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Your new movie Death
Kiss - in a few words, what is it about?
Death
Kiss is about a vigilante who delivers bloody justice to violent
criminals and he donates the money from his actions to a single mother
with a crippled child to offset the guilt for the murders he commits. Death
Kiss seems to be inspired by action movies from the 1970's and
80s, most notably probably the Death Wish series starring Charles
Bronson - so is this a film genre you're personally fond of as well, and
some of your genre favourites? Yes. I do love the Bronson
movies. Especially part 1 and 2. I was so happy to make a movie in
that specific vigilante subgenre that I really went full
steam ahead in the early 80s style. I usually make all of my movies in
the style and feel of the 80s, but on Death
Kiss I went all the way. (Other) sources of
inspiration when writing Death
Kiss? Mainly Cannon films of the early
80s. I wanted to make a movie that seemed like it was made by that
company and in the era. Death
Kiss is a film that gets rather violent at times - so do talk
about the gruesome bits in your movie, and how were they achieved? And is
there a line regarding violence you refuse to cross?
I make
movies for adult audiences. Death
Kiss is R-rated movie. It’s not a safe
movie. It’s violent and I make no apologies about that. It’s also not
very PC so many people may feel I’ve crossed several lines but it’s
about a vigilante who murders criminals. If their crimes are to warrant
death, then they need to be violent criminals. There are lines I won’t
cross as it matters to showing violence against children in a scene. You
also have to talk about the stuntwork in Death
Kiss for a bit! We had lots of shoot-outs and
chases. Some fists flying too. All of the actors do their own
stunts. We fire blanks and we have real blood hits. We try to be
safe but with a movie this manly, we kinda just let it ride. What can you tell us about your
overall directorial approach to your story at hand?
Every actor needs to be directed in a different way. Most scenes
overall require their own overall feel and tone. My only actual focus
was to make a gritty, ultraviolent, manly movie that looked like it was
made by a B movie director from Cannon
films in the 80s. I
don’t usually come up with a tactic, I just feel my way through things.
A
few words about the shoot as such, and the on-set atmosphere? I
think we’re mainly all business on set. We might let a few jokes
fly and we talk in between shots but my actors and I are keenly
aware that we are on a micro budget film and we don’t mess
around. It’s all work. All business. I make the lowest budget
commercially released movies out there, so I don’t have time for much of
anything other than getting right into filming. Anything
you can tell us about audience and critical reception of Death
Kiss? People will either love or hate this movie.
There are always those who won’t give a low budget indie film a
chance. Nothing can be done about them. That being said, in this case, so
far, most of the film critics have loved this movie. I’m really
shocked by how much positive feedback I’ve been getting on this
film on all sides. I’m very gratified. Will there ever be a sequel to Death
Kiss, and/or any other future projects you'd like to share?
I
would love to make another Death
Kiss. And yes, I’ve made a few movies
since Death
Kiss. The one I’m most excited about is a ninja movie called The Dragon Unleashed. Also a
Cannon films 80s type movie. What
got you into making movies in the first place, and did you receive any
formal training on the subject? I’ve had no formal
training at all. But I’ve always been an artist. I’ve been writing and
drawing comicbooks since I was a little kid. I can also play a couple of
musical instruments at an expert level. Working a camera is no
different then knowing how to play an instrument, and writing stories
for comicbooks is also good training for writing movies. And I’ve done
it my entire life. So I have a lifetime of training from an artistic point
of view but zero academic training. What can you tell us
about your filmwork prior to Death
Kiss? Death
Kiss was my 19th commercial release
movie. The others have been mostly in the horror and action genres.
I’ve done westerns. I love to make westerns. I’ve made zombie movies,
fantasy, martial arts movies. Lots of different movies for the home
video market. How would you describe yourself as a
director?
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I’m just a guy trying to tell an entertaining
story and please my audience. Simple. I’ve never reflected on what
type of director I am. I think film critics and the actors I work
with might be able to answer that better than I. Filmmakers who inspire you? Oddly
enough, I’m not really inspired by other directors. There are directors
that I like and even love, but they are far removed from my inspirations.
No one that I wish I could emulate or anything like that. As a fan I
love how Ridley Scott can create a visual beauty like in Bladerunner and
Legend. I love how George Lucas created characters and adventure in the
original Star Wars. I love how clever and concise James Cameron can be in
movies like Aliens. I love how Michael Mann creates a sense of style in
the original Miami
Vice. I love how Sergio Leone re-creates the wild west.
I’m a movie fan. My fandom and my creativity are completely different
things. Your
favourite movies?
The Empire Strikes Back, Wrath of Khan, The Good the Bad and the
Ugly, Scarface, Saturday Night Fever, Bladerunner,
Rocky, Brotherhood of the
Wolf, Halloween,
The Exorcist 3, The Road Warrior, Highlander, Death
Wish, Goodfellas. Many more.
... and of course, films you really
deplore? I really hate the new Disney Star Wars movies.
I’ve never actually cared enough to really hate a movie until I saw
those. Force Awakens and
The Last Jedi are horrible and deplorable
propaganda films. Your/your movie's website, Facebook, whatever
else? People can contact me at
www.thedarkestmachines.com or
www.facebook.com/thedarkestmachines
Thanks for the interview!
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