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Your movie The Devil's Disciples - in a few words, what's it about?
The Devil's Disciples is a horror/fantasy/mythological thriller. It's a race
against time as Lucifer's highest council must come together and deal with
an ancient prophecy that threatens Lucifer's reign. A threat that is feared
to be a descendant of the ancient Seraphim. A powerful, fallen angel with
wings of fire. But the prophecy is written in form of a riddle. Is this
Seraph the enemy of Lucifer or a loyal defender of Lucifer? A defender
against who or what? What were your sources of inspiration when
writing The Devil's Disciples?
I don't think there was a source of inspiration
honestly. I really enjoy drawing up something unique. And I was always fascinated with mythology and demon lore. Searching for the orignal
approach was the hard part. So many films out there that surround Lucifer.
With this, I took a different angle and focused primarily on the powerful
demons around him. The Devil's
Disciples features some pretty creepy prosthetics and the like - so do
talk about the effects work in your movie for a bit? All the prosthetics are real. The power that they display etc.
I did in post. But all the practical work was done by a couple of
brilliant guys in Chris Mills and Tim Hays [Tim
Hays interview - click here]. Right down to the wheelchar
that Angus Scrimm sits in was designed and built by hand by Chris Mills.
And I really loved how Linnea Quigley looked. The version of her as the
Old Woman was done by Tim Hays. Excellent work. We had to make her look
over a hundred years old at that point. And then make her look younger than she is in real life. And then showing her rapidly age. And that
INSANE Seraph at the end! The powerful angel with wings of fire. That was
the brilliance of Chris Mills. Poor Linnea was in the makeup chair (and
standing) for several hours during that application.
What can you tell us about The Devil's Disciples' approach to horror?
I think it's something different. I didn't have a massive budget to work with. I was still a
young amatuer filmmaker when I took this on. It really needed 500k
minimum. But regardless, I always hoped it could be taken for what it is.
A fun ride with a unique apprach storywise. A really colorful cast filled
with faces we all love and respect. And again, it's low budget. So very
hard not to expect an epic film when you see this cast. But we all had a
lot of fun making this film. There's blood, nudity, funny moments and some
serious dialogue weaved in there. I think fans of the 80's will enjoy it
the most. A few words about your overall directorial approach to your story at hand?
Oh it was tough. Again I was still a young amatuer
filmmaker. And this film needed a big budget to really flesh out a very
difficult storyline. And during post-production of this film, I spent a
lot of time with many of the big named talent in the film. We all knew it
was going to be difficult to bring this to a level it could have reached
with a lot of money. So it was our intent to put together something that
could be fun. Not shying away from the edginess or mature content. So I
set out to make this film feel a little like something from the 80s and
use beautiful backdrops like the castle in Hollywood Hills for example.
This edit is better than the original that was released 10 years ago. But
still very difficult to cut.
The Devil's Disciples features a pretty star-studded cast - so why exactly
these people, and how did you get some of them even?
I knew most of them already. Linnea Quigley and I had a
strong friendship already and we already did a film together. She is such
a beautiful person inside and out. Tom
Lodewyck and I met on a film called Afraid of Sunrise. He is
so talented. I was gearing up to shoot The Family and I cast
him in that. He was just amazing. So when I started writing The Devil's
Disciples, there was no doubt that Tom would be the lead
playing The Priest/Asmodeus. I heard his voice when writing the script.
His performance speaks for itself. The same goes for Chris Burchette who
played The Father. We did a couple films together already. Such a talented
guy on so many levels. I had not yet worked with Bill Moseley,
Angus Scrimm and Barbara Magnolfi. Tony Todd and I had already done a film together and
mantained a friendship outside of film. And he really wanted to do this
film with Angus Scrimm. Angus originally was not going to take it. He
warned me about that before he read it. Linnea Quigly had introduced us.
So as a favor to her, he agreed to read it. To my surprise, he absolutely
loved it. But he still wouldn't just take it. The beautiful, honest man he
was sincerely felt he would be too expensive for the budget. So we
challenged each other, attempting to cast this a different way. At the end
of the conversation, he whole-heartedly agreed. With Brinke Stevens
[Brinke Stevens interview - click here],
Linnea Quigley (of course), Debra Lamb [Debra
Lamb interview - click here] etc. we already had relationships.
We had a love and trust for each other. Brinke
and Linnea were in my very first film. And my dear Debra Lamb. She's a
sweet, kind-hearted woman. Very talented. We are very close personal
friends. And she put a whole lot into the film. Camden Toy is brilliant.
We also did a couple films together. He was a great talent and a great friend.
Debbie Rochon [Debbie
Rochon interview - click here] and I were made to
work together. We are so very much alike. This was our first film
together. And as it turned out, it wouldn't be our last.
Do talk about the shoot as such, and the on-set atmosphere?
The atmosphere was electric. Everyone wanted to be there. It was like one big family. Many of us even
stayed on set for Thanksgiving and had Thanksgiving dinner together.
Linnea cut the turkey. And as a big fan of Return of the Living
Dead, I just couldn't help but ask her to say "Send more turkeys," LOL.
But I got her good as she was cutting the turkey. In short, she thought
she sliced into my hand with the knife. A little payback for all the
scares she blessed us with over the years. You've
already released The Devil's Disciples ten years ago as Disciples
- so what inspired you to revisit the project, and in what ways did it
change/improve in the new version? I touch a little on this above. I was a
young filmmakerm made so many mistakes. And my original edit was not very
good to begin with. Only to have a bad distribution deal which included
them doing their own thing with the edit. So I wanted to give the edit
another go since after years of misery, I finally regained the rights. The
names in the film, the hard work, all the love and trust. It just needed
to be better. Not only for us. But for the fans of this genre that we love
so much. So I said, if it can't be this big budget, epic film that it
could have been with the money, then let's have fun with it. Hopefully
providing something that could be a keepsake for everyone. The $64-question of
course, where can The Devil's Disciples be seen? Anyone can
follow my personal account on Facebook:
www.facebook.com/hollowbethyname
The Facebook film page:
www.facebook.com/thedevilsdisciplesofficialpage
Or my personal account on Instagram:
www.instagram.com/joehollowfilms
Anything you can tell us about audience and critical reception of The Devil's
Disciples yet? t is getting good reviews so far. And it is doing
very well in the festivals. It's already won multiple awards. Other than
that, only a few members of the cast have seen it. So far nothing
critical. There are two versions of this film. I had originally intended
on releasing a tamer version, meaning,less nudity etc., but after
screening it with members of the cast, my partner Dave Andexler at Primal
Motion Pictures and honest voices from those who are reviewing the film,
we have decided to release the UNCUT Version. Any future projects you'd like to
share? And will we see new edits of any other older films of yours? I am releasing a
director's cut for The Family as well. The new
title is The Family Business. This edit is so much better and includes a
ton of unseen footage. It was my first film. Also taken hostage and
treated badly in distribution. An already bad edit made even worse. I must
say, it's a very good film. I am excited to release that. It's coming
after The Devil's Disciples. Beyond that, Dave Andexler and I are
currently deciding on going with the next full length feature film in the Diary
of Death series, Flesh of the Unforgiven being the first. That film
is releasing in December or January as well. Or we may go with a really
cool concept that Dave has. So it's still undecided what is coming next.
Not to mention talks with Debbie Rochon about doing something she has
hidden up her sleeve. 2025 looks to be an exciting year for us. I am just
grateful to have the opportunities to get back to doing what I love most.
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Your/your movie's website, social media, whatever else?
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very soon. Anything
else you're dying to mention and I have merely forgotten to ask? Only my thanks to you for this kind consideration. All
my love and gratitude to you and everyone at (re)Search My Trash! Thanks
for the interview!
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