Film Name: Virus Detected
Director(s): Charlie Bond, (segment “Mic Drop”), Paul Cousins (segment “Bad Penny”), James
Hamer-Morton (segment “Mic Drop”), Geoff Harmer (segments “Shock Jock”, “The Little Ones”),
Chris Josty (segments “Shock Jock”, “Virtual Insanity”), James Morrissey (segment “The
Toy”), James Plumb (segment “The Toy”), Samuel Rush (segment “LOVETOAST”)
Writer(s): Lucas Eisele (segment “The Toy”), James Hamer-Morton (segment “Mic Drop”), Peter
Hearn (segments “Shock Jock”, “The Little Ones”), Pat Higgins (segment “Bad Penny”), Chris
Josty (segment “Virtual Insanity”), Samuel Rush (segment “LOVETOAST”)
Starring: Stacy Hart, Amber Doig-Thorne, Annabella Rich, Charlie Bond, Chris Mills, James
Hamer-Morton
When an electrical storm hits during a late-night talk show, a radio DJ receives persistent phone calls
from a mysterious caller warning her and telling her stories of electrical appliances having been affected
by the storm. Are they true, or just calls for attention.
In a new interview on Blazing Minds ahead of Horror-on-Sea I got a chance to ask Director Paul Cousins a few questions about his segment of the horror anthology Virus Detected called ‘Bad Penny’
Virus Detected will play at Horror-on-Sea on Friday 17th January 8.00pm
Q. Your film has been selected to play at the Horror-on-Sea Film Festival. Can you tell us what we can expect?
A. It’s a cliché but; the unexpected? I love anthology movies as they are such a melting pot of wild ideas and big swings. There is such a wide range of talent here and I’m looking forward to seeing what all the other segments have in store.
Q. What were some of your influences for the look and style of the film?
A. It’s difficult to pull out any specific influences as I’m drawing on a soup of influences from nearly four decades of watching horror movies. Probably the most formative filmmaker for me is Sam Raimi and not because Bad Penny features slapstick or crazy camera moves but more the attempt to build spaces from which something could leap and creating rhythms only to break them for, hopefully, maximum impact.
Q. Did you make any changes from the original script during filming?
A. I took Pat’s script and shot the whole thing as pre-vis about a month before we shot for real. During that process I found a few things that were communicated better visually, or through editing, but otherwise it’s pretty much as written. I mean… it’s Pat Higgins, y’know?
Q. What were some of your favourite moments during filming?
A. Working with cast like Liza and Megan who nailed every take while giving me lots of options was a delight. Support from Lisa and Joseph meant we could rocket through the material in our very limited shooting window. And of course I love working with Pat. As fun as fake blood and monster masks are it’s the people you work with that make the experience.
Q. Did you experience any issues during filming?
A. Mainly me. I’d come out of a long period of consciously not making stuff and was suddenly thrust into the perils of no-budget filmmaking again. Took me a while to warm up but with the support of the aforementioned cast and crew I was back up and running in no time. And day for night. We missed ONE window and it’s all I can see.
Q. What makes it stand out as something different in the horror genre?
A. The implications of technology are no longer the stuff of post-apocalyptic futures. I think Virus Detected is less concerned about the the supernatural terrors of classic horror and more interested in a new wave of technological terrors that we not only allow into our home but that we let run our lives. It’s less “what if…” and more “when eventually…”.
Q. What do you hope people take away after watching the film?
A. Two things.
1) We’re done for.
2) Filmmaking looks like fun.
Q. Do you have any other projects which you are currently working on?
A. I tend to pop out of the woodwork and help on other people’s projects these days, some of which I’m not allowed to talk about. I may be in the final stages of writing a horror themed roleplaying game, but I’m not allowed to talk about that either. So no.
Q. If someone was looking to write and direct their own film what advice would you give them?
A. Do it! It won’t be perfect, it might not even be good, but failure is key to future success. True, in film you have to fail in front of a LOT of people – so best make those people the Horror-on-Sea crowd!
Virus Detected will play at Horror-on-Sea on Friday 17th January 8.00pm
You can find out more about the festival and purchase tickets 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!
