Film Name: Casting Kill
Director: James Smith
Screenwriter/Producer: Caroline Spence
Starring: Rob Laird, Rachel Chima, Jack Forsyth-Noble, Ian Renshaw, Andrew Elias
Q. Your film Casting Kill has been selected to play at the Horror-on-Sea Film Festival. Can you tell us what we can expect from the film?
A. Casting Kill is a very different kind of horror film – it relies more on suspense, satire and outrageous characters to hold the audience’s attention, rather than jump scares or blood and gore. Often, everyday situations at home or in our careers can cause anxiety, fear, and indeed horror, and so this film takes this idea into the audition room where, let’s face it, actors are often vulnerable and willing to take more risks to get a movie role. Casting Kill has a beautiful score by New York composer, Shaun Finnegan – it’s such a striking work, harking back to those wonderful old movies by Hitchcock, and so I’m hoping people will embrace the atmosphere fully with this music as a key element.
In a new interview leading up to the Horror-on-Sea Film Festival, I got a chance to ask director James Smith a few questions about what we can expect from the film Casting Kill.
Casting Kill will be showing at Horror-on-Sea at 8pm on Sunday 15th January
Q. What were some of your influences when writing the script for Casting Kill?
A. The idea was formed with old horror movies in mind, particularly the Hitchcock style, and anything with a noir feel. There are perhaps hints of Rear Window and The Third Man in places. We also imbued more modern influences from films such as American Psycho. So there are wide-reaching influences from many genres, and we drew little from slashers or the more extreme end of the horror scene. Caroline combined many of these ideas into a screenplay that could be realised in one or two locations.
Q. What were some of your influences for the look and style of the film?
A. We drew many visual influences from old movies from the 40s, but also more recent blockbusters such as LA Confidential for the fashion and style. The makeup for the character of Esther Teal (played by Rachel Chima) was inspired by Rihanna’s look in Eminem’s music video The Monster. Although Casting Kill has a mild retro feel, the actual era depicted has some ambiguity – this was deliberate to amplify the build on the weird, unsettling nature of the audition space. Modern devices are barely shown, and the buildings are old and historical, all setting up an odd sense of time and place.
Q. Did you make any changes from the original script during filming?
A. The film was shot in six days, an unbelievably tight schedule during which we faced many setbacks. Therefore, we had absolutely no leeway to change any of the original screenplay – we did, however, throw away the shot list on Day 4, since we were struggling to maintain the scheduling pace. We took to improvising camera angles on the fly.
Q. What were some of your favourite moments during filming?
A. It was great being in central London with all of the historic and creepy buildings (we filmed predominantly in a subterranean studio). We got to see these places at all times of the day and night and there was a real buzz that we were shooting a feature film, whilst most people on the street were completely unaware and going about their daily lives, working in offices, commuting, and so on. To complete an indie feature film in central London on a tiny crowdfunding budget takes some doing, so it was a remarkable moment when we wrapped it.
Q. Did you experience any issues during filming?
A. We experienced a number of serious problems during the shoot, including scheduling horrors (we were way behind after just one day), health issues (I couldn’t walk at one point and thought we’d need to call an ambulance and abort the entire shoot), and crewing problems (the sound recordist decided to have a few days off at short notice). In the end, our experience of past projects paid off: we considered the options, adapted, and somehow got it done!
Q. What makes Casting Kill stand out as something different in the horror genre?
A. Casting Kill dares to venture into areas where perhaps other UK filmmakers fear to tread. It takes a swipe at the industry itself – the vacuous rhetoric, bogus promises, misogyny and corruption – and wraps the whole issue into a horror caper with much satire and suspense.
Q. What do you hope people take away after watching the film?
A. I hope that people will laugh at the crazy characters and perhaps hold their breath during the more jaw-dropping or suspenseful moments. It would be great if they perhaps recognise some of the buzzwords and behaviours of the so-called ‘casting director’, Arthur Capstone, and look out for such traits in any future brushes with the film industry!
Q. Do you have any other projects which you are currently working on?
A. We’re currently working hard to complete a comedy feature film called Best Geezer. The film was shot entirely in Essex (UK), and is attracting a lot of interest in the area and further afield. We hope to release the film in 2023 with as big a screening as possible! In addition, we’re moving towards pre-production of our next film, The Finca, which we hope to shoot in October 2023 in Spain.
Q. If someone was looking to write and direct their own film what advice would you give them?
A. Having produced a number of feature films with tiny budgets and in difficult circumstances over the last decade, I’m not so cavalier at dishing out advice these days! Nevertheless, that old chestnut that you learn more by your mistakes is something that does resonate. You simply have to go out there and get as much information about writing and filmmaking as you can, and then give it a go. Learn from the mistakes, which will happen in abundance. Finally, just like Casting Kill, there are many crazy people in the industry, so be aware of them and be careful what you believe!
Casting Kill will be showing at Horror-on-Sea at 8pm on Sunday 15th January. You can purchase tickets and merchandise for the festival on the website here
Twitter
@CastingKill
@RayaFilms
@JSmithWriter
@CSpenceProducer
Facebook
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You can find out more about Raya films on the website https://rayafilms.com/castingkill and following social media
#CastingKillMovie
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!
