Jennifer's Bodies - An Official WiHM Event

Guest Speaker - Laura Whyte, Director of Nursery Crimes!

2012-02-21T16:38:00.000-08:00

Okay so I am super psyched to let y'all know that the nerd~tastic Laura Whyte shall be coming up for Jennifer's Bodies to present her short, Nursery Crimes. This is totally cool on so many levels...one being that she is a total X Phile!!! *insert super SQUEEEEEE!!!* :D Laura will be bringing along some of her team, the guys that assisted her with Nursery Crimes, making it the perfect opportunity to learn more about everything that goes on behind the scenes when making an animated short. This is something that should appeal to both artists and horror nerds alike.

Tickets are available both on the day, and from this website...just click on the button in the right hand corner of this page. Ticket's for the whole day are priced £7, or £5 for students...which is a pretty darn good bargain! For that you get a documentary, a feature, a whole loada shorts AND a super rad guest speaker! So yay, let all your fellow nerds know all about this and I look forward to seeing y'all there! :)

An Interview with Laura Whyte - Nursery Crimes!

2012-02-21T15:51:00.000-08:00

Name ofShort – Nursery Crimes

RunningTime – 3 Minutes 35 seconds

Year of Completion - 2010

Locationof Shooting – Dundee, Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art andDesign

Director - Laura Whyte

Whatinspired you to make this short in particular?

Good question– I don’t know if it was one particular lightning bolt moment. My co-writer and I had come up with the poem years before, and I wasfeeling frustrated that we had never completed anything we’dstarted together – it seemed the most viable of the work we had,and more importantly (to our great surprise!) no one else had donethis idea in this way yet.

So it was afairly humble and technical beginning, but as soon as we began todevelop the idea visually we realised how much we wanted to make itan ode to our favourite horror flicks, and to Jackanory – “it’sJackanory gone wrong” was the pitch.

Is thisthe first short that you have worked on and if not, what other workhave you done before this?

I studiedanimation at DJCAD so I had done some other student projects before.Nursery Crimes is my second time directing, but the first time we’dattempted stop-motion, and our maiden voyage into the world ofhorror.

What areyou working on next?

It’sanother horror short, stop-motion animation again – and it willhave a similar comedic vein running through it. I’m excited to takethis one to the next level – Nursery Crimes had a number oflimitations that mostly came out of time constraints, myinexperience, and the fact that Bo Peep was a falling over champion!The worst was the Spider from Miss Muffet, though. There’s aclose-up of him that took 32 attempts to shoot – and despite havingonly pipe-cleaners for arms he managed to rip his prop cup in halfwhile my back was turned.

Incidentallywhen you spend weeks alone in a cupboard with only puppets forcompany they start to take on a life of their own....

Name onewoman who you would just absolutely love to work with and why?!

JenniferSaunders! One of the funniest people on the planet.

If youcould choose one person, living or dead, who would choose to workwith on your ideal project?

Orson Wellesor Vincent Price (Pictured below) – but only because I like a damn good voice over;)

Are yougoing to be doing anything special to celebrate Women in Horror Monththis year?

Going toJennifer’s Bodies, of course! (YAY!!!)

Randomquestion – if you had to recommend one TV show that you thinkpeople just HAVE to watch, what would you recommend!?!

Deadwood –the characters are brilliant, and it was cut short before it was inits prime. The first two series’ are almost perfectly written, Ithink. Brilliant use of the ensemble cast and the plot is woven intoit seamlessly. Love it.

What'syour favourite film from the past year? (Doesn't have to be horror!)

God, I am aterrible film fan. To preface this answer, I haven’t seen any ofthe major players in 2011 yet – Oscar list? What Oscar list? So Ihaven’t seen Drive, or The Artist, or The Descendants yet – I’llget around to it eventually! So I’m going to say Rango, because itsurprised me with its depth and it was wickedly funny, beautifullyanimated and visually distinct from the other 3D animated films thathave been out before and since, and I left the cinema grinning –which is my only requirement for success!

How didNursery Crimes come about, was it something that you'd been thinkingabout doing for a while?

Aha! Theoriginal rhymes were written years ago. Mell [co-writer] and I werebabysitting her infant niece, and we’d regularly entertainourselves by changing the words in her nursery rhymes and storiesbecause she was too little to know any better (our babysittingservices are still available, irresponsible parents everywhere). Theoriginal was much more offensive, and the only verse that remainsintact is the first one:

Little BoPeep had slaughtered her sheep,
And didn’t know where to hidethem....

NurseryCrimes is not only visually stunning, your take on the classicnursery rhymes is insanely awesome and morbidly delicious...werethese something that came quite easily or ordid you sit andthink about them for a while?

The barebones of it came easily, but we found there were a couple of hooksthat didn’t work well – the verse with Jack and Jill was a lateaddition and we were changing the rhyming scheme on it right up untilthe last minute. The decision to always go back to “Little BoPeep...” to move the story forward was late, too, so those verseswere all added afterwards. We had to make several changes to the textin order to make it flow and make good sense – and then we had tobe careful not to say what we were also going to show! For example,there was a verse about Humpty Dumpty that was cut, it went:

Humpty Dumptysat on a wall
Humpty Dumpty took a bad fall
All the King’sHorses and all the King’s men
Said Humpty Dumpty knew too much.

Much as weliked the rhyme-breaking joke, we had two issues – one, that BoPeep had already killed two witnesses, and two, that we could showthe ‘Humpty was pushed’ joke without having Andy reading over thetop of it.

You clearlyare an incredibly talented artist, and a very naturally talented oneat that. Is art something that you've always been interested, andwere your school jotters covered in doodles? Although not doodles inthe sense that I would doodle, haha, lots of stick figure people etc.I bet yours were individual works of art in themselves! :) A perfect example of Laura's amazing artwork is this Mulder and Scully drawing. *squeeeeeeeee*

Well flatterywill get you everywhere ;) My French teacher once discovered medrawing her with a chest-burster erupting from her contorted body –by that point it was a wordless exchange and she just ripped the pageout and took it. I would like to think now that she was privatelyflattered... but perhaps that’s a bit optimistic. I didn’t takeit seriously until I was about eighteen or nineteen though (I studiedMedieval History and Archaeology and Classics for six gruesome monthsbefore dropping out spectacularly), and except for dodgy pictures ofmy teachers being eviscerated and the occasional stuffy still lifefor art class I didn’t do much. Being accepted into a Filmcraft andAnimation course at Motherwell College was the kick in the arse Ineeded to start putting the work in.

Do you haveany plans to make an animated feature film? Something tells me itwould potentially be my new favourite Nightmare Before Christmas,heehee!

Ah, maybesomeday. Right now there’s still a lot to learn about filmmaking asa whole. Another short or six first, I think! One thing I will sayI’ve learned is that you need the right team – short or feature,I’m useless by myself. Nursery Crimes had a lot of generous supportfrom very talented people who helped me to build it and give it life– it would have been a barren, silent affair without them, and Iwouldn’t attempt another film of any length without the same solidfoundation we were lucky enough to have this time.

An Interview with Tyrrell Shaffner - Threnody!

2012-02-21T11:51:00.001-08:00

Nameof Short - Threnody

RunningTime - 11 minutes

Yearof Completion - 2009

Locationof Shooting - Los Angeles,California

Director - Tyrrell Shaffner

Whatinspired you to make this short in particular?

Inmy mid-twenties, I was surrounded by musicians living on the EastSide of Los Angeles and dated a few lead singers in my day (my"musicians phase"). Deep inside, I was pretty lonely, andthought that the city was filled with vampires. Or that maybe I wasa vampire, who would never find love.

Isthis the first short that you have worked on and if not, what otherwork have you done before this?

Idirected the short film "Different" as my USC undergraduatethesis film. "Different" is a teen comedy set in a paralleluniverse where gay is the norm and straight is taboo. It screened at40 film festivals worldwide, won the Jury Prize at Rhode IslandInternational Film Festival, and has been translated into threelanguages on four different DVD compilations.

Whatare you working on next?

Ihave written the feature length version of "Threnody" andam working on getting it made. The short story has been expanded;the feature is about three female vampires who have a feast of modernday Los Angeles until one of them falls in love.

Both theshort and the feature are love/hate letters to a very complicatedcity. However, the feature is much more of a love letter!

Nameone woman who you would just absolutely love to work with and why?!

Thatis a good question. One I've never been asked! I would love to workwith Film Producer Lynette Howell. She has great taste, and justexudes an easy, breezy confidence and intelligence.

Ifyou could choose one person, living or dead, who would choose to workwith on your ideal project?

Iwould want Phillip Glass to write the soundtracks to all my films.

Areyou going to be doing anything special to celebrate Women in HorrorMonth this year?

Ihope that I can but I am starting a new job as a producer on a danceproject and will be working insanely hard. I will definitely work inwatching some female directed horror films.

Randomquestion – if you had to recommend one TV show that you thinkpeople just HAVE to watch, what would you recommend!?!

Thefirst season of "Twin Peaks"!

What'syour favourite film from the past year? (Doesn't have to be horror!)

"Riseof the Planet of the Apes" hands down. The director, RupertWyatt, did an amazing film, "The Escapist," in 2009, whichhad a DVD release in the US. I am not surprised he made such asatisfying Hollywood film. I also loved "Bridesmaids",which I found to be very inspiring as a female filmmaker. There areso many more female centric stories that need to be told!

Threnodyis a wonderful take on all the people who try to make it in the cityof dreams that would be L.A. I am so happy that it is now part of IHATE L.A. It truly feels like it was made to be part of it the wholetime! What was it like meeting up with Elisabeth Fies and the rest ofthe I HATE L.A. ladies?

Iheard about Bleedfest via a group I belong in LA and submitted myfilm. Lis and Brenda Fies called me personally to invite the film tothe festival, where it later won the audience award. Lis and Brendaare such great women and so supportive. It's been a pleasure to getto know them.

And as it turned out, they were finishing up "IHate LA" and "Threnody" fit perfectly into theircollection of short films about LA being fucked up and scary. Talkabout being on the same wavelength!

The Fies sisters shotfootage to incorporate my short into the larger whole of the feature,and even used Amy Cale Peterson from "Threnody" in thefinal scene of "I Hate LA," which I won't spoil here.

Wereyou a Buffy fan? ;)

Iloved the original film but wasn't an avid follower of the televisionfilm. I've always been more of film person.

Whenwatching Threnody, I totally didn't want it to end. Have youeverything considered expanding it into a feature film?

Iam all over it! See above :)

Ifyou could live anywhere else in the world other than L.A., wherewould you love to live?

Imoved around a lot as a kid and lived in Northern California,Nebraska, Virginia, Seattle and London. I've lived in LA by far thelongest and consider it my home. I guess if I could live anywhere,and let me take some liberty here, anytime, I would live in Berlinduring the Weimar Republic era in the 1920s. There were so manyamazing things going on - Fritz Lang, Bertol Brecht, MarleneDietrich (pictured right), Bauhaus, the list goes on and on. (Oooh, amazinganswer...I freakin' LOVE Berlin!!!)

An Interview with Lori Bowen - Just Us!

2012-02-19T12:04:00.000-08:00

Nameof Short - JustUs

RunningTime -6 minutes

Yearof Completion - 2011

Locationof Shooting - Sarasota, Florida with voice-over work done in L.A.

Director - Lori Bowen

What inspired youto make this short in particular?

Everyone knows thedesire for revenge. It's one of the most basic of human emotions. Yousee so many revenge films that deal with the actual act of revenge,but so few of them deal with the aftermath and what it does (ordoesn't do) to the soul. I didn't want to tell people how they shouldfeel about the material so I strove to have a sort of blank canvas atthe end: is that a happy tear or a sad tear? Is she damned or is shesaved? I wanted her fate to be up to the audience and to prod theminto thinking about their own feelings, put them into her shoes.

Isthis the first short that you have worked on and if not, what otherwork have you done before this?

CountingJustUs, I've made five narrative shorts and two musicvideos. Without/Within was my first film about an existentialtete a tete between a mysterious woman and the man who invaded herhome. aftershock was my second and it's about a woman facedwith a very difficult decision in the face of the zompocalypse (it'scurrently on the 2011 Viscera tour). A Hammer Fell in Jerusalem:Anathema was my third short, an experimental black and whitesilent film based on a chapter from a novel I'm working on about thebiblical end of the world and following that was a vignette called AHammer Fell in Jerusalem: and be at rest, just a quick piece thatacts as a prequel to the main character in Anathema.

Bothmusic videos were for my brother's band, World Collision. The firstone is called "Essenger" and the second is called "Sine." (World Collision are fucking amazing by the way! Elisabeth Fies sent me their album and holy crap, I freakin' LOVE it!)

Sine featured above ^^^^^

Essenger featured above ^^^^^

Youcan see Without/Within, Anathema, and and be at rest on my OpenFilmchannel. (Without/Within and Anathema are half an hour long each.) I'vepulled aftershock for now, but you can see my music videos andtrailers for my work on my YouTube channel.

Whatare you working on next?

I'vegot another short film I'm aiming to shoot in March called Rivalry-- this one has more paperwork than I'm used to so there's been ahuge learning curve. I've also got a couple other shorts I'd like todo, a couple of music videos, and I'm planning on filming my firstfeature later this year called Skin.

Nameone woman who you would just absolutely love to work with and why?!

That'sa tough one because I'd like to work with pretty much everyone!However, I'd love to work with Brinke Stevens again; she's absolutelylovely and fiercely intelligent. And anyone who knows me knows I'm ahuge fan of Heather Langenkamp and would love to work with her. (Pictured below - Lori with Heather Langenkamp)

Ifyou could choose one person, living or dead, who would choose to workwith on your ideal project?

Living...really,I want to work with people with a passion for what they do.Dead...well, not that she'd ever do a horror flick, but when MadelineKahn died, I was absolutely heartbroken. I would've loved to workwith her.

Areyou going to be doing anything special to celebrate Women in HorrorMonth this year?

I'mflying out to L.A. to volunteer at the Viscera Film Festival bonemarrow drive which takes place on February 25 in North Hollywood.

Randomquestion – if you had to recommend one TV show that you thinkpeople just HAVE to watch, what would you recommend!?!

One?Crikey. That's currently airing: The Walking Dead - I wish FrankDarabont were still a part of it, he understood the balance betweenzombies and drama better than their current showrunner, I think, butit's still a good show. No longer on the air: Toss up between TheX-Files and Firefly.

What'syour favourite film from the past year? (Doesn't have to be horror!)

Ihave to go with what I saw this past year as opposed to what actuallycame out as I didn't really go to the multiplex. I Am Nancy (Also showing at Jennifer's Bodies) isWONDERFUL! I Saw the Devil was fantastic. Julie Taymor's The Tempestwas stupefyingly beautiful. The Muppets was fabulous. SO MANY GOODFLICKS!

JustUs is a great take on just how far a human being would go in theirdesire to seek revenge for a loved one. Was there any one thing inparticular that inspired you to make this short?

Thankyou! Well, like I said, we're all familiar with that desire forrevenge. So few of us think about the moral consequences, though.Perhaps it's a way of reminding myself of that, too.

Howmuch fun did you have casting Just Us, and how did it come about youworking with horror legend Brinke Stevens?

loved casting it. I've known Sage Hall since I ran her short filmCandy at my own film festival in 2010 and really wanted towork with her. Travis Garner I met on the set of Sage's other shortfilm The Couch. I met Kristin Mellian and Aaron Pushkar, whoprovided the radio sweepers, on my first film; she was my lead. AndI've known Brinke since 2008 when I went to my first film festival asa filmmaker and she was one of the special guests.

Whatare some of your favourite revenge flicks?

TheKill Bill flicks and The Brave One. I love LadySnowblood and They Call Her One-Eye and all those, ofcourse, but even amidst the comic chaos, Uma Thurman's performance asThe Bride at times is truly wrenching and Jodie Foster was incrediblein The Brave One.

Arethere any cases from throughout time really got to you, and perhapsinspired your work on projects such as Just Us?

Everythingin America since 9/11. Right around the time I was filming JustUs, anOrlando court found Casey Anthony not guilty of murdering her child,but in the court of public opinion she was guilty and immediatelystarted receiving death threats. The similarities werestriking...well, except for the fact that none of those whothreatened her carried through.

An Interview with Jose Pedro Lopes and Ana Almeida - Director and Producer of Survivalismo!

2012-02-19T07:38:00.000-08:00

Name of Short - SURVIVALISMO (SURVIVALISM)

Running Time -9'00''

Year of Completion - 2011

Location of Shooting - Oporto, Portugal

Directed by Jose Pedro Lopes

What inspired you to make this short in particular?

JOSÉ - The idea for 'Survivalismo' came up when Ana was presenting her new project, 'Videoclub', on a film pitch forum in Strasbourg, France. I was there watching the pitches and the reharsals, and I had an idea for a film where the main character had to talk his way out of a trap. I also had the idea for a twist ending in my mind that I directly applied to this concept. Developing the main character I thought it would be great to play around the concept that these modern 'torture horror' films are filled with violence, specially agaisnt women. So, in 'Survivalismo' you have absolutly no bloodshed, no violence, in a torture scenario. And all this psychological pain goes into a guy who reveals to have little consideration towards women.

Is this the first short that you have worked on and if not, what other work have you done before this?

ANA AND JOSE- We've have worked together in several shorts films, ever since the year 2001. 'A Noiva' (The Bride) was probably our most well-suceded work. It was in Jennifer's Bodies 2011, it was the european response to the slasher genre. It featured a cold, blueish photography and a mysterious female villain, in a tight horror short. We've worked together in other non-genre shorts such as 'Temperar a Gosto' (Season to Taste) and 'O Risco' (The Line).

What are you working on next?

ANA AND JOSE - We've three short films coming up. One is kind of a big mystery - it's called 'Auguste' and kind of like 'Survivalismo' has a character beginning the film in a unlikely predictament. But it goes into a totally different, original patch. The other one is called 'Patient EV-136' and it's a sci-fi horror film with a lot of action. It will be a lot of fun. And we've also have 'Videoclub' by Ana Almeida, which is a project that is very dear to me. It's a romantic drama set in 1999 and it's an anthem to the VHS generation.

(Pictured above - Jose Pedro Lopes)

Name one woman who you would just absolutely love to work with and why?!

JOSE - I really liked Noomi Rapace in the 'Millennium' trilogy. I think she makes an excelent actress in the Women in Horror concept. But there are a lot of talented women out there, both acting and directing. I'm dead curious about 'Klip' by Maja Milos.

If you could choose one person, living or dead, who would choose to work with on your ideal project?

JOSE - I love John Carpenter so I guess I would love to work with him - but honestly there are a lot of cool, kick-ass people working in film these days. Many of them unknown to the big public.

Are you going to be doing anything special to celebrate Women in Horror Month this year?

JOSE - I don't know! I would love to host here in Oporto an event in the WiH Month but I just couldn't find the time. Maybe in 2013, if the world doesn't end.

Random question – if you had to recommend one TV show that you think people just HAVE to watch, what would you recommend!?!

JOSE - I'm a bad person to ask that question. I try to spend all my time where I could be watching TV, watching films. I guess I don't respect too much the TV genre: it's the 'X-Files' factor (perfect excuse for random X Files pic!). A series is destined to go too long until you hated it. It happened recently with 'Dexter' and 'Californication' - they're getting worse by the episode.

ANA - Right now, I love 'Fringe', 'Sherlock' and 'Game of Thrones'. Obsessing over each at the time.

What's your favourite film from the past year? (Doesn't have to be horror!)

JOSE - There were a lot of excelent films in 2011 - I can narrow them down to three classics. 'Drive' obviously is one of them. My favourite genre film was 'Attack the Block' - such as kick-ass brit film. But my top favourite was Alex de la Iglesias's 'Balada Triste de Trompeta' (The Last Circus): a intense, drama, trip to the roots of modern spain with a twisted love triangle - it is a true ride.

ANA - I loved 'Attack the Block' too and 'Beginners'. Ewan MgGregor is my favourite scot... right after Jennifer Cooper!

What I particularly loved about Survivalismo was the intensity of the short! How easy was it for you to convey such a growing intensity when at the end of the day, we see so little?

JOSE - We shot the whole film in just two days. The main actor, Ivo Bastos (pictured below), is a friend and has a very strong comedic vein. So, in spite of having a bag in his head, he was always making us laugh. But thruth be told, when his character breaks down and does the final confession, we were terrified. When we said cut and Ivo took off the bag, we were reliefed to see that he was OK.

Survivalismo conveys the 5 stages of guilt, was this something that has interested you before? I think it's a fascinating concept!

JOSE - That was Ana's idea. I had clear I wanted a character in trap where he could not see, and were he would just try to talk his way out even though he didn't know if someone was listening. I had the twist ending in mind. But I was having a hard time developing the story that happened between the setup and the ending. Ana came up with the 5 Stages of Grief as a way of exploring the more psychological side of a "SAW-like" trap.

ANA - I felt it was important to add a strong connection between the several moments we wanted to explore - and work this with the actor in a way that we could give the film the intensity its concept required.

Jose, you're a big of John Carpenter, have you seen The Ward and if so what are your thoughts on it? Personally I loved it!

JOSE - 'The Ward' is like the film Carpenter did in the late 70s, right after 'Halloween'. It's so cool: I love the way the female characters are developed, the fact that it has such 70s style scenes like the one where they all dance, and the fact that its a frightenning film with the classical setup of a haunted place. But I hated the ending twist because it's the kind of revelation that says "well, what you just saw was just not that important".

Ana, who is one of your personal favourite directors and why?

ANA - I don't have one. :) Or I have too many. Right now, I'm really into Edward Wright's work. Looking forward to the third Cornetto film.

(Pictured above - Producer Ana Almeida)

Rambings of a Jennifersaurus!

2012-02-16T15:24:00.000-08:00

Greetings peoples! So I thought I'd do some vloggage just to upadate y'all on Jennifer's Bodies stuff and things! When I first recorded this to YouTube the sound was totally out, however my dearest darling bestie Adam Barnick fixed it for me, yay! THANK YOOOOU Barnipede!!! :) So now my crazy ramblings MAY seem at least a little more coherent, heehee. :D Yay!

An Interview with Maude Michaud - Red and T is for Toothpick

2012-02-16T08:18:00.000-08:00

Name of Short – Red

Running Time – 15 minutes

Year of Completion – 2011

Location of Shooting – Montreal, QC (Canada) with one sequence filmed in Los Angeles, CA (USA)

Director - Maude Michaud

Name of Short – T is for Toothpick

Running Time – 4 minutes

Year of Completion – 2011

Location of Shooting – Montreal, QC (Canada)

Director - Maude Michaud

What inspired you to make this short in particular?

For Red, the idea had been haunting me for quite a while... After making Snuff, I knew I wanted to further explore the idea of ‘snuff’ films, but this time as part of a more ‘traditional’ narrative. I also wanted to assemble on screen all my aesthetic fetishes I had experimented with in order to make the ultimate short that would represent and use all the themes, images and elements I enjoy when watching a movie. And somehow, out of all this, the idea of Red was born.

As for T is for Toothpick, a crazy idea crossed my mind and, instead of logically dismissing it like I usually do, I decided to go for it and have fun with it!

Is this the first short that you have worked on and if not, what other work have you done before this?

I’ve worked on over a dozen shorts in the past few years, including Hollywood Skin, Snuff, Reflection (from the Frankenstein Unlimited anthology film) and Recessed.

What are you working on next?

I’ll be working on my first feature film which I plan on shooting at the end of the year. This will be my biggest project yet!

Name one woman who you would just absolutely love to work with and why?!

I’d love to work with Mia Kirschner (pictured right). I’ve been fascinated by her for a long time. She’s not only really talented; she also tends to pick unusual characters, which I find really refreshing. She has this intense presence... I can only imagine what would come out of an artistic collaboration!

If you could choose one person, living or dead, who would choose to work with on your ideal project?

Vincent Price! I’m a huge fan; everything about him is wonderful: his voice, the way he carries himself, his presence... Not only is he super talented, he also oozes gentlemanly charm even when he’s playing a villain or a madman. That is hard to pull off!

Are you going to be doing anything special to celebrate Women in Horror Month this year?

Things will be a bit quiet for me this year; I will be donating blood soon and will follow it up with a small movie night at my place watching some of my favourite shorts directed by women with Dead Hooker in a Trunk acting as the cherry on top! I’m super excited about that! I’m currently polishing the first draft of my feature length script that I plan on producing later this year, and that is keeping me busy full time. Also, two of my shorts are screening as part of a few Women in Horror festivals, so I’ll be there in spirit!

Random question – if you had to recommend one TV show that you think people just HAVE to watch, what would you recommend!?!

My all-time favourite: Twin Peaks! But I also really enjoyed American Horror Story if you’re looking for a more recent one. (Yay! I am a HUGE Twin Peaks fan!)

What's your favourite film from the past year? (Doesn't have to be horror!)

The first one that comes to mind is Theatre Bizarre. I was lucky enough to be at the World Premiere during the Fantasia Film Festival and the energy in the room was just... wow. Nobody was prepared for what hit them! It’s a real roller coaster ride and I thoroughly enjoyed the variety and the way each filmmaker brought its own distinct touch to the project.

T is for Toothpick, haha, this is exactly the kind of shit I think when I see toothpicks, I totally just want to stab people with them...were you always the same, is this what made you come up with this super awesome concept in the first place, haha?

I learned about the ABCs of Death contest and wanted to participate. As soon as I read the rules, I started looking for my ‘T’. I don’t know why, but the first thing that came to mind was ‘Death by Toothpick’. I started laughing hysterically at the absurdity of the idea and said to myself ‘why not?!’ So, I called up my awesome special f/x partner in crime and told him about it, expecting him to tell me I was insane. His reaction was as follow: a few seconds of silence... followed by hysterical laughter! So, we put out two twisted brains together and listed all the sick things one could do with a toothpick and voila!

I love your obsession with snuff movie, and I totally get where the fascination with them comes from! Anyone who missed my interview with Maude last year, I totally recommend checking it out, she is a lady with a definite love of the delightfully macabre! So anyhoo, Red continues this love affair with the world of snuff movies...and just like Snuff...it ends in just the manner I like, bwahahaha! Red features the gorgeous Shannon Lark, who still despite not even saying a word, still manages to be completely engaging. What was it like working with this legendary lady?

Shannon was simply awesome to work with! She kindly accepted to shoot this little video segment with me during my passage in L.A. for the Viscera film festival. What made everything even more amazing is that we were on the same wavelength, so she totally understood what I was trying to get. She is definitely someone I want to work with again and I’m looking forward to a future collaboration with her.

Olga's hair...the fringe, WOW! Was that your idea or is her hair naturally that quirky?

This is Olga’s natural fringe, which I felt was simply perfect for the role and added a little something to the character! I’m glad you liked it!

How is Bloody Breasts coming along, would you look at actually turning this into a full length documentary?

For the moment, I really like the webseries format. I have two or three new episodes I want to edit with the material I already shot which I feel will nicely wrap-up phase 1 of the series. I don’t plan on editing them all together as a feature-length documentary – I’ve already done so for some festivals and my thesis committee, but I prefer to let people pick the episode they want to see – I’m already thinking about phase 2 and I have so many ideas! I can’t wait to have a clearer plan to be able to talk about it.

Can we expect any feature length snuff from your lovely self in the near future?

Yes for feature length, but it won’t have to do with snuff this time. If everything goes as planned, you’ll hear more about it later this year! But for now, everything is still hush-hush until I get a few things figured out.

You are working on a new photo project, can you fill us in on where you're at with that? :)

(Maude - Pictured above)

Yes! I did a few horror themed photo shoots to use as b-roll for my documentary webseries and really LOVED the experience. I came up with so many ideas... I decided to turn it into an ongoing conceptual photography project that I then want to try to pitch to different galleries and maybe gather in a coffee table book. I’m still designing the parameters of the project which will draw some inspiration from the work of Cindy Sherman and Alex Prager with a horror and Euro-exploitation touch and which will also explore the relationship between cinema and sequential photography. I plan on starting to shoot new series in March for a launch during the summer, so stay tuned!

Final Line-Up for February 2012

2012-02-10T06:37:00.000-08:00

Feature Film:

Stained - Directed by Karen Lam

Documentary:

I Am Nancy - Directed by Arlene Marechal and produced by and starring Heather Langenkamp. Also features appearances and interviews with Robert Englund, Wes Craven and Jessica Craven.

Shorts:

Hike - Jennifer Campbell

The Last Post - Axelle Carolyn

Doll Parts - Karen Lam

Milton - Angela Pritchett and Mariah Johnson

Crestfallen - Jeremiah Kipp

Survivalismo - Jose Pedro Lopes and Ana Almeida

Red - Maude Michaud

T is for Torture - Elisabeth Fies

T is for Toothpick - Maude Michaud

Maya's Journal - Nadine L'Esperance

Sybling Rivalry - Tara Nicole Azarian

Scrutinize - Elisabeth Fies

Mr Bubbles - Angela Pritchett

Internal Thoughts - Lisa Coffelt

Nursery Crimes - Laura Whyte

The Morning After - Jen Moss

Just Us - Lori Bowen

Threnody - Tyrell Schaffner

Ambiguous Figure - Johnna Troxell

The Room at the Top of the Stairs - Briony Kidd

We're Just Like You - Chelsea Christer

Jennifer's Bodies - Raising Money for Fellow Horror Chick Monica Nakagawa's Little Boy Grayson Who Has Craniosynostosis!

2012-02-08T11:23:00.000-08:00

Jennifer's Bodies is not only the perfect chance to showcase the amazing work of some wonderful and talented ladies, it is also the perfect opportunity to raise money towards a cause close to my heart. This year, once all the basic costs have been covered, the money from ticket sales shall be going towards a very good cause indeed. I shall also be holding a raffle with prizes donated from various people, all of the money raised from that as well shall be going towards the same cause. And if you want to purchase t shirts, stickers and other items with the Jennifer's Bodies poster on them, you can do this by visiting my new CafePress shop. Again, the money raised from the sale of these items is going towards the same cause, one that I'm sure you will all agree is a good one! :)

So what am I raising moohlah for I hear you ask? Just after the Christmas period this year, I read on one of my horror friends Facebook walls that her baby had been diagnosed with Craniosynostosis and would need to go for surgery to help rectify this invasive condition. Compelled by the sadnesss her situation I started looking into the condition, and the surgery. What really struck a chord with me on this one was thinking, 'what if this had happened to Kady?!' (my niece)...it made me realise just how terrifying this must be for any parent. I mean it was making me cringe and feel horrible just reading about the surgery and what things will be like initially after, so to be a parent reading this, when you know it relates to your child...I'd feel sick if it was me. So to know that one of my fellow horror chick~a~roo's was going through this, I immediately wanted to do something to help! (Pictured above right - Monica Nakagawa and son Grayson)

Monica has had an awful time of it the past year, not only has she had to cope with Grayson being in and out of hospital and then diagnosed with Craniosynostosis, she has also had to cope with the loss of her sister as well. All and all this poor woman and her husband Patrick have had a shitty time of it as of late and I really want 2012 to start to brighten up for them.

Grayson is Monica's second child, her first is daughter Ripley who is 4 years old and a beautiful young lady. You can tell she takes after her mother, she is ridiculously quirky and naturally so so pretty too. I love this picture of the family from last Halloween - Daddy was obviously on photo taking duty. :)

Monica is a wonderful dork~tastic mother who is kind and caring, she speaks out for horror chicks and important social issues such as Planned Parenthood. She is a horror nerd who loves The X Files and Buffy...a girl after my own heart...and that of my sister Suz! If she lived here (or in Ireland - Suz moved my Kady away to Ireland damn her, haha!), I'm sure Kady and her daughter Ripley would be great friends. (Pictured below - Big sister Ripley looking out for her little brother Grayson.)

Before anything can pick up for this family though, Grayson must have this surgery. Now rather than me try to explain what Craniosynostosis is, I've taken an excerpt from Craniosynostosis dot net. You can read more about Craniosynostosis and the surgery that is required to ensure that a child can lead a normal life on this website, and by Google'ing it. I've spent so much time looking about this online, I can even almost spell it without thinking now! Which yay, great I can spell it but MEH to why I can now spell it so easily!

Immediately following birth, the baby’s brain undergoes an extremely rapid phase of growth and development. It is calculated that the volume and size of the newborn’s brain will double in size in nine months and triple in size in 36 months. In order to accommodate such rapid brain growth, your baby’s skull cap must expand rapidly as well. Rather than being one single large piece of bone, his/her skull is made up of several bones (frontal, parietal, occipital, squamosal) which are held together by fibrous-like hinges called “sutures.” These sutures respond to brain growth by “stretching” and producing new bone, thereby allowing the skull to grow along with the underlying brain.

Should any of these sutures close or fuse during early months after birth while the brain is growing, craniosynostosis occurs. The term cranial stenosis or simply synostosis are used to describe this condition. Because the brain is normal, it continues to grow at its programmed rapid rate. However, the closed suture delays proper and parallel bone growth which leads the brain to take the path of least resistance and ultimately the shape of the brain, skull and even face become distorted. Each suture premature closure will lead to a specific abnormal head shape and unique set of problems.

Now from the research that I have done, apparently surgery is best done between the age of 6 months and 1 year. Grayson just turned 1 on the 31st of January so he's just outside of the ideal age but fingers crossed that this won't affect anything. Apparently the Craniofacial Programme at Duke Children's Hospital is really good, so by the sounds of it he's in really good hands.

If this was the UK, all would be well and good, however in the States...and pretty much the rest of the world, even if you have health insurance, you are looking at being in a shit load of debt...just to look after your family, and save their life!!! To me that just absolutely confuddles me! I don't know anyone in the UK that hasn't moaned (...and MOANED!!!) about the NHS, myself included, however how we'd cope without it?? The people of the UK need to learn to appreciate that we are given all of this for free! If our child needs an operation, they will get it! Yes the waiting list might be god knows how long, but least that option is there! If we have an accident or end up in A and E, we don't need to worry about having insurance just to get checked out, let alone anything else!

Being ill, or injured, or having a condition that is only treatable with surgery or continued medication, here in the UK we just have to worry about getting better...hell, in Scotland, we don't even need to pay for prescriptions anymore, yet we still freakin' bitch about things. To be anywhere else in the world, they don't have the option of the NHS. They have to have health insurance for everything.

And the thing is, even with health insurance, families such as Monica's are still looking at being stupid amounts in debt...just to save their child. I mean seriously, if there were ever a time for me to actually swear and have a valid reason for doing so it would be now....so WHAT THE FUCK!?!!!

Bearing all of this in mind, and after reading all about Craniosynostosis and the operation, I came to the conclusion that there is no one I'd rather help out more right now, and so any profit made from Jennifer's Bodies, I'm going to donate to donate towards Grayson's medical bills.

And seeing as how I have a kick ass poster (Thank YOU CJ Wallis of fortyfps productions), I thought, what better a way for other people to help me in my mission to help out Monica and Grayson than to offer apparel with the poster design in my spangley new CafePress shop! If you buy a t shirt (or any of the other Jennifer's Bodies merchandise), the money made from it will also be donated towards Grayson's medical bills. So come on people, let's help make 2012 as wonderfully positive as possible for the lovely Nakagawa family.

And let's keep thinking happy and positive thoughts for Grayson...and sane thoughts for Monica and Patrick. I pray to the tree people that everything goes perfectly and I'm looking forward to the Nakagawa family Halloween 2012 pictures! :)

An Interview with Jeremiah Kipp - Crestfallen!

2012-02-02T09:24:00.000-08:00

Name of Short - CRESTFALLEN

Running Time - 5 minutes

Year of Completion - 2011

Location of Shooting – Bloomington, Indiana and New York, NY

Director - Jeremiah Kipp

What inspired you to make this short in particular?

A movie reviewer named Russ Penning was a big supporter of my short genre film CONTACT, and we started a dialogue. He sent me a few scripts he had written, and I genuinely connected with CRESTFALLEN, which was a story about suicide that felt daring, personal and sincere. The movie is a nightmare spiral, a descent into personal hell, and hopefully at the climax we affirm the value of life. (Look out for a review of Contact, as well as Crestfallen coming up on Musings of a Morleysaurus)

Is this the first short that you have worked on and if not, what other work have you done before this?

I’ve done several short films over the years, so CRESTFALLEN is one of many. My cinematographer Dominick Sivilli and I were just coming off of our first feature film, THE SADIST starring Tom Savini (see Savini strangling Kipp below, heehee!). I’m sure CRESTFALLEN was in some way informed by the work Dominick and I had done in the past.

What are you working on next?

I’m working with screenwriter Joe Fiorillo and producer Lauren Rayner on a dark and edgy short film called THE DAYS GOD SLEPT, which is set in an unusual, slightly surreal gentleman’s club. Joe’s writing strikes a raw nerve about men and women, and how the more we get to know someone, the more mysterious they become. I’m looking forward to working with actress Lauren Fox—she was terrific in Darren Aronofsky’s PI, and is playing the damaged lead role.

Name one woman who you would just absolutely love to work with and why?!

I’ve always been so impressed by Sigourney Weaver, who brings commitment, fearlessness, intensity and take-no-bullshit intelligence to all of her roles.

If you could choose one person, living or dead, who would choose to work with on your ideal project?

There are so many great actors to choose from. Why don’t we keep it simple and stick with Sigourney Weaver? Ask me tomorrow and I might say Max von Sydow, ask me the day after that and I might say Samantha Morton.

Are you going to be doing anything special to celebrate Women in Horror Month this year?

I’m planning to attend the Stiletto Film Festival up in Boston, run by Megan Sacco. CRESTFALLEN will be making its American premiere up there, representing the tremendous talent of our co-producer Kitsie Duncan (pictured in all of her horror~ific glory below) and our lead actress Deneen Melody. I suspect I’ll also be reading some interviews with the many talented women who work in this industry, and making every effort to direct a new movie involving strong female performers and crew members.

Random question – if you had to recommend one TV show that you think people just HAVE to watch, what would you recommend!?!

I don’t watch much television, so I’ve been missing out on shows I’d probably like such as BREAKING BAD, BOARDWALK EMPIRE—I did manage to catch the first season of THE WALKING DEAD and especially liked the rooftop scenes with Michael Rooker (pictured below). I tend to encourage people to watch the new BBC version of DOCTOR WHO, but they’d be better off checking out the earlier seasons with Christopher Eccleston or David Tennant as the Doctor.

What's your favourite film from the past year? (Doesn't have to be horror!)

I was surprised by how much I liked TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY, where Gary Oldman reminded us why he is one of our greatest living actors.

Mr. Kipp, when it comes to your work as a director you are really amazing at bringing out the emotion in your actors faces, without relying on spoken word. What's your secret? ;)

The secret is to hire the actor who is best for the role. If you’re working with someone who is intelligent, professional and sensitive, the best thing to do is create an environment around them that stimulates their imagination. I also like to rehearse as much as possible; not necessarily doing scene work but building a dimensional character that can be parachuted into dramatic situations. On CRESTFALLEN, I was only able to work with Deneen over the phone (she’s in Chicago, I’m in New York) and most of the other actors over email. We squeezed in last minute rehearsal time the night before the shoot. On set, between takes we’d play actor games to make further discoveries. I love actors, genuinely respect what they do, and would give them whatever they need in order to give the fullest performance they can.

What was it like working with Deneen on CRESTFALLEN, she did such an amazing job. It truly is a gorgeous short!

She based her performance on a friend of hers who had committed suicide, and wasn’t afraid of going there. She’s a brave and resourceful actress. It was the kind of working relationship I like to have: she does her job, I do my job, and we inspire each other along the way. My experience with her was incredibly positive, and I think her co-star Michael Partipilo and our cinematographer Dominick Sivilli would say exactly the same thing.

Now it would be impossible for me to speak to you without mentioning your work on what is, without a doubt one of my favorite movies of the past decade...I SELL THE DEAD! You were working with the stars of my joint second-place favorite TV shows of all time, Dominic Monaghan from LOST and Ron Perlman from SONS OF ANARCHY! What was it like working with such talented individuals? Not to mention Larry Fessenden who is fucking amazing, both as a director and an actor! And what is your favorite memory from working on the set?

These guys are stars for a reason. I was the assistant director on that project, and my memories of Dominic Monaghan are of being polite, well prepared, and unpretentious about himself. *insert JEN SQUEEEEE* He liked the script and the character, and got on well with our director Glenn McQuaid.

That was a really good job for me, and I credit the value of the experience to Larry Fessenden. I’ve been able to work with Larry on several films, and learned more from him than anyone else. He creates an atmosphere where it’s all about doing the work. He’s the kind of producer who rolls up his sleeves and gets involved in all aspects of the production, David O. Selznick style, so whenever he wasn’t acting, he was very present as a leader. As for Ron Perlman, when I saw him on the set, he would show up, hit his marks, and have a good time making jokes between takes. He has some great stories about Guillermo Del Toro, Marlon Brando, Frank Sinatra, Sean Connery, and of course BEAUTY AND THE BEAST…that TV-show still makes young women walk up to him and say, “I have no idea who you are, but my mother LOVES you!”

If money were no object (HA! If only...), do you have a particular dream project that you would do in a flash!?!

I really love the adaptations of Philip K. Dick’s work—TOTAL RECALL, MINORITY REPORT, BLADE RUNNER—and there are many of his books that haven’t been adapted to the screen yet. I was so impressed how director Paul Verhoeven put Arnold in a state of existential terror not even knowing who he is (and the movie works best when he can’t use his muscle to solve the nightmare). BLADE RUNNER is one of the great movies of the 20^th century, where every piece comes together into a stunning thematic whole. I’m inspired by these superb directors (Verhoeven, Steven Spielberg, Ridley Scott) and how the Phil Dick stories gave them such an amazing playground. Stories of tension, of identity, of humanity, wrapped within a science fiction hell zone. If a producer came to me with a Phil Dick property and a budget, I’d sign up in a heartbeat. Someday, I’m going to make one of those stories into a film; that will be a dream come true.

An Interview with Tara-Nicole Azarian - Sybling Rivalry

2012-01-27T07:36:00.000-08:00

Name ofShort - Sybling Rivalry

Running Time – 6:50

Year ofCompletion - Sept 2011

Locationof Shooting - Charlotte, NC - USA

Director - Tara-Nicole Azarian

What inspired you to make this short in particular?

I made it as part of a short film challenge. A professionalfilm club I belong to, the CFC, had a contest to make a short film (under 10mins) using the phrase - "what scares me". This is what I came upwith. :o)

Is this the first short that you have worked on and if not,what other work have you done before this?

I've acted since I was 4 years old, so I have done a lot offilms...I really don't know how many...I know it's over 40. But, as far as awriter or director, Sybling was the second film I wrote & directed. The first wasa film about eating disorders called, "My Name Is Anna" which I wrote when I was 11. That film has done surprisingly wellconsidering that my 14 year old brother & I made it by ourselves on a $300budget. It's won Best Film twice in festivals. Besides these 2 films I alsojust finished post production on my 3rd film which I've written & directed.It's called "Cardboard" and it's about homelessness.

Whatare you working on next?

I am writing my 4th screenplay right now, it's anotherhorror film, but it's more in the suspense genre...no blood & guts, butlots of creepy / disturbing content.

Name onewoman who you would just absolutely love to work with and why?!

Oh gosh...that totally depends on the genre! If it's familycomedy - it would be Hilary Duff - simply because I love the fact that shebegan as a child actress & came through without all the drama. She seems tohave her head on straight & one thing I really admire is work ethic!

If the genre was drama - it would be Daphne Zuniga -because she plays mean so darn well & I play meek & fragile & cryvery well, so I think it would be an interesting set! Also, I really, reallyadmire her for all the civic works she does in her life. She really gives back.She's a great person inside & out.

If the genre was horror - I would want to work with MeganFox. I really liked how she portrayed creepy in Jennifer's Body. (Heehee, awesome answer!!!)

If it's a period / historical film - I'd want to work witheither Nicole Kidman or Whoopie Goldberg. Totally different, I know - but boththese ladies rock that genre!

If youcould choose one person, living or dead, who would choose to work with on yourideal project?

Ok, this is going to sound like a beauty pageant answer,but I am serious. I really, really want to give back & help others with mywork in some way. 2 of the films I wrote were about social issues (anorexia& homelessness). I would love to work with Oprah on something, because shehas the ability to rally people behind a cause & I know that whatever theproject would be, it would end up helping lots of people because of Oprah'sinvolvement. I really admire how much she does for other people. It makes mesmile. :o)

Are yougoing to be doing anything special to celebrate Women in Horror Month thisyear?

I am filming my 4th screenplay - which is a horror film.:o)

Randomquestion – if you had to recommend one TV show that you think people just HAVEto watch, what would you recommend!?!

House. Love it, I'm addicted. I need a 12 step program. Ican't quit! :o)

What'syour favourite film from the past year? (Doesn't have to be horror!)

In Time. Fantastic, creative, loved it.

You were12 years old when you did Sybling Rivalry, that is a pretty darn impressive! Asa kid, I was always just ever so morbid with an over-activeimagination....actually, what am I saying, 'when I was a kid', haha, thatshould be 'my whole life!!!'...anyhoo, I never actually put any of my morbidfantasies and ideas onto film. What was it that inspired you to do so?

Well, I wouldn't say I'm morbid...I would call itcreatively creepy. :o) I'm a giant nerd who is into Japanse manga. Myimagination is, well, active. Fortunately I have a supportive mom & dad whothink that being creative is a positive thing & they support both mybrother & me in our odd interests. My mom actually inspired my to writestuff down...but I think it was her way of not having to listen to it. If Iwrote about it I would not ramble in her ear so much. LOL.

You havean amazingly supportive Mum, has she always been there in the backgroundhelping you to do what you want and to follow your dreams?

Yeah, she is very supportive. Anything my brother or I havewanted to try, she's been there...even when she knew it was not really the bestfit for us, she let us figure that out. Like when my brother wanted to playbasket ball & ran the wrong way down the court...or when I wanted to do afashion show & it was all I could do to not trip over my feet. She satthere & clapped & smiled & didn't look remotely surprised when mybrother switched to Karate (he's now a black belt) and I concentrated onacting. But my point is, she let us crash & burn & figure it out on ourown. She was there to always tell us how fabulous we were, even when weweren't.

The firstScream movie was released before your were born (dude you are making me feelold, haha!), to people such as myself, an oh so young 32 year old, teehee,Scream is modern horror, made in that oh so nostalgic decade of the 90's! Doyou still look at this as an old movie, for example, does it look dated to you?

I embrace movies of all eras!

Andlastly, what is your favourite horror?

It's an indie prequel to "Halloween" called"Judith". It's the first Horror film I had a speaking role in &it got me hooked. It was filmed at The Myers House in North Carolina, which isowned by my friend Kenny Caperton. He built an exact replica of the house from"Halloween." It's awesome to see. Kenny & the director Josh Hastywere just so great to me on set...I can't thank them enough for the experience.

An Interview with Jennifer Campbell - Hike

2012-01-27T06:42:00.000-08:00

Name ofShort - Hike

RunningTime - 7:23

Year ofCompletion - 2010

Locationof Shooting - Squamish, British Columbia, Canada

Director– Jennifer Campbell

Whatinspired you to make this short in particular?

Acouple of things - I wanted to tell a story about a real life monster. Thehorrors of everyday life are what truly intrigue me. I also wanted to shootoutside in nature using all natural light. We didn't use any artificiallighting which was a real challenge but ultimately worked well considering ourbudget.

Is thisthe first short that you have worked on and if not, what other work have youdone before this?

Hike ismy second short. I did Hike 1 back in 2005 - that was my first short ever. Iwrote, directed, edited , produced and shot it on my old JVC camcorder. It wasa straight up line as far as learning curves go.

Whatare you working on next?

Myfirst horror feature called Final Weekend. I'm writing/directing/producing.

Nameone woman who you would just absolutely love to work with and why?!

I wouldlove to work with Jennifer Saunders. She's an amazingly intelligent, funny andcreative woman. Absolutely Fabulous is comedy gold! (Haha, you have got tomeet my sister Kim, she is Jennifer Saunders/Ab Fab crazy!!)

If youcould choose one person, living or dead, who would choose to work with on yourideal project?

That'sa difficult question to answer. Werner Herzog would be up there. I love moviesthat are open to interpretation, that don't always answer questions and playwith perspective and visuals. Aguirre Wrath of God is one of my all timefavourite movies.

Are yougoing to be doing anything special to celebrate Women in Horror Month thisyear?

Womenin Horror Month is new to me - I just started finding out about all theseterrific people, events, sites etc. so I'll be supporting this year via theinternet; watching and following what women horror film makers are doing. Itwould be great to get involved in some capacity so we'll see what next yearbrings.

Randomquestion – if you had to recommend one TV show that you think people just HAVEto watch, what would you recommend!?!

Well,that would be Sons of Anarchy!!!!

What'syour favourite film from the past year? (Doesn't have to be horror!)

No wayto pick just one! The Skin I Live In, Hannah, I Saw the Devil, Attack theBlock, Wakewood….

I thinkthe reason that I took such an instant loving to Hike was that it was the kindof short that I could picture myself doing! In fact, scrap that, I picturestuff like this in my little brain all the time when I'm out walking...usuallygetting upset when I realise I'm just not that lucky, haha!! Anyhoo, how didyou come about thinking for the concept for Hike? As a fellow Jennifer I wouldcompletely understand if you were just in fact as morbid and gross as me! ;)

Theconcept for Hike came while writing my feature Final Weekend. Final Weekend isabout a psychologically disturbed person and I wrote Hike as a prelude to whatultimately happens in Final Weekend. Hike is about violence against women,being silenced and ultimately being victimized because someone is bigger,stronger and able to overpower.

Theviews and scenery in Hike are amazing, it totally reminds me of Scotland andmakes me realise how much I desperately want to visit Canada! Was the walk inHike a personal favourite of yours or did this take a little location scoutingprior to the shoot?

Thatarea is one that I love and know but we did have to spend a day trekking aroundto find the right location that would be both beautiful to look at yet give usspace to shoot something horrendous!

You arecurrently working on your first feature with your company WhitebowlProductions. How is that coming along and is there anything you can share withus?

I'mreally excited about Final Weekend. It's a character based horror that issimilar to Hike in that it's about everyday monsters who walk amongst us. I'mon the look out for a producer right now. I will be producing as well but afeature is much larger so I want to bring on someone with feature producingskills so we can take everything to the next level. (Pictured below, Jennifer Campbell in directing action!!!)

Okay Ican't interview without mentioning a certain new love of yours, and that wouldbe Sons of Anarchy. As a fellow Jax~ling, if we became biker chicks and totallystalked Charlie Hunnam with a super awesome horror script, what would yourideal script include? Haha. I find a subject such as this appropriate, menobjectify women all the time, especially in the horror industry...a littleshameless objectification of men is something we need to do on a more regularbasis! ;) My idea is not for a script, it's just to add him to the cast ofElisabeth Fies Psychosexual, bwahahaha.

Definitelya nude shower scene. (Haha...so definitely PERFECT for Psychosexual!!)

Andspeaking of Sons of Anarchy, do you think Gemma Teller could take on JasonVoorhees and kick his ass??

Shecould kick his ass but she couldn't kill him cause we all know he never dies.

An Interview With Axelle Carolyn - The Last Post

2012-01-26T07:44:00.000-08:00

Name of Short - The Last Post
Running Time - 11 min
Year of Completion - 2011
Location of Shooting - London
Director - Axelle Carolyn

What inspired you to make this short in particular?

My grandparents. The film is dedicated to them, actually. And then there's all kinds of themes that seem recurrent in my writing: fear of dying alone, regrets, loneliness...

Is this the first short that you have worked on and if not, what other work have you done before this?

It was my first short as a writer/director, but I'd acted in a couple dozen shorts and features before. I'd also visited many film sets as a reporter, freelanced as a script reader and PR, and done various odd jobs on set, like assisting Paul Hyett with SFX make-up on Doomsday, for example.

What are you working on next?

I've got a couple of features I'm dying to make... I'm also promoting the latest short, The Halloween Kid. And I'd love to make a no-budget short, just for fun!

Name one woman who you would just absolutely love to work with and why?!

There are many actresses I'd love to work with! First one who comes to mind is Olga Kurylenko (pictured above). We worked together on Centurion, and she's fearless in her choices, and very underrated. Plus, we get along really well. I should also mention that I've already had the chance to work with some fantastic women: in addition to the cast of The Last Post and Anna Walton in The Halloween Kid, I found brilliant production designers in Caroline Story (TLP) and Felix Coles (THK), and a great costume designer, Rebecca Gore, and make-up designer, Evie Wray...

What's your favourite film from the past year? (Doesn't have to be horror!)

I loved Melancholia...

The Last Post is a beautifully well acted short, how important did you feel the casting was on this one?

Essential. The film lives or dies with the lead actress. We were so lucky to cast Jean Marsh (Willow, Return to Oz, Upstairs Downstairs), who is extremely talented and respected. Kimberley Nixon, who plays the nurse, will be a star very soon. And Darren Bransford is criminally underrated. As a former actress, casting and working on performances is the part I find most exciting.

Your husband Neil Marshall produced The Last Post, in the horror industry he is known for creating strong kick ass females. Has it been a good learning curve watching him grow as a director and how has he influenced you...and vice versa?

I'm not sure we really influence each other, to be honest; we have pretty different tastes and interests, even within the horror genre. But we read each other's scripts, give each other feedback, bounce ideas off each other... It helps so much.

You are just finishing up on your latest short The Halloween Kid, which looks terrific amounts of fun! How are you coming along finishing up on this and when do you expect it to ready to start the festival trail?

We've submitted it to a dozen festivals already, and the first responses are coming in. It seems the first public screening will take place in March, though it hasn't been officially announced yet. I'm very proud of this one, and I can't wait to share it!

Do you have any film plans that you are working on and can we expect you to see you back in front of the camera any time soon or have you found that you are happier behind the camera?

I've got a couple of feature scripts I'm hoping to get financed in the next months. No plan to act again at the moment; I love acting, and if someone offered me a great part, I'd definitely do it! But it's really writing and directing I'd like to concentrate on.

You can read more about The Halloween Kid at the Official Blog where you can also read more about filming on The Last Post. And with the exception of the Melancholia poster, all images are the credit of Axelle Carolyn.

Check Out My New Poster Peeper'ooo's! A HUGE Thank You to CJ Wallis For This!

2012-01-19T16:30:00.000-08:00

Okay so as you can see I have a downright fucking awesome new poster for Jennifer's Bodies. I owe CJ Wallis a big massive thank you...and lots of huggles and high 5's! :D I am sure that you will all agree that this is pretty darn cool! It makes me super happy to have such amazingly talented friends. <3

Indie horror nerds will know CJ as Goody Two-Shoes from Dead Hooker in a Trunk. Those who have dug a little deeper into this incredibly talented and handsome young man will know that his talents know no boundaries. Not only is he a great actor, and clearly a wonderful designer (as the poster will prove...as will all of the websites he's built!)...he is also a stupidly talented musician, director of music videos, director in general. He is such a visual kind of guy, and one with a clear eye for beauty as his video for Sarah Slean's The Rose will prove. This video in fact won CJ the LEO Award for Best Music Video in 2011! :) And if you watch the video I'm sure you will see why! He's also done gorgeous video's for The Scarlet Ending, whom all y'all WiHM peeps may remember did the song We Want Your Blood for the Twisted Twins Massive Blood Drive PSA last year, and many more.

Add to these quirky bands a whole lotta underground hip hop artists and you'll start to see just how versatile he actually is. And also how grossly underrated he is! One of CJ's latest projects has been to film a documentary about The Smoker's Club tour over a 35 city run! Pretty darn cool if you ask me. And with a line up including Method Man, Curren$y, Spitta, Smoke DZA, The Pricks and Big K.R.I.T., this is a pretty big deal! Throughout the tour CJ has been releasing videos of performances and stuff which you can see on YouTube. If you click HERE you will find all of the clips released already! :D

Aaaand, below you can also find the Curren$y video that he did that I'm totally digging!!! :)

This is a whole lotta talent from one individual and I'm so happy that he took the time to do my poster as well. Proof that he totally fucking rocks! :) So yes, please do go check out his site, there is so much stuff and goodness on there. You'll be kicking yourself for not checking this stuff out sooner! :P

Thank you CJ, you are a fucking star and I love you to bits!!!!!! :D xoxoxoxox

Submission Deadline Extended to January 16th 2012!

2012-01-10T10:01:00.000-08:00

So after having some internet connection problems over these past few weeks, I'm a wee bit behind with my Jennifer's Bodies stuff. It is with this in mind that I have decided to extend the deadline to the 16th, just to accommodate any last minute entries. You can find the submission guidelines HERE and if you have any questions just fire me an email to jennifersbodies@gmail.com, thank you.

More Shorts Announced for Jennifer's Bodies 2012!

2011-12-04T15:41:00.001-08:00

Hey peoples, got a couple of more shorts to announce that I have accepted into the Jennifer's Bodies 2012 line-up. This includes Maude Michaud's entry into The ABC's of Death which is just rather awesome and Tooth~pickingly fab, heehee. I shall also be showing her latest short RED! Those of you from last years event will remember the cringe~tastic Hollywood Skin, the amaaaaaaazing statement against the superficiality of Hollywood. So as you can imagine, Miss Michaud's shorts are going to be super freakin' awesome and I do love her to pieces...heehee, pieces! ;) There is also Johnna Troxell's Ambiguous Figure, which is just...well, messed up beyond belief! Really, really good though! I'm sure you will all approve.

Red - Maude Michaud

T is for Toothpick - Maude Michaud

Ambiguous Figure - Johnna Troxell

Keep those shorts coming though ladies, and I am still looking for a couple of features! Let's make this a festival of beyond awesome proportions! <3

The First Group of Shorts Accepted into Jennifer's Bodies 2012...More to Come Soon!

2011-12-02T16:06:00.001-08:00

Okay, so I had originally planned to wait until after December 30th when I had received all of the submissions for Jennifer's Bodies before I made an announcement about the line-up. That was until I started to receive submissions. Holy crabby pattola's have I received some wonderful, wonderful shorts! Too wonderful in fact to wait almost a month before announcing them! Sooooo, I decided I'd share some of the ones that I have decided are 110% definite! There are others that I have received that I still need to watch and receive DVD's etc. so if you have submitted, but don't see your name on the list, fear not...I have pretty much loved everything that has been sent to me so far. There are also a couple of others who I am definitely showing, however have not received any promo material yet. So if you think you might be one of them, make sure to check your emails and try and get at least a few screencaps/film shots to me. :)

The range of shorts is ever so quirk~tastic, and one thing I have noticed is how downright creepy women directors can be. They can also be terribly tragic, and incredibly sad. The Last Post by Axelle Carolyn had me almost in tears, as did Crestfallen by Jeremiah Kipp, one of two male directors who I have accepted so far! But fear not ladies, these boys are so freakin' awesome, and they work with such strong and amazing women in either an acting/producing/writing capacity that their place in this festival is very much deserved.

So without further adu...

Survivalismo - Jose Pedro Lopes and Ana Almeida

The Last Post - Axelle Carolyn

Doll Parts - Karen Lam

The Morning After - Jen Moss

Crestfallen - Jeremiah Kipp

Just Us - Lori Bowen

Milton - Angela Pritchett and Mariah Johnson

Hike - Jennifer Campbell

I'll be doing a write up of each of the shorts, along with interviews with the directors so keep your eyes peeled for lots of juicy awesomeness! <3 These women, and men have done some amazing work and I can't wait to share it! :) I am still looking for a couple of features as well as more shorts so keep those submissions coming people! Jennifer's Bodies 2012 is looking to be an amazing event filled with wonderful talent and memorable films.

Want to Submit Your Film/Short to Jennifer's Bodies? Check Out the Official Submission Guidelines!

2011-11-24T13:28:00.001-08:00

Greetings my lovely Horror ladies, so the time of year has come for me to open up for submissions for the 2nd Jennifer's Bodies Women in Horror Month event! I am looking for a wide range of submissions, from all over the world. I am looking to choose 2 or 3 features, and a number of shorts. If I like your submission however am not able to use it for this event, I shall either keep hold of it for a future event. I am now writing for a new Scottish lifestyle magazine, called Insight...Eleanor Whitby, the lovely lady who is putting all of this together is an Events Organiser. When I met her the other week, we discussed Jennifer's Bodies and she talked about the possibility of me hosting Jennifer's Bodies more than once a year, something I really like the idea of doing. Eleanor has got some great contacts and ideas for some awesome places in bigger cities that I could host the event as well. So yay, fingers crossed. But for now however, this get this one planned first! :) So if you feel that your film/short hits the requirements, then please email jennifersbodies@gmail.com.

Submission Guidelines:

Your feature film/short MUST be either directed, produced or written by a woman.
I will consider a feature/short that is not directed by a woman IF it is both written and produced by a woman and has a strong female lead performance.
I will require all submission to be posted out to me on a DVD disc. If you email me for details I can send you my address. :)
If you are submitting a short, if you want me to view it quicker and have it uploaded to your Vimeo, if you send me the link and the password I can check it out a.s.a.p.
All submissions must obviously be horror (doh!), be it psychological, zombie, ghost, revenge, slasher...as long as it is horror~ific!
If you have campaign materials for your feature/short such as film stills, posters and trailers etc. if you could email them to me with a general synopsis of your movie.
Also, if you have campaign materials in hard copies, such as postcards etc. for your film, if you post me some along with your DVD disc, I shall be able to display them at the event. They're always a good thing for people to take home to remember the film. I mean, who doesn't love postcards!?! ;)
There is no charge for submissions however if you would like to make a donation towards helping put the festival together, then that is most appreciated. The main cost is that of the venue. All money made from the event will be donated to a women's charity or film project. This has yet to be decided upon which one though. I'll let you know when I decide. :)
All submissions are due by December 30th.

I am all about promoting the amazing work by all you super fab females doing this amazing work and making these awesome films. Even if I do not use your feature/short, I shall still do a write up on it and post trailers and film stills, and hopefully a poster for the movie, on my blog Musings of a Morleysaurus. All links shall be posted to the official Women in Horror Recognition Month site. I will do as much as I can to promote your film. And as I said, if I love it but don't have space for it in this festival, I shall put it at the top of my list for my next one, which should hopefully be happening early Summer 2012 if all goes according to plan.

And might I just remind all of you up and coming lady directors...it was only 2 years ago this February that Jen and Sylvia Soska's Dead Hooker in a Trunk had its World Premier, at Ghouls on Film in Birmingham. I can't believe how far Jen and Sylvia have come since then. With their second feature, American Mary about to start filming in a matter of days, it is proof that Women in Horror, when supporting one and other, we can do amazing things! I can't wait to see what amazing things we will witness this year!

Miki Hickel - The Amazing Artist Behind A Vast Amount of the Women in Horror Recognition Month Banners and Logo's!

2011-11-23T08:57:00.001-08:00

Okay so it was just the other day that I came to realise that all of the amazing banners and logo's that we've had for Women in Horror Recognition Month have all been done by the same lovely lady, Miss Miki Hickel!

It was only after I saw the new super awesome Ax Wound logo that I thought to ask Hannah Neurotica who had done it! I've been looking for someone to design me a logo for Musings of a Morleysaurus for a while, and as I've been getting a lot of traffic driven to my blog from large horror sites and the like as of late, I thought it was really about time I got on this pronto! So Hannah told me to contact her good friend Miki Hickel, the lady behind the awesome new logo!

When I looked into some of Miki's work at her rather funky website, I was rather impressed. She's a great artist, and has some wonderfully visual quirky ideas. One of my favourite logo's for WiHM is the wonderful ladies toilet sign that I have on my blog, to the right...it's so simple and I just love it to bits...hence why I have it on my bloggy wog too! :) Miki has also designed this wicked awesome new banner for Women in Horror Recognition Month 2012, which you can see below! It's Monster~ific! Heehee.

Now Miki has been working in partnership with Hannah Neurotica for some time, they're total partners in crime! Hannah does the writing, Miki does the design and art. Miki has also been maintaining the AX WOUND website for years, and it's a bloody good website as well. With such a perfect combination, the two of them have talked about doing a graphic novel in the past however have now come up with a better idea, instead they are going to do a short comic book, entitled Bloodberry Cuntcake...a genius name if ever I heard one. This is one to look out for in the near future, and I for one can't wait for it! And in the mean time, whilst we wait, let me introduce you to Miss Bloodberry Cuntcake, as wonderfully designed by Miki! <3

So yay, I cannot WAIT to see what Miki has in store for me, I'm totally psyched to have such a talented individual designing me a logo for my beloved blog, Musings of a Morleysaurus. To Miki, a great big THANK YOOOOOU, with extra hugs on top! <3

Jennifer's Bodies February 28th Roundup. :)

2011-03-12T12:50:00.000-08:00

I just realised that I hadn't posted the link to the round up of my Women in Horror event...don't know why I did it on my blog and not here, doh! Anyhoo, here is the LINK to the initital overall roundup. :)

An Interview with Amy Lynn Best - Director/Actress of SPLATTER MOVIE!!!

2011-02-21T18:14:00.000-08:00

Right….first and foremost, I am most curious…how was it that you came to become part of the Tromaverse!?!! :D I mean, you had Lloyd Kaufman in your first movie…that’s pretty fucking rad!!! I know that prior to SEVERE INJURIES you had done a short WEREGRRL, that starred the lovely Debbie Rochon. How did you two meet and was this what ultimately got you stepping into the weird and wonderful world of Toxie and pickled dick!?!

Well, it all started with my company's first movie The Resurrection Game. My husband and partner, Mike Watt, came across a TV series done by Paul Scrabo, who later did Dr. Horror's Erotic House of Idiots starring Debbie Rochon and featuring MANY others. Mike contacted Paul and then we saw an episode Paul did with Debbie. We then contacted Debbie through email and later met her at a convention. She was very supportive of us from Day 1 and when we were going to be at another film festival together she suggested we shoot a scene together. That is how Debbie because involved with our movies. From then on anything we were producing included Debbie, who is a fantastic person to work with. We met Lloyd through Debbie at a convention and at that time we were going to a lot of Horror Conventions where Lloyd and Debbie were guests. When I was casting the part of the doctor in Severe Injuries Lloyd was one of the first people we thought of. He was in town doing a master class and was kind enough to agree to do the part. Lloyd was also wonderful to work with and is a great supporter of our movies. Since then we've done a number of conventions with the both of them and come to respect and care about them immensely.

When was the first moment that you can remember loving horror? Was it a morbid, blood, guts and gore moment you remember as a child, or was it something that scared the crap out of you…yet you kind of liked or were fascinated by it at the same time???

I grew up across the street from a cemetery. My mother always enjoyed the history and feel of cemeteries and taught me from early on they were nothing to be afraid of. My uncle was also a fan of morbid and supernatural experiences. He took my cousins and me to a double feature of Amityville Horror and Last House on the Left when I was nine. My cousins told me Amityille was based on a true story and my Grandmother was living in a house where the basement had a crawl space and I was told that it was the room in the basement of the house in the movie. I was terrified but also drawn to it. I became fascinated with true life ghost stories and was allowed to watch horror movies and loved them. I loved, and still love, the feeling of being incredibly creeped out and getting chills. I still run through a dark room to turn on lights! Then when Michael Jackson's Thriller video came out I fell in love with it. I was a big fan of Michael Jackson and of Vincent Price. When the Making of Video came out my parents got it for me and I loved how the effects artists turned Michael and the others into Zombies. That started my admiration of special effects and actively started watching more and more horror movies not only to get scared but also to see the effects.

Name vomit….Who are your favourite women working in horror today??? GO!!!

I hate you! lol This question is always horrible because I will leave someone out and feel bad. Obviously I love Debbie Rochon (pictured right on set of SPLATTER MOVIE) and can't say enough good about her.

I'm also a big fan of Brinke Stevens and Linnea Quigley, both wonderful people and talents and the true Scream Queens. And honestly I think I'm going to stop there and chicken out since my mind isn't working and I don't want to forget anyone. I will say that I'm excited about the women working today, acting, directing, producing, writing, and everything. It is wonderful to see so much talent out there and such a true love of horror from so many women.

Is there any one person, dead or alive, whom you would kill (or ressurect, haha) to work with? Be it in any capacity, director, actor, producer, writer…tea lady!?!! Anyone?

Debra Hill certainly comes to mind. It is a shame that she passed away so soon. I'd also love to work with Ann-Margret, I've always been a fan of her dancing and acting. I'm lucky that I've been able to work with Debbie, Brinke and Linnea and would always work with them given the chance. Again, so so many people I'd love to work with.

When you first realised you wanted to make films, what came first, the desire to act or direct?

I never really had a big desire to direct, even though I've always been a control freak. I've acted on stage and when Mike was in film school I'd act in his films and that's how I got involved in the behind the scenes work of producing and lighting. When we started working on Were-Grrl it was my idea and after he wrote it he said that since it was my project I should direct it. I had a great cast and crew to work with and even though it was a busy shoot it was enjoyable. And Severe Injuries was the same way.

SPLATTER MOVIE not only sees you reteaming with Troma darling Debbie Rochon, but also Tom Sullivan, the man behind the EVIL DEAD special effects. What was it like working with such genre favourites?

Again, can't say enough good about Debbie. Not only is she a truly talented actress she is a wonderful person. She is always ready, never complains, and is a great supporter. Tom Sullivan was also great to work with. We knew him for a few years, again from conventions. He was a nice guy at these shows and we always thought it would be great to work with him. When we were casting Splatter Movie we were at Cinema Wasteland in Ohio, where we see Tom every six months, and decided to approach him. Mike pitched the role to him, which grew as we talked to him, and Tom agreed. Tom came to the shoot with his nephew and they were both great. It was hot out and yet there was Tom, running around outside in coveralls and a mask and never complaining. He really brought his all and he gave us a terrific performance.

Over the top special effects, blood, guts and gore and tongue in cheek plotlines and what not, may raise more than just a few eyebrows amongst the avereage moviewatching population but least we not forget, this is how some of the greatest directors of all time started out. A large fucking percentage of the best directors working in Hollywood today started out in horror, Peter Jackson, David Cronenberg, Sam Raimi and James Cameron are just a mere few. I mean, who would have thought that the director of BRAINDEAD (Dead Alive if you’re in the States) and BAD TASTE would go on to make the greatest trilogy of all time…in my humble opinion of course, haha!?! <3

Oh I know! And that he mentioned Meet the Feebles in his Oscar speech was so great!

Sam Raimi, after leaving horror for a while to concentrate on the SPIDERMAN franchise, recently came back with the brilliant DRAG ME TO HELL! Now the thing with all these guys is exactly that…they’re GUYS!!!! I think the most obvious woman in the genre who has kicked serious fucking arse has of course been Kathryn Bigelow who obviously went from vampire flick NEAR DARK to Oscar winning, Jeremy Renner <3 starring, THE HURT LOCKER. She was the first woman EVER to win a Best Director Oscar, nabbing it from under ex-husband James Cameron’s nose.

Yay Katherine! I was so happy for her!!!!

I guess the point I’m trying to get to is how does this make you feel as both a female director, and a director in general? Do you have any lifelong ambitions to say make a film adaptation of a book or bring a comic to the big screen? Or are you happily content being happy at Happy Cloud Pictures (your film company) making awesome fun splatterfests?

I don't know. I'm spoiled in that I can call the shots on our movies without having too many people to answer to. I don't know how I would be on a Hollywood set when studios and suits are telling me how to make my movie. Of course it would be wonderful to be involved with a project like Iron Man and see the results. I just don't know if I have the temperament for it.

What is your favourite Troma movie? Mine pesonally is TERRORFIRMER. I LOVE that movie. I remember first seeing it over ten years ago, it’s was when I was at Uni and a bunch of us went through this massive phase of watching tons of Troma movies. That one has aways stood out a firm favourite though. Boom boom!

Hands down it would be Tromeo and Juliet. I have a love of Shakespeare and feel that Troma did an excellent job with the adaptation. In my opinion it blows the DiCaprio version out of the water!

What can we hope to see/hear from you in the near future? It’s great even seeing the transition from SEVERE INJURIES to SPLATTER MOVIE so I have to say, I can’t wait to see this further progress!

Right now Happy Cloud Pictures is working on a project where my main job will be acting. It has been a long time since I've been able to do a role where I'll be able to concentrate on character only. The project is Razor Days. Mike wrote it a few years ago and we've finally been able to get the funding for it. It's a bigger budget than we're used to so I want to really do my best on it. To help with this we've brought in Alan Rowe Kelly to line produce, Bart Mastronardi will be shooting it, Michael Varrati has a role in it and is also goign to be a huge help behind the scenes and David Marancik has a role and is keeping us all sane. It is a very woman-centric film and I'll be sharing the screen with Debbie Rochon as a costar and I'm really looking forward being able to learn from her and work in front of the camera with her.

And lastly, are there any projects or people out there right now that you want to bring awareness too??

Well, Razor Days is one.There are a lot of projects out there right now being helmed by woman that all sound interesting. I'm always a fan of Devi Snively's work and I'm looking forward to seeing The Soska Twin's movies too. I would say check out any Woman in Horror film festival and look into the works done by the women. Like any other festival there will be some movies that people won't be into, even though others will, but there is such talent out there these days it is great to be able to see these festivals popping up all over!

Full Feature Line-up for Jennifer's Bodies...

2011-02-16T11:56:00.000-08:00

DEAD HOOKER IN A TRUNK - By Jen and Sylvia Soska

THE COMMUNE - By Elisabeth Fies

SPLATTER MOVIE - THE DIRECTOR'S CUT By Amy Lynn Best

TICKETS available from THE WEBSTER THEATRE,

64 High Street, Arbroath, DD11 1AW 01241 435800

OVER 18's ONLY

Standard Ticket - £8

Concessions - £7

Box Office Opening Hours

Tuesday - Friday : 1pm - 6pm
Saturday : 10am - 3pm

An Interview with Ana Isabel Almeida - Director of Short Feature - THE BRIDE

2011-02-10T08:25:00.000-08:00

One of the short films that I am pleased to be showing at Jennifer's Bodies is Portuguese short A Noiva, or The Bride. Directed by Ana Isabel Almeida, this is an eeerie spooktacular wee short and I have to say that I'm super geeked at what brought Ana and writer José Pedro Lopes together as friends. Keep on reading to find out what... ;)

Can you remember the moment that you first decided you wanted to make movies and was it even horror related?

I can't really pin-point a moment in time, but maybe it was when I about 8 years old, and ran home from school to transform my sofa into a mining cart, while I watched "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom" on the VCR.

Not really horror, but still very scary for an 8 year old!

A Noiva was written by José Pedro Lopes, how did you to meet and what gave him the idea for your short A Noiva (The Bride)?

I met José in high school, and we immediately started talking about movies, directors, the X-files... Actually, he was the first film geek I'd ever met (besides me, obviously!), so that was pretty exciting.

We've been working together ever since. We started with no-budget shorts, and "The Bride" was the first short we made with some budget.

For the Bride, the idea was to create an ominous evil presence, based a bit on typical horror slashers like "Halloween" or "Friday the 13th", but have the killer be more unearthly.

Also we wanted to prove to ourselves we could make a real horror film.

A Noiva left me wanting for more. I felt that there was so much more story to be told and that The Bride was just getting started. If given the opportunity, would you like to turn this into a feature film?

José developed the script for a feature, but then we decided to first shoot the pre-credit slaughter, and then use it as a "sample", so we could look for production funding. That's actually what "The Bride" is. A "pre-credit slaughter".

We've been post-ponning the development of the feature since 2007, because we both have very demanding "real full-time jobs".

But this year, José wrote a new short story about the same myth, which we're very excited about! We'll see how things develop ;)

I love how on IMDb it says that ‘if you liked this title then our database recommends’, and it has Carnival of Souls and James Wan’s stupidly underrated follow up to Saw, Dead Silence. What are your thoughts on this?

I think it's an automatic process, that works with taglines or something, no? eheh

Still, I get pretty excited to see the films that pop up there. I haven't seen "Carnival of Souls" but I think "Dead Silence" was great. A very moody, dark, eery film. I quite enjoyed it.

My friend Adam Barnick is making a documentary called ‘What is Scary?’ What truly scares you?

Honestly? Zombies! The whole concept of people hurting other people hurting other people hurting other people terrifies me! It's a bit of a metaphor on the real world (I don't only mean in health issues, but also political and social). It gives the chills!

What is your take on the constant flow of American remakes of foreign cinema? For example, Martyrs…it actually makes me feel sick that an attempt to remake that film is even in the works! Are there any that you have actually enjoyed and felt worked? And then the flip side, are there any that you have just downright loathed? And you can be honest, haha.

I can give you one example, that will answer both your questions: "Let Me In". I really enjoyed the original swedish "Let The Right One In". The film was perfect, flawless, original and very very scary.

The remake was also perfect, very well put together, the actors were amazing, and the directing had some very original moments, which I really enjoyed.

But, in the end, it was like watching the same film twice. For me, there was no artistic point in remaking "Let The Right One In", the problem with the film, was it's language: swedish! It makes no sense to me.

It was a big shame, because the team that worked on the remake was really good, but was limited, for the most part, to copying the original, which everyone already loved. It all seemed a big waste.

"REC" and "Quarantine" are also good examples. In this case the only change was really the language, even the production team was the same. Same movie. Really liked Jennifer Carpenter, though!

What filmmakers inspire you the most and is it wrong to think that David Lynch might be one of them? :D

I'm like a sponge, everything I see and everything read inspires me a little!

David Lynch is one of my inspirations (there's a shot on "The Bride" that's an homage to "Twin Peaks").

I also love the modern David Cronenberg, Alfonso Cuarón...I think Darren Aronofsky and Sofia Coppola are absolutely brilliant. The Coen Brothers, oh my god! I'm also very keen on Jason Reitman...

I particularly like directors that let their characters breathe and give them space to actually "live".

In an ideal dream world, who would you LOVE to work with in the future!?!?!

Edgar Wright! I have so much to learn!

What are your favourite films of all time?

This is one of the most difficult questions for me to answer. I can tell what films make me feel better when I'm sick, and that I've watched over and over again. Like for instance Edward Scissorhands, Star Wars (IV and V), Monsters Inc., Before Sunrise, Birds, Children of Men and many more I can remember right now.

Really, impossible question to answer! I'm so sorry.

And last but by far least, who are your favourite Women in Horror?

I don't know many, unfortunately, but I'd have to say Floria Sigismondi, for some of her work in photography, Mary Shelley, for being a great pioneer, and (although she isn't really a woman in horror, but for the looks of she would be great) Karen-O (from the Yeah Yeah Yeahs).

The Day I Went...da da daaaaa...BLOOOOOD RED!!!

2011-02-07T17:31:00.000-08:00

So one of the big things I decided to do to represent Women in Horror Month this year I decided to first bleach and then dye my hair BLOOD RED!!! Bwahahaha. The end result is absolutely fucking awesome, I am sooooo happy with it. How did I get this superb awesome colour? Well, a couple of factors. Firstly my sister Suz got me the dye (after my 5 year old nice Kady helped me pick the colour, MWAH!) from BeeUnique, a company that is based in Dundee which is a 20 minute car ride away from where I live. So yay, it's kind of cool to be supporting a local company as well promoting Women in Horror Month...and having totally rad hair at the same time!!! ;) Second, my friend Gemma, along with her lovely assistant Michelle (she was there to help clip my hair up and stuff) did the bleaching and a dyeing!!! Now Gemma is studying to be a hairdresser and so this was good practice and she did a brilliant job so cheers Puddleduck!!! <3

So anyhoo, I thought that I would share with y'all some of the lovely pictures that are the process of me going BLOOD RED!!!!!!! Mwahahaha. So yay, if you clicky on the linky you can go to my spangly new Flickr account and see said pictures. :)

The Commune - FINALLY Sets Foot on Scottish Soil.

2011-02-05T13:07:00.000-08:00

I am super psyched to announce that I shall finally be fulfilling a major GEEKGASM for film maker Elizabeth Fies...to quote her email referring to The Commune finally being played in Scotland - "And to have it play in Wicker Man country finally? I'm DYING!!!! " The Commune is one of the three movies you'll get the chance to see at Jennifer's Bodies.

I got me some major love for this wonderfully talented, beautifully twisted Californian sister of mine. Now like my favourite Twisted Twins, Lis and her sister Brenda (also a very quirky film maker - you'll be seeing her unbelievably disturbing short DISTRAUGHT at Jennifer's Bodies too.) are also in the business of sucking the blooooood out of you, bwahahahaha. Yeah okay, as morbidly delicious as that sounds, what I really mean is that they do lots and lots to raise awareness of the need to donate blood. They give their all to raising awareness around women film makers (and men!!!) with their monthly (teehee) film festival BLEEDFEST. I mean, who could NOT love a couple of sister's that call their festival BLEEDFEST!?! Too awesome!

Anyhoohoo, these funky chickens have not only created a monthly BLEEDING Festival in the joy of BLEEDFEST, they have also done lots to support The Commune's lead actress Chauntal Lewis after she lost her left hand in a freak car accident. I have so much respect for this amazing, beautiful girl...she lives in a land where image is everything and people are obsessed with the tiniest little detail. Undeterred by something that I know I for one don't think I could cope, let alone move forward and create a non profit organisation called BELIEVE AND BECOME to raise awareness around how people should embrace and accept themselves for who they are. :)

"I HOPE TO ENCOURAGE & INSPIRE A YOUNG, BEAUTIFUL GENERATION TO EMBRACE & LOVE THEIR FLAWS & RECOGNIZE THAT WE ARE BEAUTIFUL JUST THE WAY WE ARE!!!" - Chauntal Lewis

So yes, the Fies sisters, like the Soska sisters are pretty damn rad!!! I am ecstatic to be showing you the downright awesomeness that these girls oooooooze!!!!! <3

Women in Horror Month - Twisted Twins Massive Blood Drive PSA 2011

2011-02-02T12:57:00.000-08:00

If you've not already seen the wonderful new PSA for the Twisted Twins BLOOD Drive, check it out. It's a wonderful wee video showcasing some awesome women working in the genre...and me. It's fun, it's quirky and most of all, it's all to raise awareness around the importance of giving blood. Oooh, and to announce who AMERICAN MARY is!!! Mwah!

Women in Horror Month - Christina Agamanolis Interview

2011-02-01T12:47:00.000-08:00

Yo ho ho, Merry BLOODMAS!!! Bwahaha. Okay, let's change that to Hippy Happy Start to Women in Horror Month 2011!!!!! Check out the interview I did for my Blog with the lovely Christina Agamanolis, a super awesome talented lady who along with two friends, did the score for one my most favourite movies ever...DAHMER!!!!!!! You can check out the interview here!

Second Amazing Women in Horror Month Poster from Alison Lilly

2011-01-21T15:37:00.000-08:00

How amazing is this, such a talented, talented lady. <3

Greetings Ghouls and Boys!!!

2011-01-21T09:38:00.000-08:00

Welcome to the official Blog page for the Arbroath/Angus area Women in Horror Month Event.

For more information on the lead up to this if you can read my personal Blog...here is the last post from there though. Keep your eyes peeled for lots more up and coming information. <3

Hey guys, okay, so if you've been following my video Blog then you will know that I have decided to go ahead with putting together an event in Arbroath for Women in Horror Recognition Month. I could have done it in one of the bigger cities but you know what, even just with people that I know here, there is a lot of you whom I know LOVE horror so I figured why the hell not host it here!?!

It's the kind of thing you don't get here, I mean hell we don't even have a cinema...or do we!?!?!!!! It turns out that The Webster Theatre have been hiding a rather nifty little cinema area upstairs, this is ever since the refurbishment and I have to say, it looks fab. This could be a good way of showing that people want something like this more often. If you go to the Webster Theatre site and click on the little rotate sign, you can totally check it out. I love the fact that it's all white and red as well...how bloodtastic!!! <3 At the moment, The Webster Theatre is seriously looking like the best option and I shall let you all know as soon as this has been confirmed.

At the moment I am thinking the 28th February for this event, just looking at costing and what not. I shall be announcing the full line up on the 1st February but just to give you a teaser, I shall be hosting the Scottish premier of my gore-geous Canadian twinlings Jen and Sylvia Soska's acclaimed debut feature, Dead Hooker in a Trunk. I saw this film last year at Ghouls on Film (this was the UK premier) and it is just so downright awesome and I've been going on about it ever since that I thought argggh, this has never been shown in Scotland...I shall take away its Scottish virginity, mwahahaha.

I want to donate as much of the ticket money to the Raynaud's and Scleroderma Association as possible and so if you have a business/website and would like to sponsor this event to help cover basic costs then please do get in touch. As you may have read in my Blog earlier this week, Scleroderma is the condition that killed our Women in Horror Month founder, Hannah's father a year ago and it is one that not enough people know about and with your help, I'd like to help change that. I am away to start up a Blog for the actual event and so I shall post more information there as soon as I do. :D

Oh, and last but not least...I have decided a name for this festival...with lots of thumbs up and giggles from all my horrorific geeks in crime...
JENNIFER'S BODIES!!!

Jennifer's Bodies - An Official WiHM Event

Guest Speaker - Laura Whyte, Director of Nursery Crimes!

An Interview with Laura Whyte - Nursery Crimes!

An Interview with Tyrrell Shaffner - Threnody!

An Interview with Lori Bowen - Just Us!

An Interview with Jose Pedro Lopes and Ana Almeida - Director and Producer of Survivalismo!

Rambings of a Jennifersaurus!

An Interview with Maude Michaud - Red and T is for Toothpick

Final Line-Up for February 2012

Jennifer's Bodies - Raising Money for Fellow Horror Chick Monica Nakagawa's Little Boy Grayson Who Has Craniosynostosis!

An Interview with Jeremiah Kipp - Crestfallen!

An Interview with Tara-Nicole Azarian - Sybling Rivalry

An Interview with Jennifer Campbell - Hike

An Interview With Axelle Carolyn - The Last Post

Check Out My New Poster Peeper'ooo's! A HUGE Thank You to CJ Wallis For This!

Submission Deadline Extended to January 16th 2012!

More Shorts Announced for Jennifer's Bodies 2012!

The First Group of Shorts Accepted into Jennifer's Bodies 2012...More to Come Soon!

Want to Submit Your Film/Short to Jennifer's Bodies? Check Out the Official Submission Guidelines!

Miki Hickel - The Amazing Artist Behind A Vast Amount of the Women in Horror Recognition Month Banners and Logo's!

Jennifer's Bodies February 28th Roundup. :)

An Interview with Amy Lynn Best - Director/Actress of SPLATTER MOVIE!!!

Full Feature Line-up for Jennifer's Bodies...

Tuesday - Friday : 1pm - 6pmSaturday : 10am - 3pm

An Interview with Ana Isabel Almeida - Director of Short Feature - THE BRIDE

The Day I Went...da da daaaaa...BLOOOOOD RED!!!

The Commune - FINALLY Sets Foot on Scottish Soil.

Women in Horror Month - Twisted Twins Massive Blood Drive PSA 2011

Women in Horror Month - Christina Agamanolis Interview

Second Amazing Women in Horror Month Poster from Alison Lilly

Greetings Ghouls and Boys!!!

Tuesday - Friday : 1pm - 6pm
Saturday : 10am - 3pm