Film Name: All the Music You Need / I won’t be Long, Love
Director: James Fox
Writer(s): (All the Music You Need) – James Fox / (I won’t be Long, Love) Lee Thompson
Starring: (All the Music You Need) – Niall McNamee, Christopher Poke, Charlotte Luxford / (I won’t be Long, Love) – Christopher Poke
All the Music You Need – While on his daily run, Joe spots a mysterious woman standing out to sea on top of the water.
I won’t be Long, Love – Consumed by grief after the sudden death of his wife, an elderly man, struggling with cognitive decline, lives between two perceived realities to deal with the loss and resorts to horrific measures to keep their relationship alive.
In a new Exclusive Interview on Blazing Minds ahead of Horror-on-Sea I got a chance to ask Writer/Director James Fox a few questions about his films ‘All the Music You Need‘ and ‘I won’t be Long, Love‘
All the Music You Need will play at Horror-on-Sea on Sunday 19th January at 10.00am
I won’t be Long, Love‘ will play at Horror-on-Sea on Sunday 19th January at 10.30pm
Q. You have two films which have been selected to play at the Horror-on-Sea Film Festival. Can you tell us what we can expect from each one?
A. They are two quite different films on the surface, but they both deal with phycological horrors. All the Music You Need focuses on a man’s longing for what he has lost and I Won’t be Long, Love looks at someone desperately trying to hold on to their loved one while losing their own mind.
From one you can expect a slow atmospheric descent into desperate longing and the other, a disjointed scrambled brain building to a violent and bloody reaction.
Q. You wrote the script for All the Music You Need. What were some of your influences for the film when writing the script?
A. The driving force behind this script was, as many films that were written around this time is (you guessed it)- lock down. One of the things I did during the pandemic was to go out for a run along the very beach that this film was shot. It got me thinking about most people being stuck in a looping routine and how that must be affecting people, especially those who where dealing with hard times.
These little moments may be the only release or escape that they have.
Q. I won’t be Long, Love was written by Lee Thompson. What attracted you to the script when you first read it?
A. I met Lee when he was asking to meet up with other local writers and after reading a few short scripts, this one (previously called Wound) caught my eye. I was drawn to the sadness of the main character after having lost his life partner and the extreme reaction to his situation through his mental decline. It seemed like something different that I could help bring off the page. Also, as I read it, I had Christopher Poke in mind for the lead. I had first met him on “All the Music You Need” and really wanted to work with him on a bigger part and this seemed perfect. I knew that he could bring the heart to the character.
Q. What were some of your influences for the look and style of the films?
A. For “All the Music You Need”, I wanted to express the vastness of the sea and the vistas in much the same way that the old Westerns do. Tonally though, I wanted it to feel cold (as in fact it was when we filmed in November and December). Also, as the film goes on it and our main character starts to give in to his obsession with seeing the strange woman again, the shots get tighter and more personal and movement becomes more erratic. These moments are influenced by more phycological horrors like Jacobs Ladder or moments in Kill List.
With “I Won’t be Long, Love”, I really wanted to create an uncanny environment for Reg, our main character. Gosia Stasiewicz, the production designer on the film did a fantastic job with the set dressing and colours to turn the set into an almost dirty retro feeling living room for our couples home. As this was all set in one room, I really wanted to put a lot of effort into the space and I feel that Gosia really delivered.
Q. Did you make any changes from the original scripts during filming?
A. There weren’t really any changes made to “All the Music You Need” during shooting as it was such a simple script and Niall McNamee, our awesome lead actor, really ran with the character (excuse the pun).
We worked on the script of “I Won’t be Long, Love” before filming so once again, very few changes were made on set. We cut some dialogue and moved some moments around, but this was all done before arriving on set. Christopher and I experimented with switching the odd word or phrase here and there, but on the whole it remained unchanged.
Q. What were some of your favourite moments during filming?
A. The water scenes were fun to film in “All the Music” (Niall might have a different take on this…) It was November, so it was pretty cold in there, but I was really happy with how it came out. I also did the cinematography on this one, so it was only Niall and myself in the water with the rest of the crew hidden behind beach huts so they didn’t get in the shot. Must have looked weird for all the dog walkers!
The special effects shots were great fun to do in “I Won’t be Long, Love”. This was pretty much a one-shot deal. We ran on 4 cameras, hid Jack (one of the ADs) behind the sofa with the blood pump and just went for it. As we were filming in a theatre, we decided to tie up a tarpaulin across the front of the stage to protect the seating area and those sat in it from the pouring blood spray.
Unfortunately, this did not work. On “action” the blood arched right over our protective sheets, blood soaking the crew watching on the monitor in the front row. Ooops.
For both films, I worked with the amazing Andy M. Pisanu who did the sound design and wrote and recorded the original scores. Sound is just as important as image when it comes to filmmaking and it doesn’t fully come to life until the sound is on there. I love this process and Andy has really hit the mark on both of these films.
Q. Did you experience any issues during filming?
A. On the second day of shooting, a cast member had a person emergency so, of course, we stopped shooting so they could get back home. This meant that the second day of shooting happened just over a month later. The weather conditions matched perfectly (apart from being much colder) so in the end, I can’t even remember which shots were filmed on which day- so I think we got away with it.
We did have some issues with the big special effect in “I Won’t be Long, Love”. The blood didn’t react like it did in tests and the body didn’t split open as much as I planned- believe it or not, it was going to be grosser. Having said that, for our budget and time restraints, I was really happy with how it came out.
Q. What makes these films stand out as something different in the horror genre?
A. “All the Music” is a no budget film that takes the traditional siren trope and puts a psychological spin on it and questions what, if anything our main character is seeing and experiencing. Could longing and wanting to see something make it real? Or do supernatural forces live along side us?
“I Won’t be Long, Love” is an uncomfortable watch as we witness this man with dementia try to come to grips (or not) with his wife’s death. There are brief moments of sadness, repulsion, confusion and humour. I like the mixed reactions to this film as there is no “bad guy” and most viewers aren’t really sure how you are supposed to feel about what they have just seen- and that’s the idea, really.
Q. What do you hope people take away after watching the films?
A. I feel that both films play on real human fears and horrors- just dialled up. This is one of the things I like about horror as a whole- it is often steeped in real emotion that are manifest in fantastical and extreme depictions. I love the thrill and excitement of horror, but I also hope we leave the audience with a thing or two to think about after the film is over.
Q. Do you have any other projects which you are currently working on?
A. I am currently working on getting my first two features into production. One will be a script that I have written and the second is one that I have been writing with the awesome horror novelist Thomas Emson! I am very excited about both projects and hope to get them into production in 2025.
Q. If someone was looking to write and direct their own film what advice would you give them?
A. Just do it. There is always an excuse- it is not the right time or you can’t because you don’t have the money- but if you have a story to tell, there is always a way. There is also amazing crew out there that are looking for their next exciting project- why not let it be yours.
You can find out more about Chasing Shadows Films on the Website and following social media Instagram – Facebook
All the Music You Need will play at Horror-on-Sea on Sunday 19th January at 10.00am
I won’t be Long, Love‘ will play at Horror-on-Sea on Sunday 19th January at 10.30pm
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!
