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Your new movie Cult of VHS - in a few words, what is it about?
Cult of VHS
is (in my opinion) the ultimate documentary covering the VHS format
as well as a nostalgic look at the social and political impact it had on
the public.
Now what does VHS - and tape collecting for that matter - mean to you on a
personal level? And some of your favourite VHS memories?
I
honestly had no idea people still collected VHS until I spoke with Rob
Preciado (the director), and it blew my mind! I see a lot of people trying
to shift their old tapes to charity shops, but I had no idea that there
were people out there hunting them down. It’s incredible! It honestly
made me wish I never threw away my collection, I used to have so many gems
from classic Doctor Who to
Hammer horror films. My fondest memories of VHS
were Friday nights with my parents, heading down to Danny’s Videos
in Mottingham to pick a movie for the night along with a bag of chips –
absolute bliss. I still remember renting out Freddy’s Dead – The Final
Nightmare in 3D several times…
My
VHS diet as a kid consisted of Terminator 2, Batman (1989),
Ghostbusters 1
& 2 (both on one tape with an episode of Batman,
the 1943 serial, in
between), Dracula AD 1972
– I even remember my Mum owning the James Bond
VHS collection (Dr. No to Goldeneye), it became tradition to watch a
Bond
film every Saturday night, but I remember the pan and scan was hideous!
The VHS boardgame Atmosfear also brings back fond memories.
How did the project fall together in the first place, and how did
you get attached as a producer? The
documentary is the brainchild of the Preciado brothers, Rob (the director)
and Gerardo (soundtrack and producer). They started this whole journey
into the past. I was in post-production on (K)nox: The Rob Knox Story when
I discovered their Kickstarter page and fell in love with the whole idea.
It reminded me of In Search of Darkness, but with more heart and soul as it
focused on the collectors, the VHS audiences etc. So I reached out to Rob
and told him I wanted to help. Luckily the man is an absolute gem of a
human being and he said yes. What were the challenges
of getting Cult of VHS
to the screen from a producer's point of
view? Having
worked on (K)nox: The Rob Knox Story for 3 years as director and executive
producer, I had all this fresh knowledge and experiences that I wanted to
lend to the production. I would always be on the phone to Rob and Gerardo,
working through each chapter of the film and lending a fresh perspective.
Rob and Gerardo are both based in Mexico, so it made sense for me to
create a UK production team on my side in order to help push things along
– we became a well-oiled machine, working 24/7.
What can you tell us about Cult of VHS's
director Rob Preciado, and what was your collaboration like? Rob
Preciado is an absolute professional and I’m thrilled to be by his side
on his debut feature documentary. I’ve met a lot of filmmakers over the
years who tend to lose their heads up their own creative arses, but Rob is
extremely humble and so much fun to work with – even though I’ve never
met him in person! But when we got together to brainstorm ideas, it was
such a blast! With this documentary, we feel like we have the same
background, especially as filmmakers who grew up in the 80s/90s. Plus
we’d always be recommending each other films and TV shows that we’d
never heard of before. Do
talk about some of your interviewees, and why exactly these people? This
is what separates us from all other documentaries on the subject, it’s
international! It’s not a British or an American documentary, we talk to
people from Italy, France, Australia, Canada, the Netherlands, Mexico and
so on. We’ve become a global community, or ‘cult’ if you will –
but as Kevin Martin tells us, it’s not a creepy kill-yourself cult!
Not only do we get the views of legendary artist Graham Humphreys and
Severin Films legend David Gregory – we speak to young collectors and
filmmakers from all over the globe. It’s incredible how VHS has
influenced and is STILL influencing people to this day. People who
weren’t even born when VHS was around are now bidding for them on eBay! Besides
producing, you also appear in front of the camera as one of the
interviewees - so do talk about that experience, and which role on Cult of VHS
did you enjoy more, actually? Originally,
I was only meant to be an interviewee for the documentary, but as Rob and I
spoke more about the project, I became incredibly keen to get more
involved. I don’t mind being on camera at all, in fact it was nice to
take a trip down memory (Memorex) lane. But I’m much more comfortable
behind the scenes, helping on the production and making sure that Rob’s
vision comes to fruition. Plus, I have a fat head and too many chins.
Graham Humphreys |
A few words
about the shoots as such? Most
of the shoots were conducted on location by the interview subjects, due to
the fact we made this film during the first wave of the pandemic. I did
however interview my father (Aiden Truss) for the film, it made complete
sense to me as he grew up in the era of the VHS boom. It was nice to
finally work with my father on something that meant a lot to both of us,
he’s the reason I’m a huge horror movie fan! So to bond with him on
the shoot was absolutely fantastic. My brother (Dan) was also the sound
recordist on the shoot too, so it became a family affair. I also
interviewed Misty Moon’s Stuart Morriss who was a last-minute addition
to the film – I mean, how can we not include him in the film?! The $64 question, where can Cult of VHS
be seen? You
can check out Cult of VHS at its World Premiere at Frightfest in Leicester
Square on Sunday 28th August. We’ll also be appearing at Horrorthon in
Dublin, Ireland in October too. Any future projects you'd like to
share?
I’m
currently in pre-production on a short film with Misty Moon’s Stuart
Morriss called Pareidolia. Stuart approached me earlier this year with
the idea of making a short horror/thriller starring Diane Franklin (Amityville
II: The Possession, Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure), so I jumped at
the chance. It’s written by my father (Aiden Truss) who wrote the novel
Gape, and I have a solid production team (Q Cumber Films) behind me. Since
completion of the script, Stuart has cast some absolute gems such as
Carolyn Pickles (Broadchurch, Harry Potter and the Deathly
Hallows),
Graham Cole (The
Bill), Joe Acres (The Understudy) and Sandy Johnson (John
Carpenter’s Halloween). We start shooting in October for a 2023 release.
I’d
also like to take the opportunity to give my team a huge shout out -
Camille Cremades, James Dean, Nacho Mazuecos, James Shovlar, Toby Campen,
Dan Yates, Felix Waverley-Hudson and Infra Violet.
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Stuart Morriss |
What got you into the filmworld in the first
place, and did you receive any formal training on the subject? I
think it all stems from the movies and TV shows I watched on VHS as a kid.
I always wanted to be an actor and ended up doing a few stage shows and
television adverts – but when I went to college, I realised I wanted to
be behind the camera. The idea of creating a film that wasn’t in the
world before, something personal to me that audiences could engage with
was the big hook for me. I ended up studying film and media at Thames
Valley University (now the University of West London), and I’ve never
looked back. What
can you tell us about your filmwork prior to Cult of VHS?
I
started out as an editor for Blu-Ray, DVD featurettes and music videos. In
2018, I was approached by Colin Knox at the Rob Knox Foundation to direct
and executive produce (K)nox: The Rob Knox Story. Rob Knox was a close
friend and an actor who appeared as Marcus Belby in Harry Potter and the
Half Blood Prince. Shortly after appearing in the film, he was murdered
defending his younger brother in a knife attack. It was my debut as a
feature film director and the film I’m most proud of, getting to tell
the life story of my friend. We were in production for 3 years, with
interviews with likes of Ray Winstone, Jim Broadbent, Tom Felton, Dani
Harmer, David Yates and Blake Harrison. We eventually sold the documentary
to Woodcut International in 2021. We were fortunate enough to win several
film awards during the festival circuit too, but to be honest – I’m
just happy I got to tell Rob’s story.
I
also directed the short horror comedy, The Understudy, which oddly enough
- is the reason I’m now directing Pareidolia
with Stuart Morriss
and Misty Moon.
Filmmakers
who inspire you? That’s
a tricky one. I’ve always been a huge fan of David Lynch, John
Carpenter, Jordan Peele etc. But it varies from time to time, I’m less
inspired by directors specifically and more inspired by artists in general
– whether they’re composers, editors, musicians and dubbing mixers. I
think it’s a heavy mix of everyone and everything. Since completing work
on two documentaries, I feel more inspired by people in general –
regardless if they’re in the film industry or not. Your favourite movies? Ha.
Another tricky one, I hate this question. My favourite movies are the ones
I’ll revisit every now and again, even though I’ve seen them a million
times – there’s something comforting about them. I love The Great
Escape, Back to the
Future, The Bride of
Frankenstein, Tombstone, Escape
from New York, I could watch those over and over. What many people don’t
know is that even though I love my classic horror films, one of my
favourite films of all time is Toy Story - it’s just the perfect film.
It was also one of the first films I saw on the big screen and there had
been NOTHING like a Pixar film before. ...
and of course, films you really deplore?
I
don’t really like to bash other films or filmmakers. There are films I
love that other people hate and that’s absolutely fine … but
seeing as you asked, Antichrist by Lars Von Trier
- I will never get that
time back nor erase the images of that film from my brain.
Your/your
movie's website, social media, whatever else?
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You
can find us on social media on Facebook and Instagram, both socials are
run by Rob Preciado - @thecultofvhs -, and you can also find our Frightfest
trailer here: https://youtu.be/0D9OZg8y9ko Anything
else you're dying to mention and I have merely forgotten to ask? I
really want to… but unfortunately it’s too soon to share and I might
get in trouble… but there will be some big news regarding
Cult of VHS
very soon! Thanks
for the inteview!
Thank
you for having me!
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