|
Your new movie
Demon Squad: Tooth and Claw - in a few words, what's it about?
It's a procedural detective story with a supernatural bent. The story
follows a paranormal investigator, Nick Moon, and his partner
Daisy as they take on a new case that appears linked to a werewolf
or wolf-like creature.
The inspiration for the story actually came from a
local bit of folklore -- the Wolf Woman of Mobile, who was spotted
downtown in the early 1970s.
Demon Squad: Tooth and Claw is a sequel to your 2019 film Demon Squad
a.k.a. Night Hunters - so how closely are the films actually
related, and have you always intended to make a follow-up to the first
movie? And will there maybe more Demon Squad-movies?
It stands on its own, so audiences don't have to be familiar with
the characters or setting to enjoy this one -- similar to how
anyone can come into an Indiana Jones or
Bond movie without
knowing what happened previously.
We hoped we could tell more stories with these
characters. We certainly have ideas! But nothing was ever
guaranteed. Luckily, we found a fanbase who encouraged us to launch a
Kickstarter and they funded it.
We're currently working on more scripts -- possibly a webseries.
Fingers crossed they come to fruition!
What can you tell us about your co-writers
on Demon
Squad: Tooth and Claw, Erin Lilley and Devon Coleman, and what
was your collaboration like?
I had the basic plot outline, characters and some scenes put
together but I was having trouble getting momentum going. Erin did
a pass at some point, but the script was just sort of languishing.
I knew what it needed, but couldn't get a handle on it.
We met Devon through Mystery Science Theater 3000 where they were
a writer. Devon was a fan of the movie and we got to chatting
online and eventually he came aboard to write a draft of the
script and tie all of these pieces together. They were great to
work with, and I hope we can continue to work on future projects.
Do talk about
Demon Squad: Tooth and Claw's approach to horror!
I try to look at it as more gateway horror. This is
aligned closer with an episode of
X-Files or
Supernatural or
movies like Fright Night and Monster Squad. We try to focus on the
characters and their reactions to these scary situations -- there
are hints of gore and dismembered bodies, but we keep it tucked in
the shadows. I learned that some fans had been able to share the
first movie with their kids who loved it, and I tried to keep that
in mind when making this one. A horror film the whole family can
enjoy!
Demon
Squad: Tooth and Claw is of course also at times quite funny - so
you just have to talk about your movie's brand of comedy as well!
We try not to take ourselves too seriously!
The humor is rooted mostly in the characters, and I think it shows
that they use it as a coping mechanism for dealing with all of
this weird stuff 24/7. Corky, a demon character who pops up throughout, has some of my favorite gags.
A few words about your overall directorial approach to your
story at hand? As a low budget indie director, I'm
constantly aware of time and money limitations, and I try not to let it
negatively impact the story. I'm always trying to stay one step ahead of
the weather or reconfiguring a scene on the fly because a location becomes
unavailable, etc., and it can be a challenge. I try to work with as many
of the same actors and crew as I can because we've developed a shorthand
and know what to expect. I trust my actors and try to stay out of their
process unless I see a problem. At the end of the day, I want to tell the
best story possible! What can you tell us about
Demon Squad: Tooth and Claw's cast, and why exactly these people?
Khristian Fulmer (Nick Moon) and Erin Lilley (Daisy) carried over from the first
film. They're great to work with and we've been making movies
together for 20 years. They know their characters and have fun
with it. Victoria Antonelli (Chari Divine) was a great find. Chari, a fake psychic,
was difficult to cast. We were really having trouble - lots of
auditions, but none that really clicked. She nailed it!
A lot of the cast were people we had worked with prior, and ported
them over to this project because we like them!
Do talk about the shoot as such, and the on-set
atmosphere! The shoot was relatively quick - 14 days or so, I
believe. Most days were a rush to get the shots we needed --
either because of summer heat, thunderstorms, insect swarms, noisy
environments. But it was also a pretty fun shoot. The first night
we shot outdoors with the wolf costume was thrilling - in the
forest, under the production lights, fog rolling in... it was
intimidating. Anything you can tell us about audience and critical reception
of Demon
Squad: Tooth and Claw? So far critics have been
kind - we've garnered favorable reviews on Rotten Tomatoes. The audience
feedback we've gotten has been very positive. I've had emails, comments
and messages from people asking for another sequel! Any future projects
you'd like to share?
 |
Feeling lucky? Want to search any of my partnershops yourself for more, better results? (commissions earned) |
The links below will take you just there!!!
|
|
 |
At the moment just trying to get this
movie out and seen. I'm working on three scripts for a possible ongoing
webseries with these characters. Once the scripts are hammered out, we'll
likely try another Kickstarter to produce them. We'll see... the future is
always in motion. Your/your movie's website,
social media, whatever else?
www.fightingowlfilms.com has
links to the film and our socials. Anything else you're
dying to mention and I have merely forgotten to ask?
I appreciate the support and opportunity to share the film with your
audience! Thank you
Thanks for the interview! |