Film Name: One Night Only
Director: Josh Harris
Writer: Josh Harris
Starring: Laura Dalgleish, Lloyd Meredith, Mandy Rose, Steve Speirs
A pub singer, her brooding daughter and a leery bouncer who may or may not be the man of her dreams.
In a new Exclusive Interview on Blazing Minds ahead of Horror-on-Sea I got a chance to ask Writer/ Director Josh Harris a few questions about the film ‘One Night Only‘
One Night Only will play at Horror-on-Sea on Saturday 11th January at 17.30pm
Q. Your film has been selected to play at the Horror-on-Sea Film Festival. Can you tell us what we can expect?
A. We’re so pleased to be involved with Horror-on-Sea, thanks for selecting our film! One Night Only is film about having a dream and what it is like to lose that dream. You can expect singing, pubs and blood!
Q. What were some of your influences when writing the script?
A. From a writing perspective I was heavily influenced by people like Ben Wheatley, Alice Lowe, Steve Oram, and Rose Glass. I like to lean into the eccentricity of the rural experience as I am from the middle of nowhere in Wales.
Q. What were some of your influences for the look and style of the film?
A. I was watching a lot of Giallo in the months running up to production, particularly Dario Argento’s early stuff. Here in the film you will see luscious close ups and vivid colours which is very reminiscent of Italian Horror Cinema of the 70s, and the ‘cinema of sensation’.
Q. Did you make any changes from the original script during filming?
A. They say that you make a film three times: once when you write it, then you destroy it and make something new during production, then you destroy it and make something new again in the edit. Our big change in One Night Only is structural, where the flashbacks sit in the final cut wasn’t where they were sitting in the script.
Q. What were some of your favourite moments during filming?
A. As the director I was quite tightly strung during production but looking back after a long low-loader shoot on our first day of filming we took the cast and crew for an Indian meal. I have a pleasant memory of everyone laughing together after a hard days work.
Q. Did you experience any issues during filming?
A. People say that when you’re planning a series of night shoots that it usually takes a week before you become used to shooting at night, but of course we only shot this over four days. We had a big crew and it was a tight and taxing shoot mostly at night. Our crew was incredible and I was so grateful to have such an amazing team.
Q. What makes it stand out as something different in the horror genre?
A. This film takes you to a rural world that is very true to my own experience of living in the countryside. These environments are where I grew up and a rarely seen in the context of any film, let alone a Giallo-influenced subverted slasher film.
Q. What do you hope people take away after watching the film?
A. I hope that people are entertained first and foremost. But also I hope that people understand the vision here. This is the start of the process to get to a feature, so if this is something along the lines of what you like, let us know, and show it some love on Letterboxd or IMDb and we’ll be able to get funded to make more!
Q. Do you have any other projects which you are currently working on?
A. I have been writing a feature film, Canal Boat Killers. I’m billing it as “The slowest chase film ever”. It’s a horror-comedy about two serial killers that live on a canal boat.
Q. If someone was looking to write and direct their own film what advice would you give them?
A. Equipment is so accessible now – just do it. We all got cameras on our phones. Just make something. Whatever it is. You’ll only find your voice by making stuff. Share it with your friends and be open to criticism. You’ll learn what an audience enjoys and not just what you enjoy.
One Night Only will play at Horror-on-Sea on Saturday 11th January at 17.30pm
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!
