Film Name: MIDNIGHT PEEPSHOW
Directors: Jake West, Airell Anthony Hayles, Andy Edwards, Ludovica Musumeci
Writers: Andy Edwards, Airell Anthony Hayles, Jake West
Starring: Chiara D’Anna, Richard Cotton, Sarah Diamond, Roisin Browne
A Madame owns a Soho Peep Show with a difference – the sights on offer are tailor made to its customers’ deepest sinful fears. Tonight it welcomes a businessman who has a unique connection to an extreme fantasy website. He becomes witness to three stories of victims that found the website. But now the Midnight Peepshow has found him, it’s only a matter of time before he’s made to pay the ultimate price for dabbling in the dark side of desire. This is a twisted portmanteau horror threesome exploring the nightmare side of psychosexual fantasy.
Q. Your film MIDNIGHT PEEPSHOW has been selected to play at the Arrow FrightFest Film Festival. Can you tell us what we can expect from the film and your segment?
A. Midnight Peepshow is a movie about forbidden fantasies and revenge.
The Peepshow section ties the narrative of the movie together. Arguably, the dominant characters of this section are the the magical Peepshow itself and its owner, the uncanny Madame. Hopefully, you should expect to feel quite perturbed, yet still curious to keep watching to understand what is happening inside that place. After all, sometimes you just can’t look away (yes, I am using a cheesy reference to the tagline in our poster)
Q. How did you get involved in the horror anthology and what attracted you to the script for MIDNIGHT PEEPSHOW?
A. Dovile Kirvelaityte (Producer) reached out to me asking if I was interested in reading the script. When I read it the first time I found it quite disturbing – but then I thought: isn’t this how a horror film is supposed to make you feel? Like when I watched Requiem for a Dream as a teenager, I felt deeply unsettled as some scenes are quite graphic in the movie. But at the end of the day, that’s also what makes it such a good movie. Midnight Peepshow gave me the same vibe, so I thought it could be a nice challenge for me as a director.
Also, in my projects I often play with the concept of fantasy versus reality – and the Peepshow is a place where fantasies go wrong and reality is blurred, which has given me a lot to have fun with creatively.
Q. What were some of your influences for the look and style of the film?
A. I would say the two strongest ones were David Lynch and Dario Argento – especially when we are inside the Peepshow as I had more room to play with shots, colours, lightings, and textures as we built the set from scratch.
Q. Did you make any changes from the original script during filming?
A. Yes, as it often happens when translating a script into an actual movie. Some of the changes were stylistic, so for example Madame looks very different from how she was described in the original script. Then there were some changes in dialogues that were agreed with the actors during rehearsals, as sometimes line that very well on a script feel a bit forced when they are said out loud. And then of course there were the unplanned changes that happened on the same days as we were filming out of inspiration or need. And those are always the best ones.
Q. What were some of your favourite moments during filming?
A. I would probably say anything shot inside the Peepshow. It was just beautiful watching all the elements coming together and it felt quite magical. Madame is by far the most extravagant character I’ve had on any of my movies and it was quite a delight watching Chiara (the actress) turning into her.
Q. Did you experience any issues during filming?
A. Well, Atlas (the rabbit) was very cute but quite a diva. Getting him to move towards anything was definitely quite the challenge. It took us way longer than planned to get those shots.
Q. What makes MIDNIGHT PEEPSHOW stand out as something different in the horror genre?
A. 4 directors, 4 points of view, 4 different styles, 4 stories, one common file rouge. What else!?
Q. What do you hope people take away after watching the film?
A. It’s a horror film that looks into people’s guilty pleasures in quite a twisted way. If the audience goes back home feeling a bit unsettled but with the urge of telling their friends to watch the movie too, I think that means we’ve done our job well.
Q. Do you have any other projects which you are currently working on?
A. Yes, I have a very different one. It’s a Dramedy and it’s around stigmas about mental health. I’ve written the script and I’ll be directing the film as well. It’s a story that is very close to my heart as I’ve worked on the proof of concept as well, and I got the change to talk to activists and the community whilst writing the script. So, I’m really looking forward to filming that one.
Q. If someone was looking to write and direct their own film what advice would you give them?
A. Just write the script and knock on every door you can. Being a writer-director is fun, which is why everyone wants to be one. And whilst you are waiting for the stars to align and the weather to be right, there are plenty of people who are just as talented as you are making a move. So, if you want to get there, you need to work harder than anyone else.
You can find out more about the Festival and purchase tickets here: https://www.frightfest.co.uk/
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!
