Film Name: Eating Miss Campbell
Director: Liam Regan
Writer: Liam Regan
Starring: Lyndsey Crane, Lala Barlow, Vito Trigo, Laurence R. Harvey, Dani Thompson, Charlie Bond, James Hamer-Morton
From Liam Regan, director of MY BLOODY BANJO, comes a dark-satirical-horror-comedy take on the teen-high school genre. Vegan-goth student Beth Conner, falls into a relationship with her new English teacher, Miss Campbell, and soon develops a problematic taste for human flesh. Unable to commit suicide without the help of a loaded handgun, Beth finds herself destined to live inside a 90s cliché-laden horror film. When a patriarchal school board auctions the rights to live stream the inaugural “All You Can Eat Massacre” contest (the prize a loaded handgun!) Beth finally finds a way to escape horror movies for good.
Film Name: Powertool Cheerleaders vs The Boyband of the Screeching Dead
Director: Pat Higgins
Writer: Pat Higgins
Starring: Dani Thompson, Stacy Hart, Charlie Bond, Annabella Rich, James Hamer-Morton
From Pat Higgins, writer of STRIPPERS VS. WEREWOLVES, comes a full-tilt musical horror-comedy featuring toe-tapping songs and geysers of gore. On the eve of a televised talent show, an enthusiastic but dysfunctional cheerleading troop is on the brink of falling apart. But when a cursed necklace turns their rival boy band act into a screeching gang of zombies, the girls must learn to use their wits, friendship, and assorted power tools—before the TV finale takes a turn for the apocalyptic…Expect laughs, loud guitars, terrifying monsters and great songs like “I’m Just a Guy Dying on the Floor”.
In a new exclusive interview on Blazing Minds, I got a chance to ask actress Dani Thompson a few questions about Eating Miss Campbell which will make its World Premier at Arrow FrightFest on Friday August 26th at 21:00 and Powertool Cheerleaders vs The Boyband of the Screeching Dead which will make its World Premier at Arrow FrightFest on Monday 29th August at 18:30hrs.
Q. You play Deetz Montgomery in the horror-comedy Eating Miss Campbell which has been selected to play at the Arrow FrightFest Film Festival. Can you tell us what we can expect from the film?
A. A lot of bonkers fun, some great larger than life characters and a uniquely twisted plot.
Q. What attracted you to the film and the character of Deetz Montgomery?
A. I played Deetz in My Bloody Banjo, Liam has created his own film universe featuring a town called Henenlotter and Deetz lives there so it was fun to have been brought back for EMC.
Deetz is a really fun character to play, she’s a nasty piece of work although not quite as nasty as she was in Banjo and I get to have a lot of fun with her wardrobe of houndstooth and red which is a little Cruella.
Q. What sort of preparation did you do for the role?
A. As I’d already played Deetz before and we kind of shot some of EMC before the lockdowns and then more after, it was really just a case of jumping back in to Deetz’s heels.
Q. Are there any elements of the character which you feel reflect some of your own personality?
A. Only her taste in clothes.
Q. Did you make any changes to the character from how it was written the original script?
A. Not really, I think both Liam and I know Deetz really well so we were on the same page.
Q. What were some of your favourite moments during filming?
A. I loved working with Vito Trigo again, he brings such a great energy to set.
Q. Did you experience any issues during filming?
A. I took my little dog Dolly (who sadly isn’t with us anymore) to set as we were filming up North and she barked the place down because nobody was stroking her while I was filming.
Q. What makes Eating Miss Campbell stand out as something different in the horror genre?
A. It’s a comedy horror not to be taken too seriously. I think film is definitely unique to Liam’s style.
Q. What do you hope people take away after watching the film?
A. I hope they enjoy it and those who watch and haven’t seen My Bloody Banjo go home and watch that!
Q. You also play Chloe in the horror Powertool Cheerleaders vs The Boyband of the Screeching Deadwhich has been selected to play at the Arrow FrightFest Film Festival. Can you tell us what we can expect from the film?
A. Powertool Cheerleaders and I never get the full name of the film right is a horror musical so expect some kick ass powertool action mixed with pom poms, jazz hands, a little bit of witchcraft and some zombies!
Q. What attracted you to the film and the character of Chloe?
A. Chloe is another super bitch and I really do love playing those sorts of characters. Originally I was down as a possibility to play one of the cheerleaders but then when Chloe was written she was the perfect fit.
Q. What sort of preparation did you do for the role?
A. I watched Bring It On obviously – I mean it’s an early noughties classic, great movie.
Q. Are there any elements of the character which you feel reflect some of your own personality?
A. Well I would have loved to have gone to an American high school and been a cheerleader but alas my school back in Norfolk didn’t have a cheer squad so no, not really.
Q. Did you make any changes to the character from how it was written the original script?
A. No, Pat’s script was perfect, I didn’t need to.
Q. What were some of your favourite moments during filming?
A. Getting to shake some pom poms was fun and I took my mum to set one day as scheduling meant I went in to shoot a couple of scenes around my birthday when she was visiting and she got roped in as an extra which was fun for her.
Q. Did you experience any issues during filming?
A. No, Charlie Bond runs a pretty tight ship, I think the only issues were due to covid and lockdowns and shoot days having to be cancelled and then her having to try and work with everyone’s availability but she made it work!
Q. What makes Powertool Cheerleaders vs The Boyband of the Screeching Dead stand out as something different in the horror genre?
A. Well it’s a musical so that’s different in itself.
Q. What do you hope people take away after watching the film?
A. I expect a mass increase on the number of people enrolling at cheer school…
Q. Do you have any other projects which you are currently working on?
A. I’m currently working on Singh Lall’s Video Shop Tales of Terror which is a horror anthology and I think the third volume had been announced so that’s really fun. Within the first volume I’ve already worked with Alex Churchyard of TIS Films, Michael Fausti from Fausti Films, Andy Elias from Ciao Handy and Tom Lee Rutter from Carnie Films and am hoping to work with lots more in the upcoming volumes.
I also have a script that I need to finish writing but I keep being sidetracked and I’d like to get that in to production next year…
Q. If someone was looking to get into acting, what advice would you give them?
A. Work hard, persevere, have a side hustle. When I’m not working, I have a Murder Mystery games business I co created with Cheryl Neve called Murder Mysteries Inc, it’s good to have something to keep me occupied in between jobs.
You can find out more about projects from Dani Thompson on IMDB and the website: www.dani-thompson.com
You can also follow Dani on the following social media: Instagram – Twitter – Facebook
You can find out more about Murder Mystery Inc on the following website: www.murdermysteriesinc.com
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!
