Hello there, and welcome to The Stricken Land! Here I indulge my life-long love of genre movies, trash cinema and tv, the product of an 80's childhood inhabiting dingy video shops in the gloom of northern England. I'll be adding reviews, retrospectives and downright opinionated missives on all things cinematic in an irregular and haphazard fashion as and when the vicissitudes of modern life grant me the all too precious commodity of spare time. Enjoy!

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The Final Girls (2015) US Dir: Todd Strauss Schulson
Taissa Farmiga, Malin Akerman, Alia Shawkat

Teenager Max Cartwright (Farmiga) lives with her free spirited but down on her luck actress mother Amanda (Akerman). One night after driving home from yet another failed audition, they are involved in a horrific car accident. Amanda is killed but Max manages to survive without serious physical injury.

Cut to three years later and Max is finally beginning to put her life back together. Her best friend Gertie’s (Shawkat) brother, horror film geek Duncan (Thomas Middleditch)  bribes her to attend a screening of Camp Bloodbath, a 1980’s stalk and slash horror flick, as a guest of honour, the film being her late mother’s most well known film role, playing the virginal Nancy.

When a fire rips through the auditorium, Max and her friends tear open the projector screen to escape, and inexplicably find themselves transported into the film itself. Max immediately forms a bond with her dead mothers character, but the friends presence soon begins to alter the events of the movie, and with the original ‘final girl’ killed off in a freak accident, Max has to try and save Nancy from the movie’s disfigured psycho Billy Murphy (Daniel Norris), while taking on the mantle of final girl herself, and getting herself and her friends back to reality in one piece!

THE FINAL GIRLS is the ultimate meta horror comedy and an absolute blast from start to finish. Fans of the 80’s slasher cycle will find much to love here, from the obvious nods to the FRIDAY THE 13th series to the well observed culture clash between the generations (the past being a foreign country – the fictional film within a film is set in 1986).

Screenwriter Joshua John Miller co wrote the script as a coping mechanism after the death of his father Jason Miller (Father Karras in THE EXORCIST), and the sense of grief and loss that plays out between Max and Amanda/Nancy lends a poignancy to what could otherwise have been a fun but shallow piece of comedy horror fluff.

The film also avoids the repetitious irony and knowing superiority that marred so many films and tv shows that jumped on the meta horror bandwagon started by SCREAM and which became very tedious very quickly soon afterwards. Director Schulson along with Miller and fellow scribe M A Fortin thankfully play their film for bittersweet laughs, shot through with just the right amount of nostalgia for a genre they clearly have a lot of affection for.

I’m short, THE FINAL GIRLS is a feel good horror homage that will raise a smile from even the most hardened gorehound, and will especially appeal to those who lived through the 80’s slasher era it so affectionately spoofs.

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Hailing from the rainswept northern climes of the UK, Elliott Maguire is the writer and director behind the dark psychological horror film THE FERRYMAN, which is currently available on the Vimeo platform (you can rent or buy it here.)

Filmed exclusively using iPhone 7’s on a micro budget in and around his home city of Manchester, THE FERRYMAN tells the story of Mara (Nicola Holt), an emotionally fragile young woman who, whilst recovering from a suicide attempt finds herself stalked by a vengeful spectral entity. You can read our full review here if you haven’t already, but in the meantime, Elliott graciously agreed to sit down and talk to us about his experience making the film along with his influences and future plans.

TSL Tell us a bit about yourself and how you got into filmmaking. Do you have any formal training in screenwriting or directing?

EM I’ve always been more of a film fan than filmmaker to be honest, until I got my hands on a copy of THE USUAL SUSPECTS at quite a young age and became really obsessed with screenwriting and storytelling. In terms of training, I did okay in college but I’m a two time university dropout, it just wasn’t for me. Not sure why really. So other than college I really just trained myself, with a bit of help from google. It wasn’t until very recently that I did anything other than the writing side of film though. Directing and stuff, well everything I learned from watching other films basically.

TSL How did the idea for THE FERRYMAN come about? What gave you the impetus to make your own film?

EM I’d always been interested in the image of the coins in the eyes since THE HITCHER and FROM HELL, and began looking into the Greek myth Charon and just thought it was ideal for turning into a new, iconic boogeyman. The Ferryman started off as a very Blumhouse-style supernatural horror, loads of jump scares, high body count, but as you can probably tell that changed a lot over the development. I’d always wanted to move into directing as well as writing and I had that many scripts get a bit of interest, almost happen, this that and the other, I just thought “I’m not ready but I never will be, so let’s just crack on and make something”. In hindsight I should’ve picked something a bit less complex production-wise but oh well.

TSL As a child of the VHS era, I’m pretty obsessed with horror, fantasy and sci fi, in particular post apocalypse movies. What are the films that have your biggest influences?

EM For THE FERRYMAN specifically, it really developed as my taste in cinema developed. The films of Nicolas Winding-Refn, Ben Wheatley, Nicolas Roeg, and David Lynch really stayed in my mind while filming. I wanted it to feel like you were in Mara’s head, in this psychological nightmare where everything is just slightly off…and then you drop right off down the rabbit hole.

TSL If there are any aspiring filmmakers reading this, I’m sure that they’d love some advice on getting their own projects rolling. How did you set about finding actors, makeup artists and scouting locations for instance? Did social media play a big part in finding suitable collaborators?

EM Social media was everything for me really, in terms of cast and crew it was basically a case of reaching out on Facebook. Except for Nicola and Shobi, I found them on Mandy and they blew me away with their self-tapes. But yeah everyone else was either an actor or filmmaker I knew through social media, or a friend of there’s. I got really lucky with everyone, I couldn’t say it’s the right way to do it, all I can say is it worked for me. Locations were really just places I had access to, my house, parents house, where I work, anywhere I could get for free really as paying was out of the question. In terms of advice, it’s such a cliche but it’s the right answer, you just have to go and do it. Think about something you can do with what you’ve got to hand and do it. If I can, trust me, everyone else can. If you wait around for funding, or for sometime else to do it for you, there’s a big chance it’ll never happen, so take control. Even if you’ve never been to university or anything, I can guarantee there are a thousand tutorials on every aspect of filmmaking on YouTube, and that’s free! Create your own university while also making things happen.

TSL What would you consider to be the most important thing you’ve learned in your filmmaking career so far, and what would your advice be to other aspiring filmmakers?

EM Organisation in the pre-production stage 100%. I got swept away in the excitement and started setting dates and deadlines for things without figuring out how to meet them, which really messed up one or two locations and led to a few last minute recastings. It worked out in the end but the stress of it really sucked the fun out of it a few times. So be organised, and have back up plans, and back up plans for your back up plans. But also, don’t think of this as a business, not until after post-production anway. This should be fun, it should be your passion, something you want to do regardless of the money. Stick to your guns and make the film you want to make, not what they tell you would sell more DVD’s.

TSL Do you have a preference for a particular aspect of the craft, either writing or directing?

EM I’ve just started writing again and I’ve missed it so much, as I feel in complete control and maybe that’s just the way I have to be. But the chaos of being on set and seeing stuff come to life and coming up with scenes on the spot and working with other filmmakers is amazing too so I don’t know. Maybe ask me after the next one…

TSL Certain films, particularly in the horror genre have gained a reputation for strange coincidences and unnerving occurrences during production. As lovers of film trivia, can you tell us if anything like that happened during the filming of THE FERRYMAN or indeed, any other interesting anecdotes relating to the production?

EM It was filled with drama actually, nothing supernatural even though my house and my parents house are definitely haunted. But yeah there’s been lots of stuff but I really couldn’t divulge any of it come to think of it. Some of it very private to cast and crew and some of it may get the FBI coming after us all if they’re not already (seriously).

TSL Finally then, do you have any upcoming projects or ideas bubbling away that you can tell us about?

EM Oh yes loads, I have a back catalogue of scripts that are no longer in anyone’s hands but mine and my plan is to basically work through them in terms of budget and scale. I have my slasher film set in the homeless community, my cult thriller Follow The Leader, a supernatural horror centred around security and CCTV, and I’m also hoping to start development on a film based on the Hexham Heads true story. But the next one is going to be very small, smaller than Ferryman even, but much more visceral than psychological, Buried-meets-Wicker Man is how I’d describe it with a bit of French New Wave ultra violence thrown in. Hopefully sometime this year.

TSL Thanks for volunteering your time to talk to us. We look forwards to your future productions!

EM Thanks Ian, and thanks for all the support!

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The Hatred (2017) US Dir: John Law
Zelda Adams, John Law, Lulu Adams

In civil war era Blackfoot territory, a band of confederate soldiers massacre the family of a young girl (Zelda Adams) and lynch one of their own number (Law) to conserve their meagre supply of food.
Swearing vengeance, the girl conjures the dead soldier back to life and begins to exact a grisly revenge against his former comrades.

Told mainly in flashbacks, this uncompromisingly bleak gothic revenge western is a micro budget indie that looks like a big studio picture. Filmed using only natural light in the snowbound Catskill mountains of New York State, writer director and star John Law conjures a strange dream like atmosphere for his movie, and has delivered a bloody and brutal work of art. Utilising the simple well worn revenge plot of countless westerns the efficient deftly written screenplay lays bare the fallen nature of the human condition, and how easy it is for men to revert to savagery when freed of the constraints of civilised society.

Fans of Corbucci’s similarly snowbound masterpiece THE GREAT SILENCE will find much to enjoy here as will fans of revenge horror and the gothic western sub genre. And it has one of the most superbly terrifying climaxes I’ve seen in any recent fun. Highly recommended.

THE HATRED is currently available to buy and stream from Amazon Prime.

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Good morning film fiends! I hope all my fellow UK readers are enjoying the glorious bank holiday sunshine. The last week has been a rather light on the news front,I only have the one upcoming release to report this week,the sci fi thriller ASTRO, more details of which you can read below.

For readers outside the US, I’m currently trying to pry worldwide release dates for many of the films featured in this weekly missive, rest assured I’ll feature updates as and when I get them.

Sci-fi thriller ASTRO, featuring Gary Daniels (THE EXPENDABLES), Dominique Swain (BOONE: THE BOUNTY HUNTER) and Marshal Hilton (PRIMAL RAGE), bows at Cannes in May before hitting home entertainment platforms this July.

Directed by Asif Akbar and written by Akbar and Bernard Selling, ASTRO tells of a billionaire’s private space exploration program returning to Earth with an abducted extraterrestrial from a newly discovered alien planet.

Louis Mandylor, Max Wasa, Omi Vaidya, Luke G. Crosby, Orson Chaplin, Gianni Capaldi, Spice Williams-Crosby, Courtney Akbar, Christopher Showerman and Michael Pare also star.

ASTRO receives a DVD release domestically in the U.S. and North America through eOne and ITN Distribution this July.

ASTRO is a Film Life Factory, LLC and XVIII Entertainment, LLC production. ITN Distribution is handling sales in all domestic and certain parts of the European territories with Avail Films and XVIII Entertainment handling the rest of the world-wide sales at the upcoming Cannes Film Market.

Brian Steele Medina of  alternative metal band Gemini Syndrome, composed the music and sound fx for Astro’s trailer, which also features an unreleased track “We Are the Fallen” written by the band. The film’s original score is composed by Erick Schroeder.

Asif Akbar and Bernard Selling are currently finishing the ASTRO book series based on the movie,which is due to be released on Amazon in July. “We are excited to create and introduce a new modern day science-fiction franchise to the world”, says Akbar.

On a final note –  to any aspiring independent filmmakers, podcasters or film related writers out there out there reading this, let me know if you’d like me to publicize and/or review your projects, The Stricken Land is always happy to promote new talent and ideas! And as ever, please feel free to share this post and any others on here that you like, far and wide.

Spread the Word!
Ian

 

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Following on from our review of KNIGHTS OF THE DAMNED, we recently got the opportunity to interview one of its stars, the actor and martial artist Silvio Simac. Silvio is of Croatian descent, although currently based in the UK. He is a World Gold medalist in Taekwon-do, and has also been crowned British champion 4 times and European champion 4 times. Silvio continues to build his profile as an action star with a  career that has so far has seen him go up against Jason Statham in TRANSPORTER 3, Jet Li in UNLEASHED, Keanu Reeves in MAN OF TAI CHI, and his friend and colleague Scott Adkins in UNDISPUTED II, who he also organises and hosts martial arts seminars with.

TSL Thanks for talking with us Silvio. How did you come to be involved in martial arts and where did your acting career start?

SS  Growing up in the 1970’s I was clearly inspired and motivated by late Bruce Lee who made a huge impact on the silver screen with his incredible physique, aura and magnetism. I showed natural disposition and excelled on the sports field whilst setting several school records in various sports. Shortly after I took up martial arts, belts swiftly changed colour as my enthusiasm grew and I started winning trophies and accolades. Within a decade I had acquired black belts in several disciplines and had climbed from British to European and eventually world gold medalist. At this stage I was endorsing products for various sponsors that backed me up as well as appearing in numerous adverts and TV commercials so I was somewhat familiar with the inner workings of film and tv sets. As such I was called up to join an agency and  within 5 weeks my life as I knew it transformed. From graduating from University in BA Economics, now I was training to be an actor and my new exciting journey had begun as I was getting roles in different productions and features.

TSL Were you a big fan of the action genre growing up, and if so what would you say is your favourite movie in the genre? Did you consider any of those stars as role models that influenced your career choices?

SS I suppose most young boys are into action films as they convey a story closer to young person’s primal instincts. My era saw emergence of timeless action icons such as Jean Claude Van Damme , Jackie Chan, Steven Seagal, Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger, so I feel very lucky to have had an influence from such icons. Some of the biggest and favourite movies that I have had the biggest impact on me are  BLOODSPORT, KICKBOXER and ROCKY.

TSL  I remember as kid growing up in the 80’s and 90’s, the action genre seemed much bigger than it is now, with a whole raft of classic (and not so classic) movies making big stars out of the likes of Stallone, Schwarzenegger, Willis, Seagal, Norris, Van Damme and many others. Some of my favourites were on the lower budget exploitation end of the genre, particularly the Golan Globus movies. Being based in the UK, do you see this country and continental Europe as the best places to find action movie projects? We’ve produced Jason Statham here, and France gave the world the writer/director Luc Besson. Hollywood seems to have lost interest or either traded on past glories, i.e THE EXPENDABLES movies?

SS The action movie genre has grown and developed immensely world wide. South Korean as well as Thai and Bollywood action movies have been making an incredible impact in world cinema. It is also much easier and more cost effective to make movies so we are seeing much broader diversity and spectrum of action movies world wide.

TSL Action movies are obviously physically demanding usually requiring a lot of stunt work and fight choreography. As a trained martial artist and athlete are you usually hired to do your own stunts and oversee the fight choreography on your films in tandem with your dramatic work? Have you ever had any close calls when performing any stunts yourself?

SS To date I have done all of my stunts except in one of my latest features, KNIGHTS OF THE DAMNED there were several scenes they used the stunt double for horse riding as it’s not particularly a strong skill of mine. Nevertheless, I have jumped from a moving car, fallen from an 11 floor building, smashed through a glass window as well as many other adrenaline rush acts, One of the worst on set injuries I suffered occurred while making TRANSPORTER 3 and was of a pretty basic nature. The reason I say ‘basic nature’ is because it was a simple average kick delivered after a whole day of tedious filming where I tore my hamstring whilst fighting Jason Statham. But I managed to complete this fight scene with aid of strong painkillers!

TSL Given all the stars you’ve worked alongside, you must have a lot of stories to tell! What was it like working with Jason Statham for instance?

SS One commonality I found amongst all the stars I’ve had the privilege to work with is they are incredibly highly driven and dedicated to their craft. Jason Statham is a natural in the sense that for someone who never had previously practiced martial arts, pulled it off like an expert and required very little rehearsal time with the rest of the cast and stunt team.

TSL What has been your most satisfying film project to work on so far?

SS To date I have had the privilege to work along some of the greatest action stars. directors and choreographers in the action genre. Micheal J White, Scott Adkins, Jet Li, Keanu Reeves, Jason Statham, Tsui Hark, Yuen Wo Ping are just a few to mention. Each and every one of them has been a very unique and different experience, giving me the opportunity to learn, grow and evolve.

TSL We’re big fans of worthy causes, and you do a lot of work for several charitable organisations, helping to raise awareness. Tell us a bit more about this aspect of your career?

SS Part of the martial arts code of conduct is to contribute to the mutual welfare of our environment and society. From the onset of martial arts philosophy we are taught the more you give, the more you get back and as a teacher I get this gratification and satisfaction on a regular basis. As such it is normal and righteous to engage, participate and help worthy causes.

TSL Can you tell us about any upcoming projects that you’re involved with, that we can look forward to ?

SS  This year will see a release of OUT FOR VENGEANCE, TRANSIT 17 and THE DARK KINGDOM. Furthermore I  start shooting an action comedy to be filmed in and around New York city called MADE IN CHINATOWN. As well as this I have several other projects in the pipeline, but cannot talk about them until the contracts are signed. I am also conducting a series of seminars alongside friend Scott Adkins in Greece during July 2018

TSL We’ll look forwards to them! Many thanks for taking the time to speak with us and all the best in your future endeavours!

SS Thank you very much for giving me opportunity to share my life with you. God Bless.

You can follow Silvio on Instagram at #Silviosimac

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Knights of the Damned (2017) UK Dir: Simon Wells
Ross O’Hennessy, Ben Loyd-Holmes, Silvio Simac, Kate Davies Speak

Everyone loves a good cheesy low budget fantasy romp, especially those of us Generation VHS types who grew up with John Milius’ glorious take on CONAN THE BARBARIAN and the slew of straight to video copycats that arrived in its wake in the early to mid eighties.

Before even the Austrian Oak bestrode the Hyborian Age however, a much loved British curio hit cinema screens a year before. Terry Marcel’s HAWK THE SLAYER was a classic slice of b-movie sword and sorcery schlock featuring a scenery chewing Jack Palance as gasping villain Vultan and awesome special lo-fi special effects such as death by silly string(!)

Unfortunately we never saw a run of British fantasy movies after this, instead being treated to a steady run of American high fantasy flicks (DEATHSTALKER, WIZARDS OF THE LOST KINGDOM, ATOR THE FIGHTING EAGLE) starring musclebound non entities and Playboy playmates, usually courtesy of Roger Corman’s New World Pictures.

KNIGHTS OF THE DAMNED then, is the spiritual successor to Marcels microbudget masterpiece. Unfortunately it arrives hard on the mega budget heels of the likes of HBO’s GAME OF THRONES, a series that, along with Peter Jackson’s LORD OF THE RINGS movies has single handedly rescued the fantasy genre from being the preserve of 80’ D&D Which is a shame, because KNIGHTS OF THE DAMNED tries hard to be loved. The first entry in a proposed franchise called Order of Kings, the basic plot of the film is sound if unoriginal (never a hindrance in the fantasy genre). The Kingdom of Nazroth is threatened by dragons sent by ‘the Dark Kingdom’ along with a sorcerous plague that raises the dead for good mesure. A band of the King’s knights are sent out to slay the dragons and discover the source of the plague, encountering malevolent sirens, a band of warrior women and several other staples of the fantasy genre along the way.

The real problem the film has is that its ambitions are let down by its low budget, with the whole thing coming across as being somewhat half finished,with poor lighting and sound, at times coming perilously close to resembling a LARP home video.

The cast do well, struggling through some terribly stilted dialogue (“you can write this shit, but you sure can’t say it,” to quote a certain A list actor), and looking like they are all going to have a strong word with their agents. Ultimately, the achilles heel of the film is the budget versus the vision of the filmmakers who might have been better to scale down their ideas, along with what seems to become an interminable running time (in fact only 84 minutes.)

If, like me however you are solidly entertained by the budget end of the fantasy film spectrum, you will probably find something to entertain here if not just for a boozy film night with your mates and copious amounts of beer.

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House on Elm Lake (2017) UK Dir: James Klass
Becca Hirani, Andrew Hollingworth, Tara MacGowran, Tony Manders

The Jones family move into a seemingly idyllic lakeside property in the British countryside, having purchased it for a knockdown price due to it having been the scene of a ritualistic family annihilation three years earlier. Hayley (Hirani) hopes the fresh start will repair their marriage after husband Eric’s (Hollingsworth) infidelity.

No sooner has the family settled in than things start to go bump in the night, daughter Penny (Faye Goodwin) acquires an imaginary friend and Eric’s personality becomes more and more aggressive. When Hayley begins to start witnessing apparitions she begins to delve into the dark history of the house along with a psychic investigator.

So far, so THE CONJURING, and indeed this mini budget British horror flick doesn’t stray too far from any of the tried and tested tropes of the haunted house/demonic possession sub genres.This is likely to be a marmite movie for some. It doesn’t really do anything groundbreaking with its well worn set up, and becomes a little too distracted with reliance on jump scares rather than building a sense of dread. On the plus side it is a well written and directed example of its sub genre, with lead actress Becca Hirani in particular giving a great performance as Hayley, riven with self doubt, but determined to protect her family against increasingly deranged hubby Eric (Hollingworth, channelling his best Jack Torrance.)

Filmed in eight days on a budget of £3000, the finished production transcends it’s microbudget origins, delivering an effective and at times genuinely unnerving haunted house chiller. Unlike most of its higher budgeted US produced counterparts, has a bleak and cold atmosphere that you only really find in British made horror flicks or those set in these rain swept isles (Cronenberg’s THE DEAD ZONE is an excellent exception). Lacking the slick glossiness of similar US fayre like THE CONJURING and SINISTER ends up being no great disadvantage to the film, rather acting as a boon to those of us who prefer our horror with a sliver of ice running through it. Fans of haunted house and demonic possession flicks will find a solid if unoriginal addition to the sub genre here.

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Good morning film fiends!
Who doesn’t love dinosaurs? If you’re feeling in need of some tasty hors d’oeuvres before the main course of this summer’s JURASSIC WORLD: FALLEN KINGDOM, look no further than  Uncork’d Entertainment’s THE JURASSIC GAMES clawing its way on to VOD this June –

Win the games. Win Your freedom. Every year, 10 of the world’s most lethal death row criminals are chosen to compete for their freedom in The Jurassic Games, a television show where contestants must survive against a variety of ferocious dinosaurs.  The players all die gruesomely in the game zone except for one, the last one standing, the winner, who is granted not only his freedom, but fame and fortune. Survive the dinosaurs. Survive each other. Survive…The Jurassic Games.

Starring Ryan Merriman (FINAL DESTINATION 3) and Perrey Reeves (ENTOURAGE), the film imagines a world set in the near future wherein ten Death Row convicts are chosen to compete in The Jurassic Games, the ultimate virtual reality game show that pits its players against dinosaurs and each other. However, there is a catch… If you die in the virtual game, you also die in reality; and for Anthony Tucker (Adam Hampton), survival is his one chance to be reunited with his children after having been wrongfully imprisoned for the murder of his wife. As the devious The Host continues adding improbable challenges, the characters will find the odds stacked against them as only one victor can emerge as winner and reclaim their freedom.

THE JURASSIC GAMES is the third film from Emmy Award-winning director Ryan Bellgardt (GREMLIN, ARMY OF FRANKENSTEINS). 

THE JURASSIC GAMES will be available on Digital 6/12 and DVD 7/3 (US release dates)

Fan favourite Lance Henriksen stars alongside THE SHAPE OF WATER’s Doug Jones in GEHENNA: WHERE DEATH LIVES, the feature directorial debut of celebrated effects master Hiroshi Katagiri (JURASSIC PARK III, PACIFIC RIM), who also provides the film’s impressive effects, GEHENNA co-stars Eva Swan, Simon Phillips, and Justin Gordon.

Encompassing horror, suspense and a twist that will blow your mind, GEHENNA fixes on five people who enter a hidden bunker from World War 2, only to realise it’s way more than a bunker. Some fates are much worse than death.

Spectral Motion, known for award-winning work on such films as HELLBOY and LOOPER, did the makeup effects on the creature played by Jones.

For any readers stateside GEHENNA is playing in the following cities from 4th May –

Los Angeles – Laemmle Monica

Philadelphia – PFX Roxy Theater

Atlanta – Plaza Theater

Cleveland – Tower City Cinemas

San Francisco – The Roxy

Dallas – AMC Grapevine Mills 30

Detroit – AMC Fairlane 21

Houston – AMC Gulf Pointe 30

Phoenix – AMC Arizona Center 24

Washington D.C. – AMC Hoffman 22

GEHENNA : WHERE DEATH LIVES is released on digital Friday 4th May distributed by Uncork’d Entertainment.

World renown cult filmmaker and former Gloan Globus alumni Albert Pyun (THE SWORD AND THE SORCERER, RADIOACTIVE DREAMS, CYBORG) is back and seeking funding for his 47th feature film BAD ASS ANGELS AND DEMONS! Pyun, whose diverse and innovative career as a filmmaker goes back before the days of Cannon Pictures, where he directed the fondly remembered Van Damme classic CYBORG, as well as DOWN TWISTED, JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH, and ALIEN FROM L.A. With a highly prolific career as a genre specialist, Pyun has been stricken with dementia, and has made several films with this debilitating disease. His fight to overcome his disability goes on, as he seeks funding for his latest effort, set in a post-apocalyptic era where angels and demons duke it out for what’s left of earth. His latest films INTERSTELLAR CIVIL WAR, THE INTERROGATION OF CHERYL COOPER, and ROAD TO HELL were completed while he’s been battling his condition.

Visit Albert’s Go Fund Me page and hear him talk about his new project and how his disease is shaping his creative process.

On a final note –  to any aspiring independent filmmakers, podcasters or film related writers out there out there reading this, let me know if you’d like me to publicize and/or review your projects, The Stricken Land is always happy to promote new talent and ideas! And as ever, please feel free to share this post and any others on here that you like, far and wide.

Spread the Word!
Ian

 

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Demon Protocol (USA 2018) Dir: Kelly Parkes
Gary Graham, Bethany Regan, Caroline Amiguet

If The Exorcist and The Thing got together and had a love child, the result would be Demon Protocol.
Somewhere in suburban America, a team of exorcists from s secretive religious order attempt to banish a demonic presence from the home of a young couple. When the exorcism goes awry and a team member is killed, the entity possesses one of the individuals now trapped in the house. The team led by grizzled priest Prester J Bedford (Graham) must discover who among them is harbouring the demonic entity before all their lives are forfeit…

Demon Protocol is a nicely executed zero budget little horror flick centring around its supernatural twist on the paranoid ‘the enemy is among is’ plot that was done so well in films The Thing and Reservoir Dogs. Bookended by a superbly effective opening scene and a nasty little twist at the climax, writer and director Kelly Parkes works in some subtle world building into the proceedings, and it would be great to see these elements expanded upon in one of more sequels. This little gem of a late night horror flick certainly lays the groundwork for more demon hunting mayhem. Give this a look on Amazon Prime, every hit makes a sequel more likely!

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Kate Davies Speak is a British thesp hailing from sunny Bristol, who has been busy making a name for herself in several genre pictures and tv series as a bona fide ‘Final Girl’ and all round kick ass heroine. Her recent credits include the VOD alien invasion series HORIZON, the dark fantasy romp KNIGHTS OF THE DAMNED and three exciting upcoming releases from new British production outfit Dark Temple Motion Pictures – ESCAPE FROM CANNIBAL FARM, THE HOUSE OF VIOLENT DESIRE and THE BARGE PEOPLE. As well as all this, Kate is a qualified Personal Trainer and fitness instructor and is the founder and manager of  ‘Showreel Share Day’ via Twitter (@ShowreelShare) an initiative set up to aid her fellow actors in finding work.

In between fighting off marauding cannibals and mutated amphibians, Kate graciously agreed to talk with The Stricken Land about her career in film.

TSL What gave you the acting bug? Is your first love theatre, or film?

KDS Thanks for your questions! I originally got bitten by the acting bug many years ago when I became interested in musical theatre (prior to that I had wanted to be an illustrator and creator of video game characters). I was just finishing my A-Levels at college when I joined a production of West Side Story, I fell in love with performing and decided to embark on a career change. After performing on stage for roughly 10 years, I then decided it was time to chuck myself into working in film, I started on lots of small projects to gain experience and to fundamentally understand the difference between stage acting and screen acting. From that point onwards I became obsessed with screen work, I adore the film industry and literally love every second of being on a set. I sometimes miss being on stage but for now I am happy to work mainly in film.

TSL I’ve always been fascinated by the process behind making films and how actors approach material. What are the big differences between film and theatre acting?

KDS In the theatre the actor must perform to a huge space, therefore every ounce of energy they use must go into projecting their voice, movements, intentions, expressions. Everything appears pretty ‘big’. When you work on screen you have to pull the performance back so much, internalise everything, think the thoughts of your character without necessarily showing them. It’s the eyes of the viewer who will really decide what is going on in your character’s mind, much like real life when you read the emotions and expressions of the people you interact with. It can be so delicate and enjoyable to do. I love it. Working in horror is a little tougher as you are in such extreme and frankly ridiculous circumstances yet you must find an element of truth in order to tell your character’s story. Within any acting (theatre or film) it’s really all about listening to the other characters, whether you chose to show that is a different matter but it must always be done. If you’re truly listening, you are acting.

TSL As noted in the intro you’ve starred in several horror/sci-fi/fantasy pieces. Are you a fan of these genres yourself? What attracts you to these kinds of projects?

KDS I have many genres that I enjoy to watch but I have always been a fan of horror, sci-fi, action and thriller. Some of my favourite movies of all time are films in those genres from the 80s/90’s such as THE TERMINATOR, ROBOCOP, ALIEN, HALLOWEEN, SCREAM… Too many to mention! I am mainly drawn in by my love of simply being involved in the types of films I would go and watch at the cinema. If I read a script and I know that it’s a film I would wish to see, there’s every chance I will accept the role. I am also a sucker for a tough female lead, with idols such as; Lara Croft, Sarah Connor and Ripley – it’s often important for me that the women I portray show a toughness or strength (not just physically) that I hope will go on to inspire a new generation of young women.  Not all horror films have to have weak women in them. I really enjoyed THE DESCENT for the fact that it was a great horror with an all-female cast and some really interesting characters.

TSL It’s often noted that the horror genre in particularly puts its women characters at the forefront, and the best examples feature believable, well written characters (Ellen Ripley, Sarah Connor, Laurie Strode), usually placing them in very extreme situations. Jessica Harver in ESCAPE FROM CANNIBAL FARM and Kat in THE BARGE PEOPLE look set to join this pantheon. What do you think it is about the horror genre that makes it lean towards female characters fighting against the odds?

Kate Davies Speak as Jessica Harver in ESCAPE FROM CANNIBAL FARM (2018)

KDS I think people genuinely like to see a female protagonist put through her paces and hopefully survive and come out fighting. I think that many of the classics (HALLOWEEN, THE FOG, CUJO) do focus on victimising women more, I remember really enjoying Sidney Prescott in Scream as she had an edge, a toughness to her that stood out at the time. We learn to engage and connect with these characters, then they are in peril and we truly want to watch them survive so it’s very cathartic when they get the better of their enemies. I can’t wait to see Laurie Strode return to take on Michael Myers once again this year. I hope that people enjoy both of my roles that you mentioned, both are very different; Kat is certainly more of a victim than Jess but I tried to make her as believable as possible, she doesn’t do stupid cliche things (like falling over when running away) but at the end of the day she’s scared, vulnerable and has no experience of confrontation. Jess is broken, damaged and a bit unhinged, she counteracts her victim status by turning the tables and losing an interest in doing the right thing.

TSL I have to ask; with you being a qualified personal trainer fitness enthusiast, do you do your own stunts? Have you ever had any near misses or anything go wrong during a shoot, a lot of your characters find themselves in physically demanding situations?

KDS I always do my own stunt work so far, most of the time my combat sections are given quite a good allocation of time for me to learn the moves, meet the other actors, rehearse loads and refine until we are all happy. Over the years I have had a couple of mishaps, my first ever short film involved me and another actress fighting and we (foolishly) decided to keep practicing when the crew had gone on their lunch break, we moved too fast and got a bit sloppy, I accidentally punched her square in the face. That was definitely a lesson to me to be more cautious.  I hurt myself last year shooting THE HOUSE OF VIOLENT DESIRE when one of the cushions that had been set in place for me to land on when I had to fall backwards down the stairs was moved by a crew member as it was intruding into the shot, I just hadn’t been aware and ended up cracking my head against a brick wall, that hurt and definitely taught me to be more careful. I will have lots of stunts in my upcoming film OFF GRID, I will therefore be having several meetings and talks with the film stunt team before we do the shoot. I think sometimes I forget that you get a bit more fragile as you get older it’s only when I hurt myself I remember to take it steady lol!

TSL I remember Emma Thompson responding to the criticism of the film industry not offering interesting roles to older actresses, by telling her peers to go out and write their own films (I seem to remember that she was promoting her self penned project NANNY MCPHEE at the time.) Have you, or have you ever been tempted to put pen to paper and write your own screenplay with a role for yourself in mind?

KDS I prefer not to write as it’s not my greatest skill (although I used to when I was in my teens) however I often have a ton of creative ideas which I love to talk over with filmmakers, I love nothing more than to meet up with my screenwriter friends and bounce ideas around. I often meet with Christopher Lombard (the writer of THE BARGE PEOPLE) and talk about our next film projects including ideas for a sequel to the film…They are all just ideas right now but then again THE BARGE PEOPLE started out that way originally so who knows?

ESCAPE FROM CANNIBAL FARM (Dark Temple Motion Pictures 2018)

TSL Social media and the internet seem to be revolutionising how creatives make and market their material to the wider world. For instance, platforms like YouTube and Vimeo give indie and DIY operations a way to channel and promote their films. As a working actress do you see this as a big positive, in that it lowers the barriers to entry into the industry for filmmakers, special fx people and performers themselves?

KDS I think that although it can be a good way to open a few doors and get people on the radar I also think that it makes it a little harder to really establish the difference in quality for projects, it seems that almost anyone can go out and shoot a film now, which is of course both good and bad. I believe that a valuable way for anyone to learn their craft is to go out and work at it so it’s important that people are able to do so. I know that when the team I worked with on HORIZON set out to make the show we were just thankful that we were able to have an online platform to generate an audience, it would have been tough to do all of that work and not have a way of sharing it with the world.  The audience was more important than the revenue, a true passion project.

TSL Tell us about #showreelshareday and the work you do helping to get the word out there about your fellow actors and actresses.

KDS #showreelshareday happened almost by accident on a day when I was sharing my showreel on Twitter. I had finally made myself a reel that I was happy to share (I’d always been very insecure about sharing my acting work) but on this occasion I think I’d figured that after all of the work myself and the filmmakers had gone to creating it that it deserved an audience, but I still felt a little awkward about just putting it out there for all to see. So I tried to make it a little more inclusive by inviting friends and followers to join in with the hashtag #showreelshareday. The next thing I remember was friends saying to me ‘do you realise that your tag is trending on Twitter?’ I couldn’t believe it! Thousands of actors were coming together to join in. It was brilliant – actors, agents, casting professionals all joining forces in sharing and watching each other’s work. It generated a real positive energy of creativity and I loved every second of it. I have now run 5 of the #showreelshareday events and will continue to do so if the actors are still enjoy themselves…

TSL Your IMDB profile states that you have a hashtag trending on Twitter – #katedaviesforbatgirl that campaigns to get you an audition for Joss Whedon’s upcoming addition to the DCEU. Have you had any comeback on this? The Stricken Land thinks you would make a fine Barbara Gordon, are you reading this Mr Whedon?!

KDS Aw that’s very kind of you! That whole thing was such a wonderful example of what can happen when you get a nice bit of support from friends and followers. It was doing well for some time however sadly even Joss is no longer attached the movie, it’s all gone a little silent. I can always take the traits of Barbara Gordon and many other iconic ladies and implement them into my future roles.

TSL Finally do you have any upcoming projects that you’re allowed to tell us about?

KDS This year I am looking forward to the releases of THE BARGE PEOPLE, WINTERSKIN, DEAD AIR, season 2 of HORIZON, MINDING MAMA, THE HOUSE OF VIOLENT DESIRE and the UK release of ESCAPE FROM CANNIBAL FARM. My next film project will be OFF GRID (I’m so excited to be working alongside acting legend James Cosmo), and several more projects with Dark Temple Films… Watch this space! 🙂

TSL Thanks for taking the time to chat, and all the best for the future!

KDS Thanks for taking the time, much obliged, stay cool x