I Love My Zombies… A Mini-Memoir on the Making of Fetish Factory
Steve Barton
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Have you ever heard a parent say, “I’m not especially fond of children, but I love my own!”? That’s kind of how I feel about zombies. So when I got the offer from Blanc/Biehn Productions to make my feature directorial debut, guess what…
Yep: zombies!
If you’ve followed my career as a horror critic, you know that while I try to be as fair and balanced as possible, I’m always at a slight disadvantage when reviewing zombie flicks because they’re my least favorite.
So why, when actress-producer-uberwoman Jennifer Blanc-Beihn and highly imaginative executive producer Lony Ruhmann approached me earlier this year about writing and directing a saucy suspenser based on one of Lony’s loglines – “pinup girls vs. zombies” – did I say yes?
Anyone who knows me well enough to know I don’t love zombies should also know that my passion for style, retro fashion, and the sex kittens of yore trumps all. The opportunity to roll glam gals into a gory setting was absolutely irresistible! Plus, I was allowed to invite menacing mannequins and demonic dolls to the party. (A dream come true for this lifelong fan of “The Twilight Zone,” Blood & Black Lace, Maniac, and Magic.)
In my three-day writing blaze of the first draft of the script, Fetish Factory (brought to me first as Sleaze Factory) took on a strong comedic element; plus, I added old-school burlesque to the mix. Since there were only a few basic guidelines given, I was encouraged to explore the peculiar playground of my mind. Therefore, I embellished Lony’s cool little story to make the girls not just pinups, but also luscious lookalikes channeling the spirits of Bettie Page, Jayne Mansfield, Suzie Wong, and Rosie the Riveter. I gave each of them bawdy vintage burlesque comedy acts to perform – everything from ventriloquism to card tricks – in addition to their bumps-and-grinds.
And then of course, there are the things that go bump in the night. Zombies galore! At first, I thought it would be nifty and sly to keep their decay on the D-L and make them more sickly than slimy. But then I found out Jennifer had worked with F/X master Vincent Guastini (whom I’d interviewed recently for Dread Central Live) and he was raring to create late-stage zombies for us. Between Vinnie and the very gifted beauty-and-beastly makeup artist Mayera Albeita, we have made a kickass monster movie replete with shambling undead even I can love.
Being that Fetish Factory is a low budget film, we had to lose certain aspects of the original idea: Lony was thinking it would be great in black and white and set in the 60s or 70s, but that was too restrictive in the bang-for-bucks department. I had a lot of characters but had to kill a couple of darlings because of actors’ salaries. In the end, we somehow gained even more than we lost – more go-go, more girls, more glam, and more ghastly ghouls than I’d originally envisioned. Win/win!
That’s not to say we didn’t have our obstacles. We had a lead actor drop out the day before filming to pursue a TV commercial, but luckily Jen had a spare (pun intended: This new actor was in the fabulous existential horror film Rubber, which is about a marauding, murderous tire), and he not only met, but surpassed all expectations.
What’s more, the role of Rosie the Riveter seemed cursed. We had one actress attached and in our press release for weeks, but she unceremoniously dropped out. Undaunted, I had the role recast within a few hours.
However, as (bad) luck would have it, that actress left for Cannes partway through our production, and I had to do rewrites on the set to give some of her lines to another player who’d come in for basically a bit role in fun – suddenly, she was one of the leads! And thank goodness: She was game, more than up to the task, and added even more spunk and sex-appeal to our funky little Factory.
That’s another thing: the factory itself. We lucked out in a major way finding a location through one of our actresses. I’d originally written the script tailored around a live theater setting – because our story takes place when the burlesque ladies are giving a performance, and – “what?!” – the zombie apocalypse strikes and they are trapped behind closed doors. What we got was even better: an 1800s Victorian house that’s not only actually used for burlesque shows (there’s a stage built right into the living room!), but that’s aching with atmosphere and charisma. This place is like the architectural love child of the Amityville Horror house and the Bordello of Blood. Perfection. Okay… maybe not perfect. I’d written several “haunted hallway” scenes into the script, but in the actual house there is only one hallway. All right… half a hallway. But we made lemonade out of arterial blood. Since the movie is so campy, the fact that the characters keep returning to the tiny, zombie-infested corridor will only add to the intentional absurdity. (At least, I hope so. As one astute actress noted, this movie is “very Scooby Doo!”)
As you may have surmised, I am very pleased with my cast. I love them even more than I love my zombies. If I start naming each and every one of them off, this article would be the internet equivalent of War & Peace, so I’ll refrain for now and save the specific anecdotes about individuals for the inevitable interviews. (This is going to be a sticky thing for me, having been an entertainment reporter and host for the past 12 years… I like to ask the questions. Answering them..? Not so much. But if I can shine a spotlight on the crazy, kooky, sexy and scary cast, then I will gladly do so.)
One thing I will say about working with actors and of dialogue is that it never ceases to amaze me how much each and every person brings to a role. I’ve done short films and music videos before – but aside from an Edgar Allan Poe adaptation, there’s never been any dialogue in my things. I’ve always tended toward the Maya Deren silent experimental art film thing. However, I have had audio adaptations done of my short stories and novels, and to me there is nothing more fascinating than hearing how different inflections bring out such nuance… or excess. I may have written something to be quite serious, but the way an actor says it sometimes makes it funny – or scary or sad. It’s wonderful!
As Paul Schrader famously said, “Screenplays are not works of art. They are invitations to others to collaborate on a work of art.” The more I work as a filmmaker, the more I wholeheartedly believe and embrace this philosophy. (Though the writer in me does sometimes cringe when an actor goes off-book! Fortunately, the Fetish Factory screenplay was very fluid, and improv was invited.)
Some of my friends and colleagues were a little shocked when I told them I was helming a feature film in five days from start to finish. Even the ones who offered encouragement… I could tell that inwardly, they were dubious. While it was a challenge, I welcomed it.
For one thing: I have always worked fast. I can write a novel in a couple of weeks; a screenplay in a few days; and knock out six or seven movie reviews in a day when I really put my mind to it.
For another thing, the short run-n-gun shooting schedule is the Blanc/Biehn Productions model. They’ve done several movies this way. I have seen these movies, and they are the real deal. So I figured if other directors could do it, then so could I. And I did… Thanks in no small part to a well-oiled crew who’ve worked on previous BBP movies and diva-free actors who know the indie world. Everyone’s “We can do it!” attitude and shared love of a common goal (making movies) are what made the five-day shoot fly by for reasons other than the obvious.
It delights me to share some Easter eggs with the horror community. I’m a pretty self-referential director… I use many of the same wardrobe pops and props over again, as little winks and nods. I love the mystery of mirrors, and once again you will see reflections in Fetish Factory. We have a pair of red high heels that were in American Mary. A mannequin that was in Coldwater. A doll was in The Key to Annabel Lee. Lots of fun stuff to look for. That is, if you can pry your eyes from all the pulchritude. We do have some gorgeous gals in our movie – but no outright nudity. Like the peelers of yore, it’s all about the tease.
No tease in the horror and zombie action department, though: I promise you that. There’s gore galore, eyeball evisceration (yes, I am quite the Bava and Fulci fan-girl), and more rotting flesh than you can shake a stick at… in a comedic sense, mind you. We have not yet taken our foray into the editing bay, but what I am hoping emerges is something akin to the fun, over-the-top 70s romp Horror on Snape Island and a Scooby Doo cartoon meets a Tempest Storm striptease with a little twist of From Dusk Till Dawn thrown in… and a whole lot of Staci Layne Wilson.
Stay tuned to see what happens next… we should have a teaser trailer soon!
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