The Vampire of Soho (2018)
Director: Andy Edwards
Writer: Andy Edwards
Starring: Amelia Bennett, Nic Lamont, Sam Francis Harman, Linda Regan
A short film prequel to the feature film, The Vampires Of Soho. Set in 1982, the film tells the story of Mel, an idealistic young girl who falls in with a bad crowd – vampires.
In a new interview in the series leading up to Horror-on-Sea Film Festival, I got a chance to ask The Vampire of Soho writer-Director Andy Edwards a few questions about what we can expect from the film.
Q. Your latest horror film The Vampire of Soho has been selected to play at Horror-on-Sea. Can you tell us what we can expect from the film?
It’s a vampire love story set in Soho, London at the start of the 1980’s. In our short seven minutes we hope to give you a glimpse of an unseen world, the secret bloodsucking underbelly of London at the time. We’ve got a great cast that horror fans should recognise including Amelia Bennett (Paul Hyett’s Heretiks), Nic Lamont (Egomaniac) and a cameo from Linda Regan (A CV of British classics)
Q. What were your influences when writing the screenplay for the film?
The world of the film is fairly naturalistic – a slice of grimy life – only with vampires. So my biggest influences for the screenplay when researching, were probably documentaries about punk, goth and new wave culture at the time. Soho, especially back then, was a haven for subcultures of all types, whether they were based on sexualities, music or fashion, and I wanted to add vampirism to the mix – just another subculture hidden from the mainstream in the lawless back alleys of Soho.
Q. What were some of your influences for the look and style of the film?
Again, I wanted to try and make the film look authentic – like it was shot in the period. Hence our decision to shoot on 16mm film and using cameras, lenses and lights which would have been similar to what would be available to a low-budget film production at the time. It was important to try and capture that punk ethos.
Visually, some of the influences me and Max Williams the DOP discussed beforehand were things like Derek Jarman’s punk movies and the experimental work of Kenneth Anger, as well as a few more modern films that use primary colours, such as the work of Panos Cosmatos.
Q. Where there any elements of the original script which were adapted during filming?
Shooting on film doesn’t give you loads of time for experimenting and improvising, but we did have to adapt to the locations we were shooting in. We were shooting on location in businesses that were open to the public so that provides its own challenges – especially when trying to shoot something period. I wanted our characters to smoke indoors like they would have been able to do in 1982, but that wasn’t possible due to modern smoking regulations!
Q. Did you experience any issues during filming?
It’s not a low budget film shoot if there aren’t issues! Most of them stemmed from the locations and trying to control the uncontrollable – members of the public and erratic business owners for example. For example when we were shooting the band scenes, the pub we were shooting in had accidentally booked us in with a drum class, so that made recording sound tricky!
But we had a super professional cast and crew, so ultimately we got the shots that mattered, and nobody sees the behind the scenes madness it took to get those shots.
Q. What were some of your favourite moments during filming?
Am I allowed to say the moment we wrapped and we were shooting in a pub so I could have a beer? Apart from that, definitely the band scenes where we had our band, our leads and our extras all in early 80’s make-up and costume. (Shout out to our amazing make-up designers and costume designer) Everyone looked incredible and we all felt like we’d been transported back in time.
Q. What makes The Vampire of Soho stand out as something different in the horror genre?
I think the mix of music, sex and vampirism, along with the 80’s setting and shooting on film will give people something a little different to what they’ve seen before.
Q. The Vampire of Soho is a prequel to the feature The Vampires of Soho. What can we expect to see the feature, and can you tell us a little bit about what we can expect?
The feature is set in present day Soho, but features a rock band made up of vampires who were all turned at various points in Soho’s salubrious history. Our short tells the story of how one of the main characters from the feature became a vampire. At some point I’d like to do shorts for all of the main vampire characters in the feature.
The film is written, and we have a lot of the crew on board who worked on the short, we’re just currently on the hunt to finish the finance off so we can get it into production.
Q. What do you hope people take away after watching the film?
Hopefully people will like this brief glimpse into this world of rock’n’roll vampires, and want to see more. We have a Twitter and and Instagram so it would be great it people follow us, tweet how much they would like to see the feature etc. The more interest we can get from people in the feature, the greater chance we can get it made. That’s why film festivals like Horror-on-Sea are great for getting the film out there and connecting with potential fans.
Q. Do you have any other projects which you are currently working on?
Plenty! I’ve got various scripts at various stages of development including a modern-day witch tale – Hackney Witch, and an erotic thriller called Graphic Designs. I’ve also been co-writing various scripts with other writers for the US market.
Q. If someone was looking to write and direct their own film what advice would you give them?
I think the advice most people would give is always to just go out there and make your film, with whatever resources you can find. To that I’d just add one small note of caution – make sure you’re happy with your script before you start doing the bits that are either expensive, time consuming or need a cast and crew of thousands. Even on a micro short you can shoot in a day, you’re probably going to be spending way more time (and often money) than you’ve bargained for on it – from pre-production, to post – all the way to the festival circuit. So spend time on the cheap bit!
You can find out more about The Vampire of Soho on the following social media:
Twitter – Instagram – Facebook
The Vampire of Soho will be playing at Horror-on-Sea on Saturday 18th January at 12:30 hrs
You can find out more about Horror-on-Sea and purchase tickets for the festival 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!
