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HM&M Interviews the directors of "Horrors of war"
Interviewed by mortis / Kenny.
Horrors of war is an upcoming horror movie set in WW2, but it soon turns in to a real freak show, here is the basic plot:
The Nazis have to be the scariest, horror-mongers to ever occupy the Earth. Killers of hundreds of thousands of innocent people, they're the worlds worse nightmare. Sonny Boo Pictures, in a genius on screen collaborative move, has combined the true-life horrors of the Nazis in WWII, and the fictional horrors of zombies and werewolfs in their latest feast called HORRORS OF WAR!
So here's what this WAR is all about: Horrors of War takes place entirely in the European theatre of WWII. Following Lt. John Schmidt as he encounters several secret weapons projects that Hitler unleashes on the Allied Advance. Soldiers that have been altered and genetically crossed wolf-men terrorize soldiers fighting that oppose the Third Reich. The Office of Strategic Services (The O.S.S., precurser to the C.I.A.) starts to send missions behind enemy lines to find the doctor creating these weapons.
Sounds interesting doesn't it! thats why we set out to find out more about this movie, by interviewing the directors Peter John Ross (PJR) & John Whitney (JW).
HM&M- Not many horror films have tapped into the subject of Nazi's. What was
the driving force behind you stepping into such an untapped era of history
for a horror film?
(PJR) The Nazi's were the last true "bad guys" in history. Hitler's interest
in the occult is well documented. Combine that with a love for the old school
war movies and we had ourselves a playground in which to set this story. The
original setting was going to be the Gulf War.
HM&M- I have done a little bit of research on your past films. It appears to me
that you are new to the horror genre. was it a logical next step for you as
a filmmaker or have you always had a wanting to make a horror film?
(PJR) I have only made short films before this. It's very very hard (but not
impossible) to make an effective horror movie in the short form. Part of what
makes it scary is getting to know the characters and that's not easy in a
shorter time span. I cut my teeth on short films to learn how to make more
effective stories that way. I have yet to see too many (there are some)
short horror movies that really got me interested.
(JW): I have always enjoyed watching horror films and always will. I’ve
always gravitated to Romero and Craven. Watching these filmmakers always
intrigued me as a filmmaker. I would always think how fun it would be to
tell a story in the Horror genre.
HM&M- Its pretty commonly known around the internet that you filmed Horrors of
War in Ohio. Did you find it difficult to re-create Nazi Germany in Ohio?
(PJR) The whole reason I changed the environment from the Gulf War to World
War II Europe was because a few years ago I was in France heading into German on
the train. I had never been to Europe & was expecting it to be exotic. I
said to myself (outloud no less) "it looks like Ohio". We had several
locations that wound up in our favor. Phil Garret, the producer & co-writer
of the film, had seen a barn that was built at the turn of the century that
resembled a franch Chateau and we used that in the film.
(JW): Not really. Trees are trees and bushes are bushes. As long as you
are successful in suspending disbelief with the audience, you would be
surprised what you can get away with.
HM&M- What films inspired you while writing the script for horrors of war?
(PJR) Obviously the WWII Saving Private Ryan, Band of Brothers style of
movies, along with old school WWII Dirty Dozen and Guns of Navarone. As for Horror,
EVIL DEAD, HALLOWEEN, SHAUN OF THE DEAD, and even 28 DAYS LATER.
(JW): There isn’t anyone film that inspired me. I tried to write a war
picture first and then we introduced the Horror elements. That’s what I
think will be successful about this film, it’s more that just a horror
film and a war film. It has a good story with solid characters.
HM&M- Are you a long time horror fan? And if so what films inspired you to
become a filmmaker?
(PJR) I am a horror movie fan. The movie that most effected me with terror
when I was a kid was Tobe Hooper's POLTERGEIST. As for the single movie that
effected me the most at all was 1977 Star Wars. I was really blown away by
that movie as a 5 year old and it was my first trip to a movie theatre ever.
It was crazy that this guys imagination was on screen for people to see and
that moved me the rest of my life. I wanted to get those stories out of my
head and on a screen where people can see them.
(JW): Growing up in the 70’s I was exposed to Rosemary’s baby. The
Exorcist and later Friday the 13th and Halloween. But the one film that
really turned my head was the Shining. That was a film that really opened
my eyes.
HM&M- What are your opinions on the state of horror today? and the use of CGI
as apposed to the older style of make-up and traditional effects?
(PJR) I'm not a purist that makes a stand one way or the other. Whichever
one works best for the effect. CGI creatures are not always convincing, but they
get better all the time. I always prefer real make up FX, but sometimes the
creative needs are for something impractical to do on makeup.
(JW): I welcome CGI as a filmmaking tool. It will help Directors realize
a vision that 10 years ago would have been impossible. CGI will open up
the Horror genre and in the long term will allow audiences to see things
that will wow them.
HM&M- Your Film Horrors of War is creating an interesting buzz around the
internet do you feel it will live up to everyone's expectations of it? and
Why?
(PJR) I hope so. I don't know. People are fickle, but I really enjoy the
movie. We made a movie that we like to watch. It's something different, not a straight
horror film, since we added the action & drama of WWII, but it has several
traditional horror elements layered in. I think when people see the film, it
will not be like any other low budget World War II Horror Sci Fi movie
they've ever seen...
(JW): I sure hope so, too. As a whole think we have a film that a lot of
people will enjoy. Not only Sci-fi/Horror fans but WWII action fans as
well. There’s a little bit of something for everyone. I may not be as
epic as some war film fans might like and it may not be as gory as some
hardcore Horror fans might like, but I feel it has a balance that serves
the story which makes “Horrors of war” a film that all will enjoy.
HM&M- What kind of research did you do while preparing to make Horrors of War?
(PJR) A lot. We strove to make the names of places and dates as accurate as
we could. The World War II re-enactment community supported us, even with the
horror- sci fi aspects of the story. They also seemed to accept some
dramatic license that a film often has to take. We're telling a story with
werewolves and zombies, so accuracy is in the eye of the beholder. I can't
tell you how funny it is to hear someone say "That isn't accurate! No one in
the Big Red One would wear their helmet like that! It's unrealistic!", while
the guy they are referring to is shooting at a werewolf. It's kinda
hilarious.
(JW): I watched a lot of WW II documentaries and horrors films.
HM&M- Is there anything you would like to share with us about the making of
Horrors of War that we might not find anywhere else on the internet?
(PJR) An exclusive? Okay. Phil Garrett & John Whitney snore. A LOT. That's a
true terror. You'd think we had our sound design of all the monsters recorded
while they slept.
Aside from my lackluster attempt at humor, here's an exclusive. We re-wrote
the entire script 6 days before shooting. We were originally doing it as an
anothology of three 30 minute stories. We pulled the middle story out less
than a week before the shoot and added an entirely new character into the
other two stories and expanded them. We were in a panic, but it got pulled
off well. The movie is actually better because of it. This idea came from
our executive producer Tony Kandah.
(JW): The only thing that come to mind is when we were filming in
Athens,Oh a reporter asked me if it was true that the Actor that played
Napoleon Dynamite was cast it this movie. I laughed and said No. But I
thought it would have been cool to have a scene with Private Dynamite
describing what Nazi killing skills he has.
(PJR) I never heard that. Freakin' hilarious.
Thanks for the questions!
- Peter John Ross & John Whitney
Click the movie poster above to visit the official site for the movie.
Please come back for more interviews soon. Click here to return to interviews page.
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