When it comes to his craft, Kieron Moore is self-admittedly “insane.”

So, when the opportunity to portray a brooding vampire with a dark past came his way, Moore knew he could up the ante from Boots and other projects. Whether he was dropping 30 kilos (approximately 66 pounds) or going toe to toe with Lucius Malfoy himself, Jason Isaacs, Moore’s commitment to the new horror film Vampire Carnival and his dynamic role of Eric is rather impressive.

Vampire Carnival, available now on VOD, follows Gemma (Nell Verlaque), who is drawn to a mysterious traveling carnival that appears without warning in her small town. Still grieving the loss of her father, she’s drawn in by the carnival’s eerie spectacle and its promise of an escape from her everyday struggles. However, she soon discovers that the carnival is a gateway to a hidden vampire world — one where draining humans’ blood isn’t on their to-do list.

Part of the coven is Eric, who regales carnival attendees with his “Man Who Feels No Pain” act. While daggers through vital organs are no big deal, his dark and cryptic past threatens to be his undoing. Both he and Gemma must confront their demons, discovering they may have more in common than they realize. As the film reminds audiences several times throughout, “There’s beauty in the dark. The world doesn’t have to be so bleak.”

Ahead of the film’s release, PopHorror chatted with Moore, as well as directors Justin Douglas Powell and David Charbonier, about this unique breed of vampire, working with Jason Isaacs as coven leader Toussaint, Moore’s physical transformation into Eric (and the post-filming impact of Krispy Kreme donuts) and how he embraced Eric’s surprising musical side.

PopHorror: Congrats on Vampire Carnival, I absolutely loved it! Justin and David – something I really found interesting is that your vampires aren’t your typical predators. Obviously, they’re feeding on people, but they’re also offering this euphoric experience for their prey. They wipe the person’s memory afterward so that they don’t have to live with such trauma. Sebastian (Alvise Rigo) even asks for consent before sucking the blood of Gemma, which we love! What interested you most about exploring this and making the vampires a little more morally complicated than how they’re usually depicted? 

Justin Douglas Powell: That was something that was interesting to us when we read the script. It felt that they were a type of vampire we hadn’t seen before. They were, as you said, asking for consent, trying not to murder people. Their goal is to coexist, which is just not a narrative that you see often within vampire stories. That was something that really, really intrigued us. We love vampires in general. We watch a lot of vampire movies and shows, read stories about them. This was the first time we came across moral vampires, and it seemed really interesting to us. That was something that drew us in. 

David Charbonier: We found the fact that they live by that code really interesting. And then also, what does it mean if there’s people in that society that don’t live by that code or don’t want to live by that? What sort of conflict would that bring? Especially because you could make the case that it’s kind of antithetical to a vampire’s nature. We thought it was a really interesting way into the world. 

Getting Into The Mind (And Body) Of Eric

PopHorror: Kieron – Eric is super unsettling throughout the movie. You did an awesome job with him, from the way he just lurks in the shadows to the whole “Man Who Feels No Pain” show. Coming from something like Boots, where the physical demands are so different from what we see here, how did you approach building Eric physically? And was there a sequence or moment that was the most fun to create?

Kieron Moore: Thank you for the kind words! I love what I do and I feel very lucky to do what I do. I am really obsessed with the physicality of characters and sort of feeling different in my own body. It gives them a vessel in a weird way. Not that I method-act in any way. Kieron has to do the suffering. I was 30 kilos heavier when I did Boots. It was a lot of muscle. And then I lost a lot of weight to play Eric. It was a choice thing, not a vanity thing. There was a line in the script that told me a lot about him, which was during the “Man Who Feels No Pain” scene, that there was not an ounce of fat on him. I was like, “Oh, I wonder what that could feel like. Let’s try and do that.” It definitely helped drive my performance. I just felt hungry all the time and I wanted that. I wanted him to feel like he was starving and undernourished, kind of in an emotional sense as well. Like he has this hole in him. So, that was a fun part of the process to really feel like him. 

But every scene for me, I’m obsessed with it. I love to play. I love to see what’s going to come out and bounce around ideas with these two very smart, very caring individuals, and just see what happens. I really couldn’t pick a favorite moment or scene. They all give me different things. “The Man Who Feels No Pain” show is obviously really there. I remember first reading that and being like, “Oh, I want to do that.” Then the last scene, the penultimate scene for me, Eric shows you who he is and tells you why he’s doing what he is. As a performer, it’s exciting because I’ve built this unease in people hopefully by this point. They kind of resent him and have probably wrote him off. Now, let’s see if I can flip that and make it more complicated. 

PopHorror: So did you just eat everything in sight when you were done filming?

Kieron Moore: David still owes me a box of Krispy Kreme donuts! I was starving. The last day on set, I was nailing it because the whole shoot, I was eating nothing, really. But it was worth it. Although, I’ve got a good thing now because I ate so many donuts after wrapping that now I’m averse to them. I think my sugar cravings have taken a real backseat now. 

PopHorror: One thing I love about Eric, he has this surprising musical side to him. He does this creepy whistle throughout the movie and then at the end, is dancing and singing along to “Losing My Religion.” Was this something that was built into the character from the jump? And what was it like bringing those scenes to life?

Kieron Moore: That’s a beautiful, happy accident. Us three were driving to the airport after my first fitting. I’ve always been a whistler. I think I got it from my uncle. David and Justin texted me like, “Can we use the whistle?” I was like, “Oh, that’s cool, yeah!” I came up with a tune with my friend, who’s a musician, and we sent a couple of options to the guys. There was something kind of fairytale about it, something young, something that I thought was quite interesting, and the gents adapted it. That was really fun. When I first read the last scene, I was like, “Oh, no, I’ve got to sing! This is going to be tough.” But everything is aligned. My sister is named after R.E.M., her initials. I was like, “This is meant to be.” But I think it shows his unpredictability. He’s not one thing. I don’t think he knows his own limitations, and that’s so exciting that he’s always offering up something new. 

An Inspiring Thread

PopHorror: There’s one line that runs throughout the film. “There’s beauty in the dark. The world doesn’t have to be so bleak.” I feel like this is something all audiences can take and apply to their own lives. I’d love to know what this line means to each of you, especially in regards to bringing this film to life. 

Justin Douglas Powell: I’ve viewed it almost like vampirism is healing in a way. It’s something that we found intriguing about this story and things that we could explore. It often feels like becoming a vampire is such a horrific thing when you look at other vampires’ tales, and it’s the thing that you’re trying to avoid at all costs. They’re all so damaged and awful. But this is how they’re releasing their trauma. They’re getting to join something greater and leave all that behind. There was something that was really, really beautiful about that to us. Originally, the story didn’t even end on that montage. It actually ended after she [Gemma] awakens. But we felt that leaving the audience with that message feels a lot more powerful and more in line with the story that’s being told throughout. 

David Charbonier: I always viewed it more simplistically and relatable to everyday life. There are so many traumas and obstacles that sometimes get thrown at you for no reason daily that if you’re able to find the good – it’s so cheesy – you can see that it can usually outweigh the dark. 

Kieron Moore: Damn, I should’ve gone first because they’re really good answers. I completely agree with what the gents have just said. Coming at it from an Eric perspective, it’s that thing of, no matter how many people want to help you, if you’re not willing to help yourself, there’s no change. Within that lies this sometimes impossible task of choice. You have to make choices, choose how you view things. And there’s a little bit of choice in how things affect us, even if it doesn’t feel like it. Although right now I’m thinking about that line in Harry Potter about the light [“Happiness can be found even in the darkest of times, if one only remembers to turn on the light”], which is hilarious because I play the character that’s got so much darkness in him. 

Working With Jason Isaacs

PopHorror: Speaking of Harry Potter, Jason Isaacs brings such a cool dynamic to the role of Toussaint. He’s almost like this welcoming, fatherly figure, but he has this whole thing going on behind-the-scenes at this carnival. What did he bring to the character that surprised you? And Kieron, what was it like working opposite him for quite a few scenes?

Kieron Moore: Dream come true for me. Jason is just such a high caliber. His work itself just commands respect and that’s something I was in awe of. He was one of the very few people I’ve worked with so far where everyone in my family that’s not in the arts – which is none of them – knew who he was, which is cool. Jason is so kind as an individual, so my favorite memories are actually those between takes. But within the scenes, he’s such a collaborator and he has all these ideas. We often disagreed with each other, which I think is great. You give each other the floor to sort of fight your way through these scenes. He’s such a charming individual and I learned so much. One of the great things that Jason gave me was validation. I went there secretly like, “I want to swing with Jason Isaacs and see if I can do it,” and not for a second did he make me feel like I wasn’t capable of that. I am indebted. 

David Charbonier: Everything Kieron said. Jason’s a great collaborator. He brought so many fun ideas to the character. Kieron, you just reminded me – you and Jason did argue a lot on your characters, which was so funny because Justin and I were watching from the sidelines. They were really defending the mindset of Toussaint and Eric, but they were doing it through Kieron and Jason. It was kind of messing with our minds, but that was just a funny, ongoing conflict you guys had. Not a bad one, but a really interesting one. 

Kieron Moore: A great one! It really epitomizes the characters and how much we cared about them. That’s the caliber Jason works at. He came to this thing being like, “No, I know what I represent.” But it’s that beautiful thing of, I think he was testing me as well. I think he wanted to see how much homework I’d done and what I was about. Little does he know, I’m insane about my craft, so I fought back. 

Final Words

PopHorror: To wrap up, what do you hope people feel or take away after they watch Vampire Carnival?

Kieron Moore: I just encourage people to go along for the ride, enjoy it, commit to it and see how it makes you feel. Not every movie is going to change your life. But some are going to leave us with an impression, an inspiration, something that we’ve missed for a long time. Some enjoyment, some escapism. Give it a go. Find the light. [laughs]

Justin Douglas Powell: Just go in and have a good time. 

David Charbonier: Watch it for the amazing performances. 

PopHorror: And the Edward Cullen reference, which I particularly enjoyed. 

David Charbonier: Edward Cullen reference, and you can also watch Kieron sing and dance a little bit. 

Kieron Moore: Which everyone is dying to do, of course. 

Thanks for speaking with us, Kieron, Justin and David! Watch Vampire Carnival on VOD now.