PopHorror Let's Get Scared
Christmas horror is my jam. I love the gore and violence set against a backdrop of a cheery, family holiday with the twinkling lights, the bright and sparkling parties, and of course, Santa. But something I’ve never considered is a New Years horror film. If you’re anything like me, my Christmas decorations are still up through New Years Day so it’s basically the same setup for both holidays. I
I think filmmaker P.J. Starks is onto something with New Fears Eve, his new film codirected with Eric Huskisson (13 Slays Till X-mas) and starring Felissa Rose (Sleepaway Camp), Dave Sheridan (Scary Movie), Jeffrey Reddick (creator of the Final Destination film series), and a plethora of indie actors. While I didn’t get to screen the film in preparation for this interview (they’re under sworn secrecy until distribution), it has only amplified my intrigue, and I can’t wait until it’s released because I know it’s going to satiate my hunger for new holiday horror.
Follows three best friends who involuntarily prepare for Hooper Industries’ annual New Year’s Eve party, which turns deadly when a murderer sets his sights on them.
To celebrate the film’s upcoming New York City screening, I chatted with P.J. about how the film came about, casting, premiering in Manhattan, horror movies, and more!
PopHorror: What sparked the idea for New Fears Eve and how did the project come about?
P.J. Starks: I wish I had a more exciting answer for this, like Jeffrey was going to get me in touch with New Line Cinema to help write Final Destination: Bloodlines but I said, “No, an obscure indie slasher about New Year’s Eve is the better direction!” Unfortunately, that’s just not the case. I’m ADHD and unmedicated, so my mind never stops. It’s always pumping out ideas and titles. New Fears Eve popped into my head while driving one day. I thought, “That’s a cool name.” I told Eric about it, but we were deep in production on 13 Slays Till X-Mas. The basic concept was placed on the shelf. After 13 Slays did well for us, Eric thought going with the next holiday was the next logical step. I took New Fears Eve and fleshed it out. The rest is history.
PopHorror: The film is premiering in NYC next month. What can you tell us about the event and what can attendees expect? Any special guests slated to attend? Where can people get tickets?
P.J. Starks: I don’t think Eric, or I could be more stoked about our film screening in New York City. It’s showing as part of the NYC Horror Film Festival on Friday, December 6th, at the Look Dine-In Cinema on West 57th Street in Manhattan starting at 7 PM. It screens with three other short films. The film is a lot of fun. It’s a horror comedy slasher so expect a lot of gross out kills as well as dick and fart jokes. With over 40 deaths in the film, audiences seem to be surprised with how layered the story is. It’s not a movie where you can turn off your brain. It’s an intensely personal screenplay. I wrote it after a series of turmoil ridden years involving my grandmother passing, a nasty divorce, my mom being diagnosed with double lung cancer, among other things. None of that sounds fun because it’s not, but humor is my coping mechanism, so I found a fun way to talk about change, death, loss and rebirth. I spoke with Ronnie Hein, who’s the Festival Director, and she said, “I can never be sure who might show up during our fest, other than who we actually book.” In the past, their event has hosted Wes Craven, Tobe Hooper, Tony Todd, Stuart Gordon, Robert Englund, George Romero, and so many other icons in the horror genre. Most of them are referenced in New Fears Eve as I’m a huge fan of Easter eggs. This year they’re presenting a Life-Time Achievement Award to Danielle Harris. Tickets for the screening can be purchased HERE.
PopHorror: After the NYC premiere, what’s next for New Fears Eve?
P.J. Starks: It has a UK Premiere at the Horror-On-Sea Film Festival in Southend-on-Sea. It’s only about an hour and twenty minutes from London, which is very cool. We’re really excited about that. Having our film screen across the pond is something we wanted. This is a great fest and opportunity. Outside of that, we’re still trying to secure distribution. There are several companies looking at it and a couple of others we’re waiting to hear from to see if they’re interested. Jeffrey has been helping shop it around in LA. A lot of passionate creatives worked very hard on this film, and we want to make sure it gets the best deal possible to guarantee maximum exposure for all involved.
PopHorror: You have an impressive cast featuring Dave Sheridan, Felissa Rose, Hannah Fierman, Jeffrey Reddick, among others. What was your casting process like?
P.J. Starks: With the industry actors, we wanted someone recognizable but also strong character actors who could carry their roles. Dave, Felissa, and Hannah are all equally fantastic in the film and shine. My friend Lance Wagner got us in touch with Felissa. She read the script and loved it. When she asked us if we had any other actors in mind, I threw out Hannah and Dave. She sent them the script, told them the roles and thankfully they were interested. The situation with Jeffrey was a bit different as he and I were already friends. We’d been talking about him being more involved with our films since his cameo in 13 Slays. He said he wanted to come to Kentucky and be on set with us versus shooting some remote cameo. He read the script and got on board as a producer. Jeffrey asked if there were any roles in the film, he might be good for as he’d been wanting to get more involved in the acting side. I beefed up the role of an HR representative and he was perfect. As a self-diagnosed hypochondriac, the Final Destination films always had a visceral effect on me. Not to mention I’m just a huge fan of that franchise. Jeffrey is generous and down-to-earth.
Getting to work with him both on set and throughout post-production was the highlight for me. We held open auditions for local and regional actors. We also did video submissions for anyone outside the area. I believe we got somewhere around 500 auditions, which was great because this is an ensemble cast. Lily-Claire Harvey, Matthew Tichenor, and Turner Vaughn all landed our leads. Each one of them brought their best to the roles and did a fantastic job. Matthew’s performance, in particular, has become a favorite character at screenings, and I love that since this was his first ever acting role outside of a little high school theatre. The rest of the cast is composed of actors we continue working with because they’re all great and bring their own nuance to each role. The actors are Jason Crowe, Roni Jonah, Jay Woolston, Sonya Delormier, and Alyssa Rhoads. They’re not only a blast to be on set with but also keep giving us solid performances. Most of them I had in mind when I was writing the script. Collin Horn is another newcomer who nailed the role of Nick, who’s a total douchebag prick even though Collin is the nicest, most soft-spoken guy you’ll ever meet. I’ve got to brag on Jesse McDonald for a moment. He auditioned for the film, having zero acting experience. He came in doing the coldest read for the role of Brian but knocked it out of the park. The glaring issue was an obvious age disparity between him and Lily. This isn’t a spoiler but there’s a romantic arc happening and we didn’t want the audience to think the character was, for the lack of a better word, a pedophile. As much as Eric and I would have loved for him to take one of the leads, it just wasn’t in the cards, but I had an epiphany. Because of Jesse’s build and height, he was perfect for The Doctor. We called him up and said, “Even though we can’t cast you as Brian, how would you like to portray our masked psychopath and fucking murder a ton of people?” To say he was excited would be an understatement. I still wanted him to get some recognition for his abilities outside the mask. For someone who’d never acted before, Jesse has pretty good range and a natural quality. I took what was originally a throw away character and revamped the role of Ned, who’s this completely inappropriate but sorta lovable idiot. Jesse plays both roles and is awesome.
PopHorror: Why do you feel people resonate with the horror genre?
P.J. Starks: It’s a safe space to get scared or disgusted or both and walk away unscathed. Horror is the only genre that can encompass all others into a narrative where, most times, it makes sense. A horror film can make you scream, laugh, cover your eyes, cry, empathize, cringe, and make you think about serious social issues all in the same 90 minutes. No other genre has that kind of power. Horror transcends cultures. What’s funny in the US isn’t always funny in other countries, but things that are terrifying here are almost always terrifying elsewhere.
PopHorror: I love that and agree 100%. Where can our readers stay up to date on New Fears Eve?
P.J. Starks: The best place is at www.bloodmoonpictures.com. We’re also on Facebook and Instagram at BloodMoonpics15. Anyone who’s interested in knowing more can email us at our site or just find us on Facebook. We’re pretty accessible there.
PopHorror: One last question for you. What’s your favorite scary movie?
P.J. Starks: This is a damn near impossible question for me to answer because I don’t have just one. There is a slew of movies I watch on the regular because they’re like comfort food. Those are Hell Night, Madman, The Prowler, Shock Waves, Halloween III: Season of the Witch, Creature from Black Lake, Phantasm, C.H.U.D., The Relic, Zombie, Demon of Paradise, The Gates of Hell, House by the Cemetery, and so many others. I pretty much fall asleep to one of these every single night of the week.
Thank you so much to P.J. for taking the time to chat with us. Please stay tuned for updaters on New Fears Eve!
