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Three’s A Shroud – The Interview

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Three’s a Shroud is an upcoming British horror anthology consisting of three short horror films from three directors, Dan Brownlie, David V. G. Davies and Andy Edwards… but don’t let me tell you about it listen to what these three have to say…

Steve: Each director has their own part of the tale to tell but are each of you working completely independently on your own projects or is it more of a group effort with each contributing to the other’s films? The anthology is linked by a narrative, is that a joint effort?

Dan: I gave the other two directors a brief idea of what I wanted their section to be about and then just let them run with it.

They both have such individual styles and ideas that I knew that what ever they came up with would be amazing. We try to be on each others set as much as possible to help out (mainly because we can’t afford anyone else;) but as we’re all so busy it sometimes doesnt work.

The wrap around story is based on a short film I did called Bear Scary and stars one of its leads (Louie Russo Brownlie) as well as Suzi Lorraine and Dani Thompson

Steve: The movie will consist of Don’t Open the Door, Over Developed and The Time Travellers Knife. Is there a common thread throughout the whole movie apart from the narrative? Can you tell us a little about each of the films and some of the influences that inspired them?

Dan: The stories themselves don’t have a common theme but are tied together by a film-within-a-film called Night of the Pouting Dead that will appear in each section at some point.

Don’t Open The Door is a psychological horror which was based on a weird train of thought I had one night. I lived in a flat above some shops and my fiance was running late, I don’t know why but I suddenly thought “what would I do if she called me up and said not to open the door when she buzzed up, but wouldn’t tell me why”. You can’t see the front door from any of the windows so I wouldn’t be able to tell if someone was with her or not. That thought really stuck with me and one day after watching The Woman in Black for the 20th time I decided to turn it into a script.

Dave: Over Developed has allowed me to explore an element of story telling that I am particularly fond of, that of delving into the darkest reaches of the inner mind mixed with the genre of body horror. We have all fallen victim to one or more of the 7 deadly sins and my segment explores one of those to its maximum potential. As a filmmaker I have always been fond of the works of David Cronenberg and a true believer of practical effects and puppetry, Over Developed has given me the chance to fulfill the goals of exploring them myself.

Andy: I’m rounding off things with a good-old-fashioned slasher movie. It’s very obviously influenced by Halloween and all of the million girls in peril/masked killer movies that followed in it’s sinister footsteps in the late 70s and early 80s. It’s even set on Halloween. But in a desperate attempt to give it some originality, I’ve added a time travel element, so if you think of Halloween meets Groundhog Day or Back to the Future 2 then you’re not really close, but closer than most. I’m also in charge of the film-within-a-film element, Night of the Pouting Dead, which has allowed me to delve into my zombie-women-in-prison fantasies with disturbing results.

Steve: Why a horror movie? How have horror movies influenced your lives and which areas interest you the most? Favourite horror movie?

Dan: Favourite horror movie of all time is Killer Klowns From Outer Space and if you watch it and then watch the micro horror’s I’ve made you can pick out so many scenes and kill ideas I “borrowed” from it.

General influence for the film is old school British horror anthologies, they rock! With a shorter script you can be a lot more experimental as people will put up with a lot of weirdness for 25 minutes that they won’t for a hour and a half.You can really get to the point and come up with some fun ideas. You can also mix up (as in Three’s a Shroud) different sub genres like ghost story, evil toys, body horror and slasher that wouldn’t normally gel in a single story feature length.

Dave: I’ve been a film fan ever since going to see Jedi at the pictures at an early age, from then on I was hooked on finding out about the workings of puppets and fell in love with the Jim Henson films The Dark Crystal and Labyrinth. An instant love of horror creatures was born from this, Cronenberg’s The Fly, Carpenter’s Thing and I take a guilty pleasure from the Child’s Play series.

Andy: I make horror movies, because they are cheap, and it’s easier than becoming an actual serial killer – fake blood washes out of your clothes much easier than real blood. As for fave films, I love The Shining, The Thing, Texas Chainsaw Massacre and anything by Takeshi Miike.

Steve: You have all had previous experience of the horror movie industry, what brought you together for this project?

Dan: About 3 years ago someone asked me to help out on a film project they were doing for fun. To give you an idea how much I knew about making films then, a film making friend mine was asking about the people who’s house we were filming. She said to me “Do they have lights?” I replied “Of course they do, they live in a house.”

From then on it was just one big learning curve which has resulted in me meeting some fantastic people. I met Andy and Dave through an actress called Sophia Disgrace who had worked with them on several projects, they both really get the genre so it was obvious who I should ask to help make this project happen.

Dave: I started my horror career when I was approached to help out on Animal Soup, a nasty film that taught me and fellow creator J.A.K a lot about film-making, from there I was noticed by GoreZone Magazine and spent 2 years working with them before moving in a more personal direction. It is while working with GZ that i came across the works of Andy and Dan.

Andy: I’ve been making short zombie films for a few years now – the Houseparty of the Dead series. Dave saw HPOTD V and stuck it on a coverdisc for GoreZone, and Dan helped me out on part 6. It became obvious that we were all society’s rejects, and as we’re all too old to form a band, we decided to make a film instead.

Steve: Give some love to the cast and crew. Who else is involved in making this movie happen?

Dan: Much much love to the cast and crew, everyone is working for peanuts (some peanut shells) and they’re all doing it for the love of making horror. Firstly you have my fiance (Lauren Bushby) who runs “Doll’s ‘n’ Skulls” fx and make up, my DOP James Fisher who has been with me since Bear Scary (if someone’s reliable a good keep them at all costs), Angie and Mark DeSpong, Michael Gyekye (who is doing sound but also acting on Dave’s section, Geoff Guardian-angel-to-my-sanity Crown who is acting as my AD. Mike Peel from Rouge Creations is doing all the creature effects so a massive massive thanks to him.

Cast you have Suzi Lorraine (who was so helpful she actually ended up co writing her section), Amber Erlandsson (aka Morigan Hel, lead singer of goth,punk rock band Nemhain) who is just amazing, The very talented Brad Moore who has also helped off screen as well as on), Dani Thompson (who is really starting to make a name for herself in horror), my long suffering nephew Louie who first died on screen age seven mainly due to me not sending his father the full script while trying to enlist his help and David V.G. Davies and Andy Edwards for helping me out and taking on roles in this project.

I’d also like to thank Dean Boor from Shock Horror Magazine and Scream Magazine for their support.

Dave: I’ve spent 2 years working with Emily Booth and have experienced her talents as a presenter and have directed her in role that was a caricature of herself so it was only a natural progression we work together on a film and a great pleasure it is working with her, her knowledge both behind and in front of the camera has taught me a great deal. I never wanted to be a director but having worked with her she has allowed me to progress. I also have Eleanor James in my section, Eleanor is an amazing actress who has a very impressive resume and I have interviewed her in the past for a couple of projects and then had the pleasure of directing her in a cameo for my last feature Monitor.

Over the years I have gained an invaluable crew member in Pete Kinman, he knows how my mind works and knows what i want without having to be told. His fx skills have developed so much over the 12 years we have known each other.

Andy: I’ve been busy doing auditions for my section, picking the perfect line-up of girls to be stalked by a killer. I’ve felt like Simon Cowell, but with less repressed homosexuality and high-waisted trousers. I now have my dreamteam of very talented actresses, which includes two of the stars from Zombie Women of Satan (but don’t hold that against them). Crew wise, I’ve got the uniquely-named Eben Bolter on DOP duties. He worked with me on Houseparty of the Dead 6 so is well versed in making schlock look like visual poetry. I must also give a shout-out to the girls of the Pouting Dead, who happily ran around a derelict factory for me half-naked and covered in blood. I haven’t got the heart to tell them that the camera wasn’t even on.

Steve: At what stage of the movie making process are you now? What still needs to happen? When are we going to be able to see Three’s a Shroud?

Dan: We’ve shot the film within a film (Night of the Pouting Dead). We don’t start shooting the main feature until July but have shot a couple of scenes due to stars timetable clashes with other projects.

The film is aiming for a 2012 release but that all depends on post funding, so anyone out there who wants to help out financially on post let me know.

Pazuzu: You have been captured by Dr. Heiter and he is making you three into a human centipede but he gives YOU the choice of the order of the chain. Who goes in which position and why?

Dan: I go first, mainly due to Andy and Dave having shit eating fetishes. And I’m by far the gobbyest so if anyone’s gonna talk him into letting us go it’ll be me.

Dave: I’m not a kiss ass and I’ve dealt with enough assholes over the years to not want to be in 2nd or 3rd but I see Dan answered this first and took the obvious choice of being in the front,
so I guess I’d take 3rd position as i’ve seen the crap Dan eats during a day and I don’t wanna be on the immediate receiving end of that, sorry Andy but you can process that shit and hopefully break it down in to smaller pellets for me, hmmm yum, not!

Andy: Being the last to answer, it seems that my position has already been chosen. However, as one of my main roles in this film is dealing with Dan’s crap and processing it into bite-sized chunks for Dave, it seems pretty apt.

All photos used with kind permission of Three’s A Shroud and Altercarnated Photography

More here:

Official Three’s a Shroud Website
Three’s A Shroud on Facebook
Three’s A Shroud on Twitter

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Top Ten Willy Inducing Moments

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The horror hostess with the mostest over at The Horror Digest started the internet phenomena known as “Top 10 Willy Inducing Moments“. Being that over in these climes the word willy is more commonly used to describe the purple headed custard chucker and being that I rely on lame humour, made-up words, euphemisms and over-worked metaphors rather than any writing talent to prevent myself from being bullied in the horror circles, this post was far too much innuendo opportunity to resist. An added bonus is I get to send a tweet to a respected pillar of the horror blogosphere saying “Check out my Top Ten Willy Inducing Moments”… that combined with the fact that Troma God Lloyd Kaufman has referred to me as an “asshole” in an interview this week will probably ensure that this week is the peak of my blogging diversion according to my purile mind.

Before you carry on reading:
THIS POST CONTAINS SPOILERS

The creepiest or most disturbing parts of movie are usually saved for the money-shot and this is often where my willies come from (or is that the other way round) so there will be endings spoiled. The plus side is that my taste in movies tends towards obscure crap so I am probably spoiling movies you will never want to see.

Let the innuendo begin:

Willy Number 1:

My only experience of Korean culture is from horror movies, if I had to report back to the alien overlord on the potential of conquering Earth based on just this knowledge I would suggest trying a different planet first and coming back to this one once all the children had grown up because Korean kids can be creepy as fuck. Possessed, angry, Korean children yelling and falling downstairs is even more creepy and that is why Phone (Pon) and Yeoung-ju spazzing at the top of the stairs has left a lasting scar on my cortex.

Willy Number 2:

Over to Italy for a date with The Goremaster Fulci and his classic bit of zombie madness, The Beyond. The scene in the morgue where the acid melts the cadaver(ish) slab dweller under the watchful gaze of a ginger kid marks a turning point in the movie and is the start of a whole bunch of willies. Yes, the scene is unbelievable as the majority of people would have tried to run faster than fat camp kids to an ice-cream van as soon as it strated getting freaky but the tension built up to this point, the unnatural disco styled yet haunting piano music and the nightwalker child make quite a lasting impression in the context of the whole experience.

Willy Number 3:

The sweet and carefree mantra of Asami as she drives long pins into her paralysed date still haunts me to this day, Takashi Miike once again manages to disturb and freak out simultaneously in this scene from Audition. “kiri kiri kiri” means “deeper, deeper, deeper” and is not the kind of thing that you want the love of your life to be saying as she drives pins into the most sensitive parts of your body if that wasn’t what you signed up for. While this kind of behaviour can inspire a different kind of willy movement for some males the unwillingness and the uncertainty of whether survival is an option in this game of sub-dom makes for a rather disturbing moment after being lulled into the security of a romantic endeavour.

Willy Number 4:

Hospitals are scary places, mentally unstable people are unsettling, old people wear scary clothes… mentally unstable old people in floral dresses crawling along the ceiling of hospitals is enough to inspire sleepless nights that no amount of bear tranquilizer can fix. Exorcist 3: Legion shows just this and the scene has already been set as an perturbing scenario when the nimble OAP crawls along the ceiling above the oblivious Kinderman. The fact that he fails to notice plus the agility of our possessed coffin dodger makes this another moment of willy inducement.

Willy Number 5:

The self taxidermy machine in Taxidermia is almost as brain staining as the vomit-a-thon in the same movie but as this is about willies and I have no Roman fetishes then this scene is the one that gets a mention. It is the finale of the movie and if you are not in a mentally strange place by this point in the movie then I’m sure there are tablets and a nice padded cell in your near future. When the third generation of the family focussed on achieves his life-long goal of preserving himself the motivations and inspirations for such an act require some deep thought and a reality check if you are thinking too hard. Definitely strange and unsettling and possibly not a movie to be showing people that tortured small animals in their childhood.

Willy Number 6:

A personal phobia of mine is being trapped in a dark confined place with no way out’¦ if the only way out is through an underwater tunnel of unknown length then I would probably be more comfortable closing my eyes and waiting until I died of decomposition. For this reason The Descent freaks the living fuck out of me on numerous occasions. There is no point in being a closet claustrophobic and that is why I am quite open about it, the uncertainty of escape makes me want to give up as this is always the easiest option and for that reason I nominate the whole of The Descent as my personal willy.

Willy Number 7:

A favourite scare inducer of the horror movie maker is using creepy dolls, the old porcelain dolls adored by the Victorians makes me wonder how anyone used too sleep back then and when the invention of time travel becomes a reality I am going to make my millions buy returning to that age and getting the population hooked on Tamezepam. The doll that afflicted me with pediophobia is that ugly little sandal wearing fucker from Reincarnation (Rinne). The evil person that though a wide-eyed ugly doll would be a good toy for Japanese children is obviously the reincarnation of Hitler or I am more of a wuss that Japanese children. Faced with the prospect of snuggling up to that doll or the potential of a resurrected Hitler trying to spoon me I would take Hitler every time.

Willy Number 8:

The La-La music in Rosemary’s Baby chills my spine. What more can I say?

Willy Number 9:

Fifty Four Japanese school girls holding hands, smiling and singing before throwing themselves under the fast train resulting in a tremendous and splattery bloodbath accompanied by kooky music is bound to leave an impression. This is how Sion Sono decides to start Suicide Club (Suicide Circle) and once you have time to reflect on the occurrence that has just occurred then a lot of morbid and disturbing thoughts surface. The willingness to jump and the elation on these innocents’ faces as they leap to their doom makes this scene so much more intense and the scale of the demise is phenomenal for the first few moments of a film. So much life wasted as nearly an entire school of youngsters are chuffed to bits to be chuffed to bits.

Willy Number 10:

Although often criticized the ending to Eden Lake has had a profound impact on my view of British horror. The pointlessness to Jenny’s struggle throughout her entire getaway by the lake is hammered home as the freaks win and continue to live their happy lives. This scene is what nails this movie as a horror and also makes some pensive yet cynical reflections on society in this country. The scumbags victory is all the more willy inducing as these willy inducers could be living next door with their shady little community lives slipping below my personal radar. Heavy shit and in my opinion it is the highlight of the movie rather than the ruination.

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Interview with Ryan McDermott

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Co-writer, star, creator of the Macbrow and all round nice chap Ryan McDermott gives Horror Extreme to low down on the award winning horror-comedy short “Mark Macready and the Archangel Murders” before it’s official unleashing on the world this Saturday 19th June. We learn the past, the present and the future for Ryan, the crew and their creations plus are promised some coprophagia love at the launch party which will be streamed live over the internet if that is your kind of thing.

Steve: What were the inspirations for Mark Macready and the Archangel Murders? Are you a huge horror fan? What movies inspired you to make this film?
Ry: To be honest I’m not really a huge horror fan, I love the nature of the genre and the people, but I’m not an avid horror movie watcher. I personally love a good summer blockbuster; most of my favourite movies are flicks like Jurassic Park and Indiana Jones. But I do enjoy a good B-Movie. As filmmakers one of our favourite bad movies of all time is Death Wish 4: The Crackdown, if you haven’t seen it I highly recommend it with a pizza and a few beers. That particular film was responsible for so much when it comes to ‘The Archangel Murders’ from performances to shots that Sean Candon (Director) chose to homage. I’d say though that the overall inspirations for ‘Mark Macready’ were from various films and TV shows such as Hellboy, The X-Files and The Naked Gun trilogy. Paul Feeney (writer/creator of Mark Macready) and myself met in college way back in 2002 and Paul presented me with the concept for ‘Mark Macready’ which we actually filmed for our end of year project. Paul pitched it to me as ‘a British X-Files’ and that struck accord with me as I loved the show. The first script was fairly serious however once filming started I began to do a really poor man’s David Duchovny impression and so it soon became farcical and I guess the rest is history. From there it became the horror comedy parody that you’ll all see on June 19th.

Steve:How did you manage to make such an impressive movie with such a low budget? As well as a talented cast there is obviously a lot of talent behind the scenes and last time I checked these things don’t come cheap. Was everyone involved for the love of movies or are you up to your eyeballs in sexual favour debts?
Ry:As you can probably guess my jaw is constantly locked and my privates kept on ice! Well we were very lucky to have the talent that worked on the film. Most actors and crew members turn up, do their job and then go home, they get a DVD in the post six months later and never see each-other again. But from day one as the producer I strove to ensure it was different, because everyone was their simply for the ‘love’ of making a film I wanted the cast and crew to become a family and it happened very quickly. It’s over twelve months later and we still socialize and support each-other, it’s a lovely thing to be part of. With regards to the film making an impression I think it was the determination and belief in the product. I made it a personal mission to ensure that the film was marketed to its fullest potential and in the last six months via twitter it’s become one of the most interactive films around. The great thing about the product is that there’s no catch, no gimmick, its genuine, we’re not asking for money, just support and I think people picked up on that, I think we made an impression through being honest, open and admitting this isn’t an Oscar winning film but its sure got brass balls and a ton of ambition.

Steve: The Archangel Murders seems to have taken the planet by storm since it was first reviewed, did you ever expect such a huge interest in your movie? Apart from the fact that it is a fantastic short, what else do you think has propelled Mark Macready into the limelight?
Ry: I never expected this much interest, not at all. I had personal goals for the film and I remember writing a list in early 2008 of the things I hoped the film would achieve, there was five things and all of them have happened from screenings in NYC to award wins. Back then it was a dream, we hoped people would be interested and now it’s become a reality, which to me proves that if you work hard you can achieve great things. I think what has propelled ‘Mark Macready’ has been the drive to put the product out there, the marketing hasn’t stopped for twelve months, it’s been relentless and the message has reached across the globe. Going back to what I said earlier I think using a tool like Twitter to engage with some of the most amazing people you could ever wish to meet has aided that awareness. Twitter brought a new lease of life to the project and I’ve had the pleasure of meeting some people I’d actually call friends from simply 140 characters. However when all is said and done your marketing can only be as good as your product and I think that myself, Sean and Paul strove to ensure that the film was the best it could be on the smallest amount of money. We did reshoots we couldn’t afford simply to ensure it was the very best it could be and I think that people have picked up on that despite the limitations it’s a film with tons of heart, passion and drive.

Steve: The movie will be unleashed on the public on June 19th 2010, how does this make you feel? Excited, nervous, horny, homicidal, something else or all of the above?
Ry: I think horny, defiantly horny and I guess a little sad too. It’s a very trouser raising experience to know that a film you’ve poured your heart and soul into is about to go off around the World Wide Web. It’s sad to know that this is the end of the journey for the film in its current form but it’s time to move on, I’m confident that now is the time to see the film out in style, the anticipation has reached fever pitch and if we delay it any longer people will lose interest. It’s time to let the chick fly the nest and I really do wish it all the luck in the world, it’s been a life changing project to be involved in. I guess I am slightly nervous about the Live Stream from the Interactive Launch Party, you’ll be able to see the cast & crew alongside some very special V.I.P guests partying to celebrate the release live with interactive questions from Twitter, I just hope nobody is sick on camera!

Steve: What plans do you have for the future with regards to the entertainment industry? Will there be a full length Macready feature or do you have something new up your sleeve… maybe a pop song or a breakfast cereal?
Ry: I hadn’t thought of a pop song, would you be interested in Macready sings the Christmas Hits album!? Next up is the ‘Mark Macready’ feature film, I read the first draft by Paul and its coming on so well, it’s a huge script, so epic and exciting. Whilst Paul is writing I’m busy working on financing and developing the interactivity that’s going to play a massive role in the production of the film. It’s going to be the most interactive feature film ever made, which is something I’m extremely excited about. I’m also currently overseeing production on the ‘Mark Macready’ animated prequel movie, set before the events of the ‘The Archangel Murders’ and I’ve had the fantastic opportunity to work with animation director Gavin Johnson on the project. Other than pop songs and cereal I’ve just started to turn my attention to a project for YouTube that I’ve been developing, it’s not ‘Mark Macready’ related but it’s something fresh and fun and I’m really excited about it, so I guess watch this space is what you say next!?

Pazuzu: If on the 19th you had to choose two other people to be human centipeded with or end up dead in a dumpster, who would they be and what position in the chain would they be in?
Ry: I’ve had to consult help on this question and I still don’t know the answer! I cannot decide who! I know, I know, I need to provide an answer but I honestly don’t have one. How about me, you and Lipstattoo do a human centipede?! Could be a kinky Horror Extreme special!?
Pazuzu: Deal! I will publish the photo’s here.

Steve: Any last words, shout outs or thanks and where can our readers find out more about Mark Macready?
Ry: I’d like to say a huge thank-you to everyone who has supported the movie over the last twelve months, it’s been fantastic to meet so many brilliant people and I’d like to thank the very loyal and dedicated Mark Macready cast & crew for supporting the film. Finally a massive thanks to Horror Extreme for being a support since day one, it’s beyond appreciated!

I hope you all enjoy the film and be sure to watch our Live Stream party on June 19th we’ll be taking your questions in what is set to be an indie horror film first…selling it right up until the last minute!

You can find out more about Mark Macready and the Archangel Murders at these places:

Follow Mark Macready on Twitter
Mark Macready and the Archangel Murders on IMDB
Mark Macready and the Archangel Murders on Facebook

Can’t wait for the 19th June? Check out the trailer for Mark Macready and the Archangel Murders below ya bastards:

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Mark Macready and the Archangel Murders

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Mark Macready and the Archangel Murders is a British independent horror comedy from CM Films with the objective of flipping the whole UK horror short scene on it head’¦ and that is what it will certainly do. Armed with a small crew of very memorable characters, some funky filming techniques, innovative and colorful lighting and a well tuned soundtrack it’s difficult to find something bad to say.

Mark Macready (also producer and writer Ryan McDermott) is the male Mancunian Buffy Summers of the force policing the demon infestation currently terrorizing the area. With less charm and more wit than the Hitman in Sin City and an eyebrow more talented than Roger Moore’s eyebrow when it was cast as the eyebrow of James Bond, Mark Macready AKA The Midnight Warrior is the most unfuckwithable butt-kicker of the supernatural North of Watford Gap.

On the trail of a shape shifting psycho-sexual incubus with a penchant of stealing the heart of women via the lady love tunnel, it gets personal for Mr Macready when his picturesque wife Christina (Charlotte Fellows) goes missing, with all fingers pointing to the Archangel as the kidnapper. The reckless and wild Macready and his crew, with the help of the demonic informant Friday, arm themselves and prepare to release some “Ya Bastards” on the supernatural underworld.

Impeded by higher authorities taking umbrage at his zealous irresponsibleness but determined to save his wife and the city, Macready is unwavering on his mission but will his natural demon awareness protect him from the shape-shiftyness of The Archangel?

The production and direction of The Archangel Murders is reminiscent of a number of recent Neo-noir comic book movie adaptations and manages to capture the atmosphere in a graceful manner and then manages to add a layer of parody over the top without damaging that vibe. The visuals throughout are more stunning than deep-throating a cattle-prod in a puddle, with some exquisite coloring reminiscent of Argento’s creative era and considering the low-budget a lot has been achieved effectwise within the financial constrictions.

Hopefully this movie short will lead on to more opportunities for the cast and crew as they deserve some serious airtime. Check out the trailer below.

Mark Macready and the Archangel Murders: Trailer from CM Films on Vimeo.

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