Tuesday, 5 December 2017

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.


Monday, 27 November 2017

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


Follow on https://www.facebook.com/vaultofhorror1



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.

Tuesday, 21 November 2017

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


Thursday, 9 November 2017

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:
Follow on Twitter: @MovieMogulLtd ‏

Tuesday, 7 November 2017

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.

Thursday, 2 November 2017

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.


Friday, 27 October 2017

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