One of the most talked about indie horror movies of the last year was undoubtedly the 2017 film, 10/31 (read our review of the film here). The horror anthology features several highly sought after filmmakers from today’s indie circuit. One of these is Director Rocky Gray (read our previous interview with him here). Most recently, the former drummer for Evanescence spends his days directing, producing, editing, and scoring some of the most popular independent gems in recent history, including The Barn (read our review of the film here), Close Calls (read our review of the film here) and the upcoming film, Cryptids. His newest project, 10/31 Part 2, is in the middle of its Indiegogo campaign, and we were offered an exclusive look at this highly anticipated sequel.
PopHorror: What made you want to make a sequel to 10/31?
Rocky Gray: We were asked quite a bit if we were planning on doing another film, and it felt like people responded well to the first one. There was an interest in a sequel, so I thought it would be silly not to do another one.
PopHorror: What can you tell us about this project? What can we expect from the sequel?
Rocky Gray: The goal is to have a little more of everything. We have Malvolia [Jenn Nangle] returning as our horror host and four new stories with more blood, more monsters and a good time.
PopHorror: You’re currently running an Indiegogo to fund 10/31 Part 2. Please tell us about the campaign, what the funds are for, and what some of the perks are going to be.
Rocky Gray: Yes. We’re running the campaign so we can have more monsters and more blood like I spoke of earlier. Good special FX can get expensive, so we need financial help so we can hire the best special FX artists we can. Also, the manufacturing costs for the Blu-rays get expensive as well. If we do slipcovers or anything extra like that, the price keeps going up on us. Right now, we’re not doing slip covers, but if we do well with the campaign, that is definitely something we would do. If there’s anything special we can do, we would. We just have to have the funds to do it. Some of the perks we have are signed Blu-rays with reversible art that come with a free poster, a digital download of the soundtrack and a VHS.
PopHorror: How was it decided which filmmakers would be contributing?
Rocky Gray: At first, I wanted all of the directors from the first film to come back and do the sequel, but some of them were going to be in production on other projects, so they couldn’t commit to it. So, I thought it would be a good idea to see what all new directors would look like. Then I made a wish list and started looking at who was going to be available.
After sending out messages, we got responses back and confirmed Drew Marvick, director of Pool Party Massacre [read the PopHorror review here], Tory Van Buskirk, director of Come To Me, Sister Mary, Tristan Clay, director of Red Eye [read the PopHorror review here], and Stephen Wolfe, director of Dracula’s Coffin. They are coming up with some great stories, and I can’t wait for people to see it. We have already shot Tristan Clay’s segment, “The Curse of Agatha,” which features Tamara Glynn [Halloween 5: The Revenge Of Michael Myers 1989 – read PopHorror’s retro review of the film here], and it is something to see for sure.
PopHorror: When can we expect the release of part 2? What are the plans for the completed film?
Rocky Gray: We are on schedule to finalize the film in July for a September release with our distributor, Scream Team Releasing. At this time, we are not planning any festival screenings, but it is still early. If something comes up that seems good for us, we may screen with someone, but right now, there are no plans for that.
PopHorror: What is your favorite part of making an anthology?
Rocky Gray: Collaborating with the directors is a real blast for me. As the producer and as the composer, I get to work with them very closely throughout the entire production, and that has been really special.
PopHorror: What is your favorite scary movie?
Rocky Gray: It’s a tie between The Exorcist (1973) and Halloween (1978).
We want to send a great big THANK YOU to Rocky Gray for giving us this exclusive, behind-the-scenes look at 10/31 Part 2. We also want to wish him good luck at finishing the film. Don’t forget to check out the crowdfunding campaign right here! Stay tuned to PopHorror for any and all 10/31 Part 2 news!