Thomas Harris’s Red Dragon and The Silence of the Lambs as horror. And let’s hear it for Max Brooks’s brilliant World War Z, which I have read three times and ill certainly read again.


What are some of your favorite horror movies?

John Carpenter’s The Thing, and his Halloween. The original Godzilla was, to me, more of a horror film, as was an obscure Japanese movie, The H-Man, about a Blob-like thing that absorbed people. I don’t care for slasher stuff. The Blair Witch Project was scary and satisfying for me. The Haunting of Hill House is a great film (see favorite books, above). So is The Birds. Also, the film adaptation of The Silence of the Lambs totally creeped me out (again, see favorite books, above).


What do you consider your greatest accomplishment as an author?

Selling my first short story! That happened when I was 23. It boosted my confidence in myself very important for a new writer. Everything else has gradually flowed from there.

           
Do you have any advice for new writers?

Don’t throw anything out! Save everything. I cannot emphasize that enough. No matter what you may think of those old stories and clunky first drafts, do not toss them in the trash or delete them from your computer. I speak from bitter experience. Also, learn how to take (and give) constructive criticism. Tell your ego to STFU and listen to what is being said to you. Yes, some of it will be bullshit, but don’t get defensive; you may learn something to your benefit. Also, join a workshop. You may have to try a couple before you find a good one, but persevere. You really need other people to read your work and comment intelligently thereon.

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

I’m of two minds about it. I have dabbled in it, but to no great extent. (This assumes that you call POD self-publishing.) I am a traditionalist in that I want to be paid for what I do. I also appreciate the guidance of a good editor; I think that authors need editors. Too many self-published writers really aren’t helping themselves by shoveling their unedited books out into the world. I’d read several that are just... oh, my god, how could you? On the other hand, even self-publishing gives a writer a taste of the process. But there is self-publishing, and then there is marketing and that’s harder by far than writing a book and formatting it through CreateSpace or whatever.


What are your current projects?

I’m involved in a work-for-hire ghostwriting gig that keeps me pretty busy. My name won’t go on the finished product, but I admit that I’m having fun with it—and, even more important, I’m making some money on an ongoing basis. Otherwise, there are short stories that need work, and a few novels in the planning stages. If my fantasy book The Bohemian Magician does well enough, there will be a sequel.

I also have a horror novel, Jersey Ghouls, due out in June of 2018, for which I will be doing the cover art. In addition, there are a couple of YA projects that are simmering. I have enough story and book ideas socked away to keep me busy for 10 years. And new ones keep occurring to me. As long as my mind holds out, I’ll keep working.


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

What I have always tried to do in my writing is to tell a good story, and to entertain. As I get older, I’ve taken to slipping a few political and social observations in as well. These reflect my concern with society at large. I am still as self-centered as most creative people are, but not as much as I used to be. If I had one wish it would be for another lifetime in which to perfect my crafts insofar as writing, art, and music go. I’ll never be as good as I strive to be, but I think the striving itself is perhaps just as important if not more so.


Links
https://twitter.com/realAlSirois
https://www.facebook.com/al.sirois
http://www.alsirois.com
Amazon - The Bohemian Magician Kindle Edition by A.L. Sirois
http://www.electricspec.com/Volume6/Issue1/sirois.html

Interview with Ruth Platt - Director of The Lesson

The Lesson received its World Premiere at FrightFest. How did you react when it was chosen? And what was the experience like?

I was really excited when I found out we'd been picked – we got a call from the team, and they were passionate about the film, and they are such a knowledgable and experienced small team, Greg, Paul, Alan and Ian, and it meant so much. Especially when the making of it had been such an arduous and difficult process! I had no idea how people would react to the film – it was such a tiny budget, and put together on sheer determination rather than any actual means. But the whole FrightFest festival was amazing – the fans were so supportive and friendly, and the reception to the film was so generous, it was a really brilliant experience.


How did you develop the idea for the film? Did your own experiences at school influence the story?

So my love of the horror genre stems from the satirical, metaphorical nature of the genre – how you can make a comment or observation about society, or about human nature, through the lens of horror – it is quite an expressionistic and stylised way of looking at the world, but quite a cathartic one, exorcising your deepest concerns, fears, and anger, I think! I have done a bit of teaching, though only peripatetic. I wasn't trying to exorcise my real desires to torture students, as some people might think! It was more an observation on the educational system and its failures, and also a psychological study of class dynamics, stemming also from my experiences at school.

The teacher role was inspired by two things - there was a teacher I had at school, and the class just knew, subconsciously and collectively, that we could push him further than we could push the average teacher. There was an innate vulnerability to him, a fear of us, if you like, that allowed the class to behave in a much more difficult way. My film was a bit of a 'what if' scenario – what if that teacher we locked in the cupboard snapped? There was an article I read a few years back about a teacher who did just that, without any history of violence or bad conduct – and who harmed a teenage boy at school badly. That was my second inspiration. The two ideas together created Mr Gale.


The violence in the film is mostly inflicted by a school teacher on two 16 year-old schoolboys. Do you think this makes it even more controversial and difficult to watch?

I think, and I did worry beforehand, that people would take it literally, It is meant to be a deliberate satire on the torture porn genre. It has moral ambiguity and complexity, certainly, I mean hopefully, and those that like the film seem to get this, your sympathies keep changing to and fro, from the teacher to the kids. Mr Gale gets his comeuppance!. I think The Lesson is pretty measured violence-wise – you look at 15 films like The Babysitter and Deadpool and my god, the violence, and it is so slick, so easy. That makes me uncomfortable. The violence in The Lesson is hopefully earned, and deliberately difficult to watch. There is no easy, shiny violence.


What lessons do you want people to take from the film?

Ha! Well, I guess I want people to think about the education system, where its failings lie, how a school is a microcosm of society, and without an all encompassing and deep rooted culture of mutual respect, responsibility and kindness, it can go badly wrong. But I didn't want to do that in a straightforward way, but rather through the horror lens. Some people seem to find it really cathartic to see these difficult kids tortured which is a bit disconcerting! I guess films like Fritz Lang's M are pertinent and influential – that moral ambiguity certainly – the scene where all the criminals in the area capture this mentally ill, but hideous child murderer, and they are relishing the power they have in their kangaroo court – the hypocrisy and the savagery of all of them. Reminds me of Social Media!


The film has been described many ways, ranging from “Kitchen-sink torture porn” to “bravura art-house horror”. How would you describe it?

Satirical anti-torture porn? Though I love the kitchen-sink bit and the art house bit obviously!


The casting is particularly brave, allowing young unknowns to flourish and excel. How difficult was the audition process?

Well – I had the tiniest budget so there was no casting director involved. All the kids were local, untrained kids. They were brilliant actually. They started with loads of stagey acting, and then I had to strip it down – they got it so quickly though and loved the process. I knew Evan already [who plays Fin] as I had already cast him in a music video – he was so hardworking and conscientious. I was lucky enough to go into a local college and have an audition with the young people studying Drama there.

Rory [who plays Joel] shone immediately – he took my direction, and his truth of thought and quickness of mind was evident straight away in improvisations. I was lucky to find him – about a week before shooting! Mischa I cast very last minute too, I auditioned her on skype after we had started shooting! She was a drama student at the Prague conservatoire.  She was very natural and very lovely – and just astonishingly beautiful, I thought. Her separateness and her measured silence to me was indicative of what it is to be a woman in a man's society. She of course, is Fin's knight in shining armour, at the end of the day, but she is vulnerable, she has to compromise to survive. I thought Mischa had a beautiful stillness that was very watchable.


You’ve been a successful actor yourself, having won a scholarship to train at RADA. But is it true you left in your second year to start up a theatre company? And will we see you tread the boards again?

Well I wasn't that successful! I adored acting, but I was a very insecure person as an actor. I remember being called to an audition, by my agent, for a music video, and asked by 3 men to lap dance on a chair. I wished I had just told them to fuck off. But I didn't – I needed to pay the rent, and didn't want to annoy my agent. So I did it. That happened a lot. As an actress you have to have an innate confidence that I really didn't have. I absolutely adored RADA, and as soon as I left, I realised what an idiot I had been to leave in my second year.  I fell into a deep depression – I was utterly broke, I had given up a scholarship, my mother was very ill, it all went wrong. I rang them and begged them to take me back but they had given my scholarship to someone else, and I couldn't afford to go back. But it was during my experiences forming a theatre company that I started to realise that I loved writing and later, when I found my confidence, directing.

What I adore about directing is being able to guide an actor through each thought process, each moment of subtext, each emotional beat and each character trait, and I can do that because of my actor training. That is a really rewarding experience, and it is why I also enjoy working with new, untrained actors. Being an actor I think is terrifying – you are so vulnerable, and especially as an actress, I mean I know it is getting better but sexism and harrassment is rife, absolutely endemic, though it has now suddenly exploded into the public consciousness and will probably now improve. But you really need to have balls of steel.


Who are your strongest influences in the horror genre and what’s been your favourite horror film this year?

‘Haneke's ‘Funny Games’ [the original German language one] is my favourite horror film of all time. I guess that is what inspired my anti-torture porn premise. The violence in that film could not be more uncomfortable and less gratuitous to watch – Haneke is a genius. A close second, though not usually classified as a genre film, is Yorgos Lanthimos' ‘Dogtooth’. One of the most brilliant, piercing satires I have ever seen. I adore ‘Nosferatu’, and Fritz Lang's ‘M’.

This year, I loved ‘Raw’, which I  I think it is one of the greatest female horror films of all time - the central metaphor of an impossibly high-achieving girl, with the absolute rigid self discipline, that starts to discover her emerging sexuality and rage – so bloody, sharply funny. And the cinematography – I’m in awe of it!


Finally, what can you tell us about your next project?

I have been in development with the BFI for a year now, so hoping to shoot something next year! It is a horror, but one that has a very detailed, socio-realistic world. And the whole thing is through the eyes of a child. It is also a largely female cast. Looking forward to making it so much, so wish me luck!

The Lesson is broadcast on Sat 9 Dec 2017, 10.45pm, Horror Channel.

Interview with Patrick O’Bell - Director of The Blessed Ones

An isolated cult prepare for the prophesied apocalypse in Patrick O’Bell’s frightening The Blessed Ones, now available on Amazon Prime from Wild Eye Releasing.

An isolated cult hiding in a desert enclave prepare for an prophesied apocalypse, led by a charismatic Jim Jones-like leader. As the end of the world allegedly approaches, he binds them all to a suicide pact, in hopes of transcending earth for a new life in paradise. Two dissenters flee through the vast desert wasteland on the eve of the ceremony, hunted by the cult’s enforcer – who will stop at nothing to insure that they keep their part of the bargain.


Where did the idea for the film come from?

 I was watching a documentary on the Heaven's Gate cult and found it terrifying.  That's when I decided I had to make a film on the subject of cults.


What about the script? How did it change, if it all, in the time between that initial draft and the shoot?

When you shoot on location, it often changes .  That was always the biggest challenge and it forces you to rethink the scene.   If you don't have a large auditorium that was written in the script, then you have to rewrite for a different location.   Once,  I did the initial edit, I decided to wite in additional footage to clarify the action a bit more and  cut the scenes that didn't play well on the screen.


Did you have your actors onboard first or did financing fall into place first? I guess it’s a bit of a chicken or the egg scenario, that one?

We got the main leads to agree to do it first and the financing followed.


Who of the cast do you think are closet to their characters? 

Well as the director, I would say the cult leader, Elyon.  Haha.  I believed in most of the things he was saying except for all the crazy shit, of course.


Is there a particular moment in the film you really, really enjoyed shooting?

I loved shooting all the action scenes with Draco and Spencer.  Shooting outdoors is my favorite.


George Lucas was likely offered science-fiction movie after science-fiction movie after the first Star Wars, have you been approached to direct similar projects to yours since? 

Not yet, but I would love to.  I wouldn't mind exploring this world more in a television series.


Any chance of a sequel?

I thought about it.  Someone asked me at the screening, but I have to be realistic and see how well this film does.

I'm working on a new horror slasher film, “Departer”.  It should be finished in 2018.

Competition: Win Vault Of Horror - The Italian Connection [VINYL] Collector's Edition, Double LP

Vault Of Horror - The Italian Connection Collector's Edition is out on VINYL on December 8th and to celebrate we have a great competition for you and 5 copies to give away.

Synopsis:

The golden era of Italian horror dates from the early 60’s to the mid 80’s. During that time directors such as Mario Bava, Dario Argento, Lucio Fulci, Antonio Margheriti, Umberto Lenzi, Joe D’Amato, and Enzo. G. Castellari directed some of the most outrageous terror films ever. As well as depicting some of the most stylish and horrific on screen images their films included some of the most elegant and beautiful scores. The cult following for their movies is as popular now as it’s ever been.

VAULT OF HORROR – THE ITALIAN CONNECTION presents twenty of the most amazing film themes ever and is a heady mix of funk, disco, electronic and prog rock. It features composers such as Stelvio Cipriani, Franco Micalizzi, Roberto Donati, Carlo Rustichelli, Nico Fidenco, Ennio Morricone, Fabio Frizzi, Riz Ortolani and many more. There are also original soundtrack themes from such films as  ‘Zombie Flesh Eaters’, ‘Cannibal Ferox’, ‘Blood And Black Lace’, ‘The Beyond’, ‘The New York Ripper’, ‘Tentacles’ and ‘City Of The Living Dead’.

The truly stunning, exclusive sleeve has been painted by renowned graphic designer & commercial artist Graham Humphreys and the biographical notes on each track are written by author, critic and FrightFest director Alan Jones.  As an added bonus Demon Records are including a CD version in a replica card wallet as well as a stunning 12x12” reproduction collector’s art print of the sleeve painting.

You can buy this from Amazon UK using the following link that opens in a new window.

Vault Of Horror - The Italian Connection [VINYL]


COMPETITION CLOSED


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Terms and conditions
1. Closing date 15-12-17
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. Only entries that have come directly from people visiting this page will count. If you see this competition advertised anywhere else please report to me, all entries from other sites will not count.
5. The question is regularly changed to prevent cheating.
6. Winners will be chosen randomly and will be informed via email.

FILM NEWS (UK): THE EVIL IN US &, P2 receive their UK TV premieres on Horror Channel in December

Plus FrightFest hits THE LESSON & SOME KIND OF HATE get network premieres

The Evil In Us

Christmas nightmares come early on Horror Channel, as the UK’s primary TV destination for genre fans serves up the UK TV premieres of Jason William Lee’s slick and stylish modern take on the zombie virus, THE EVIL IN US and Frank Khalfoun’s boundary-pushing crime slasher P2, starring Wes Bentley.

There are also network premieres for Adam Egypt Mortimer’s deeply-cutting supernatural revenge chiller SOME KIND OF HATE, Ruth Platt’s astonishingly bravura art-house horror THE LESSON, Travis Oates’ powerfully disturbing thriller DON’T BLINK, starring Mena Suvari ,and Glen Morgan’s gruesome BLACK CHRISTMAS, a remake of the classic 1974 seasonal slasher, starring popular scream queen Mary Elizabeth Winstead.

PLUS…LOST IN SPACE is proving a massive hit on the channel and Season 3 of the classic Sci-fi series once again transports us back to our favourite cosmic family from Tues 26th December, weekdays at 8pm.

Full film details in transmission order:

Fri 8 Dec @ 23:00 – SOME KIND OF HATE (2015) *Network Premiere

What if your past came back for you as a fully formed, physical thing that was going to kill you? Tightly wound Lincoln is a favourite target for the local high school bullies. One day he violently snaps and is sent to the Mind’s Eye Academy, a remote desert reformatory. But the harassment doesn’t stop and in despair he accidentally summons the kindred spirit of Moira, a girl tormented to suicide in the same establishment, who is more than happy to take vengeance on his persecutors.

Sat 9 Dec @ 22:45 – THE LESSON (2015) *Network Premiere

Fin and Joel are two teenage wasters running wild in an arid rural landscape. But their bad education is about to take a turn for the intellectual best as someone at the end of their tether has decided to teach both schoolboys a lesson they will never forget. A dark, claustrophobic and bloody coming of age love story with a shock final destination. Stars Robert Hands, Evan Bendall, Michaela Prchalová and Rory Coltart.


Fri 15 Dec @ 21:00 – THE EVIL IN US (2016) *UK TV Premiere

Six school friends meet up for a fourth of July celebration on a remote island expecting a harmless fun-filled weekend. One brings some cocaine along to get the partying really started. What they don’t know is the drug is actually a new bioactive compound peddled by a sadistic right-wing terrorist organisation. Anyone consuming it is then exposed to a virus causing fits of psychotic rage, mind-bending chaos and cannibalistic murder. Only Brie refused to partake and now she must fight to survive as everyone around her, including her fiancé, tries to savagely kill her.

Sat 16 Dec @ 21:00 – DON’T BLINK (2014) *Network Premiere

Ten friends arrive at a remote mountain resort for a weekend of relaxation but find it deserted. As they attempt to discover out what happened to the other guests, they are horrified to find that they too are disappearing, one by one. Stars Mena Suvari, Brian Austin Green, Joanne Kelly and ZackWard.

Fri 22 Dec @ 22:40 – P2 (2007) *UK TV Premiere

It's Christmas Eve. Angela Bridges (Rachel Nichols), an ambitious executive, is supposed to be at a family gathering working late. When she gets down to the parking garage, she discovers that her car won't start. Thomas (Wes Bentley), a friendly security guard, offers to help, but when he also invites her to share a small Christmas dinner he's preparing, she doesn’t realise the invitation is not optional. If Angela wants to live to see Christmas morning, she must find a way to escape from level P2 of the parking garage.

Sat 23 Dec @ 21:00 – BLACK CHRISTMAS (2006) *Network Premiere

It’s Christmas break and the phone won’t stop ringing at one sorority house, where the ghost of a killer lurks and coeds are being systematically murdered one by one. In this remake of the 1974 slasher flick, a bloodthirsty psychopath is on the loose.  Will sorority sisters Kelli (Katie Cassidy), Dana (Lacey Chabert), Lauren (Crystal Lowe) and the others escape with their lives? Jessica Harmon, Michelle Trachtenberg and Andrea Martin co-star.

www.horrorchannel.co.uk | twitter.com/horror_channel | facebook.com/horrorchannel

Interview with John Shackleton - Writer/Producer of Panic Button

As social media horror feature PANIC BUTTON gets a remastered DVD & Download release, writer and producer John Shackleton reflects on the film’s inspirational journey.

To start at the beginning, what was the genesis or the seed of the idea for PANIC BUTTON?

JS: The model of how to make a film actually came before the concept. I’d made a short film with a group of trainees using a bunch of self-imposed restrictions for practicalities sake, to make sure we completed and delivered within the three-week timeframe of the training scheme, who were my employers. The rules were quite simple – no more than five minutes’ walk from the office (we couldn’t afford a van), no dialogue (we didn’t have any pro sound equipment), maximum of two characters (we had to pay professional actors) maximum 12 hours filming time split over two days (it was January), exterior locations only.

The film worked out great and the model inspired the motivation for a feature to be made in the same way. I teamed up with David Shillitoe who was a trainee on the scheme at the time, and we decided to experiment and see if we could find a feature to work up. The actual story inspiration arrived swiftly afterwards in the form of a dream. Alone on a plane at night with a laptop computer and sinister shapes moving in the shadows, I was agonising over whether to click send an email. When I finally did – I was devastated, realising it was going viral and that there was nothing I could do to stop it. The repercussions were going to be catastrophic. I told David, and he instantly agreed that there was indeed something very sinister about the world of Facebook, and the writing began from there!

How do you look back on the experience of the writing and the making of the film? With hindsight, do you remember the experience differently than you recall the experience at the time?

JS: We found that when in doubt – sticking to the rules always led to a creative solution. We also realised quite quickly that real-world social media horror stories were far more twisted and deprived than anything we could cook up between us, so we started taking inspiration from news stories in the media at the time. We found that we were working on an intense pot-boiler of a storyline and we had great fun working hard to keep bubbling along. We locked in on a treatment, and Frazer Lee came on board to write the first few drafts of the screenplay. David and I wrote more, and when director Chris Crow came on board, he too had his pass on the story, adding several new elements and drafts.

Production was intense but largely pleasurable from my perspective as it was such an exciting and ambitious thing to try and pull off. I remember investor’s faces upon telling them that we were going to build a private jet inside a church in Cardiff Bay. That concept alone was enough to get people going, and when they could see that we were deadly serious, they began to get more heavily involved. Once momentum finally kicked-in, there was no stopping us. The production took off and the excitement was palpable.

Is PANIC BUTTON an example of cinema’s foresight or anticipatory ability?

JS: I loved that the concept for Panic Button was an inspired and timely one, that’s what attracted people to the project and ultimately is the reason why it’s back on the shelves now. It was a gift that felt almost too good to be true, like all we had to do was hold up a mirror to all of our current online behaviour and take a step back – surely it had been done before, we thought. But finding few similarities in the indie film world, we really felt like we were at the forefront of something very exciting. It was pretty clear that social media and social networking was on the rise, but obviously none of us had any real idea of just how big it would become. We just took what we could see in plain sight and pushed it as hard and far as we could. So I really think it was just a case of right time, right place with the concept, I’m not claiming great foresight - I just think we got lucky!

An interesting aspect of the film is the claustrophobic nightmare of the characters when you consider that social media is about connecting people, and opening up the world. It’s a strange contradiction that could be seen as a reflection of the invasive and oppressive force on our way of life that social media has proven itself to be. Your thoughts on this reading of the film?

JS: Some early feedback on the script suggested that we should take the film away from the interior of a jet plane. To us, that was the joy of it – the characters were being confronted with their online behaviour with nowhere to run and no avatar (or emoji) to hide behind. It was claustrophobic and horrible and a real uncomfortable seat squirmer, and this had to be the point - in stark contrast to the unaccountability of the world wide web.

From then to now, how do you think the film plays for the contemporary audience compared to the audience on its release?

JS: I haven’t had the pleasure of seeing the film with a cinema audience since 2011, so I’ve no real idea of how it plays out. The film is not without its flaws and criticisms but I’d like to think that its core ideas and strengths are still just as poignant today as they were then.

From writing PANIC BUTTON to now, do you feel a different writer-producer than you did back then?

JS: To this day I’m still very proud of the accomplishment that is Panic Button. Capturing that zeitgeisty lightening-in-a-bottle idea and seeing it all the way through to the big screen and beyond, remains one of the best things I have ever done. We all improve with experience, but I’d like to think I could still replicate that passion and energy for a great movie concept, the next time such timely inspiration strikes!

Following on from the previous question, filmmakers often see the imperfections in their films. If you were to remake PANIC BUTTON, would you change anything, or would any changes be a product of the person you are today?

JS: It’s not a personal story by any stretch, but I think I would probably work harder at certain elements of the script and I’m fairly confident I could make it a much tighter thrill-ride now that I’m a more experienced writer and filmmaker. There’s definitely scope for a modern retelling of this story, which could be a lot of fun to do!

What does this remastered edition of the film offer the audience and in regards to DVD, do you see it as an interactive format where you can communicate and share the film in different ways through the special features?

JS: There’s a whole bunch of new extras including a commentary with David Shillitoe, Frazer Lee and myself which might be quite illuminating to some… there’s also more interviews and featurette type materials in there, walking through our journey of how we made the film. Hopefully it’s a great educational resource for budding filmmakers, keen to make the leap into their features.

Panic Button, courtesy of Trinity Film, is available now.

Buy:

iTunes

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Follow on Twitter: @MovieMogulLtd ‏

Competition: Win Dark Night on DVD

Dark Night is out on DVD on November 13th and to celebrate we have a great competition for you and 3 copies on DVD to give away.

Synopsis:

Based on harrowing real events, DARK NIGHT tells an increasingly common story of violence in contemporary America, where a suburban landscape plays witness to the inevitable, unfolding evens that culminate in a Cineplex massacre.

Over the course of one day, from sunrise to midnight, six strangers - the shooter among them - share in the new American nightmare.

Starring:

Anna Rose Hopkins, Robert Jumper, Karina Macias, Conor A. Murphy, Aaron Purvis

You can buy this from Amazon UK using the following link that opens in a new window.

Dark Night [DVD] [2017]


COMPETITION CLOSED

Terms and conditions
1. Closing date 20-11-17
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. Only entries that have come directly from people visiting this page will count. If you see this competition advertised anywhere else please report to me, all entries from other sites will not count.
5. The question is regularly changed to prevent cheating.
6. Winners will be chosen randomly and will be informed via email.

Interview with Martin Gooch - "The Gatehouse"

An ancient curse is unlocked in The Gatehouse, on VOD 12/5 from Uncork’d Entertainment.

Jack is a struggling writer recovering from the death of his wife. His daughter, 10-Year-Old Eternity, loves digging for treasure in the forest behind her house. In a coincidental turn of fate, Jack agrees to undertake a writing project about the ‘legend of the black flowers’ at the same time that Eternity discovers a mysterious object in the woods, and the forest wants it back. They’ve unlocked an ancient curse and must now fight for survival.

The film hails from award-winning director Martin Gooch, whose credits include many comedy shorts as well as films and series such as Death (2012), The Search For Simon (2015) and TV’s Hollyoaks. 

When and where did the idea for “The Gatehouse” come up?

The actual building we filmed the Gatehouse at is a small 17th century lodge just up the road from the village my parents live in. It used to be quite overgrown and I had passed it a hundred times, and one day I drove past and the hedge had been trimmed and a young lady was putting up washing in the garden. I stopped my car and went over and said how much I loved the house and said I was a film maker. She said she loved movies and did I want to see inside, I said I’d love to and after having a look round and feeling totally inspired I said – if I write a film that fits your house can we come and film it here? And she said yes. Cut to 4 months later and I turned up with a film crew and made a movie.

What appealed to you about directing this particular film?

I’ve always been fascinated with ancient mythology, legend and lore, and The Gatehouse was an opportunity to explore this occult world. The image of Herne the hunter walking the forests of rural England with stag horns growing from his brow was an iconic ancient image I wanted to film, that was deeply ingrained into my English psyche.

Being a spooky flick, was it hard to ground? How do you maintain that balance?

I hope I have achieved the correct tone for the film, the audience may be the judge of that. Filming mostly outside and in the forest an in the ancient Gatehouse meant that spooky was not difficult to come by.  The dialogue was the place to explore some levity and the odd gag to relieve the tension and give the narrative a more than one tone pulse.

By the same token, what kind of direction do you give your actors that they don’t play it too over-the-top?

I’ve directed quite a lot of drama for film and TV over the years and the secret, in my humble opinion, of course is getting the right actors cast in the right role, if you find as a director you are giving constant notes to your cast then either: you cast the wrong actor, your directions are unclear or impossible to follow or your script is bad, which means you’ve got a problem. 

Tell us about putting together the effects. Who gets the credit there?

Most of the VFX shots were done in camera and only a few shots were done with the aid of CGI. All the shots of The Horned God are 100% in camera with a bit of smoke and some helpful sunlight positioning. Kenny Frankland who worked on my last movie The Search for Simon is a hugely talented computer effects genius and did all the CGI on the film, I think there are about 20 shots. And the rest of it was done by me with after effects. 

And what’s coming up?

I have literally just wrapped on my 4th feature film a sci-fi post apocalyptic movie called Black Flowers which is all about one families fight for survive in a post apocalyptic America.  We shot it in North California and Montana USA, and filmed in an actual nuclear bunker. It should be complete in the spring.

I was also invited to Beijing, China in the summer where one of my projects was picked up so hopefully that might graduate to production.

I’m also currently in the process of financing Alice on Mars, which follows the further adventures of Alice of Wonderland fame, she’s been to wonderland, she’s been through the looking glass and now she’s going to Mars. It’s a wonderful film full of excitement, adventure and sci-fi action!

There will be more films to come.

Interview with Damien Leone - Director of Terrifier

Ahead of the UK premiere of his latest film TERRIFIER at the Horror Channel Frightfest Halloween event on Sat 23 Oct, director Damien Leone talks about the ’Art’ of extreme clowning, his debt to Tom Savini and a terrifying Halloween experience…


Q: Art The Clown initially appeared in your 2008 short THE 9th CIRCLE, then the 2011 award-winning short TERRIFIER and in your first feature ALL HALLOW’S EVE. What made you decide to give him a fourth outing?

DAMIEN: Up until this point I never felt like I fully showcased Art's potential. I believe between the short films and All Hallows' Eve, there only exists about 20 minutes of Art the Clown screen time. For a character who's done so little, he seems to really resonate with horror fans. After all of the positive feedback, a full length film that focused solely on Art was inevitable.


Q: Art has a very twisted personality – he’s both brutal (his silence adding to his deadliness) and comical but not without some subtle pathos. How difficult was it to strike that balance?

DAMIEN: In all honesty, I never intended to evoke any sort of pathos from his character. I do find that interesting and maybe there is something to that but the brutality and twisted personality was always  intentional from the get-go as was the subtle comedy. Although I'm a huge fan of some horror comedies like Return of The Living Dead or Evil Dead 2, it's not a style I strive for in my own films. I always shoot for a more serious tone but ironically, the comedy in Terrifier was very organic and almost wrote itself. I should be clear and say the intentional comedy in Terrifier only comes from the Art the Clown character himself. He's always had a sick sense of humour from the very beginning but this time I tried to take it a little further whereas after every unspeakable act of violence he commits, he follows it with something comical like a facial expression or a quirky gesture. This does two things, it gives the audience a chance to relieve some tension but it also makes Art more demented when we realize just how much fun he's having at his victim's expense.

Q: You’ve said that you set out to make Art as violent as possible. Why?

DAMIEN. This basically comes from the fact that I'm a special effects artist. I knew the effects would be one of our strong suits going into the film since I can do a lot on a very limited budget. There is so much content out there right now and I believe that if you want to stand out, it doesn't hurt to show things that will really grab the audience's attention and get them talking. It's 2017; there's been thousands of horror movies. I mean how many times can you show a knife cutting through the air followed by a shot of blood hitting the wall? Almost everything has been done to death (pun intended) so I feel I have a duty to the audience to present them with stuff that hasn't quite been seen before or if it has, to do it in a way that feels fresh.


Q: David Howard Thornton is terrific as Art. How did you two meet and bond? And how challenging was it, given Art had previously been played by Mike Giannelli. 

DAMIEN. Finding a new actor to play Art was by far the most crucial and nerve-wracking aspect of this film. Everything people loved about Art was a testament to how Mike Giannelli portrayed him and now I had to start from scratch. Very frightening indeed. But as luck would have it, David came in for an audition one day and my producer and I immediately knew this was our guy. David pantomimed the act of stabbing someone to death and sawing their head off with great exuberance and glee. He's also extremely animated, tall and thin. I always envisioned Art to be of a more slender build and I was excited to see what little quirks and nuances David could bring to the character.  Working with David was a total delight from start to finish. We bonded immediately thanks to the countless hours in the makeup chair. Dave will joke and tell stories as I transform him into Art over the course of approximately three hours.  We had to repeat this process well over 20 times during the shoot.


Q: The film has a very dark 70s/80s tone and the narrative is stripped down to the bone. What influences were at play here?

DAMIEN. The main objective was to keep it as close to the 20 minute short film as possible. The short film was a no holds barred, relentless, 70s-style grind house flick that was made to feel like an intense rollercoaster ride. That's actually how I came up with the title Terrifier. To me "Terrifier" was more a reflection of the film as an experience and didn't necessarily have anything specific to do with the characters or story.  People responded so positively to the short film that I figured the best plan of attack would be to just make an 80 minute version of the 20 minute short. Essentially this would mean taking the best parts of a slasher film and eliminating as much of the filler as possible.

Q: With all the attention given to IT and Pennywise, does this tempt you even further to establish Art as a franchise and make more TERRIFIER films? 

DAMIEN: Absolutely. Although we finally gave Art his own movie, we've only just scratched the surface. Now we have to dig a little deeper into his backstory. He has a ton of potential and I can see needing at least a couple of  films to tell his full story. It's too premature to say but numerous people have said he has the making of a horror icon. If this continues to be the case once Terrifier is released, it would be downright disrespectful to the character and to the fans to not produce more; just as long as we maintain some integrity and never jump the shark.


Q: All your films are set on Halloween night. Are you a fan of Halloween? Do you have a favourite Halloween / clown story?

DAMIEN. I am a huge fan of Halloween but the main reason I set Art the Clown's films on Halloween is so it's acceptable for a man to be walking the streets while dressed as a clown. This at least enables his victims to lower their guard around him when they first cross his path. If it was a hot August night and a mute clown sat across from you in a pizzeria, I think the cops would be called immediately. I do in fact have a personal Halloween story that stands out and I'll try to make it quick. One night a few friends and I were driving home from a Halloween party and we passed a car on the side of the road that was turned completely on its side against the guard rail.  We immediately pulled over and approached the vehicle. Two young women were inside the car. Apparently, the driver was drunk and fell asleep at the wheel. Thankfully, by some miracle, both girls were perfectly fine aside from being dazed and frightened but what makes this story worth telling is seeing my friend who's 6'4 leap on top of the turned over car in full Spider-Man attire and pull the young women to safety. Surreal moment indeed.


Q: Who do you most admire in the horror genre? 

DAMIEN. This is a very difficult question because I can throw around countless names and ramble on and on for hours but I must say I would not be where I am today if it wasn't for the makeup effects maestro Tom Savini. When I was around 6 or 7 years old I stumbled upon a VHS tape called Scream Greats that changed my life. It was a documentary on Savini and it was the first time I saw how monsters were created. This video and also the making of Michael Jackson's Thriller with Rick Baker really left an impression on me. I was fascinated by seeing people transformed into creatures.

For years I would rent these films over and over but when I was around 12 years old, I finally owned a copy of Scream Greats. This time I actually began experimenting. My mother took me to a horror convention where I actually bought my first makeup kit, a 12oz bottle of mint flavoured blood and a real machete (dulled) with a semi-circle cut out of the blade. This is a classic Savini gag that he's used in several movies. It creates the illusion that the machete is actually buried in your flesh when you place it against the skin or on top of your skull.  As soon as I got home, I tried out all of my new goodies on my friends and myself. Savini introduced me to blood tubes, mortician's wax, things that were more accessible to someone starting out. Soon I started filming the effects with a camcorder and eventually I began making my own little short films; which is how I became interested in the grander aspect of filmmaking. But even though as a filmmaker I'm influenced by countless artists from all genres, I really have to thank Savini for being the first person to show me the magic of filmmaking.


Q: Zombies or vampires?

DAMIEN. Very tough question. Zombies frighten me more than vampires. My favourite horror film of all time is Romero's Dawn of the Dead and my dream project is an epic zombie film but The Lost Boys holds such a special place in my heart. I saw it in the theatres when I was literally 3 years old and it had such a profound effect on me. It's one of my absolute favourites till this day and because of it, I love vampires so much. So to answer your question, I can't choose.


Q: Finally, what’s next?

DAMIEN: There are a few awesome projects that I'd love to tackle but I think it would be foolish to sleep on the inevitable Terrifier sequel. Clowns are so hot right now because of IT and more and more people are starting to dig Art the Clown on a daily basis so I think we should strike while the iron's hot before the killer clown sub-genre goes into hibernation for another 20 years.

TERRIFIER receives its UK premiere at Horror Channel FrightFest Halloween 2017 on Saturday 28 Oct, Empire Haymarket, 11.00pm.
Tickets: http://frightfest.nutickets.com