Cannibal Hookers
Director: Donald Farmer and Caroline Kopko
Writer: Donald Farmer
Starring: James Balsamo, Tristen Elliott, Donald Farmer, Jessa Flux, Adam Freeman
A woman escapes a religious cult but is still living a dangerous life. She turns tricks in Hollywood to get by. She crosses paths with the notorious cannibal hookers and joins their man-eating ranks. A renegade priest and a bounty hunter search the dark recesses of Los Angeles for her and the cannibal hookers.
In the first interview leading up to the Horror-on-Sea Film Festival I got a chance to ask Cannibal Hookers writer and co-director Donald Farmer a few questions about what we can expect from the film.
Q. Your latest horror film Cannibal Hookers has been selected to play at Horror-on-Sea. Can you tell us what we can expect from the film?
This is an all-new reboot of my 1988 movie CANNIBAL HOOKERS, but with a new cast and story. Horror fans who have followed my other movies like Demon Queen (1987), Scream Dream (1989), Cannibal Cop (2017), Chainsaw Cheerleaders (2008) and Hooker with a Hacksaw (2017) know to expect, a fun mix of gory horror and erotic scenes in my movies. . .all delivered with a fun attitude and love of the horror genre.
Q. What was the process co-directing the film and do you both bring something when it comes to directing?
Caroline Kopko directed the opening flashback scenes which were shot in Pasadena, California. I scripted and cast her scenes, then turned her loose. Caroline is very artistic and actually served as her own art director – completely redressing an empty room to look like interior of the Cannibal Hooker’s mansion.
Q. What were some of your influences when writing the script for Cannibal Hookers?
Cannibal Hookers is at least partly inspired by some of the low budget exploitation films of the 70’s like Bloodsucking Freaks (1976), Cannibal Girls (1973) and Vampyres (1974). But I tossed in an evil priest as a nod to Christopher Lee in To the Devil a Daughter (1976).
Q. What were some of your influences for the look and style of the film?
I’m a huge fan of the art direction in Hammer films and the Roger Corman Poe films so I’m always looking for interesting architecture to showcase. Those films often used scale models of castle and mansions, but I found some real locations we could use for exterior shots. The most notable is the Los Angeles mansion seen in the Vincent Price film House on Haunted Hill (1959). I asked Caroline Kopko to go there and film exteriors of this iconic mansion we could use in her part of CANNIBAL HOOKERS.
Q. Did you make any changes from the original script during filming?
We were able to stick very closely to the original script but did add a few things that weren’t scripted. . .in particular the cameo by Troma’s Lloyd Kaufman. the original Cannibal Hookers shoot in 1987 wasn’t so lucky. . .I had to rewrite the ending when our male lead broke his leg in a motorcycle wreck and couldn’t film any more.
Q. What were some of your favourite moments during filming?
My favorite scenes are the ones we shot in the hookers’ lair with the real coffin. Our art director, Mason Roberts, did an amazing job of dressing this space with a combination of white drapes, scattered bones and skulls. . .and all with the coffin as the centrepiece.
Q. Did you experience any issues during filming?
I’d had a few nightmare experiences on other movies, but everything went very smoothly this time. No one found a real dead body at a filming location (as actually happened on the 1988 Cannibal Hookers) and no crew members turned out to be actual murderers (as happened on my 1993 movie Deadly Run (1995)).
Q. What makes Cannibal Hookers stand out as something different in the horror genre?
I think it’s the way the ladies are portrayed as likeable anti-heroes who you can care about – especially the characters played by Kasper Melted and Cacia Rose. You follow Kasper and see all the circumstances that led to her being one of the Cannibal Hookers. And they have real affection and love for each other. I want audiences to like them when they watch the movie. I don’t want you to hope they’ll be captured and killed. . .not at all! When Cacia is captured by the bounty hunter, I want you to be firmly on Cacia’s side.
Q. What do you hope people take away after watching the film?
That it was time spent in the company of people you like and might want to know.
Q. Do you have any other projects which you are currently working on?
This year I’ve directed both Bigfoot Exorcist and Shark Exorcist 2 for Wild Eye Releasing in the states. Our Shark movie got a big boost when Stephen King promoted my original Shark Exorcist (2015) film on his Twitter page. . . now we have more fans than ever looking forward to the Shark Exorcist sequel. And in 2022 I’ll be not only shooting a new movie called Debbie Does Demons, but I’ve teamed with the U.K. comic book publisher DEMON COMIX to write a comic book version of the movie.
Q. If someone was looking to write and direct their own film what advice would you give them?
It’s certainly now easier to do that than ever with small digital cameras and even the video capability of most phones. There’s nothing to stop anyone who wants to be a filmmaker. Just learn how to edit your footage, recruit any actors you know and take a crack at it!!
Donald Farmer’s previous film Hooker with a Hacksaw was selected for Horror-on-Sea in 2019. You can read my interview with Hooker with Donald Farmer for Hooker with a Hacksaw here:
You can find out more about the Horror-on-Sea Film Festival on the website https://www.horror-on-sea.com/
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!
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