Friday Night Frights 18 - I Didn't Come Here To Die

I remember as a kid being traumatised by those Central Office of Information safety films that used to show on children's television in the 1970s, warning of the perils of playing in dangerous places. The most memorable was Lonely Water (1973) and featured the voice of Donald Pleasence as the Grim Reaper culling off the foolhardy and the unwary. Another, more elaborate, but no less terrifying, effort was Apaches (1977) directed by John The Long Good Friday Mackenzie. This little nasty depicted a group of children who ignore all safety precautions while playing on a farm, and as a result die horribly under the wheels of tractors and so forth. What was so horrific about these films was that they proved that fate had it in for us kids, no matter what, and their gritty presentation made them all the more real. Final Destination re-imagined by the Children's Film Foundation.

All this is by way of introduction to my guest on this week's podcast - Bradley Scott Sullivan, whose debut I Didn't Come Here To Die comes on like some deranged version of those 1970s public information films.

Don't play with chainsaws, kids!

To listen go here.

Friday Night Frights 17: Leigh Dovey on The Fallow Field

 

Leigh Dovey's The Fallow Field has been described as Wolf Creek meets Memento set against the backdrop of the British harvest season. It's an intriguing combination and debut director Dovey is a big horror fan who got his chops watching the late night double bills on British BBC TV in the late 1970s/early 1980s. No surprise then that The Fallow Field has plenty of nods to rural horror classics like Blood on Satan's Claw (1970). I spoke to Leigh about his influences behind The Fallow Field over at my podcast. To listen go here

Starburst Issue 386

Fans of the Evil Dead will want to get their talons on this month's Starburst - just look at what is inside Issue 386

"Starburst dares to delve into the legacy of the Evil Dead franchise and is possessed by the Necronomicon Ex-Mortis as a result! Awaiting you beyond our exclusive Book of the Dead wrap-around cover you’ll find everything you ever wanted to know about Sam Raimi’s enduring horror franchise - from its humble origins, the innumerable comic book and videogame spin-offs, right up to the nervously anticipated remake. Jooooin us…
 
ALSO: The original ‘action figure’ himself, G.I. Joe gets the retrospective treatment in time for his second cinematic outing; Demons Within begins our exhaustive history of Exorcism in the Movies; and we go behind the scenes to talk with the crew of Angels & Airwaves’ acclaimed sci-fi drama, Love. Also letting us bend their ears in brand new interviews are Charlie Brooker (on Black Mirror, his career and more), Before Dawn’s Dominic Brunt, Doctor Who’s Chris Chibnall and Sinister director Scott Derrickson."

Yes, Demons Within, my history of Exorcism Movies sees print in this month's issue - with part two in next month's.

 

And coming up in my Friday Night Frights podcast over the next few weeks I have Leigh Dovey, director of The Fallow Field; Matt Farnsworth, director of the infamous The Orphan Killer; Scott Leberecht, director of Midnight Son; and Bradley Sullivan, director of I Didn't Come Here to Die. Quite a scary bunch of guys!

Thanks to all those who have been asking about the progress of my book, Shocks to the System. I'm happy to say I'm on target to meet my deadline with McFarland, so all is good. Have just spent the last month or so immersed in Val Lewton's world of shadows - not a bad place to be!

Scott Derrickson on Friday Night Frights

Scott Derrickson, director of Sinister (2012) and The Exorcism of Emily Rose (2005) is my guest on this week's Friday Night Frights podcast. Check it out here.

Return to Mayhem

Steven Sheil and Chris Cooke creating Mayhem

Readers of this blog will recall that I went to the Mayhem Film Festival in Nottingham last October and posted several reviews over at Starburst Magazine.

With many of the films shown at Mayhem - such as Maniac and American Mary - now on release (or about to open), I thought it would be good to catch up with the curators of Mayhem, Steven Sheil (who directed the brilliant Mum and Dad, 2008 ) and Chris Cooke (who made the equally sublime One for the Road, 2003) to pick over the bones of Mayhem 2012. To listen go here.

Friday Night Frights - Elias on 'Gut'.

Elias, writer/director of 'Gut' (2012)
 

Happy New Year!

On a recent trip to LA I interviewed director, Elias, about his debut feature, 'GUT', a stark psychological thriller about two friends' obsession with a snuff movie they discover on line. To listen to the podcast go here.

To find out more about 'GUT' and to watch it VOD visit the website www.gutmovie.com

Exquisite Terror 3 - now in Stock

"Featuring the cat and his ubiquitous presence in horror, an in-depth talk with notorious film-maker Jorge Buttgereit and an examination of the enduring ability of The Exorcist to frighten the viewer* - and, of course, more - this latest instalment of Exquisite Terror is a must-read for all thinking horror fans"

(*written by yours truly)

The Casebook of Eddie Brewer

Birmingham shot indie feature The Casebook of Eddie Brewer features in the latest Friday Night Frights over at Starburst Magazine. I recorded the podcast with director, Andrew Spencer, producer Sean Connelly and star, Ian Brooker, at the Mayhem Horror Film Festival in November, and since then the film has gone from strength to strength with more festival showings in the States due in 2013. Check it out here.

Barbie Wilde on this week's Friday Night Frights

It's always been my intention to include horror novelists as guests on my weekly horror podcast Friday Night Frights, especially those connected in some way to movies. So it's my pleasure to welcome to this week's show the actress, short story writer and novelist, Barbie Wilde.

With her debut novel, The Venus Complex, Barbie has written a disturbing, compelling and transgressive tale of a serial killer sexually obsessed by a female forensic psychologist.  It's a remarkable piece of work and Barbie speaks candidly about the inspiration behind writing it. Enjoy.

Go here.

Friday Night Frights - Ian McCulloch on Zombie Flesh Eaters

I still remember the weekend that my family got their first VCR. Back then in 1981 you could rent such machines and the guy from 'Radio Rentals'  also brought with him a couple of VHS tapes for us to watch, so that we could fully experience the delights of this new phenomenon called Home Video.

The first film was some tosh starring Britt Ekland called The Ultimate Thrill (from Guild Home Video). The other was Zombie Flesh Eaters. The former I watched only twice, the latter I watched four times that weekend alone - I couldn't get enough of it - and rented countless times afterwards, until the day it was unceremoniously taken from the shelves of my local video store during the 'Video Nasties' furore. (I'm talking the Strong Uncut Version!!!)

Now Arrow Video is releasing Zombie Flesh Eaters in a brand spanking new remastered, restored Steelbook/Blu Ray/DVD edition on 3rd December. To read a review of  it by Starburst's Paul Mount go here

And on Friday Night Frights this week it is my absolute pleasure to interview the star of Zombie Flesh Eaters, Ian McCulloch. To listen to Ian's comments on the film (and on working with Lucio Fulci) go here