Film Name: The Lights
Director: Douglas Kyle
Writers: Andrew Kyle, Douglas Kyle
Starring: Jim Currie, Josh Currie, Jane Fullerton, Andrew Kyle, Douglas Kyle
When The Darkness Comes, Point The Lights North
In a new Exclusive Interview on Blazing Minds ahead of Horror-on-Sea I got a chance to ask Co-Writer/Director Douglas Kyle a few questions about the film ‘The Lights‘
The Lights will play at Horror-on-Sea on Sunday 19th January 12.30pm.
Q. Your film has been selected to play at the Horror-on-Sea Film Festival. Can you tell us what we
can expect?
A. Expect to be surprised! It starts as a Folklore Horror, focusing on mankind’s relationship with the monstrous Trows of Scottish Legend, before moving into an old out war movie as the creature emerge from the Sea. So expect horror, fighting, war, over acting and lots and lots of rubber monster suits!
Q. You co-wrote the script with . What were some of your influences when writing the script and what was your process for writing together?
A. I am a keen Folklorist and Cryptozoologist so a lot of our films draw from Scottish Folklore. My writing always starts with that, deep diving in local legends or myths, or the origins of some bizarre monsters. Then I always try to select a different angle to approach it from. I tend to try and evolve scripts to include things I’m knowledgeable about, so history or climate change feature a lot, along with a huge focus on Nature and the Countryside.
Q. What were some of your influences for the look and style of the film?
A. Highly influenced by classic 80s films that I grew up watching. I love practical film making (its a dying trade) so love things like Aliens or The Thing. I wanted the film to be grounded but look a bit like a dream!
We employed lots of shaky cams to limit the obvious “zero budget” on display! The style of the film is very unique to Chaos Box – a lot of our cast and crew are not professionally trained so learn on set as we work through production. We tend to film a lot of scenes quickly, with very little rehearsals, so the film naturally has a gorilla style to it.
Q. Did you make any changes from the original script during filming?
A. We made lots of changes! My scripts are always evolving with the production. Chaos Box lets it actors do their own thing, so characters are given a rough direction, but its up to the Actor to shape it how they like, so as we film, I tend to re-write plot elements to tie in with what the cast have come up with. This allows a hugely creative atmosphere and a real sense of “ownership” for everyone involved – the entire ethos of our film group – everyone does everything!
Q. What were some of your favourite moments during filming?
A. My favourite bits are always the Monsters! Being a HUGE fan of 1970s Doctor Who, I love nothing more than giant rubber monster outfits, so these scenes really stood out! Particularly when I got to film them crawling out of the North Sea off Aberdeen. Outside of that, its when I get to see the Actors suggesting camera angles or dialogue lines. I love the sense of “community” in our productions and how everyone’s passion really shines through.
Q. Did you experience any issues during filming?
A. One of the biggest issues was hilariously a massive gap in production that occurred. This was mainly owed to lots of people being on holiday and I started a new job. It was roughly a year between shoots so a lot of the actors had hair cuts and looked very different, this lead to some hilarious continuity issues making it into the final film, and a complete re-write of the finale!
Q. What makes stand out as something different in the horror genre?
A. The fact its a horror folklore war movie, incorporating elements from lots of different genres, while staying very true to its Scottish Origins. Hopefully it comes across on screen how much fun we all had making it, and how the Cast and Crew got involved in everything!
Q. What do you hope people take away after watching the film?
A. I want people to laugh and enjoy watching it, coming away with a sense of fun and appreciation of how much creativity is on display, every second of this silly movie.
Q. Do you have any other projects which you are currently working on?
A. We’ve finished production on 2 Folklore Slasher Movies based on a Scottish Monster called a Tattiebogle (which I’m hoping to turn into a franchise series following the titular villain as we start the franchise as a semi-serious slasher before descending into intentionally “jumping the shark” moment with the Tattiebogle ending up in Space in Tattiebogle X).
We have also just started production of a more serious film called The Corn Doll, which is an all out horror following a Climate Scientist investigating strange goings on in the remote fishing village of Caber Cove….as the mysterious deepens, no one is prepared for what is really going on…
For more info, please do check out our website www.chaosbox.uk
Q. If someone was looking to write and direct their own film what advice would you give them?
A. Go for it and have fun. Sometimes you’ve got to acknowledge your limitations and just ignore them and have fun. Your first few projects won’t be perfect but it will let your creative energy shine.
You can find out more by following on Facebook and Instagram
The Lights will play at Horror-on-Sea on Sunday 19th January 12.30pm
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!
