You are about to release your new movie Sickened. In a few words,
what is it about?
Kim (Nancy Feliciano [Nancy
Feliciano interview - click here]) was abducted 20 years ago. She
managed to escape but the kidnapper was never caught or seen again! The
memories still haunt her. Her friend Charlene (Debbie D [Debbie
D interview - click here]) is the only one who knows and she
can talk to about it.Things are getting strange and Kim begins seeing and
hearing the man who terrorized her. Is he back or is she going crazy! Along
with her friend and new love interest (Phil Herman) she hopes to conquer her
past fears and live her life! Also starring: Joel D. Wynkoop [Joel D.Wynkook interview
- click here], Tiffany Sinclair, Christopher Kahler, Ron Germy,
Franklin E. Wales, Texas Malone! This sexy suspense thriller will have you
scared and out of breath at the end!
How would you describe the atmosphere of the movie?
The atmosphere of this movie is dark. It feels like you're watching a
scene on a rainy day over and over. There is so much trauma the lead
character has to deal with that there is never really a happy moment for
her. All her past is catching up with her, even though through therapy and
time it has been dealt with. Hidden things that were blocked and voices of
the past are stirring things up. Her madness is dealt with by herself and
is unraveling faster than she can control.
A thin line between reality and madness is drawn and sucks the viewer
into her madness.
How far do you go in terms of explicit violence and gore, or is
your film based more on what I would call psychological violence?
My
movies always are dealt with in the term you use, psychological
violence. I want them to be realistic and scary without being over
gory. There is blood and violence throughout but not over the top with
gallons of blood.
What
inspired you to make the movie in the first place?
Our last movie Into the
Woods was a surprise hit. The movie was one giant nightmare that
had the viewers actually watch and piece things together. It was a
challenge cause usually horror genre movies are color by numbers and very
predictable with one twist at the end that wraps everything up. Into
the Woods was really a challenge and had people scratching there
head and saying what the hell is going on. But in the end it all pulled
together and worked. We had an original running time of 1:45 but felt
things were to drawn and lagged it was cut down to 1:10 minutes and people
felt the rush and loved it. They though the time was perfect and really
felt what we were going for. A psychedelic adrenaline rush!
Well, people were so drawn in with Into
the Woods they wanted more. Tons of e-mails and letters were sent
to our distributors and our websites wanting a sequel. I had written
a sequel but felt I was cheating viewers. I felt it was all told and done
with in part 1. Plus I wanted to do something different and not do a
sequel so soon. ButI did like the script, so I changed
things around. All new characters were made and came up with a
completely new story with the feel of the original Into
the Woods.
But while all the characters and situtations are familiar from Into
the Woods, rest assured it is another mind trip. People will have
to sit there and watch to understand what Is going on to really appreciate
it.
Nancy
Feliciano
Sickened's
lead actress Nancy Feliciano[Nancy
Feliciano interview - click here] has become a regular in your movies over the
years. A few words about her, her role, and why do you like to cast her in
what I would call victim-roles quite as much?
The reason I cast her is, I really like the attention she gets with
minimal enthusiasm. She does very little press and interviews and always
says she hates this. But the fans love her. Maybe it is because of the
shortage of Latino scream queens... I don't know! She is witty and funny
and very free spirit. She will work with you on things and if she doesn't
like something she will let you know. The last two movies Sickened
and Into the Woods
have put her in front and while she won't admit it she is liking the
attention.
Even though she plays victims she never shies away and doesn't give a
good fight. She studies her part and tries to put herself in the shoes of
that character.
These woods-movies are grueling cause you're in the elements in
all types of weather or conditions. She is very athletic and keeps up with
the demands thrown at her and smiles but really wants to kill us. We
always try to go a lil further with shock value with her but like I said
she won't be coaxed into anything she doesn't feel proud or good with.
Debbie D
Sickened
also marks the return of Debbie D [Debbie
D interview - click here] to your films, who has debuted in your
debut feature Burglar from Hell in 1993. What can you tell us about
her and her character?
Debbie D and I have been shooting ideas back and forth for a few years.
Budget issues and distance between us has kept us apart, but we were
finally able to figure out a way to shoot this and reunite us.
Debbie plays the lead character's best friend and pacifies her and is a
shoulder to lean on. Deb and Nancy had great chemistry and really worked
well together. They're both pros and gorgeous women inside out to work
with. It is ironic that in they were both Burglar from Hell
and now they reunite and are in the same movie again after all these
years. And may I say they both look great!
We're sure fans are going to love their scenes and performances and
hope to maybe get a starring role for both of them in a feature in the
near future. Fans seems to like them and they work well together.
You also play one of the lead
roles in Sickened yourself. A few words about Phil Herman, the
actor, and of course your performance in the film?
I was drawn into this because the lead who was supposed to play
the role dropped out at the last minute. I really liked the script and it
was not really a major role but it was important to the story, so I could
not just cut it out. As a matter of fact it was pivotal to the development
and breakdown of the lead character.
One scene took about 8 hours to shoot with blood and body parts that
just got worse and worse and me saying why why did I do this?
Also to get Nancy to do the outdoor woods nude stuff Ih ad to agree to
also do some or else she wasn't going to. So we'ill see how much of my
nudity gets into the movie. I had never done such revealing stuff but
after persuading an coaxing from the female leads in the movie and threats
of walk-outs I finally agreed. How much will stay in the movie is up to
the editor.
Joel D.Wynkoop
What
can you tell us about the rest of your cast? Let's start with Joel
D.Wynkoop [Joel D.Wynkoop interview
- click here], not exactly a stranger to your films either ...
Joel D. Wynkoop is the hardest-working actor in the genre. The guy does
a movie a week it seems like. Yet whenever I get on the phone with him and
ask him if he wants a part he never lets me down. Joel's played in almost
every one of my movies including this one. He plays the newsman reporting
the murders in a subplot going on. But any role Joel takes he always
injects his charm and wit and creates a character that no one else could
and turns in a top performance.
We are still trying to find the time to make a buddy movie where our
characters are the lead and we're actually playing in the movie together.
A few failed attempts later we're going to try again soon.
Tiffany Sinclair
Then
there's Tiffany Sinclair ...
Tiffany is the most talented, beautiful inside-out person I know.
Unlike most of my actors and actress who are mainly just that, Tiffany is
a writer,director,editor, actress etc. She is a one-woman army of
talent. I know when I ask her to shoot something for me it will be
perfect. From the sound to the picture nothing ever has to be fixed. She
is another powerhouse who has so many things going on yet always finds
time for me.
I needed a sex therapist for a radio show to have a call-in with the
lead. She really played the part well and convinces the viewers that she
really is an on radio sex therapist. Her portrayal was dead on and one of
the lighter moments of the movies with her sarcasm and wit injected into
the role.
Nancy had worked with Tiffany in Into
the Woods and was glad to be reunited once again. Their onscreen
presences and exchanging of lines are flawless and very well-acted!
Christopher Kahler
And there's of course
Christopher Kahler, another of your semi-regulars ...
Chris my lil buddy. While everybody puts in a lot and everything
everyone does is appreciated, if it wasn't for Chris' patience and talent
none of these movie would ever had seen the light of day.
Chris painstakingly takes hours and hours of raw footage and makes
sense of them and presents them in such a way you could never believe that
these movie were made on such low budgets. His keen eye for perfection and
flowing of scenes along with FX and music are on the money.
Even when a shot doesn't work he will go out with camera in hand and
shoot something no matter how small or big it is to make it work.
He has a task with this movie of a lot of green screen FX that he wants
to kill me for but is turning out top quality results that will be seen an
appreciated by viewers.
Franklin E.Wales
Anyone
else in your cast and crew you'd like to talk about?
I would like to thank filmmaker Joe Sherlock for his opening segment
which brought foundation to the flick and a great premise to build up on.
With the talents of Texas Malone and Ron Germy to play that out.
Also with great thanks horror author Franklin E. Wales... The
Cable Guy! Dude your finally in one of my movies and hopefully many
more! When I was first introduced to you through the love of the novel Booger
- How many authors write back to a fan personally and also give an
autographed copy of their novel? Great brilliant underrated author. An
original writer with bright ideas, not rehashes of others but original
stuff that takes you on a journey and into their world and leaves you
wanting more when you're finished. Keep writing man!!!!!!!
The
film's website, MySpace, Facebook, whatever else?
I shot two things, Sleepwalker Strangler which is out. It was so
well received and fans really took to Nancy we shot another one called Pumpkin
Eyes: Blind Justice. It is always a pleasure shooting other people's
things and getting paid for it. Plus I can do a lot of stuff that I
usually can't do cause I blame it on the writer (WAVE) and say I
didn't write so I can't change it. Can't mess up their vision!
They're basically women in peril-segments focusing on their deaths and
their bodies! I am so impressed with Gary and WAVE
on how they
cornered the market with their type movies. They are tastefully done
horror fetish movies, and he really seems to make a good living at it.
People really like his style and people love working for him. He is very
fair and has an eye for what people want to see. He must be doing
something rite as he's still grinding these flicks out and has an
impressive list. He has the best ingredients: beautiful naked girls and
horror!
I plan on doing more once I get the next script. He requested another
segment with Nancy! Will see what her schedule is like and if she is
available.
Feeling lucky? Want to search any of my partnershops yourself for more, better results? (commissions earned)
This is the first time this has ever happened. Production wrapped in
November 2009 on Sickened and I haven't shot anything since. I was
going to take a year off and try to get some of my scripts financed
by a bigger production company. When the release of Sickenedcomes
I will focus on promotion, distribution and get that into a few
festivals and see where that takes us!
I will also be working on other peoples projects but no start-up on any
of my own as of now!
Anything else you are dying to tell
us I have merely forgotten to ask?
I think that covers it except if any distribution or production
companies are out there and take a fancy to what I am about to, contact
me! I'm drawing straws here and can't go on much longer making movies at
this level, I need to get to the next stage very soon before I financially
tank.
But as usual I thank you and all my fans for sticking with us for all
these years and coming back with every new flick I put out.
Robots and rats,
demons and potholes, cuddly toys and shopping mall Santas,
love and death and everything in between, Tales to Chill Your Bones to is all of that.
Tales to Chill Your Bones to -
a collection of short stories and mini-plays ranging from the horrific to the darkly humourous,
from the post-apocalyptic to the weirdly romantic,
tales that will give you a chill and maybe a chuckle,
all thought up by the twisted mind of screenwriter and film reviewer Michael Haberfelner.
Tales to Chill Your Bones to
the new anthology by Michael Haberfelner
amazon.com
amazon.co.uk
amazon.de
eThaiCD.com
find Phil Herman at adultvideouniverse.com
