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| How
long did your project take
to create, from conception
to final completion? |
| It
must have taken over a year
or so. We wrote the script
for a funded competition
and failed to win the prize.
A while later we decided
to go ahead and shoot it
anyway. I work as a college
lecturer and so we shot
it, I did the post-production
and then had to wait until
the semester ended to have
enough time to launch it
on the festival circuit. |
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| Where
did your inspiration come
from? |
| Martin
Griffin and I began with
a simple "What if?"
high concept idea. What
if you had just murdered
someone and were in the
middle of disposing of the
body? The door bell rings
- what do you do? |
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| Is
Horror or Sci-Fi your primary
creative interest? |
| I'm
interested in all kinds
of genres and inspiration
for making films. I wouldn't
want to choose a genre and
stick to it so early in
my filmmaking but I have
to say that horror and sci-fi
have always been hugely
entertaining for me. My
first film was as assistant
to my cousin as we shot
an 8mm stop-motion vampire
film. So it's in the blood,
so to speak. |
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| Can
you describe a typical day
in the process of creating
your film or screenplay? |
It
ranges hugely since I don't
do this for a living, but
the shooting days were fairly
packed. It was hectic because
Andy, the main character
actor, was only available
for a few hours per day.
He was working at the local
rep theatre in the evenings.
Also we had the interesting
situation where we had to
clean up all the blood before
the children returned from
school at the bathroom location.
So an early start followed
by a lightning fast get-in
and setup as Andy went through
his three stages of make-up.
Rehearsal of each sequence
followed by some takes.
We'd finish in the middle
of the afternoon. I'd go
home and watch the dailies
then get to looking over
the schedule for the next
day. It was all location
shooting so we were at the
mercy of the natural light
and, as I say, children. |
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| Who
do you consider to be the
greatest horror writer? |
| Oh
my goodness! That's a terrible
question. Poe is fantastic,
lyrical and woderfully gothic.
I have a soft spot for Stoker
since I've always been a
"Dracula" fan
but I read Stephen King's
"Salem's Lot"
in broad daylight on a summer's
day and it still scared
the bejeesus out of me. |
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| Can
you recall the first horror
film that left a lasting
impression on you? |
| Yes,
"Night of the Demon",
which I think was called
"Curse of the Demon"
over there in the US. I
watched it in a Saturday
night season of horror pictures
on TV and I loved it. It
has a great sense of foreboding. |
|
| Who
do you consider to be the
greatest 'Masters of Horror'? |
| Another
huge question. You guys!
Um...well in cinematic terms
I'd say that tastes change
so a director can come along
and make a real impression
but it doesn't make him
a master. For that I'd look
back and say that I really
admire Sam Raimi's work
on the evil dead series
and of course George A Romero.
Kubrick managed to see the
horror of everyday existence.
There's horror in all his
work. |
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| How
many participants comprised
your crew? |
| Including
myself it was five. The
actors would also chip in
if we needed and extra pair
of hands - not the severed
kind. |
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| How
did you find your cast? |
| Andy
and Granville I know from
several years of working
at the Nuffield Theatre
in Southampton. They are
regulars there and great
fun. Three of the other
cast members I'd worked
with before (Martin, Becky
and Bob) as they'd been
in my previous short "Topsoil".
Shoib and Helen were new
additions. Shoib actually
works in the shop in real
life and Helen is an old
friend of Becky.. |
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| Can
you describe the editing
process briefly? |
| First
cut is just that - the first
time the film comes together
in sequence. I never get
it right first time. I make
changes when each new element
is added during post. The
music can make a huge difference. |
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| Film
or digital? |
| All
digital. We shot with a
Canon XL2 on miniDv. |
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| If
you could choose any famous
actors to work with on future
projects, who would they
be? |
| Richard
Burton, Humphrey Bogart
and Monica Bellucci. |
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