One, two, Freddy star is coming for UK British horror comedy, Strippers Vs Werewolves, which sees the first time the horror legend, Robert Englund, has appeared in a British horror film.
The star of seven A Nightmare on Elm Street movies, eight if you include Freddy Vs Jason, as well as such diverse horror and sci-fi as V, Urban Legend, Wishmaster, Babylon 5, The Mangler, the original Knight Rider and The Phantom of the Opera, this is the first time the Californian born actor will have portrayed a Lycanthrope. Although, he did come into contact with another shapeshifting human in the Manimal TV series, back in the early 80s. He’s also encountered strippers, of the zombie kind, in the imaginatively titled, Zombie Strippers, all of which should stand him in good stead.
It’s a Brit of a coup then, for the film, which starts shooting in and around London this week, boasts a mighty impressive cast of horror and sci-fi alumni, including Barbara Nedaljakova, from Hostel and Hostel 2 and Sarah Douglas, Ursa from Superman 2 and Queen Taramis in Conan the Destroyer.
With an international cast like that and a script by acclaimed award winning writer and director, Pat Higgins, the production has a certain pedigree and you can only hope that it, bolstered by an impressive supporting cast that includes ‘The Krays’ Martin Kemp and former stars of Hollyoaks and Emmerdale, has a successful transformation to the screen.
The words ‘comedy horror and werewolves’ obviously stirs memories of the granddaddy of all horror comedies, An American Werewolf in London, and the UK has proven that it can handle chills and chortles effectively of late with the likes of Shaun of the Dead, Severance and Attack the Block.
Strippers Vs Werewolves may have big paw prints to step into but with Hollywood giving us Cowboys Vs Aliens and planning on delivering Dinosaurs Vs Aliens, it’s nice to see UK filmmakers stepping into the ring with this tale that is sure to do for strippers and werewolves what From Dusk Til Dawn did for vampires and strippers. It’s sure to be a bitch of a movie!
Hollywood had Universal and London had Hammer, and now Essex is having a ‘stab’ at horror thanks to Jinx Media, founded by husband and wife team, Pat and Pippa Higgins.
Higgins in horror mode
With an output of five movies, TrashHouse (2005), HellBride (2007), KillerKiller (2007), The Devil’s Music (2008) and Bordello Death Tales (2009), in as many years Jinx Media is proving to be anything but jinxed, with it being as productive as the likes of those studios that unleashed Lon Chaney and Christopher Lee into our nightmares. Dean Newman caught up with Director, Producer, Writer and Editor, Pat Higgins, and found out what influenced his frankly warped and deprived mind.
Pat’s most recent release, The Devil’s Music, has just premiered on DVD in America, but us lucky folk in the UK, however can catch the horror mockumentary, described as ‘This Is Spinal Tap’ meets The Omen’, for free on http://www.indiemoviesonline.com/watch-movies/the-devils-music, uncut, no adverts, no horrible software to install. It is something which Pat sees as a really pioneering website and a great outlet for film fans and filmmakers alike.
DN: Who are your influences?
PH: It’s mainly filmmakers that went out and just did it regardless of any obstacles that may have been in their path, so very much people like Sam Raimi, Peter Jackson, Robert Rodriquez, and Kevin Smith. People who had no money and little professional experience but just decided right I’m going to put together a screenplay, put together the best package that I can and just go out and actually make it.
In terms of tone I’d definitely also add Joe Dante to that list, if there is anyone I owe a huge debt to with comedy horror hybrids then it his him in particular. I vividly remember seeing Gremlins when I was about 11 and it just had this huge impact on me. And not forgetting Fred Dekker as well, with Night of the Creeps and The Monster Squad, again very 80s but it’s just a nice fusion of comedy and horror.
DN: What horror movies do you hold in high regard?
PH: I’ve got a lot of love for The Shining, which I think is perhaps the greatest horror movie ever made, the original Robert Wise version of The Haunting and The Exorcist. I think The Shining is pretty much the perfect horror movie as its just got images that drill into your head and just stay there.
Stephen King was not a huge fan and called it a beautiful car without an engine, but I don’t actually think he is right, there is an engine there and is revving really fast but it is so beautifully made that you can’t hear the engine, it doesn’t leave the traces you might usually get.
The Exorcist is smart, is not afraid of its subject matter in a way that a lot of movies dealing with that sort of thing might be and is willing to credit its audience with some intelligence. And The Haunting is just a beautiful, crisp, perfect movie. I love it, a lot, but do have a huge amount of hatred for the remake. Although I think the greatest scare shot of all time for me has to be in the much butchered The Exorcist III.
DN: The likes of The Exorcist have become an established horror franchise, have you ever been tempted to do a sequel to one of your own films?
PH: I’d love to, I’ve got ideas for all of them but I get side-tracked by new ideas that bubble up. I’m a bit like a dog chasing a car as I’ve just got to go after stuff, but I’ve certainly got treatments and in some cases whole screenplays for follow ups to what we’ve already produced.
Cranks the fear up to 11
DN: Getting the right mix of horror and humour is notoriously hard to get right, what do you see as the secret to success in balancing those two areas in film?
PH: I think you have to love your characters and love your script. If it’s not breaking your heart to kill one of your characters, which is someone you’ve lived with for months and years in the back of your head, on the page and finally in front of the camera, you can’t expect anyone else to remotely give a shit about them.
I think that particularly with horror comedies people think they can back away from the script and think we can set this up and then this up, the wacky best friend dies at this point, so on and so forth and I think that people can get very dispassionate about it and more often than not it really shows. You end up with characters as just cannon-fodder that nobody cares about, including the people who have written and made the movie.
In terms of the gags I think it is a matter of approaching it in a smart way and ensuring that the script is as tight and as entertaining as it can possibly be, because the writing process is the only one where low budget directors can get a leap on Hollywood.
If you are going crossbreed horror and comedy then you have to do it with loving care.
DN: A lot of horror comedy is played straight as well, such as An American Werewolf in London and Shaun of the Dead, isn’t it?
PH: Absolutely, Shaun of the Dead is a movie that really loves its characters, the way that the mother’s death (Penelope Wilton) is handled is just heartbreaking. And I think that is what marks that film out over less successful scripts as it is written by someone that cares.
One, two, Freddy star is coming for UK British horror comedy, Strippers Vs Werewolves, which sees the first time the horror legend, Robert Englund, has appeared in a British horror film.
Dawn of the Dad 