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Your new movie Passion
- in a few words, what's it about?
A black-gloved Killer slashes his way to revenge in this homage to the Italian
giallo. I think I'm not leaning too far out of the window when I'm
claiming Passion is a
bit of an hommage to classic giallo cinema - so what fascinates you
about the genre, and some of your genre favourites? And how did you
emulate the look and feel of these films of old?
You are 100% correct on that. Passion
is indeed a homage to my love for Italian cinema and the
giallo. When I first discovered The Bird with the Crystal Plumage around the mid 1980s, I fell in
love with the genre's crazy murder setpieces, camera movement and lighting etc etc. I used to
have hundreds of VHS tapes filled with obscure gialli. The Italians were masters at taking a
popular American genres and creating their own more extreme stamp on things. See
Profondo Rosso,
Don’t Torture a Duckling, Tenebre,
Torso, Opera.
We emulated the look and feel of the giallo for Passion, by colour palettes, fluid camera work
and careful framing within the scenes using ARRI 70’s prime lenses. I am also very in-tune with
how to setup a gory setpiece and the shots to build the tension. Last but not least, Dave
Andrews' fantastic music lifts the film to another plain!
Other sources of inspiration when writing Passion?
I original wrote Passion
as a feature back in 2008... but never quite finished it, due to
commitments with A Day of Violence. So around September 2024, a good friend of mine and
fellow director Sam Mason-Bell [Sam
Mason-Bell interview - click here] (TrashArts
Films) asked me if I would like to direct a short movie
for an upcoming anthology he is putting together (Exhibition of Evil). At the time I was and still am
in pre-production for my next feature Lottie. However time allowed me to jump in and make
Passion. I went back to my unfinished script and took the violent death scenes from it and adapted the
story so it fit a running time under 15 minutes.
Passion
is not exactly free from blood and guts - so what can you tell us about
the gore effects in your movie, and how were they achieved?
I adore practical make-up effects. A 70s child growing up on the best splatter the planet had to
offer. No CGI in sight. That’s how it still should be. You cannot beat the real thing.
I built two foam torsos for the car sequence, so on close-up to medium shots we could really
stab into the foam bodies that were pre-rigged with tubing and blood bags for the stabbing
sequences. We also utilised a prosthetic neck piece for the male victim. For the hammer scene, we used real
and rubber hammers to achieve the head bashing. Ella had blood tubing fed up into her hair, so
when required we could squirt the blood. So nothing too elaborate but done well, it really works.
Very happy with Passion. You
of course also have to talk about your killer's rather stylish outfit, and
what was the inspiration behind it?
I wanted that traditional early Argento-looking killer. Dressed in leather with a Mario Bava-style
face mask and hat [Mario Bava
biography - click here]. I really wanted our killer to have a cool screen look and presence. The
opening above shot with the killer rummaging through photos. The hand movements had to be
right, slow, then without warning quick, fox-like, snatching up the photo etc… Jackson
Batchelor [Jackson Batchelor
interview - click here] played it so well, fantastic co-ordination with movements. Do talk about your
overall directorial approach to your story at hand! I always approach my films in the same way.
Passion was no different, first I live with the
images in my head for days, sometimes weeks before we shoot. What I have written on paper
suddenly becomes an edited scene in my head, then I know exactly what to shoot on location/set
whatever. I plan meticulously from location, to props, to casting, to equipment needed, the whole nine-yards if you like.
Writing and directing a giallo was immense fun. It had to tick certain boxes, atmosphere, colour
palette, camera movement, music. It was always a visual over narrative piece for me. It is almost
like a silent movie. Very little dialogue in Passion. Very much a telling of a story without words… What
can you tell us about Passion's
cast, and why exactly these people? The whole cast on Passion
were a pleasure to work with, they all nailed their jobs 100%. I had
never worked with any of the cast before in my own movies, but know them quite well, as over the
last couple of years I have been involved in helping TrashArts
Films with special effects on four films. So I had seen them all acting in one way or another.
When it came to casting for Passion, I never really had to think much or really doing a proper
casting session, I had already ear-marked roles for them.
Very professional and great to work with, so you might see more of them in my camp, over the
next few projects. A few wrods about the shoot as such, and the on-set atmosphere?
Passion
was shot over 3 evenings and one day shoot (interiors) on a Blackmagic with ARRI 70’s
prime lenses. I hadn’t directed anything since Beyond
Fury wrapped, so was itching to get back
in the chair. I always have fun atmospheres on set. No space for egos. A lot of the time in my films, my cast
are dealing with some quite horrific setups, so we keep it light and jovial where possible.
Everyone is there to bring their own specialness to the process. I have been directing for almost
30 years now and never had any major issues on set.
The $64-question of course, where can Passion
be seen? Passion
is doing the festival rounds currently, having just had its world premiere at
Romford Horror Film Festival in March. Next stop is Weekend of Fear in Germany. Many more festivals to
follow once we get the dates back. Anything you can tell us about audience and
critical reception of Passion? The film had a very good response at the
world premiere in Romford, and with its reviews all have
been very very good. Really pleased with its reception so far! Any future projects you'd like to share?
I have an action revenge movie ready to go, Lottie. Female lead, very different for me. It will be
very violent and action-packed. We have half the money secured by a Germany investor, just
trying to raise the rest. On the success of Passion and my enjoyment in making the film, I have started to write a Giallo
feature A Black Stain on Satin Gloves. Your/your movie's
website, social media, whatever else?
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I don't have a website anymore, but people can find me on Facebook and Instagram. Anything else
you're dying to mention and I have merely forgotten to ask? A little plug for my last feature
Beyond Fury. In the next couple of weeks it will be getting a
mediabook release with three different covers by Cinestrange-Extreme.at
in Germany/Austria/Switzerland. Many thanks for the Interview, always a pleasure. Thanks
for the interview!
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