Film Name: Werewolf Santa
Director: Airell Anthony Hayles
Writer: Airell Anthony Hayles
With: Emily Booth, Joe Bob Briggs (voice), Mark Arnold and Katherine Rodden
UK 2023
Run time- 70 mins
In a new exclusive interview on Blazing Minds, I got a chance to ask writer-director Airell Anthony Hayles a few questions about the Christmas horror Werewolf Santa ahead of its world premiere at FrightFest
Lucy has a social media channel where she hunts evidence of actual monsters, but it’s not doing so great with just a few viewers following her disappointing posts. Everything changes on Christmas Eve, when her camera witnesses Santa get bit by a werewolf before he becomes a werewolf himself! As Werewolf Santa starts to wreak bloody havoc in their seaside town, Lucy and her bickering family set off on a madcap adventure to kill the beast and save Christmas…
Q. Your film Werewolf Santa has been selected to play at the Arrow FrightFest Film Festival. Can
you tell us what we can expect from the film?
A. In regards to what people can expect from Werewolf Santa it’s an eighties inspired alternative Christmas movie. It’s about a bickering family teaming up on Christmas Eve with the common cause of killing a werewolf Santa to save Christmas. It’s a bit of silly fun that I’d hope people might get drunk and watch late at night around the Christmas season.
Q. Did you have any of the cast in mind for any of the characters when writing the script?
A. I had Emily Booth and Mark Arnold (who starred alongside Michael J Fox in Teenwolf (1985)) in mind when writing the movie. Teen Wolf is my favourite eighties movie and one of the first films I saw as a kid at the Saturday morning cinema at the Cannon Cinema in Hastings. Eighties cinema built my love of movies and I’ve been lucky enough now to have worked with Steve Guttenberg from Police Academy (1984) and Zach Galligan from Gremlins (1984). And Mark Arnold now from Teenwolf! He’s a gent and fellow North Londoner. I worked with Emily on They’re Outside (2020) and really wanted to see her in this fun role, which I think she nails!
Q. What were some of your influences for the look and style of the film?
A. The influences of the style and look of the film came from Tim Burton, EC Horror comics and eighties Christmas movies like Santa Claus the Movie (1985). I love snow in Christmas movies, but I really love snow in Christmas horror movies. Movies set at Christmas lend any movie so many instant stylish choices in connection to the trappings of the season.
Q. Did you make any changes from the original script during filming?
A. The script would often change during the shoot as on a lower budget and with time constraints you just can’t do everything you want to. Film making is a compromise. While trying to keep the spirit of the story alive. And while trying to make sure the story beats are there to make it all make sense. Sometimes a location leads to a re-write, or an improvisation, or if you can’t shoot a longer scene you get to the point faster with a re-write. Which is all good training!
Q. What were some of your favourite moments during filming?
A. As to favourite moments in filming those would be a moment when we had a Sleigh, a big park, a Werewolf Santa and a snow machine. That was an epic moment… Also, filming inside a real ghost train at the Great Yarmouth Pleasure Beach in the dead of night. Lots of fun. And lots of hard work. And of course, when the last scene was done and we had it in the can, that’s always a Christmas miracle!
Q. Did you experience any issues during filming?
A. There were many issues in filming. That’s the definition of filming. Here’s a couple that stand out. We had the upset owners of our film location worried we were shooting a porn when they saw naked bodies one night as part of a scene we were putting together. We also had trouble getting a church for a scene. Somehow a priest in the local area had got hold of the script and was warning other local priests not to let us film. Cause we had guns, werewolves and bloodshed in the aisles. It was not the Nativity play.
Q. What makes Werewolf Santa stand out as something different in the horror genre?
A. As to whether it brings something new to the genre, I personally have always wanted to see a movie where Santa turns into a werewolf on Christmas Eve, goes on a bloody rampage, and fills his sack with torn off limbs. I love Christmas horror as much as I love Christmas. And I really wanted this film to exist. This film is actually part of a trilogy of Christmas-themed horror films- the ‘Dead YouTuber trilogy’ where next up is The Krampus Calendar (based on the terrifying blue whale game’) and Grotto, which is about a girl spending Christmas Day inside a supposedly haunted giant Santa’s grotto.
Q. What do you hope people take away after watching the film?
A. As to what people will take away, hopefully, a fun little movie that made their beer and curry go down well. It’s meant to be an alternative Midnight Christmas movie. With a retro feel, it’s meant to simply be a fun time.
Q. Do you have any other projects which you are currently working on?
A. In terms of other future projects there is another Christmas horror film in the works. I’m teaming up again with the very talented Jake West to create a horror version of the Scrooge story. Think A Christmas Carol meets Hellraiser (1987)
Q. If someone was looking to get into filmmaking what advice would you give them?
A. My advice to future filmmakers would be to come up with something that we haven’t seen before. Cause that’s what I believe horror audiences want. The same thing of course, only different- as David Mamet would say. It’s hard in 2023 cause loads has been done. But that’s the new challenge we all face.
You can find out more about FrightFest and purchase tickets here
Published in various websites, Philip is a reviewer who is best known for his interviews and media coverage of independent projects including; films, books, theatre and live events. Always on the lookout for something different to cover!
