‘Bliss of Evil’ Actors Corrie Hinschen And Sharnee Tones Talk Their New Queer Slasher
Pat King
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It was one of those things. I saw a mention of Bliss of Evil on my Instagram feed. So I went home and rented it on Prime, and just fell in love with it.
Co-written and directed by Josh Morris, Bliss of Evil takes place in 1997 and follows a rock band and their friends as they practice their tunes at a rehearsal studio. At the same time, someone is stalking them, taking them out one by one. Eventually, we’re introduced to Bloodface, a new slasher villain with a score to settle. He wears the blood of his kills on his face, and something is seriously wrong with his psyche.
An LGBTQ+ story with a diverse cast, Bliss of Evil explores trauma in a sensitive way, while also serving as a fun neo-slasher.
I was super-excited to interview Bliss Of Evil co-writer/producer/Bloodface actor Corrie Hinschen and lead actor Sharnee Tones via Zoom about starring in this new take on slasher horror.
This interview has been edited for brevity and includes brief spoilers for Bliss Of Evil.
Dread Central: Tell us a little bit about yourselves and your previous experience leading up to Bliss of Evil.
Corrie Hinschen: I’ll let you go first, Sharnee. You’re the real actor, I’m just a dickhead.
Sharnee Tones: [Laughs] So I studied acting back in 2012 – 2014. I did my advanced diploma then. And it was all very theater-based, to be honest. Then I worked my way into film through short films and networking. Just met a bunch of great people, and a lot of the people involved in Bliss of Evil were those people. I met a lot of them through other jobs. So, it was the first feature-length film that I’ve done. First feature-length horror film as well. Most of the stuff I’d been cast in prior to that was always a bit rom-commy or just drama. And all kinds of short film projects. Or, funnily enough, voiceover for children’s animation. So, very big shift into something new with Bliss of Evil.
DC: Are you a fan of horror?
ST: Well, to be honest, I wasn’t a fan growing up, because I was a big nightmares person. I get a lot of nightmares after horror [Laughs]. And then I found in the last couple of years I really got into watching it and I really loved the thrill of it. Corrie’s next level—knows everything about horror and the genre and the filmmakers. I’m the person who’s like, “I’ll watch this just because of these reviews and whatnot.” So coming into Bliss Of Evil, I didn’t really know what the approach would be. I definitely wouldn’t consider myself to be a scream queen or anything.
DC: You are now!
ST: Well, I am now [Laughs]. I went in with the same approach I go in with anything. I focused deeply on the character and the journey she was going through, and the people around her.
DC: Awesome. And Corrie?
CH: Well, I don’t really come from a film background. I’m a film lover. I did work in TV for a bit. I had a television show that was based out of Hong Kong and here in Brisbane for a Korean television network. Also, I worked with Budblu, which is a Blu-ray company in South Korea, and I helped them with the Kim Jee Woon film A Bittersweet Life. I was one of the advisors. I wrote an essay that’s in there and I helped them promote it. So that’s my experience in the realm of film and TV.
DC: So you were involved with criticism before this?
CH: Yeah, so I’ve done review-style stuff. I wouldn’t call myself a critic, as such. More like analytical-based things. I’ve always just loved Asian cinema. I kind of grew up with it. But then the J-horror boom happened when I was a teenager, so that got me into horror. Now, I was always into American-style stuff like the John Carpenter films. Based on a Stephen King novel stuff. I just ate it up as a child. But as I got into my teenage years, I guess you could call it a horror film, Battle Royale opened my eyes to the world of Japanese cinema and I just went down a rabbit hole of J-horror. Things like The Ring, and The Grudge. Dark Water and Kiyoshi Kurosawa films like Cure and all those things were coming out and I just got so into it.
Then one day I was with Josh, our director. We were talking and I was just like, “Let’s go make a horror movie.” And we were just lucky that we had access to the studio where we filmed it. We called in a lot of favors. Like with Sharnee. Brisbane’s quite a small place, so it wasn’t hard to get people involved. And we were very lucky. I think with Bliss of Evil, it’s one of those lightning-in-a-bottle things. Everything just kind of worked. To be in a position where we have people like yourself reaching out and saying, “Hey, I want to interview you,” is fantastic.
DC: Well, speaking of that, as of this conversation you’ve got 100% on Rotten Tomatoes and you’re winning awards at film festivals. Congrats on that, by the way.
CH: Yeah, congrats to Sharnee. She won a Best Actress award. She’d already won a couple previously, so she’s adding to her collection, which is great.
ST: Well, thanks!
CH: She worked so fucking hard on this movie.
DC: I believe it! Because you guys did it on weekends, right?
CH: Yeah, we shot during COVID, which in Australia we had very strict COVID restrictions, specifically for film. So we’re only allowed ten people in a room at a time. That’s cast and crew, so we had to work around that. And then also we all had day jobs, so we were doing it around working. We had no weekends. It was like Friday afternoon we were shooting until 1AM, 2AM some days, things like that. Poor Sharnee—Sharnee and I both had to drive the van because we were the only two who had manual driver’s licenses. I guess in America you guys call it when you drive a stick shift.
DC: What was the idea for setting Bliss of Evil in the ’90s? Do you have a fascination with the time period? You don’t look like you were that age in 1997. You were probably just being born then, huh?
CH: No, I was thirteen, fourteen.
DC: Oh, okay!
CH: Yeah, I’m older than you think.
ST: He’s aged very well (laughs).
CH: But I think it was because—I think everyone except for the real youngins—most of the cast grew up at some point in the ’90s. So I think it was just a fondness for that time period. And the studio looks straight out of the ’90s, so we didn’t have to do a lot of production design if we just say it’s the ’90s. We felt like the ’80s thing had been done to death, you know what I mean? I love all those ’80s throwbacks, don’t get me wrong. But it’s like, “How about we focus on the ’90s now? Let’s make that cool again.” Let’s make the Spice Girls cool again. And Shania Twain.
DC: So you had the studio first and then just based the story around that?
CH: We had the location and then I had quite a few ideas. I’ve been in a number of different bands. Heavy metal, punk. When I was a teenager I was into all that stuff. I was in a band around 16 and we were playing clubs around Brisbane and I was way underage. But the guys I was with were like ten years older than me. So nobody questioned it.
Myself and our composer Nate Collins, we’ve been friends for a very long time. And he and I have been in and out of bands together, and we had so many different stories that we could pull from. Particularly, we were in a band with a person who was unhinged, not all there, and that’s kind of where we got the idea for this slasher story. And we worked around the location. Because we had no money. So it was like, “How can we make this work with the location that we have?” So that’s what we did.
DC: Sharnee, did you have any experience with bands or the music business before this?
ST: No, not bands per se. I grew up in the country, so my upbringing of music was a lot of country bumpkin songs (laughs)! I did always love singing. I’m pretty sure when I was little I thought I’d be the next Brittney, as we all do. But then I grew up and hit my teen years, and I got tremendous stage fright when it came to singing. That was a massive thing for me. Completely changed where I thought I was, and that’s when I discovered acting. Because I was so terrified of singing in front of other people, but I was still a performer.
But, yes, I’ve always loved singing, I’ve dabbled with musical instruments. I mean, I can sort of play piano, can sort of play ukulele, but I was always too terrified to be a part of a band. So when they were like, “You’re gonna sing in this film,” I was like, “Oh great! I can’t wait for that day!”
CH: And I remember that day because you were terrified.
ST: Yep, yep.
CH: But you can sing brilliantly. You do a great job. It’s in tune…
ST: You’re about to be murdered, but we want you to sing!
CH: I had to sing in the movie, too! I think Sharnee and I, we kind of connected quite well because Sharnee was—I don’t want to say standoffish—but you not feeling comfortable singing was kind of how I felt about acting. The reason I’m in Bliss of Evil is because we couldn’t afford to pay another person. It wasn’t because I was like, “Yeah, I want to be the next Robert De Niro.” I was like, “We need somebody to play a member of this rock band. Who could we possibly get who looks like they could be in a rock band?”
ST: We definitely supported each other with that. You were my strength and I was yours for those scenes.
DC: So you’re not a trained actor, Corrie?
CH: Me? Not at all.
DC: You couldn’t tell.
CH: Well, thank you, Pat. I appreciate that.
DC: So Sharnee, how did you come to be involved in Bliss of Evil and what did you think about the script when you read it?
ST: So I really got involved because of Josh, who’s our director, and I’d worked with him before. Every now and then Josh would just send me something and go, “Have a read of this, what do you think of this?” And then he sent me through this script and he was like, “Look, I have you in mind for the lead of this. Do you want to have a read, let me know how you feel?” I had a read and I was, I guess, a bit terrified because I’ve never done something to this extent in this genre. And I think that’s the reason why I was driven to do it.
I also knew, because I’d worked with Josh before and I knew some of the people he was bringing on board, that it would be a really wholesome experience. I think I sort of went, “Well, I know these people, I trust these people.” And what a great opportunity to bring something to life, and I connected a lot with my character. It was just a really good story to tell, and I really wanted to sink my teeth into that. So I jumped on board and here we are.
DC: Was there a scene for you that particularly resonated?
ST: Funnily enough, I think it was her friendship with her best friend, Jamie. It was really beautiful for me and I was really excited to bring that around. And then also, obviously, the overall arc of it. Of a woman experiencing something so traumatic and then having to process that, then having to face it, then having to overcome it, and kind of go from this victimhood state into this warrior by the end is a story I was really passionate about. I wanted to make sure she had a really strong character arc. I was just really passionate about bringing her to life and interacting with all of the people in her life.
DC: This is for both of you. Your characters, for different reasons, have to go to some pretty dark places. Was it hard for you to prepare yourself for that?
CH: Yeah, for me it was. There’s a lot of stuff that I was not comfortable with. We won’t spoil anything, but there’s a scene in the film where some things were revealed, and I remember when we shot it. It’s not gratuitous in any way. You don’t actually see anything, it’s all implied stuff. But I remember that was something Sharnee and I had to do together. And even though you don’t see what the character is doing, in my head I knew what the character was meant to be doing. There’s a point there where the camera’s just rolling, and you don’t see anything, but I think Sharnee just gave me a hug because she could tell that I was so uncomfortable.
Then we had to do some audio for that scene separately, and we did it all in one take. Sharnee really coached me through that scene and sat me down, because again, I’m not an actor. She had to comfort me and say, “You’re not this person in real life. It’s fine.” But we did one take of that audio and I just went, “I can’t. This is too uncomfortable.” But we managed to get it, which was good.
There was another scene with Shanay, who plays Nic. She was preparing to get really emotional for this scene, and Sharnee was doing the same in a different room, and I was kind of caught in between them both. I’m like, “I don’t know what’s happening here.” Because I’m such a non-actor. I would ask them if they were okay. Like, “Oh my God, are you all right?” But they were fine. They were just getting into that headspace. So as a non-actor, you see somebody who’s acting upset—it was really hard for me to not see that as real because they were just so believable.
ST: It’s definitely a trigger warning-type film. There are a lot of triggering elements within Bliss of Evil, and trauma within the film. It is hard when you’re dealing with such sensitive matter, because you need to treat it with the utmost respect and you have to do your due diligence in portraying these characters and empathizing with them. And you don’t want to make light of it. You have to give yourself the chance to bring what they’re feeling to light in the truest and most real way possible.
It is very hard. I think for me one of the hardest things was a solid 80-90% of the time I’m in a state of distress. There was a lot of anxiety. There was a lot of emotion, a lot of fear. And so, for a lot of scenes, I had to be working my way into those. And then obviously not everything is shot in order, so you have to remember to match the level of intensity you were at with the last one. So finding your way back to that and still keeping it truthful and not trying to force.
Obviously, emotion is a tricky thing because sometimes to protect you your body goes numb. And it was hard seeing everybody else having a good time in between takes and I’m like, “Well, got to prepare for this big scene.” So it was very challenging. It was very tiring. And I’m sure Corrie could relate. By the end of the day, I was absolutely exhausted. But I think it was important for us to go there and to give it what it needed. I’m really proud of how much everyone committed to bringing this to life and making it what it is.
DC: You guys’ hero/villain pairing was particularly dynamic. What do you think accounts for you working so well together on screen?
CH: I see Sharnee as like a little sister.
ST: I think it’s trust. Just absolute trust. I completely trust Corrie, and I think as we said earlier there were some things where he felt strong and I felt weak and he felt weak and I felt strong, and we were really supporting one another throughout that whole process. So the hero/villain concept obviously started and ended with the film. But for Corrie and Sharnee, we were with each other the entire journey. And he supported me the entire journey and I did for him as well.
It just gave us the freedom to kind of go there. Because you find on set with challenging material, if someone’s not willing to go there, who’s not willing to be open and share with you and receive with you, it’s very hard to make it feel the way it needs to feel. And Corrie being brand new to acting was absolutely incredible in how willing he was to be vulnerable with the rest of us. I think it really brought it all to life.
DC: So I read that your budget was minuscule. I know neither one of you was involved with the cinematography, but part of what makes [the movie] not appear as microbudget is the cinematography. What did you think about the way that came out?
CH: Oh, I think it’s amazing. Damian [Hussey] was a co-producer as well. And he was our DP. We called in a lot of favors. That’s why the budget was so low. We did pay people, and we did feed everyone, but we’re all just normal people who said, “Hey, let’s make a movie.” We were lucky to get Damian onboard because he’s shot movies before, and he’s got great camera gear. I believe the movie was shot on the same camera they shot Godzilla vs. Kong. That’s the quality of Damian’s gear.
Also, the score, the sound design. We had Nate Collins do the score and Shaun O’Brien do the sound design. They all worked their asses off for nothing. Nobody’s been paid on the production side of things because we were all dedicated to the project. We were so lucky. But, yeah, I love the cinematography of this film. I want to make another movie with Damian as the DP.
ST: I couldn’t sing his praises more. He’s such a beautiful person. He was such a calm in the storm. Because obviously, chaos reigns on the set when you put a bunch of people together and you’re in a confined space, trying to get this much done in this much time. He was just the most beautiful zen human being, and he shot incredible footage for us all.
DC: Is there anything you learned from making a microbudget film that other filmmakers might benefit from?
CH: I’ve actually thought about writing an article about it. But I’m sure a lot’s been said. I mean, there was that Bruce Campbell book, If Chins Could Kill, the first book he did. It has a lot of great tips for microbudget filmmaking in that. Don’t give up. You’re going to get told “no” a lot by a lot of people, particularly powerful people.
But just keep going. If you’ve got an idea and it’s a story you want to tell, do what you can to get it made. Stick right to your budget. Don’t go writing a movie where you look at it on paper and go, “Well, I need five million dollars for this,” and you only have $5,000. Well, do whatever you can to make that work for what you have. And just try to get people on board who are of a similar mindset where everyone is on the same page.
But it’s not easy. It’s a hard slog, and it’s a long slog. For us, we’ve been in festivals for a year now. And we’ve played a lot of the big ones. And if you told me we’d get that far when we were filming, I probably wouldn’t believe you. But the support from the horror community is absolutely phenomenal. The horror community truly is a community that has each others’ backs, and actually cares and puts themselves out there. The horror community is the most open-minded film community I’ve ever come across. And I think a lot of horror fans would agree with that.
ST: I would just say that you don’t know what’s going to become of the project. So you want to make sure that the people you’re working with are prepared. Corrie’s been tremendous. He’s just pumped the bejesus out of everything and it’s gone literally everywhere. It’s incredible. But, just invest in your work. Show up every day and do your best possible work. Because you don’t know what could come of it.
DC: This was an LGBTQ+ story. Was that something you wanted to do from the beginning?
CH: Not really. It all just happened organically. It was never a cynical thing, it was just an organic thing that happened. I don’t think there’s a single thing I’ve written that doesn’t have a queer thing to it. Maybe that’s just part of me going on paper. But it was all organic. When we came up with the story for Bliss of Evil we didn’t actually have any of that in mind. We didn’t just sit down and go, “We’re gonna make a queer film.” We got people involved in the production who identify under that banner. These things just happen organically, you know? I think that’s the best way. I think it was just one of those lightning-in-a-bottle things and everything just worked out for the best.
ST: Yeah, nothing was particularly targeted in any direction. The focus really was on just telling this story and really anyone could have played these characters. The story itself is very strong. It wasn’t based on telling the story of this one particular person because of who they love or what their status is. It was about the experience and overcoming. And that journey could have been about anybody.
CH: Could have been two gay guys, you know?
ST: It wasn’t written for any particular thing. It was just written as it was—like a blank canvas script. And we just happened to be the ones involved.
CH: When I write, I specifically don’t write ethnicity or sexual orientation into my characters. It’s just whoever’s right, and what feels right. For Bliss of Evil, that just felt right.
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