ATLRetro

by Melanie Crew
Managing Editor

Kike Narcea’s I’LL CRUSH Y’ALL (2023), was the opening night feature at the 16th annual Buried Alive Film Festival (BAFF), Atlanta’s Premiere Horror Film Festival, which ran Sept. 29 – Oct. 1, 2023, invading the historic Plaza Theatre once again. Narcea’s action-packed gut punch of a film is crushing the genre film festival circuit across the US with two wins so far under its bare-knuckle belt, winning the Audience Choice Award at Fantastic Fest during its world premiere in Austin TX, and hours after this interview, the film took in another win and was voted Best Feature at Buried Alive. There’s nowhere to go now for this killer film, but up!

ATLRetro sat down with actor Mario Mayo Piedra [“Gabriel”/”Tarado”] and one of the film’s producers Jaime Arnaiz Rebollo of JAR Produccion in the Twin Peaks-inspired room at The Plaza to get down to brass tacks about the film, the inspirations behind the making of I’ll CRUSH Y’ALL and the current state of action/horror film in Spain.

ATLRetro: Are you guys having a good time at Buried Alive Film Festival? Favorite films you’ve seen at the festival?

Jaime Arnaiz Rebollo: Great question. First of all, we’d like to give a big shout out to Josh Gould the Director of the festival. He has treated us great, and we are actually feeling like we’re home over here. The theatre is amazing. The smell, whenever you enter, is like coming back to our youth. I mean, this is a very nice place, the theatre inside is also, and the audience was great. So, yeah, we are having a really good time. And from my point of view, the project that I liked most from what we saw is a short film called “Bookworm” directed by a Spanish guy also, named Javier Yanez. It’s actually very interesting. It’s related to manga, and it has some horror. It’s about a librarian. It’s pretty interesting.

Mario Mayo Piedra: We have seen a lot of short films, and we were very interested in “Bookworm.” I have seen a lot of short films with many good qualities and the features are great, too.

J: We saw this 10th Anniversary screening of THE DEMON’S ROOK, directed by James Sizemore and it was a very interesting movie. It was selected for Sitges and Fantasia and other places. The movie was very interesting, especially since they had such a low budget. They had this props designer that made these awesome devils and monsters.

M: And zombies.

J: It looked very good.

M: Yes, I remember James’ film.

J: Yeah, we were here also with the producer team. He’s from Atlanta and he was actually really excited about screening the movie here. Josh is part of the cast also. The movie is very funny actually.

M: Yes, it was very funny.

How did you get involved with I’LL CRUSH Y’ALL? Any special backstory about getting involved in this film?

J: Yeah, it’s all Mario’s fault. (laughs) I mean, I’m the producer, along with four other producers from Spain who are Kiko and Javie Prada (The Other Side Films), Bruno Martin, and Jesus Loniego, along with our own company, but we all got together because of Mario. He’s the spiritual producer of the movie who has been behind our backs the whole time whipping us and crushing us all in order to motivate us. He’s been the heart of the movie, the project.

M: I have a love for working in movies like this kind because I think in Spain we have a lot of potential for doing these kinds of movies, but I think in this moment, we have a poor production of action movies. I think we can do more and more and more, and a good job of these movies, actions movies. For example, our neighbor France makes a lot of action movies, but in Spain…

J: We don’t do that many over there in Spain, no.

M: Yes. And I think we can do it.

J: Actually, I agree with Mario. One of our main goals is to create this branch of movies of live action. We have many references in Europe, in Asia, and the States about live action, but we don’t have that much content of live action in terms of content in Spain, but we have Mario who has this huge camera presence and a very strong physique-

M: Thank you.

J: -and he is a very good actor also, so we want him and all our cast actually to become new action heroes and new action villains. That would be only if we could go step by step by step by creating new projects and I’LL CRUSH Y’ALL did really well and it’s doing very well. We are now preparing the sequel, I’LL CRUSH Y’ALL 2, where Mario is going to be smashing more heads (laughs).

M: Ha!

The film just won the Audience Choice award at Fantastic Fest. What was it like winning that award at the film’s world premiere?

J: Goosebumps. I mean it’s awesome. I’m an independent producer with this low budget movie and with our own resources. We don’t have any funds from the government from Spain, no funds from a funding company. We did it with our own resources. And getting this award, this Audience Award at Fantastic Fest, which is one of the ten largest genre festivals in the world, it’s an awesome achievement. Last year, this award was won by THE MENU, so last year THE MENU was here and this year I’LL CRUSH Y’ALL is here, so not bad at all. I mean, we are actually living the American dream. This is the land of opportunities, and this is actually a small one getting a great opportunity, so I think that this is actually paying off for the year we invested in this, not only this movie, but, our careers, professionally.

M: It was great! Now I am at the same level as Ralph Fiennes, as an actor. No?

J: Yeah, yeah, yeah.

M: Sorry, Ralph. (laughs)

J: And it’s also been an amazing time because we didn’t know actually how the movie was going to do in the market and as soon as we got the award, the very next day we started getting proposals and opportunities, so right now we are just making decisions for the movie to be screened all around the world.

Clearly this is a very physical film, it being about “crushing” folks. What was the most physically difficult part to film?

M: Maybe all of the filming – we filmed the movie in six weeks and during the filming I lost more than 5 kilos because it was very physical and I sweated a lot, a lot, repeat, repeat, repeat, but I think that is important because you can choose the better frames, the better scenes and I remember all of the filming was very hard.

Were the fight scenes choreographed or were most of them improv?

M: No, they were prepared.

J: They were prepared because Kike Narcea, he’s a great choreographer, he’s the director but he’s a great choreographer because he’s seen a lot of movies (Asian, French, Italian, German, all of the countries) and he loves action movies. And when we were on the set he had very clear ideas.

So, he pretty much had a vision?

Both: Yes, yes.

J: Our director is a geek.

As we all are.

J: Yes. That is why we are here. He’s a geek. He has a great background in action movies and not only action movies, but all types of cinemas and he really had a clear idea of the movie in his mind. So, whenever we were going to shoot any scene he would sit down with the team beforehand and then after that with the cast and he will explain everything to the team first, then he will explain everything to the cast and then they will try to do some testing, but he had everything ready, like “You are launching the punch and halfway I’m cutting so you don’t need to do it all the way.” So, he has perfectly clear in his mind the editing of the movie, so that actually helps us a lot. Although, there is a scene in the movie that was improvised. Only one scene. Can you guess?

Was that the pallet scene?

Both: Yes, yes.

I only know that because I was at your Q&A, and it was mentioned there.

J: Yes, it’s actually a very unique scene for us. A very interesting scene.

The pallet scene is where a lot of the comedy kicked in for me.

J: Yes.

So, what was it like working with the dogs?

M: Wow, marvelous. I love dogs. I am more friends with dogs than with people. I have cats, I have a dog and I love animals.

J: It’s great. It was amazing to me. They were very nice.

Did they take direction well from the Director?

J: Yes, so usually you should never shoot with animals or kids because it’s really hard, but on this occasion we were very lucky because the owner of the dogs is one of the cast members. So, this scene where the dogs are actually eating from a guy, they are killing him, and the truth is that, as he is the owner, we just put some jam on him and the dogs were kissing him, but on the screen it actually seems like they are feasting on him. It’s actually very cute. They didn’t die during the movie, a little spoiler, but everybody was like, “Oh the dogs,” you can see them at the beginning of the movie, and I don’t know if people were thinking, “Oh, they are going to die,” but in the end they don’t die and they have a very important role.

M: And their sounds helped a lot for scenes like this [dog eating the man], the sound-

J: The sound designing, yes, we did a great sound design and all the music of the movie, everything just fits perfectly. The music composer is Daniel Maldonado, who is a Spanish composer, and he did a great job. Also, the final song that we have in the movie, which is like the main track, it was composed by the owner of the dogs – he’s the owner of the dogs, the owner of the house, he did the main theme – we got a lot of great things from Diego Paris, thank you for everything Diego – we love you.

Anything else you’d like our audience to know about the film?

J: For sure. We are very happy and pleased about getting this award at Fantastic Fest and hopefully we may get some awards here at Buried Alive. It’s up to the jury. But we are working really hard in order to get the movie on all platforms and theatres. We’ve already got some offers from American distributors, but we want to keep on working, not to just be on the American market but also the whole world and this is because, as I said before, we are really willing to make a new branch of movies, action movies, with Mario as lead role.

And you said you’re working on a sequel?

J: We are working on the sequel. We actually do have half the script and we have the whole plot idea. Also, we are already gathering the actors to cast and gathering the funds. If everything goes well, maybe next year or in two years we will be done with the sequel.

What is your favorite action film from any time period that’s important to you and epitomizes what you love about the action movie genre?

J: I have two references. I’m not the director, so, for sure this question would be much better answered by Kike, but from my point of view as a producer, I have two references that for me I would like to achieve the quality of entertainment. The first one is a movie called AIRBAG. It’s a Spanish movie directed by Juanma Bajo Ullow. It was a movie shot in the late nineties, early 2000s and is very funny. It’s an action and thrill movie, but it’s all fun and—

M: Manic comedy.

J: Comedy. Everybody is crazy and the characters are unique people. And I think we have similarities in our movie. And another production I really love is HOME ALONE. I mean, actually, we don’t have Macaulay Culkin in our movie, but we have Mario Mayo, which I think he’s going to have a great career.

There’s actually a line in the movie about HOME ALONE, correct?

J: There’s a line that we actually speak about it and it’s just because Kevin McCallister stays in his house—

M: I am Kevin McCallister.

J: Yes, and he has to keep it from these burglars. Mario is like Kevin McCallister. He has to remain in his house, and he has to keep his house safe from all these people that are coming over. So, more or less, there are some similarities, but I would love as a producer the success of those two movies. I mean, for me HOME ALONE is the best reference along with INDIANA JONES and THE GOONIES—the most well-known movies ever and AIRBAG – I’m pretty sure for every Spanish person thinks it’s one of the funniest movies and I invite you to see it because I’m sure you will enjoy it.

M: I think for example, this movie looks like, more or less, FIRST BLOOD, Sylvester Stallone, he doesn’t want to have problems but problems find him and maybe my character is more or less like Rambo. And also, there is a kind of movie or cinema in Spain called cine kinki (cine quinqui)—

J: Not the English “Kinky.” In Spain in the 80s we had a big problem with drugs, heroin, and we have a lot of crime, and we have this urban tribe called kinki people, which were like outsiders, ex-drug dealers, ex-consumers and they were involved in crime, robbery and stealing and so that way of life was called the kinki life—being underground, and being an outlaw. So, during the late 80s and 90s this new branch of cinema called the kinki cinema was about that type of people. It was just resembling what our society had and in our movie we are showing a little bit of the low-income part of society, so it has some reminders of those kinki movies.

M: Yes.

J: It’s not the same kinki as you have here.

M: No. Many years ago in Spain, many directors were filming film kinki.

J: So basically, we did a movie to have fun, we enjoyed the filming and what we liked most is that the audience liked the movie. I mean, it’s very interesting how we showed the movie in Spanish and most of the jokes are internal Spanish jokes.

M: Yeah.

J: But we were shocked that the American audience reacted very well with those jokes. Although they didn’t understand all of them they got many of them and also we were told that our translation is not the best and so we have to keep on working on it, but it’s only been the third screening ever, so we’ve only been showing the movie for one week in only five theatres that have seen the movie. And we are just getting the first feedback.

Nice! What’s next for you guys?

M: Now I am working with Alex de la Iglesia in a serial for Netflix, and it’s a small character, but it’s great. Working with Alex is awesome. He is one of my favorite filmmakers. I expect I will work with him again on another project.

J: Well, I’m studying to become a pharmacist. I’m in my fifth year of school for this career. Because cinema is a little like a roller coaster – it’s tough to survive because of this.

M: He’s a great producer. You are going to be a producer, a great producer. There will be more than what we’re doing now.

So, a legal drug dealer then?

J: I’m actually going to spend all the money I get from drug dealing on cinema. But legal drug dealing (laughs). No actually, I’m studying the career, but at the same time I’m doing all of these productions. We are preparing a new movie we are shooting in February which will be directed by Bruno Martin, and we are going to be co-producing it and also I shot three different short films this year.

M: Yes, I am also in this film.

J: He is also in this new film that we are going to film, but as I said, we shot three different short films this year with different genres. One of them is action – fights between the Spanish mob and Chinese mob. We have a drama about a mother and daughter who get evicted from their house and she tells her daughter that they are going on holiday, so the daughter doesn’t realize what is actually going on. We have this other project called SHAKESPEARE IN SMOKE, directed by Francesco Cocco. It’s like an essay about what it is to be an actor your whole life. Three different actors who are different ages, but they all have the same path, and they share their experiences. And I’m in many other projects but at the moment we would like to enjoy and harvest all that we have already planted.

Photo by Rebecca Perry – (L-R) Mario Mayo, Jaime Arnaiz, Josh Gould

Buried Alive Film Festival (BAFF) brings both new and Retro cinema scares to the historic Plaza Theatre for its 16th annual outing this weekend, Friday Sept. 29 through Sunday Oct.1, 2023. Over the years, the festival founded by Gorehound Productions has never failed to impress with a mix of independent features and groundbreaking shorts from all over the world. Tickets are available for individual films and short blocks here, but we recommend going all in for the $80 all-inclusive festival pass! Why? Well, where the HELL do we start and how the HELL do you choose?! If you’re not DEAD SET on attending, check out the festival trailer featuring Professor Morte and the practical FX masters of Silver Scream FX Lab NOW!

Festival Insider Tip: The curated short blocks are BAFF’s pièce de résistance! Year after year, the film selection committee outdoes itself in unearthing some of the highest quality, zaniest, creepiest horror shorts by filmmakers ranging from local talents to creators from all over the world. Expect to be surprised and blown away because anything from anywhere may show up on the big screen from hellacious humor to spine-tingling scares, from old-school Gothic to the craziest Bizarro, from atmospheric supernatural to pushing the envelope of skin-crawling bloody gore-fantastic.

FRIDAY SEPT. 29

SINEMA CHALLENGE (6 PM). Local indie filmmakers randomly selected a horror genre from a deck of Cards Against Humanity and had 13 days to make a movie! The results are always a riot but also a chance for some of Georgia’s most talented film creators and crews to go all in with no Hollywood rules. Be the first to see these wacky and innovative shorts made especially for BAFF.

I’LL CRUSH YA’LL (Os Reviento, DIR: Kike Narcea, 8 PM), the opening night feature, is a bloody bare-knuckle horror/action comedy from Spain about a retired boxing champion and his dog defending his family farm from wave after wave of gangsters. A hit at Fantastic Fest, let’s just say the trailer is just as over the top as you’d expect if you’re a BAFF regular!

SHORT BLOCK 1 (10 pm),  The first program of BAFF’s curated horror shorts from around the world includes surprises at a farewell ceremony to a dead sister, voracious hunger, a possessed office printer, terror in Mumbai’s decaying red light district, insect love, and more! Stick around for filmmaker Q&As after the screenings.

SATURDAY SEPT. 30

If you can only do one day of BAFF, get ready to camp out at the Plaza ALL DAY Saturday.

YOKAI MONSTERS; SPOOK WARFARE (DIR: Yoshiyuki Kuroda, 1:30 PM) Professor Morte and the Silver Scream Spookshow present one of the wildest Yokai movies of all time. For the uninitiated, the Yokai are strange supernatural entities from Japanese folklore known for wacky shapes and trickster humor which you hope is on your side. This is the second of a trilogy and a not-to-miss chance to see it on the big screen with the Spookshow experience as the cherry on top! Here’s a trailer to the trilogy because after seeing Spook Warfare, you’ll want to see the rest.

SHORTS BLOCK 2 (4 PM). The second program of our curated horror shorts from around the world includes a lovely glittering earworm, an offbeat Dublin-based short about a hard-to-please dad, cobwebs in the…gulp…throat, something provocatively titled Titsferatu, boogie-ing ghosts at a high school dance, and more! Stick around for filmmaker Q&As after the screenings.

FEATURE: FAT FLESHY THINGS (DIR: Various, 6 PM). This anthology film made entirely by alumni of the BizaroLand Film Festival tells the tales of eight hapless souls infected with a monstrous sexually transmitted parasite that holds eldritch powers over its host’s mind! Teaser trailer here. Preceding the feature is a short to be insane fun short film, CONTENT: THE LO-FI MAN, by BAFF favorite Brian Lonano and BAFF co-founder Blake Meyers!

SHORTS PROGRAM 3 (8 PM). The third program of BAFF’s curated horror shorts from around the world features a horrifying VD, fire, a kaiju-sized robotic creature, an eventful evening in the life among death of a mortuary artist, puppetry, a haunted Spanish library in 1979, and much more! Stick around for filmmaker Q&As after the screenings.

FEATURE: DEMON’S ROOK (DIR: James Sizemore, 10 PM). 10th anniversary screening of a festival-awardwinning indie horror classic which FearNet called “a virtual love-letter to early 80s Italian zombie cinema”! A young boy named Roscoe finds a portal to another world where he is taught magic by an elder demon known as Dimwos. Dimwos raises the boy into manhood, revealing to him many secrets. Trailer here!

SUNDAY OCT.1

FEATURE: SEX DEMON (DIR: J.C. Cricket 1975, 1 PM). An ultra-rare chance to see a long-lost underground “queer horror” cult classic on the big screen! According to the Plaza’s Website: “All hell breaks loose when John’s last-minute anniversary gift inadvertently causes his younger lover Jim to become possessed by a SEX DEMON who wreaks havoc on New York’s gay cruising spots. Openly inspired by both THE EXORCIST and its Blaxploitation cousin, ABBY, J. C. Cricket’s SEX DEMON is a ferocious mix of the erotic and the grotesque that’s primed and ready to shock audiences again after being lost for the past forty years. In the words of Gay Scene critic Bruce King, ‘the squeamish may not want to watch, but if you do, you won’t forget it!’”

SHORTS PROGRAM 4 (3 PM). The final installment of curated horror shorts from around the world features the terrifying ultimatum “stop moving until you die,” a hallucinatory nightmare road trip, a Vietnam vet turned into an ultra-violent test subject, a “silver gleaming death machine,” a man obsessed with starring in his own snuff film, and more! As always, stick around for filmmaker Q&As after the screening.

FEATURE: SPOOKT (DIR: Tony Reames, 5 PM). Fresh from its world premiere at Fright Fest in August, Spookt is the highly anticipated first full-length feature by television director Tony Reames, whom BAFF 2019 attendees may remember  for fan-favorite short PLAYTIME’S OVER. When paranormal investigator Claire and sceptic Rachel join forces to discover the truth behind a missing girl and the infamous Dr Byler, beliefs are tested when unexplained occurrences begin to happen, centring around the notorious Gibson house. Check out the Red Band trailer here!

BAFF AWARDS (7 PM). After all the screenings, find out which shorts and features won the BAFF Awards, chosen by this year’s judges and audience votes.

Kendall Keeling and the poster for THOSE WHO DESERVE TO DIE. All photos are provided by Kendall Keeling and used with permission.

From festival judge to producer screening her first feature, Kendall Keeling is no stranger to Buried Alive Film Festival, Nov. 13-17, 2019, at 7 Stages. The ‘60s giallo-fueled THOSE WHO DESERVE TO DIE screens Sunday Nov. 17 at noon. Based on a novella by Thomas de Quincey (CONFESSIONS OF AN ENGLISH OPIUM EATER) and written and directed by Kool Kat Bret Wood (THE UNWANTED [2014]), this incessant thriller subverts the formula of the revenge film, its “hero” Jonathan (Joe Sikes) enacting brutal crimes in the name of justice goaded by the cold-hearted spirit of his dead ten-year-old sister Berenice (Alice Lewis [MALICE OF ALICE photo series]) and also features scream queen Lynn Lowry (THE CRAZIES [1973], SHIVERS [1975] in a key villain role.

A longtime aficionado of horror film of the most vicious variety, Kendall Keeling cut her producing teeth with the extreme zombie short film ABED (2012), from director Ryan Lieske, who she met at Buried Alive 2010, and Bram Stoker Award-winning writer Elizabeth Massie. Next, she co-produced the horrific CRAZY2CRAZY, written and directed by Greg Daniel (currently in post-production). Keeling acquired a taste for producing, and then applied her lessons learned on these films (#1: don’t be afraid to show it, squeamish people can look away if they need to) on THOSE WHO DESERVE TO DIE. She also contributes movie reviews for new horror releases to STOMP AND STAMMER magazine.

So basically Kendall is a natural/unnatural ATLRetro Kool Kat of the Week, and we were dying to ask her how she discovered horror, why she has a special fondness for Buried Alive, go behind the bloody curtains of THOSE WHO DESERVE TO DIE, her recent recommended films, and what’s next for this cutting edge horror movie producer!

ATLRetro: What’s the secret origin story of how little Kendall got hooked on horror movies and what are a few films that had an early impact on you?

Kendall Keeling: As far back as I can remember, I have always loved horror movies and scary things. When I was about 6 or 7, I watched Friday Night Frights every week on [Atlanta’s] Channel 17. They played tons of Hammer and AIP films. I remember being obsessed with HOUSE OF USHER [1960] and the other Roger Corman Poe movies. About a year later, my dad found out that Vincent Price was going to be speaking at Emory University. He took me to see Price speak and then took me backstage to meet him after the show. He was just the most wonderful person. After that, the horror compulsion just continued to gain steam.

Kendall Keeling and Bret Wood at Buried Alive Film Festival.

You’ve attended a lot of Buried Alives and even been a festival judge. What stands out about this festival and why should horror fans be sure to attend?

I think of BAFF as family, almost. The horror community in Atlanta is just fantastic and everyone is really supportive of each other. Buried Alive is like the Christmas Dinner of horror. I have met so many amazing people at the festival over the years, most who have become friends. Blake [Myers] and Luke [Godfrey] really have a passion for the subject matter and it shows. They work very hard to keep the line-up fresh and interesting.

We’ll get to your film in a moment, but what else are you most excited about in this year’s festival line-up? Anything you think readers should definitely not miss?

What I look forward to the most every year are the shorts blocks. They are, without a doubt, my favorite thing about Buried Alive. There are always one or two that really stick with me. The features are always badass, but there is something special about seeing a 7-minute film that blows you away.

You’ve said that you only work on “films that leave you feeling gut-punched.” Can you explain what you mean by that?

I watch a lot of horror movies. I like about 70% of what I see. The 10% that I adore are the ones that stun me in some way. If I find myself saying “holy shit!” at any point in a movie, that’s a keeper. A great example of that would be Gaspar Noé‘s work. For all of the work that goes into filmmaking, I wouldn’t want to bother with something that doesn’t at least aspire to disturb or upset people.

Bret now has a number of features under his belt. Did you particularly want to work with him on a project?

Definitely. I first met Bret at a Splatter Cinema screening of Takashi Miike‘s ICHI THE KILLER [2001]. A few months later, we both ended up on the jury for BAFF. We became friends, and it was clear that we shared a taste for subversive films. We first discussed working together when he was beginning THE UNWANTED [2014]. It just wasn’t the right time or fit, so we decided to do something else once that was completed. We talked about a number of different ideas and themes, and then he showed up with a script! And here we are!

Alice Lewis and Joe Sikes in THOSE WHO DESERVE TO DIE (2019).

The giallo aspects of the movie (cinematography, bloodletting, music!) imbue it with that retro quality that we love while also being very contemporary, delving into returning vet Jonathan’s memories of the Iraq War and Middle East terrorism. Can you talk a little about that aspect and balancing then and now in the film? 

Well, the revenge facet of the story lends itself perfectly to the giallo style. But Bret did a great job weaving in Jonathan’s war memories and their role in the obligation he has to fulfill to his sister. Jonathan wrestles with both his decisions during the war and his inability to resolve his family crisis.

The casting also was spot on—especially Alice Lewis and ‘70s horror demi-goddess Lynn Lowry in the pivotal roles of mercurial little girl Berenice and aging, bitter Justice Merrill. Any anecdotes about how they got cast and working with them on set? 

This was Alice’s first real acting role. Bret found her a on a casting website and she was the only young girl who was scowling, so that was exactly what he was looking for in Berenice. With Lynn, that was a decision made after we started the film. In fact, the role was originally written for a man. Bret decided to rewrite the character for Lynn after meeting her during an interview, if I remember correctly. They were both fantastic to work with. On set, Alice would be laughing and playing cards with Joe (who plays Jonathan) one minute, and then snap right into Berenice and be creepy as hell the next minute. She never got tired or bored or complained. Totally professional out of the gate. Lynn really brought it for every scene she performed. She delivered a nasty, unlikeable villian and I can’t even imagine that role being filled by anyone but her now. And Lynn is so nice in real life that it makes it even more impressive.

Lynn Lowry and Kendall Keeling on the set of THOSE WHO DESERVE TO DIE (2019).

Loved your cameo. How did you keep your cool, sipping wine casually in the foreground while the film’s two young…er…protagonists…get to know each other?  

I was totally unprepared for that, as you can probably tell from what I am wearing. We had shot the scene with Joe and Rachel a couple of times already when Bret said he needed something in the foreground. That something ended up being me. He handed me his phone to read and I remember being appalled that he had 1000 unread emails—I am pretty neurotic, so that drives me crazy! I also remember that I drank almost two glasses of wine before he was happy with the shot.

How was the film funded and what’s next after it plays Buried Alive?

Most of it was funded through Bret’s company Illustrated Films, LLC. We also raised about $10k through Kickstarter to complete it. We are submitting it to festivals through next spring and then expect a commercial release next summer, if everything goes as planned.

You’re also a film reviewer and you watch an astounding number of horror films annually. What trends and directors are pushing the envelope now, in your opinion? A few film recommendations for our readers?

I mentioned Gaspar Noé earlier, and his film CLIMAX was my favorite one so far this year. And although it was released last year, I have gotten a lot of traction out of Coralie Fargeat‘s REVENGE. I have shown it to a ton of my friends and everyone is always cheering before it’s over. It has a lot of “holy shit!” moments. I still really like anything that smells like French Extreme, but I have also enjoyed some domestic films this year. CRAWL by Alexandre Aja was so much fun. Well, he is French, but the film isn’t.

Kendall Keeling and Angus Scrimm.

You’ve attended a lot of horror cons and met so many of the actors and filmmakers behind horror classics. What one or two encounters stand out and surprised or delighted you the most?

I love going to horror cons and I am a total fangirl. Two of the absolute sweetest guests I have met are [actor] Angus Scrimm (PHANTASM[1979]) and [director] George Romero (NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD[1968]). Angus had each person he met sit down with him and just talk for about 10 minutes. It was so lovely and so wonderful seeing him enjoy all the fans. Romero is such a legend that I was about to pass out by the time I met him. He said that I had a great name and that I should be an anchorwoman. I don’t remember anything else about our conversation, but I was floating on air after that.

George Romero and Kendall Keeling.

What’s next for Kendall Keeling, film producer?

I am currently working on a screenplay for an idea I have had hanging around for about a decade now. I am also thinking about directing a music video for a kind of a horror song I wrote. I play survival horror video games whenever I can, so I am trying to work on these other things when I get the chance.

Find the full schedule and purchase tickets to Buried Alive Film Festival 2019 here.

by Melanie Crew
Managing Editor

This haunted holiday season is alive and kicking as the Buried Alive Film Festival (BAFF) kills it with another year of hellacious cinematic treats! BAFF is brought to you by Festival Director, Kool Kat Blake Myers and Event Director, Kool Kat Luke Godfrey and a helluva killer team of mad scientists working behind the scenes. Gore it up with five blood-filled days (November 13-17) of film terror, including 8 features, 51 short independent horror films from around the globe, and two extra special events, bringing its sinister shenanigans for a fourth year to 7 Stages Theatre in Little Five Points.

BAFF kicks off Wed. Nov. 13, at 8pm, with the ever-popular BAFF Sinema Challenge, giving local filmmakers the opportunity to bring to life a horror film in 13 days. Production starts on November 1 and films are screened on the festival’s opening night. The contest is judged by co-creator and exclusive programmer for Turner Classic Movies (TCM) weekly late-night cult movie showcase TCM Underground, Kool Kat Millie De Chirico and “Archer” animation director and Atlanta-based filmmaker, Marcus Rosentrater.

Thursday night kicks off with Shorts Program #1: First Shovel in the Grave is always the best!, which includes Ujicha’s [Director of BAFF 2018’s VIOLENCE VOYAGER] TEMPURA (Japan) about man’s best friend; David Bornstein’s UNHOLY MOLE, where selling one’s soul for guacamole is where it’s at; German Sancho’s FEARS (Spain), delving into a little girl’s frightening world; Miao’s I LEARNED TO DRIVE AT THE END OF THE WORLD (China) and so many more! The Opening Night Feature is Michael Laicini and David Amito’s ANTRUM: THE DEADLIEST MOVIE EVER MADE (2018), a film about a cursed ‘70s film that finally has come to light. Watch if you dare!

Tricks ‘n’ treats abound as Friday brings you Shorts Program #2: Grave worm’s Finest, which includes Tyler Martin’s creepy crawly short, HATCH (USA); Jeon Jinkyu’s THE DEATH VENDOR (Korea), with death for sale; get exorcised with Steven Stull’s D IS FOR DEMON (USA); fight for your life with Kate Trefry’s HOW TO BE ALONE (USA) and more! Stick around for the 8pm Feature as punk mutants take on Vietnam vets in Joe Begos’s VFW (2019), preceded by James Sizemore and Tim Reis’s psychedelic short, BUDFOOT (USA/Local), shot at Kool Kat Shane Morton’s Silver Scream FX Lab! And of course no respectable horror film festival would be complete without screening a few horror classics, and ATLRetro loves all the special events chosen this year, including a special screening of Andrew Lemen’s 2005 silent film, THE CALL OF CTHULHU with a live soundtrack by Atlanta-based jazz group Samadha, followed by a special midnight grind-house screening of Ben Winston’s ‘70s-esque biker flick HELL BOUND (2018)!

The heads just keep rolling as Saturday brings you Shorts Program #3: Who Said Robbing Graves Wasn’t Fun! including Neal O’Bryan and Chad Thurman’s tasty TOE (USA); Jill Gevargizian getting twisted with ONE LAST MEAL (USA); Trevor Mirosh’s intergalactic EXHIBIT MAN (Canada); Tony Reames terrorizing the babysitter with PLAYTIME’S OVER (USA/Local); Stacey Palmer’s toothy gore, TOOTHACHE (USA/Local) and more followed by a 4pm Feature, dishing out sex education at its most sinister with Keola Racela’s PORNO (USA), preceded by Elwood Quincy Walker’s KISSED (USA). At 6pm, BAFF brings you Shorts Program #4: Dig the Grave Deep So They Can’t Crawl Out, featuring some #METOO horror with Yfke van Berkelaer’s LILI (Netherlands); Mia’kate Russel’s MAGGIE MAY (Australia); Ferris Wheels and strange creatures with Carlos Baena’s LA NORIA (Spain); Tomi Malkki’s SKELETONS IN THE CLOSET (Finland) and more! At 8pm get ready for another hellacious Feature with Brett and Drew Pierce’s boy vs. 1000-year old witch, THE WRETCHED (USA), preceded by Rich Ragsdale’s THE LOOP (USA)! And to top off the evening, BAFF offers a special treat at 10pm with a screening of Lloyd Kaufman and Michael Herz’s splatter classic, THE TOXIC AVENGER (1984), hosted by Atlanta’s award-winning Blast Off Burlesque, who will stage one of their signature TabooLaLa events including a performance inspired by the film before the screening! Last but not least is a midnight screening of local Tony Reams’ (et al) DEAD BY MIDNIGHT (USA).

For those early birds, Sunday kicks off with a 12pm feature of Kool Kat Bret Wood’s THOSE WHO DESERVE TO DIE (2019) [keep your eyes peeled for our Kool Kat of the Week, Producer Kendall Keeling coming soon], preceded by Joshua Giuliano’s IN SOUND WE LIVE FOREVER (USA), followed by a 2pm Feature screening of Sandy K. Boon’s documentary, J.R. “BOB” DOBBS AND THE CHURCH OF THE SUBGENIOUS (USA), exploring the phenomenon of two self-proclaimed weirdos from Ft. Worth who created their own cult following, preceded by Alastar Train’s ALL STRETCHED OUT (UK). At 4pm, BAFF treats you to another feature with Kool Kat Daniel Griffith’s creaturific documentary, MARK OF THE BEAST: THE LEGACY OF THE UNIVERSAL WEREWOLF (USA/Local), preceded by Josh Gould’s MEAT WAGON (USA). Shorts Program #5: The Toll of the Death Bell promises a monstrous good time with screenings of David Oesch and Remo Rickenbacher’s DEAD ANIMALS (Switzerland); Dante Vescio and Rodrigo Gaasparini’s DEAD TEENAGER SÉANCE (Brazil); Charles de Lauzirika’s LOVE BITE (USA), and more! And finally, the closing ceremonies and awards show begins at 8pm!

The 7 Stages Theatre is located at 1105 Euclid Ave NE, Atlanta, GA 30307. Individual program block tickets are $12, and five-day festival passes are just $120.

For more information and the complete Buried Alive Film Festival schedule, visit the website here. And view the official 2019 BAFF bumper here.

That time ATLRetro took a top secret AdultSwim behind the scenes tour and thought our goose was cooked when William Tokarsky boarded the bus!

At Buried Alive Film Festival 2018 (Nov 14-18, 7 Stages) William Tokarsky acts it up in THE GOD INSIDE MY EAR, the festival’s first feature, which plays Thursday Nov. 15 at 9 p.m. Directed by Joe Baden, the movie about a young woman who hears voices has been a hit on the festival circuit, winning a bunch of awards. Critics call it “trippy” and “surreal.” Sounds like a Tokarsky movie to us!

You may or may not know his name, but if you’re into weird cult horror and comedy movies and television, you know William Tokarsky. You’ve seen his pretty face in AdultSwim’s YOUR PRETTY FACE IS GOING TO HELL. He romanced a Goblin in Kool Kat Brian Lonano’s (CROW HAND[2014]) notorious award-winning short GWILLIAM (2015) which grossed out audiences at Buried Alive 2016 (Look for twisted “sequel/spin-off” GWILLIAM’S TIPS FOR TURNING TRICKS INTO TREATS in The EyeSlicer shorts segment Sat. Nov. 17 at 6 p.m.). If you don’t know those, he became an Internet sensation as the serial killer who cuts into the sitcom-intro-parody TOO MANY COOKS!

We cornered Tokarsky, checked carefully for sharp blades, and asked him nicely to divulge a few down and dirty secrets about his film and TV roles and why you should get the Hell down to Buried Alive 2018!

ATLRetro: Why should folks come out to the Buried Alive Film Festival?

William Tokarsky: All the cool kids will be there.

You were a judge for a previous BAFF. What was the most fun part of this task?

Judging is a lot like horse trading … everyone has his favorite.

Tell us about THE GOD INSIDE MY EAR and your role in it!

THE GOD INSIDE MY EAR is a creepy physiological thriller,  and you will only see my alter-ego on screen!

You became an Internet superstar for your–shall we say “memorable?!–role in TOO MANY COOKS?! Can you tell our readers how you landed that role? Did you have any idea you were doing something that would go so viral? Any “top secret” on-set anecdote that we can convince you to share with our readers?

I creeped out Casper Kelly on the set of YOUR PRETTY FACE IS GOING TO HELL, and he just wanted to creep out the rest of the Internet. I told Casper “COOKS would go viral or just die on the 4 am time slot”—one or the other. I was amazed at how fast it went viral! The sweater I wore in COOKS was put in a cardboard box and lost…so keep an eye out at your local Goodwill store!

You seem to be getting a reputation for being a go-to actor for humorous horror! Another memorable role of yours was in GWILLIAM, which was featured at BAFF. How did that happen and any behind-the-scene anecdote about that experience?

Ah, yes, GWILLIAM, the sleaziest film ever made. Everyone that read for it was sober and need I say more. And it was TAPIOCA…just TAPIOCA.

With Georgia becoming “Y’allywood,” you’re showing up in all sorts of features. Any other recent roles you’d like to talk about?

I have been working on a role in Savannah on a new TV show where I am the degenerate alcoholic stepfather of the bi-racial female lead  married to her black mother it’s all about drugs and poverty. It’s a COMEDY. I can’t say what it is, but just check my IMDb page and you can figure it out. 

William Tokarsky action figure! Just watch out for that tiny blade!

Any advice to aspiring actors? Either in general or locally in Georgia?

Be nice to everyone you meet and whatever you are doing … do it so good that eventually someone will notice you.

What’s next for William Tokarsky?

My next goal is to be flown First Class to LA to deliver about five lines of dialogue in the next big blockbuster!

Finally gotta ask, what is your favorite RETRO horror movie that you’d recommend to our readers?!

My favorite retro horror is the original THE BLOB (1958).

Read our full Buried Alive Retro preview by Melanie Crew here! Buy your Buried Alive Film Festival festival passes and advance tickets to individual screenings here or at the 7 Stages box office. 

by Melanie Crew
Managing Editor

This haunted holiday season is alive and kicking as the Buried Alive Film Festival (BAFF) kills it with another year! BAFF is brought to you by Festival Director, Kool Kat Blake Myers and Event Director, Kool Kat Luke Godfrey and a helluva team of mad scientists working behind the scenes. Gore it up with five blood-filled days (November 14-18) of film terror, including 7 features, 59 short independent horror films from around the globe, and four extra special events, bringing its sinister shenanigans for a third year to 7 Stages Theatre in Little Five Points.

BAFF kicks off Wed. Nov. 14, at 8pm, with the ever-popular BAFF Sinema Challenge, giving local filmmakers the opportunity to bring to life a horror film in 13 days. Production starts on November 1 and films are screened on the festival’s opening night. The contest is judged by co-creator and exclusive programmer for Turner Classic Movies (TCM) weekly late-night cult movie showcase TCM Underground, Kool Kat Millie De Chirico and “Archer” animation director and Atlanta-based filmmaker, Marcus Rosentrater.

Thursday night kicks off with Shorts Program 1: For the Love of the Undertaker, which includes Kool Kat Dayna Noffke’s TEASER (USA) where death is a dance; Tyler Macri’s creaturific short WHAT COMES FROM A SWAMP (USA); Ilja Rautsi’s horror comedy where a woman must survive a horde of men’s frail egos in HELSINKI MAINSPLAINING MASSACRE (Finland); Daniel Stankler’s SHOULD YOU MEET A LADY IN A DARKENED WOOD (UK) and so many more! The Opening Night Feature is Joe Baden’s psychological weirdness, THE GOD INSIDE MY EAR (2017) featuring our Kool Kat of the Week William Tokarsky (interview coming soon) screening at 9pm, preceded by the short film BAGHEAD (UK), directed by Alberto Corredor Marina.

Tricks ‘n’ treats abound as Friday brings you Shorts Program 2: Bury Me with My Favorite Films, which includes Lorene Yavo’s animated supernatural short COUNT YOUR CURSES (Belgium); Kate Dolen’s cheap thrill(er) CATCALLS (Ireland); Joshua Long’s award-winning POST MORTEM MARY (Australia) and more!  Stick around for the 8pm Feature, Jason Trost’s THE FP2: BEATS OF RAGE (USA) for a bloody good time! And of course no respectable horror film festival would be complete without screening a few horror classics, and ATLRetro loves all the special events chosen this year, including a special screening of Carl Boese and Paul Wegener’s THE GOLEM (1920) with a live soundtrack by Atlanta-based jazz group Samadha, followed by a special midnight grind-house screening of Kool Kat James Bickert’s AMAZON HOT BOX (USA), preceded by Jill Gevargizian’s sinister short, 42 COUNTS (USA).

The heads just keep rolling as Saturday brings you Shorts Program 3: It’s Never Too Early to Start Digging Graves including Marinah Janello’s ENTROPIA (USA), a search for beauty at all costs; WIHFF co-director Sam Kolesnik’s award-winning MAMA’S BOY (USA); Fredrik S. Hanna’s crime-laden ROSALINA (Norway) and more followed by a 4pm Feature, Marc Martinez Jordan’s twisted film FRAMED (Spain), preceded by Guillem Dols’ short PSYCHO KINO (Spain). At 6pm, BAFF gets wickedly weird as they team up with The Eyeslicer, featuring shorts by Kool Kat Brian Lonano (CROW HAND (2014)/GWILLIAM’S TIPS FOR TURNING TRICKS INTO TREATS) and more! At 8pm get ready for another hellacious Feature with Ujicha’s torturous VIOLENCE VOYAGER (Japan), preceded by Laura Sparks’ short MADDER ISLE! And to top off the evening, BAFF offers a special treat with a screening of Joel Schumacher’s cult classic, THE LOST BOYS (1987), hosted by Atlanta’s award-winning Blast Off Burlesque, who will stage one of their signature TabooLaLa events including a performance inspired by the film before the screening! Last but not least is a midnight screening of local Tony Reams’ (et al) DEAD BY MIDNIGHT (USA).

For those early birds, Sunday kicks off with an encore presentation of Carl Boese and Paul Wegener’s THE GOLEM (1920) with a live soundtrack by Atlanta-based jazz group Samadha, followed by a 2pm Feature documentary, SURVIVAL OF THE FILM FREAKS (USA), where Directors Bill Fulkerson and Kyle Kuchta explore the phenomenon of cult film and film fanatics, preceded by Anthony Cousins’ short THE BLOODY BALLAD OF SQUIRT REYNOLDS (USA). Shorts Program 4: Why Bury Good Meat?! Vampires, Zombies and Cannibals. Humans Taste So Good! promises a monstrous good time with screenings of Dayna Noffke’s GENTLEWOMAN’S GUIDE TO DOMESTICITY (USA); Felipe M. Guerra’s MRS. OLDINA GOES SHOPPING (Brazil); Pete Tompkies’ ONCE BITTEN (UK); Sam Kolesnik’s FRIENDSGIVING (USA) and more! And last but not least, BAFF presents the World Premiere of Todd Sheets’ CLOWNADO (USA) at 6pm as the Closing Feature, preceded by Brian Lonano’s BFF GIRLS (USA)!

The 7 Stages Theatre is located at 1105 Euclid Ave NE, Atlanta, GA 30307. Individual program block tickets are $12, and five-day festival passes are just $120.

For more information and the complete Buried Alive Film Festival schedule, visit the website here. And view the official BAFF bumper here.

by Melanie Crew
Managing Editor

The Buried Alive Film Festival is back for its 12th chilling year, brought to you by the Buried Alive team of Kool Kat Blake Myers, Luke Godfrey, Mark Malek and Alyssa Myers, with five killer days (November 15-19) of film terror, including six features, 54 short new independent horror films from around the globe, and three extra special events.  Its sinister shenanigans return for a second year to 7 Stages Theatre in Little Five Points.

This year’s festival features five brand new movies, including our Kool Kat of the Week, Ashley Thorpe’s BORLEY RECTORY is a documentary feature (rotoscope/animation), described by Thorpe as “an ultrasound of a haunting” (see ATLRetro’s exclusive interview with Ashley here). The opening (Thursday) night feature is the latest from director Mickey Keating (POD; DARLING; CARNAGE PARK), a bloody tale of seven serial killers and their deadly agendas as they cross paths over one night, PSYCHOPATHS, which premiered at the Tribecca Film Festival earlier this year. Other feature films include AMERICAN GUINEA PIG: THE SONG OF SOLOMON, a story of satanic possession and the clergymen who confront it directed by Stephen Biro (AMERICAN GUINEA PIG: BLOODSHOCK); WHO’S WATCHING OLIVER, the tale of a mentally unstable loner and his killing spree directed by Richie Moore (CRAZY MEDICINE); and the World Premiere of BB, a provocative psycho-sexual thriller outlining the dangers of technology and who just may be peeking on the other side directed by CJ Wallis (DEAD HOOKER IN A TRUNK[editor]).

This year BAFF features will go beyond the usual horror narratives and include documentaries. FOOLISH MORTALS: A HAUNTED MANSION DOCUMENTARY explores the fan culture surrounding Walt Disney’s Haunted Mansion ride from director James H. Carter II featuring interviews with Disney legend Rolly Crump, artist Topher Adams, AMERICAN MARY’s Tristan Risk, Robert Kurtzman, SpookyDan Walker and more.

Buried Alive also continues to show its love for the local Georgia horror scene. This year’s festival includes six local shorts, with two  directed by our very own Kool Kats Dayna Noffke (UNDER THE BED about a girl and her favorite monster fiend) and Vanessa Ionta Wright (I BAKED HIM A CAKE). Other local shorts include AHEAD IN THE ROAD about three college girls learning the dangers of “the middle of nowhere” directed by Walt Guthrie and Matt McGahren, WEED WHACKER MASSACRE about a grumpy old man-turned-deadly machine vs. the HOA directed by Benjamin R. Dover, MONGO’S GOT A SPIDER GUN changing the world one arachnid at a time directed by Tim McGahren, and SKY TRIPPER featuring ancient artifacts and perilous actions directed by Philip Freeman.

Back by popular demand is the BAFF Sinema Challenge, which challenges local filmmakers with the opportunity to make a horror film in 13 days. Production starts on November 1 and the films will screen on the festival’s opening night, Wed. Nov. 15, at 8 p.m., judged by co-creator and exclusive programmer for Turner Classic Movies (TCM) weekly late-night cult movie showcase TCM Underground, Kool Kat Millie De Chirico and “Archer” animation director and Atlanta-based filmmaker, Marcus Rosentrater.

One of the real strengths, and our favorite part, of Buried Alive Film Fest is the shorts programs. This year brings five shorts sets (The Groundkeeper’s Faves; Cult of the Grave Worm; Weirdness from 6 Feet Under; If These Tombstones Could Make Movies!; and If this is all there is my friend? Then let’s keep digging.) presenting 54 new films that will enlighten, scare and disgust you to the fullest extent. A few highlights from the selections include Huseyin Hassan’s 2AM about a middle-aged man, a white rabbit and supernatural events, the American premiere of Finnish animator and Buried Alive awardwinner Tomi Malakias’ THE ZOO and Mathew E. Robinson’s RIGOR MORTIS about gory and guilt-ridden sibling rivalry. 

Finally, no respectable horror film festival would be complete without screening a few horror classics, and ATLRetro loves the two special events chosen this year. On Friday night at 10 p.m., BAFF will present a special screening of Robert Wiene’s silent horror classic THE CABINET OF DR. CALIGARI (1921) with a live soundtrack by Atlanta-based jazz group Samadha! And on Saturday night at 10 p.m., BAFF offers a special treat with a digitally remastered Tim Burton’s ED WOOD, the 1994 biopic starring Johnny Depp, Martin Landeau (as Bela Lugosi) and more. The screening will be hosted by Atlanta’s award-winning Blast Off Burlesque, who will stage one of their signature TabooLaLa events including a performance inspired by the film before the screening. With Plan 9 Graveyard photo-ops, auditions for ED, drag races for prizes and costume contests…let’s just say, things will get wonderfully bizarre.

The 7 Stages Theatre is located at 1105 Euclid Ave NE, Atlanta, GA 30307. Individual program block tickets are $12, and five-day festival passes are just $100.

For more information and the complete Buried Alive Film Festival schedule, visit the website here. And view the official BAFF bumper here.

Filmmaker Ashley Thorpe.

In 2010, a trio of English filmmaker Ashley Thorpe’s short animated movies so captivated audiences at the fifth annual Buried Alive Festival, that they created the Visionary Award just for him. Ashley alas can’t make it back across the pond for the 12th annual Buried Alive (Nov. 15-19 at 7 Stages), but his Carrion Films‘ first feature BORLEY RECTORY is a much-anticipated festival highlight, screening Saturday Nov. 18 at 8 pm.

Ashley’s previous works formed a portmanteau of supernatural legends from Devon, where he resides with his wife Sue who played the femme fatale of “Scayrecrow,” a haunted highwayman’s revenge tale with a distinctly Hammer Films vibe. Also played at Buried Alive 5 were “The Screaming Skull” and “The Hairy Hands.” BORLEY RECTORY is an eerie documentary chronicling the historic paranormal investigations of an Essex manor nicknamed “The Most Haunted House in England.” The unique look and high quality of his earlier works allowed him to expand the production to his most ambitious yet and attracted the star power of a who’s who of British character actors including Julian Sands (GOTHAM), Reece Shearsmith (LEAGUE OF GENTLEMEN), Nicholas Vince (HELLRAISER), and Jonathan Rigby (ROUND THE HORNE…REVISITED). In the past few years, Ashley also realized a lifelong dream to become a cover illustrator and interviewer for Fangoria, the seminal horror movie magazine for anyone who came of age from the ‘70s onward.

ATLRetro caught up with Ashley to find out more about his quest to summon the specters of BORLEY RECTORY and more macabre matters.

ATLRetro: You grew up on Hammer Horror and your shorts have a bit of a Hammer look, even with some “cameos” as I recall in “Scayrecrow.” Did Hammer movies inspire you to be a filmmaker? Which is your favorite and why?

Ashley Thorpe: I’ve always loved Hammer horror. It was the Universal classics of the ’30s and Hammer horrors that were the first horror films that I felt brave enough to watch as a kid. I thought they were glorious. I was actually inspired to become a filmmaker via animation, so weirdly it was artists like Svankmajer, the Brothers Quay and David Lynch that made me believe that this was a medium that could really express the things going on in my head. The influence came back when I was producing “Scayrecrow,” a tale of a ghostly highwayman, and started imagining what it would have been like if Hammer had produced it, full of blood and thunder!

How did you first learn about Borley Rectory and what about it, other than the obvious “most haunted house in England,” inspired you to make a film about it?

I discovered the story in the USBOURNE BOOK OF GHOSTS at the local library as a boy. I was very susceptible to frightening material when I was young—due to suffering from night terrors—but there was something especially haunting about this one story and I just kept going back to it like a tongue probing a bad tooth. I loved that moniker “The Most Haunted House in England.” This wasn’t just “a” haunting, it was “THE” haunting.

The story is replete with such delicious gothic imagery—a nun bricked up within the walls, a phantom carriage driven by a headless coachman, cold spots and spectral messages scrawled upon the walls. Wonderful material. It also represented the beginning of that blend of scientific method meets the supernatural which, of course, was such a huge influence upon things like Shirley Jackson‘s THE HAUNTING OF HILL HOUSE and Richard Matheson‘s HELL HOUSE. At the time it was quite groundbreaking. Now, of course, it all seems so archetypal. Its fascination also lies with the people. All the major players in that case were curious characters. They’re all quite mercurial and mysterious so at the end of the case you’re left with more questions than answers. In fact, the ghosts are far easier to pin down than those investigating them!

Is it correct that BORLEY RECTORY started out as a short but expanded into a full feature? Can you talk about why you decided to take that bigger plunge with this particular project and how the finished film differs from your original concept?

Incredibly the thing developed organically. It wasn’t initially a conscious decision until quite late into the project. As each cast member came on board—from Reece onwards—I amended the script to give more interesting scenes, better dialogue, all without even considering how this would affect the running time! They were so good I wanted to give them more material. Seems obvious now, but at the time I was so buried in the practicalities of animating, trying to earn a living, looking after my then baby daughter, the day-to-day things, that it wasn’t really until I cut together the first seance scene last year that I realized that there was no way that this would be a 30-minute film.

Surprisingly though the finished film doesn’t really differ from the original concept at all. Another thing that I hadn’t really anticipated was how the pacing would affect the overall running time. Again it sounds ludicrous. I wanted BORLEY RECTORY to harken back to an earlier age of cinema, far from the machine gun edits and gimmicks of modern horror. I wanted long slow takes, so your eyes can explore the frame and realize that you’ve been staring at a ghost all along. One of my favorite sequences lasts for about two minutes and consists of about four edits intercutting between a little girl staring into the darkness at the end of her bed and what she sees there in the shadows.

L-R: Reece Shearsmith. Ashley Thorpe, Jonathan Rigby.

You have some pretty prominent British character actors involved, some of whom like Julian Sands and Nicholas Vince, are familiar to US horror fans. Any stories about how they became involved and what it’s like to work with them?

I worked with Nicholas—albeit briefly—on “The Hairy Hands,” wherein he contributed the voice of one of the radio callers and we kept in touch hoping to work together again. I met Julian initially via a retrospective that I wrote for Fangoria on Ken Russell’s GOTHIC (1986). Julian found my short films online, loved them, and after watching them asked if I was working on anything currently. As it happened I had just finished the script for BORLEY RECTORY. So we recorded Julian’s narration around Christmas 2011 and then some additional passages at Trident Studios last year. Both Julian and Nicholas are wonderful, genuine, sincere people. They’ve both been so supportive and done nothing but sing the praises of the production since it started. Whenever we meet it really is like meeting old friends. My children pretty much consider Nicholas a part of the family!

And Steven Severin of Siouxsie and the Banshees was to do the soundtrack. How did you meet him and what happened with his illness?

Again Steven Severin became involved with the project due to a Fangoria interview. He was touring VAMPYR [(1932) silent film soundtrack] and performed in my home town, so I grabbed the opportunity to interview him about his work both past and present. We kept in touch and I suppose Steven must have looked into what else I did apart from the Fangoria journalism and came straight out and asked me if I was working on any animations and would I consider him scoring my next venture. I’ve always been a huge Banshees fan so I was over the moon.

As to how it was working with him, I haven’t really had much of an opportunity.  The curse of Borley struck again. Steven has been in consistently poor health since recovering from a kidney transplant while we were shooting. For a while it looked as if he was going to be fine and was keen on cracking on with the scoring. Around the time that the first cut was sent over early this year Steven suffered a major pulmonary embolism and was rushed to hospital. So, after discussing it with Steven and agreeing it was definitely the best plan until he could complete or create a companion piece, the remaining scoring duties were completed by my long-term collaborator Mick Grierson who did an amazing job at scoring the film beautifully under ridiculous time constraints.

Although he is still recovering Steven has stressed that he is still planning on finishing the special music for the pledged vinyls, but until he is out of hospital I cannot unfortunately give a concrete date as to when this will be. It’s all been a bit of a car crash really, and it’s been down to Mick that the film even reached completion when it did.

L-R: BORLEY RECTORY Producer Tom Atkinson, Julian Sands, Ashley Thorpe.

Financing an independent film is always a huge challenge. You did two Indiegogo campaigns, as I recall, and had some prominent supporters like best-selling author Neil Gaiman singing your praises. Did you also have private investors? How did you do it?

Yes, the project was financed via two Indiegogo campaigns. The first one raised just shy of £7K back in 2013 which—although about £3K short of our target—allowed us to get the production underway in the summer of 2014 and shoot the majority of Reece’s sequences as his involvement had raised the profile of the project tenfold. Once I’d animated that central montage of the journalist essentially telling us the legend, we rolled out a second campaign that raised a further £13K in the end. The campaigns themselves were a huge amount of work but I was lucky on the second one to have a team behind me led by my producer’s wife Alice Bonasio. She stressed that I should concentrate on generating media to share while she and a small team “got it out there.” It was very successful.

The money raised was channeled directly into the production: hiring the studios, equipment, costumes etc. I did have a couple of private benefactors who put extra money into the production, and it was due to them that I was able to continue working on the film as although the production was financed I was made redundant [laid off] pretty much at the start of production and essentially lost my livelihood. These people kept me going at a time when it seemed as if everything—redundancy, family illnesses, burnt-out Macs—was loaded against me finishing it.

Your previous films have all had a distinctive look, i.e. animated but not necessarily what the average viewer would expect as an animated film. Can you talk a little about the effects you employed for this film to make it…dare I say…genuinely scary?!

Yes, they’re not your traditional animation. They are a collage of a number of different techniques really. The actors are all filmed against green screen and then rotoscoped whilst the backgrounds are all digitally painted and animated over. There’s a little traditional animation in there—some of the ghosts are painted—and a little 3D stuff done in After Effects, such as the aerial shots of the Rectory, but my aim was to take the footage of the actors and make them resemble the look of the “painted” backgrounds as much as possible. I also spent a great deal of time working into the footage to take the digital shine off of it using masks with various strengths of blurring to emulate  a depth of field that we’d really struggle with doing live at the green screen composite level. BORLEY RECTORY has pretty much every technique I know applied in it in some way.

Seance scene in BORLEY RECTORY.

BORLEY RECTORY has already screened at a number of festivals and has a few awards under its belt. Where has it screened so far and have you been pleased with the audience response?

Response so far has been staggering really. It’s not an easy sell or an obvious “crowd pleaser,” it’s what I call a “Marmite film,” but it’s been snapped up by the festivals and feedback has been very positive. I think we’ve played 14 so far with more coming in weekly and all those initial festival appearances were by request rather than us having to submit via normal channels which is incredible. We premiered at GrimmFest in Manchester October 8 and then played Cinemagic in Belfast, Dead of Night Southport, Telluride Horror Show in Colorado, Celluloid Screams in Sheffield, Horror-Rama Toronto and the Folk Horror Revival in Edinburgh. Last week we won “Best Animated Feature” at Buffalo Dreams and after Buried Alive in Atlanta, we’re set to play Sydney, Australia at A Night of Horror festival. One of my favorite responses was from Lisi Russell, Ken Russell’s wife, who wrote a lovely review online. She adored it.

“Thorpe’s vision of the legend is elegant, meticulously cinematic, beautifully spooky, atmospherically enveloping. The detailed and seamlessly inter-woven animation and rotoscope by multi-talented Thorpe is hypnotic, shocking, visually stunning–each shot an artwork. This is a film for film noir lovers as well as haunted house and psycho-horror fans, conjuring up echoes of classic early British horror films like THE INNOCENTS, THE HAUNTING, PSYCHO. Asks important and unusual questions about what we need from ghosts as well as what they need from us. This film is very, very different. Ken Russell seal of approval.” – Lisi Russell

You came to Atlanta in 2010 when Buried Alive screened three of your shorts and I believe you have a certain fondness for this festival. Is it special to you that it’s screening here and what can you say to anyone on the fence about attending Buried Alive?

I had enormous fun when I came across in 2010. It was actually my first bonafide horror festival and I didn’t really know what to expect, but the team behind it were so passionate about what they were doing and really made me feel special. So many great memories. The festival itself is wonderfully eclectic as well. They program every aspect of the genre, so there really is something for everyone. The genre should be about diversity—there should be room for every style, every era—and Buried Alive reflects that beautifully. I really wish that I could have made it out there to attend in person, and with my film’s production history in mind, the fact that my film has been programmed right before a screening of ED WOOD is genius.

Nicholas Vince in BORLEY RECTORY.

You also are an artist and have done a bunch of Fangoria covers, as well as writing articles for Fango. What was that like and how do you feel about the recent demise of that seminal horror movie magazine?

Well. Fangoria was a big part of my youth. I fell in love with it at high school back in the ’80s, and growing up in a small British town it was something of a revelation. Pre-Internet, these films and their production felt a million miles away, so finding Fangoria on the newsstands was incredibly exciting. At school, it felt like an outlaw magazine. So you can imagine how excited I was to be asked by [then-editor] Chris Alexander to both write and eventually produce covers for it. As a result, I got to meet wonderful people like John Hurt, Peter Sasdy, and, of course, it put me in touch with people like Julian.

How it all collapsed is really sad. You could see that there was serious trouble brewing when the payments became few and far between and contributors started bailing. I’m still owed hundreds of dollars which I’m sure I’ll never see, and judging from some of the vitriol online, my story is not an uncommon one. The publisher ran it into the ground and destroyed it. So sad.

What’s next for Carrion Films?

Apart from touring and then sourcing distribution for BORLEY. I’ll be catching up on some illustration work and looking towards the next project. We have a couple of options. A script for SPRING HEEL JACK exists in an early form which would be a Victorian melodrama. I also have HELL TOR which would be an Amicus-style portmanteau based upon Dartmoor ghost stories. Although there looks to be a chance that my next project may be adapting a popular British genre screenwriter’s novella. We’re in talks with the agent at the moment so we’ll see what happens next.

Purchase advance tickets to BORLEY RECTORY and passes to Buried Alive Film Festival here.

All photos provided by Carrion Films and used with permission.

THE NIGHT WATCHMEN (2016) Dir: Mitchell Altieri. Starring James Remar, Matt Servitto, Tiffany Shepis. Opening Night Feature, Buried Alive Film Festival. Thursday Nov. 17. 9 p.m. 7 Stages. $12. Trailer here. ]]

Put together vampire clowns, buckets of blood, four bored security guys and their corporate gal crush and a trippy ’80s-sounding soundtrack set in Baltimore and you have THE NIGHT WATCHMEN, which has its U.S. premiere Thursday night at 7 Stages as the opening feature of the 2016 Buried Alive Film Festival. Which is to say that we enjoyed the hell out of it.

We caught up with director Mitchell Altieri to go behind the coffins and see how something this crazy and retro got made in the 21st century. Oh, and what it was like working with James Remar of THE WARRIORS!

ATLRetro: How did you guys get the idea to mix clowns with vampires?

Mitchell Altieri: Hello Anya, thanks for having me at ATLRetro. When I was hired to direct the film, the script was already written. Ken Arnold and Dan DeLuca came up with the story and Dan and Jamie Nash wrote the script. The script went thru a few different drafts and incarnations and when I came on board there were no clowns in the script, but during pre-production Dan and Jamie mentioned that they had a version with clowns. And I was like, “yes, please.” It just really fit with the fun story we were filming!

Anything else you’d like to add about THE NIGHT WATCHMEN’s genesis?

Go see it! It’s a real fun ride, with lots of action and scares but I’d like to let the movie to speak for itself.

The movie has an ‘80s horror movie vibe down to the soundtrack. How intentional was that, and do you have a particular affinity to ‘80s horror movies, and maybe some favorites?

Yes, it was definitely intentional! I love those ‘80s horror films that you rented on VHS from the local video stores, films like THE NIGHT OF THE COMET (1984), FRIGHT NIGHT (1985) or KILLER CLOWNS FROM OUTER SPACE (1988). And that’s what I wanted to do with our film, make it super fun and scary, even silly at points like those ‘80s films.  

Loved the soundtrack. Can you talk a little about it?

Our composer Kevin Kerrigan out of London, ate it up… he had a blast scoring the music! He was so excited to do such a retro score. And the guys who wrote the original songs, Fake Figures, loved it just as much. They are an actual band that wrote and recorded these songs while on tour, so it was a fun break for them. I really wanted the score and soundtrack to make you instantly get that 80s feeling, even though it’s a film set in present day, I want the audience also think that it can easily take place in the 80s.   

Mitchell Altieri with Tiffany Shepis, Diona Reasonover, Cheryl Staurulakus, Rain Pryor & Donald Imm. Photo credit: Herbert Mann.

There’s a hell of a lot of blood in this movie. How much did you go through?

Let’s just say we ran out of blood like five or six times. We used a lot. I don’t think I’ve ever run out of that much blood before.

Hopefully this isn’t too spoilery but the main five characters could have just been stereotypical, they had little touches to them that both defied the usual tropes and enhanced the humor. And you scored a great ensemble with a real chemistry who seemed to be having a great time. Anything you’d like to share about that?

Yeah, I agree. I really value strong characters in films. Even if it’s a straightforward film, you can never go wrong with interesting, bold characters. I was very pleased with the cast. Ken, Dan and Kevin Jiggetts all have worked together many times before so it was dynamic when they worked against Kara Luiz who plays the journalist and Max Wilbur, the young rookie. I challenged them and they challenged each other and had a great time with it.

Again without giving too much away, the film is full of fun scenes. What was the most fun to actually film and why?

There were a few scenes I remember just laughing out loud and not being able to stop laughing. It was mainly when the actors just started riffing off each other, adlibbing, etc, The entire crew would be in stitches from laughing. Well, you can really laugh out loud during a take, so you would look around and people’s faces would be buried in their jackets or whatever they had in their hands so they wouldn’t ruin the scene. That was always fun. I personally ruined a scene or two from not being able to stop laughing but it comes with the territory I guess.

(L to R) Kevin Jiggetts, Dan DeLuca, Kara Luiz, Max Gray Wilbur, Ken Arnold. Photo credit: Robert Neal Marshall.

Did you face any challenges while making the movie?

A film is a challenge from beginning to end. It is exhausting work! But for this particular set, the most challenging thing I faced was I got sick. We shot in Maryland and it was their worst winter in 76 years. I never have been sick on set but I guess the cold got me this time. But as a director on set you don’t really get sick days, so I had to push through. It was brutal. I was very thankful for an amazing crew that helped pick up the slack those few days.

OK, being a big THE WARRIORS  fan, gotta ask James Remar shared any anecdotes on the set?

I’m a huge fan of THE WARRIORS as well, so yes it was very cool to have him on set. I mean he was Ajax! He would tell great stories about different films, and how the sets were, or working with different people. We all got a good kick out that.

What’s next for you?

I’m attached to a couple projects right now that I can’t really talk about, but I also did five feature films in a row, one a year basically, so I’m also enjoying taking a little time off, traveling and just plain relaxing!!

 And finally, your favorite flavor of cannoli? 

Question should be which flavor don’t I like. Thank you for the interview. I appreciate it.

The 2016 Buried Alive Film Festival is bigger than ever, expanding to five days (November 16-20) with 10 features and 75 short new independent horror films from the around the globe at 7 Stages Theatre in Little Five Points.

“Everything about this year takes Buried Alive to a new level–the same high-quality horror movies but more of them, and our move to 7 Stages means a whole new level of entertainment, dining and bars for attendees and filmmakers alike,” says Blake Myers, Buried Alive’s festival director and ATLRetro Kool Kat. “We’re excited also that Atlanta Pro AV will be supplying the most pristine image quality of any projectors on the market today.”

The 11th annual festival features nine brand new movies, including two hit films from SXSW, Bobby Miller’s THE MASTER CLEANSE (starring Johnny Galecki and Anjelica Huston) and ANOTHER EVIL directed by Carson D. Mell (screenwriter, EAST BOUND AND DOWN and SILICONE VALLEY). The opening night feature is the U.S. premiere of vampire-clown-’80s-cult-homage (ATLRetro got a sneak and we loved it!) THE NIGHT WATCHMEN from director Mitchell Altieri (THE HAMILTONS) featuring James Remar (THE WARRIORS), Matt Sevitto (THE SOPRANOS) and Tiffany Shepis (TROMEO AND JULIET). (Read an exclusive ATLRetro interview with Mitchell here). Other feature films include HERE ALONE, a survivor’s story of a quiet and bleak existence in a decimated future directed by Rod Blackhurst (AMANDA KNOX Netflix Series), and FOUND FOOTAGE 3D, which provides a great new twist on the found footage genre from director Steven DeGennaro and producer Ken Henkel (TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE, EATEN ALIVE).

This year BAFF features will go beyond the usual horror narratives and also include a documentary and an animated sci-fi movie. SYMPATHY FOR THE DEVIL: THE TRUE STORY OF THE PROCESS CHURCH OF THE FINAL JUDGEMENT  is a documentary about “one of the most dangerous satanic cults in America” from director Neil Edwards, featuring interviews with John Waters, George Clinton and original cult members. NOVA SEED is a fully 2D hand drawn science fiction  adventure directed and animated by Nick DiLiberto.

Buried Alive also continues to show its love for the Georgia horror scene. This year’s festival also has more local films than ever with six shorts and two features James Bickert’s 35mm Grindhouse epic FRANKENSTEIN CREATED BIKERS and Tim Reis’s amphibious werewolf BAD BLOOD: THE MOVIE which will be our closing night feature on Sunday.

New to this year’s festival will be the BAFF Sinema Challenge, a challenge for local filmmakers to make a horror film in 13 days. Production starts on November 1 and the films will screen on the festival’s opening night, Wed. Nov. 16, at 8 p.m. We’re super excited to have Mindy De Chiciro, co-creator and exclusive programmer for Turner Classic Movies (TCM) weekly late-night cult movie showcase TCM Underground, as our Kool Kat of the Week. Read our exclusive interview here.

One of the real strengths, and our favorite part, of Buried Alive Film Fest is the shorts program. This year brings seven shorts sets presenting 75 new films that will enlighten and disgust you to the fullest extent. A few highlights from the selections include Calvin Reeder’s THE BULB about two strangers experiencing an alien phenomenon through the public access in a motel room, the American premiere of Finnish animator Tomi Malakias’ VOODOO RIGHTS and the award-winning THE STYLIST by director Jill Gevargizian making its Atlanta premiere. The festival also includes a few animated shorts such as the stop motion masterpiece, UNDER THE APPLE TREE, by Erik van Schaaik, and the amazing strangeness of James Siewert’s THE PAST INSIDE THE PRESENT.

Finally, no respectable horror film festival would be complete without screening a classic, and ATLRetro loves the one they picked. On Saturday night at 10 p.m.,  BAFF will be showing the 40th anniversary digitally remastered bluray of Brian DePalma’s CARRIE, the 1976 classic adaptation from Stephen King’s novel starring Sissy Spacek, William Katt and P.J. Soles. The screening will be hosted by Atlanta’s award-winning Blast Off Burlesque, who will stage one of their signature TabooLaLa events including a performance inspired by the film before the screening. With a ´70s photo-op and costume contest…let’s just say, there will be blood.

The 7 Stages Theatre is located at 1105 Euclid Ave NE, Atlanta, GA 30307. Individual program tickets are $12, and five-day festival passes are just $120.

For more information and the complete Buried Alive Film Festival schedule, visit www.buriedalivefilmfest.com. View the official BAFF bumper here.