Name: HorrorScopes Volume 2: Chinese Zodiac – Tiger
Directors: MJ Dixon
Writers: MJ Dixon
Starring: Eliza Leonard, Mark Sears, Philip Rogers, Adam Lezemore, Chloe Ivy Cozza and Eve Oliver
Synopsis – Vince’s contacts are dying, dropping like flies and the culprit is closing in on him. But who could it be and what is their connection to his sordid past?
In a new exclusive interview on Blazing Minds leading up to the Horror-on-Sea Film Festival, I got a chance to ask writer-director MJ Dixon a few questions about his segment of HorrorScopes Volume 2: Chinese Zodiac – ‘Tiger’
HorrorScopes Volume 2: Chinese Zodiac has been selected to play at the Horror-on-Sea film festival on Friday 19th January at 20:00pm.
Q. You contributed a segment film to HorrorScopes Volume 2 which has been selected to play at Horror-on-Sea Film Festival. Can you tell us about the segment?
A. We all got to pick a zodiac sign for the second film. I picked ‘Tiger’ and I was determined to do something different from last time. Our previous segment was very much a comedy and I wanted to try my hand at something much more serious this time.
The segment revolves around a bunch of career criminals whose boss has a taste for abusing the young girls that come his way. As his contacts and allies start getting picked off one by one Vince finds out he’s about to come up against his past for possibly the last time.
What were some of your influences when writing the script for Tiger?
A. I’m a very big fan of the rape/revenge genre and so early on I wanted to do something that had a kind of 70s vibe. Riffing on films like Last House on the Left (1972), I Spit on Your Grave (1978) and They Call Her One Eye (1974).
A lot of the idea just came from the visuals I imagined when I first picked the sign and then the story grew from there. I don’t get to write criminals and gangsters very often, so that was a nice change of pace for me.
Q. What were some of your influences for the look and style of the film?
A. Stylistically I wanted to do something that was very bright and colourful and over the top. I was tempted to do something a little more muted due to the subject matter, but as it was already such a departure from what I usually make I wanted to make sure that I kept some of my signature visual stuff.
I worked from the neon sign in Vince’s ‘lair’ and then used colour theory from there to work with a palette that matched that and complimented it well. I was pretty pleased with the overall look of the film and each part of the set felt like it had its own colour scheme that changed as the film progressed.
Q. Did you make any changes from the original script during filming?
A. I think the biggest changes really were the costume things. We had ordered some stuff that was really important to the visual identity of the film. It was all really old, specialist stuff. Then as the shoot loomed, none of it had arrived. We waited until 2 days before the shoot and then I had to bite the bullet and replace it with overnight stuff. Of course, this limited what I could get and made it about 4x more expensive. The replacement items weren’t really as good, but they worked out fine.
About a week later, (a month after ordering) the package turned up with all the perfect items in it together. No idea what happened but it was very annoying. Still, at least now I have a bunch of sex worker-type coats. Haha.
Q. What were some of your favourite moments during filming?
A. I really enjoyed the whole thing, I was careful with choosing my cast and it was filled with people I love working with, so it was really a great experience the whole way through. I think Doug and Simon’s argument outside the house was a great moment, even though it was raining, it was a great scene to have a front-row seat during.
It was also my first time working with Mark and Eliza and they made those characters feel so well-rounded, it was amazing just to watch them come to life. I really enjoyed every moment of it.
Q. Did you experience any issues during filming?
A. Oh yeah loads. Our mic had broken the day before, so we had been stuck with the built-in one of the recorders. It was fine in the controlled environment, but it was just another issue to fix on the day.
We also had loads of night stuff to shoot, but we didn’t have dark until 4pm. So we were kind of running round all of the script working around it until the sunlight dropped and we could shoot the night stuff. But ultimately, it worked out just fine.
Q. What makes Tiger stand out as something different in the horror genre?
A. I think, for me, it’s just something new for me to try my hand at. In the genre as a whole, I suppose it is well-trodden territory, but I like to think it has some surprises unless you’ve read this interview lol.
But I just looked at what other people were making at the minute and the kind of stuff we had in the last movie and just tried to do something that was a departure from that. I guess it’s kind of a slasher movie, with a Creepshow vibe but a Last House mentality. So that’s pretty unique, right?
Q. What do you hope people take away after watching the film?
A. I guess it’s a film about empowerment and that’s a river that flows through a lot of my work. But honestly, I just want people to have a good fun time watching it, that’s my main goal with anything, entertainment first.
It’s sandwiched in between a bunch of other really cool shorts and so I guess there isn’t much time to ponder on it in the feature film as a whole, but I hope it’s one that people remember.
Q. Do you have any other projects which you are currently working on?
A. We just wrapped Slasher Hous3: Rebooted which premieres at Horror-On-Sea the same weekend as HorrorScopes Volume 2. I’m excited about that for different reasons. It’s the first feature we’ve made I almost 4 years and it’s been a massive undertaking, so I just hope people enjoy it.
We’ve got some shorts playing across the same festival too and then I guess we’re on to our next feature and maybe the final instalment of the anthology?
Q. If someone was looking to get into filmmaking what advice would you give them
A. Just make films. That’s it. There are all the excuses in the world, but you can either do it or not, but no one is gonna do it for you.
It’s Never been easier to make movies, so go out there and do it.
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!
