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What can you tell us about Blood Struck, which is a debut
feature for you in more ways than one? Blood Struck is the
1st episode in a horror series I've created called Diary of Death.
It's a
story about a guy named Johnny who is is a
suicidal schizo on a downhill spiral. He is a closet case necrophiliac
with the profile of a serial killer. Blood Struck is an obsessive love
story gone wrong. Johnny is insanely in love with 2 girls who are not in
love with him. In a world full of drugs and violence, we follow Johnny as
he faces an old enemy, now a big time crime lord, the 2 girls who broke his
heart and the Death Dealer's twisted games! It's a visually stunning ride
with twists and turns from start to finish! All the stories in the
series follow a concept behind the Death Dealer and his legion of demons
What were your
inspirations for Blood Struck? Well, actually when I
first started writing for the series, I wrote 3 of them. Blood Struck was
one of the 3. I'm not so sure there was an insipiration there as much as it
was more like painting a picture. I also needed to write Blood Struck
so it
works in the series as the 1st episode so there was a lot of thinking
behind it.
What can we expect
in terms of gore and violence?
Well in the Diary of Death series you can count on plenty of gore and
violence. It certainly targets the more extreme horror fan. In Blood Struck
I killed just about everyone on the set LOL Blood Struck is
the first entry into a series of feature films called Diary of Death.
A few words about the concept of this series? Diary
of Death is a horror series that consists of several full length films
following a storyline. Theres are demons that exist, they are all around
us. There is one who preys on those who are afraid to embrace themselves
and their true fears. He is the Death Dealer. If you're chosen, he uses his
legion of demons to visit you in your nightmares, leading you towards the
truth, corrupting your life and leading you towards death. Then, he will
make you a deal, he will give you a new life and with it a chance to find
your true self and face your fears. If you suceed you will have eternal
life in his realm - but if you fail, your true fate will find you. Either
way the Death Dealer owns your soul, but the fate of the soul depends on
your will to survive!
Devanny Pinn |
A few
words about your film's key actors and their characters - what can you
tell us about Devanny Pinn [Devanny
Pinn interview - click here]?
Devanny Pinn plays one of the demons called Lady Divine (Divina). She
is a powerful Egyptian sorceress. I can't say enough about Devanny. She so
very talented in so many areas and a wonderful human being as well! Tara
Cardinal [Tara Cardinal interview -
click here]? Tara is awesome! Talk about
versatility and talent. She is a writer, producer, actor, director and one
hell of an athlete. She does a lot of her own stunt work, the list goes
on. I first met her when I cast her to play Sara in Blood Struck. We
since moved on to many great things! I worked with her on Legend of the Red Reaper
and I acted in and helped produce Song of the Shattered! I love
Tara, we are good friends now as I am with Devanny.
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Chris Burchette |
Chris Burchette?
Chris is the real deal!! He knows how to turn it on. He plays Johnny
the main role in Blood Struck. He is very intense when he is in character
and he is a big help on the set as well, he likes to dig in. He truly
loves film and he understand it. I cast him in 2 films so far.
Cleve Hall |
Cleve
Hall?
Well, what can you say about Cleve, he is a great special FX artist and
one hell of an actor! He plays the evil priest who is another demon in the
series. Cleve is the definition of creep.
Your film also features a guest appearance by
ubiquitous Troma
legend Lloyd Kaufman - what can you tell us about him as an actor, and
have he and his films at all influenced you as producer and director?
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Lloyd Kaufman |
Well, I grew up to Lloyd's films. There are influences from him in there
I'm sure. As an actor he is just brilliant! As soon as you say action that
switch goes on and he has everyone pissing their pants! He is a very very
funny guy and we have grown to be very good friends as well! And
of course, a few words about yourself, the actor? Oh I don't
know, hard to speak about yourself, umm, it's a huge challenge, it's
something Ive always wanted to do and I have such a high level of respect
for actors so it really helps me raise the bar on myself. Everytime I get
in front of the camera I learn something new. I do love it very much! Any
other castmembers you'd like to mention? I'd have to
mention waaay too many, I love so many people. I'm very lucky to work with
so many wonderful people, Tara Cardinal [Tara Cardinal interview -
click here], Lloyd Kaufman, Deneen Melody [Deneen
Melody interview - click here],
Devanny Pinn [Devanny
Pinn interview - click here], Al Snow, Shannon Lark, Chris Burchette, Russ Russo, JB
Destiny, Katie Parker, Morgan Brown, Courtney Gains, David Levine, Justin
Gordon, Brandon Slagle [Brandon
Slagle interview, click here], the list goes on and on. A few words
about your crew? Nothing beats a great crew!! They are what
makes it work. I have guys like Kaliafeh Wright and Big Jeff who put in so
much time and hard work. It is a learning experience and I've lost many
along the way because we don't get paid and it's hard work, but in the end
if you really love it you remain. I've met so many talented people behind
the scenes this year. A great crew is priceless!! If this was football
they would be your offensive line!! As mentioned, Blood Struck is
your debut feature as a director. What can you tell us about your on-set
experiences, and are there things you would have done differently in
retrostpect? Oh everything LOL, I went in as a new
filmmaker so I made tons of mistakes. Lots I would have done differently
but it's all part of the learning process, you fix the mistakes and move
forward. Is there anything you can already give
away about future Diary of Death-episodes? The other
2 scripts that have already been written are different than Blood Struck.
The stories will all differ but still follow the concept of the Death
Dealer. How much can I give away ... I think its a bit early since the first
one is not released yet. But I'll save that for a future interview :-)
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Tara Cardinal in
Legend of the Red Reaper |
Apart
from Blood Struck, you have recently also acted in and
associate-produced Tara Cardinal's Legend of the Red Reaper
[Tara
Cardinal interview - click here]. What can you tell us about that
movie and your role in it?
I worked as a producer for the most part. I came in at the
end. I helped them in Florida and I produced the Waterfall scene in NY
with Tara. As an actor it was a whole lot of fun! The wardrobe was great
and of course in a scene with Lloyd Kaufman makes it that much more
special.
Brandon Slagle, Devanny Pinn in
Song of the Shattered |
You also have your hands in
the production of and a role in Song of the Shattered, starring and
scripted by Brandon Slagle [Brandon
Slagle interview, click here]. A few words about that movie?
Well, it was a quick job. I had become an executive producer on a
project that fell apart and I didn't want to waste what we invested so
Brandon and I went on a writing frenzy to come up with something to shoot
for the time we were there. I wrote Cut, which is now a full length in
preproduction, and we moved forward with Song of the Shattered to shoot at
that time. The fastest project I've ever been a part of and im sure the
fastest project I'll ever do. It turned out really well. Brandon worked his
ass off on it. A lot fo fun for sure and acting in a couple scenes with
Devanny Pinn was very cool. I'm used to directing her and now being friends
it was an experience I'll always remember. Bad
Girls Burn in Hell is just an amazingly great title - and since you
have co-written and executive-produced it, you just have to say a few
words about it! As of now the brakes have been put on. I
was a writer/producer/director for this film. And in the end differences
in views have led us to putting out a short with the footage we have with
hopes on raising interest from other producers. It's a really good project
and the footage is amazing. For me it was early in my film career and I've
learned so much since then. My hopes are to go back and reshoot a feature
this time with the experience I currently have. It has a whole lot of
potential! A few words about Absentia? What
an amazing project!! The whole Absentia family is just amazing. The writer
and director Mike Flanagan is brilliant on so many levels. It was a
dedicated hungry cast and crew that made that film possible. We even had
Doug Jones in the film who plays a main character. What a fantastic
experience for me! Any other films you are involved in you'd like to
mention, any future projects? Well, I'm working on a film
called Cut. I've already cast quite a few great actors for this film and
a whole slew of the indie scene's greatest! I've got names like Rachel
Grubb, Frederic Doss, Brandon Slagle [Brandon
Slagle interview, click here], Shannon Lark [Shannon
Lark interview - click here], Deneen Melody [Deneen
Melody interview - click here], Seregon
O'Dassey [Seregon O'Dassey
interview - click here], Cyndi Crotts [Cyndi
Crotts interview - click here], Larry Laverty, Lloyd Kaufman, Julin Jean, Devanny
Pinn [Devanny
Pinn interview - click here], Robyn Griggs, Kaylee Williams and more.
I've already spoken to the
agents and management for Danny Trejo, Brian Dennehy, Lauren German, Danny
Aiello and Lance Henriksen who have obviosly been tougher to nail down.
This will be my biggest film to date for sure! I've written the film, I'm
producing the film and I'll be directing it with Wolfgang Meyer [Wolfgang
Meyer interview - click here]. Wolfgang
is a very talented director who brings a whole lot to this film. He
appears in the film and I act in it as well. We will be shooting the film
in HD on the RED! I'm very excited for this. I've been in preproduction all
week!
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Pretty much all of the
films you have your hands in are of the horror variety. Is horror a genre
especially dear to you, and why?
I grew up to horror, almost everyone loves a good horror film. I have
love in so many areas, Horror is a true love and it's easier and much
cheaper to make a film LOL. Great for starting off!
You have a background
in heavy metal music. What prompted you to get into filmmaking all of a
sudden?
Well, I've always been an artist. I started as a writer and moved into
music. I spent 16 years in a recording studio I built. Being in film has
always been a dream. As time went on and the music business changed the
way it did, it just got harder and harder to make money and still pursue
my dreams. Now with a wife and 2 beautiful children I have much more
responsibility and money has become an issue. I've always worked for free
and still do because I love it. Last year I was in the right place at the
right time and I took some chance. I drove forward and never looked back!
so as a result, here I am! Follow your dreams, work hard and it can
happen!
A few words about your band Hollow?
Hollow I something I started in 1992. I did another record with the
band name with a good friend who wrote the music in Jason Velez. It's one
of those things that just chase you down. Jason and I also did DEATH
DEALER last year. It's a very heavy band. Notice how it inspired the film
im doing with the Death Dealer :-) Your
website, MySpace, Facebook, whatever else? WWW.JOEHOLLOW.COM
WWW.FACEBOOK.COM/HOLLOWBETHYNAME
WWW.YOUTUBE.COM/JOEHOLLOW
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Having done
pretty much everything on film, from acting and writing to directing and
producing, which do you prefer, which could you live without? It's
all very cool and very challenging! Producing is the hardest for sure. Depending on how much you love what you do there is just not enough time
in the day. I'd say let's keep the feet moving forward and see where they
take me. Your
favourite films? Hmm, that's tough and probably not what you
would expect. Let's see The Godfather, Shawshank Redemption,
Rocky, Jacob's Ladder, Scarface, Bronx Tale, Friday
the 13th, the orginal Poseidon Adventure, Natural Born
Killers and a few others for sure. That's a tough
question :-) Anything else you are dying to mention and I
have merely forgotten to ask? No, I think you covered quite
a bit! Thanks so much for having me here. I really appreciate it. All my
love and best wishes!! Thanks for the interview!
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