David Ryan Keith Talks Redwood Massacre and More
Steve Barton
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It’s hard to make an original slasher movie in this day and age but British filmmaker David Ryan Keith sure does give it a good stab with The Redwood Massacre.
Dread Central: You’ve managed to make an unpredictable, original horror movie. How did you manage that?
David Ryan Keith: Thanks for saying that but I can’t say this is the most original slasher film ever made. However, we did try our best to make it as fun as possible for the people who appreciate this genre of movie. The film is really inspired by all the classic slasher films. We really wanted to try to capture what made those films so special and originally appealed to so many horror fans back when they first came out.
DC: Still, you can spot the homages in a few spots to classics of days gone. Which films influenced – if even in a small capacity – this movie?
DRK: My childhood was spent watching all kinds of horror movies, it wasn’t until I started writing the script that I realised how much these films have been permanently burnt into my brain. Watching John Carpenter & Sam Raimi movies were more or less my film school growing up. Their shooting styles are so different but you can’t help but try and emulate what those guys did in the past and attempt to apply them to your own films. I think there’s a little bit of every slasher film made in this movie. It’s so hard not to be influenced by the old classics when you spend so much time watching them when you were younger.
DC: Did you put a lot of thought into coming up with creative ways you could kill the characters?
DRK: We knew if we could at least deliver on the death scenes and gore it would paper over some of the other flaws the film had due to the budget. This is a truly independent film, we financed the entire production ourselves and it would be an understatement to say had limited resources. Sometimes you just have to use what’s available to you on the day and hope for the best. Luckily most of the actors and crew were horror fans so it ended up being a really collaborative experience when it came time to shooting the murders. It was great to be surrounded by people that wanted it to look the best it could.
DC: There’s no shying away from gore here. Clearly, you wanted this to be a hardcore horror flick?
DRK: It’s just so much fun shooting this kind of stuff but it’s also really difficult to know when you’ve gone too far! These films are all about the characters putting themselves in ridiculous situations and paying the ultimate price. We wanted the death scenes to be visually graphic and brutal and not shy away from showing the actual violence close up. It’s really hard for us to judge what impact these scenes will have on the audience as it’s hard not to picture the ridiculous things we had to do to achieve them. Some people like more subtle, suggestive violence, we definitely went in the other direction to the point it’s almost gratuitous in a fun over the top kind of way.
DC: What kind of feedback have you had?
DRK: We’re stepping onto sacred ground attempting to make a slasher film so we knew we might be in for some abuse. The film has generally been received really well by the horror community which appreciate what we’ve tried to do. On the flip side we’ve also had some disappointing comments directed our way from people sick of seeing this kind of movie. I understand there are people out there that want to see a new fresh approach to this genre, but sometimes it’s nice to revisit something familiar. This is definitely a movie you leave your brain at the door, if enjoy a little bit of 80’s style cheese and extreme violence your going to enjoy it (I hope).
DC: The blood looked really authentic. Corn syrup?
DRK: The blood was supplied by a company in England that specialise in theatrical blood. The guys over at filmblood.com were amazing and actually gave us £800 of blood for free. We used over 100 litres of blood in this movie and are so happy we found someone that could supply it in such huge quantities.
DC: How much did you rely on practical effects vs. CGI?
DRK: I personally hate CGI blood effects which can really take you out of the movie if it’s not done correctly. As soon as we decided to tackle the slasher genre we decided straight away that all the effects should be practical. It’s also more fun when your actually shooting, you can see the effect through the lens and know if it’s worked or not pretty much instantly. It’s also a lot more fun for the actors and the crew got to tackle the challenge head-on of making it work on screen.
DC: Can you talk about Mark Wood? He’s pretty solid in this!
I’ve worked Mark in the past on another movies, he’s done a lot of TV work here in the U.K and starred in some high profile adverts. It was a tough sell to try and get any actors to agree to do a film like this. On paper it does sound pretty crazy and with such a small budget I can understand why some people would be weary of committing. We only had Mark for three days on this film but shot it in such a way we could spread him out through the movie. I’m so glad Mark agreed to do it. He came in at a point when the shoot was starting to really grind us all down. Mark loves making movies and the whole filmmaking process, he brought a fresh enthusiasm to the project that was infectious and really rubbed off on the other cast and crew.
Look for the flick on DVD and VOD July 7 from Uncork’d Entertainment. David Ryan Keith’s The Redwood Massacre epitomizes the 80’s slasher and just adds a dollop more of the red stuff into the mix.
Starring Mark Noel (TVs “Trinity”), Lisa Cameron (My Brother’s Keeper), Lisa Livingstone (TVs “Holby City”), Rebecca Wilkie (Legion of Evil), and Alec Westwood (TVs “Roughnecks”), this chilling film chronicles the horrific outcome of a group of friends who visit a legendary murder site, Redwood House. What happens next will chill you to the bone.
Synopsis:
For five adventurous friends, visiting the legendary murder site of the Redwood House has all the hallmarks of being an exciting and thrilling camping weekend away. A popular site for revelers and party-goers, each year on the exact date of the famous local family massacre, people from around the country head out to the site to have fun and scare each other.
Events take a bloody turn for the worse when the innocent campers discover the Redwood legend is in fact a horrible bloody reality, which turns the unsuspecting victims into prey for a mysterious axe-wielding maniac that has remained dormant for 20 years.
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