P.J. Starks and Chris Bower Talk Volumes of Blood
We really loved the horror anthology film Volumes of Blood (review), so with it finally hitting DVD this week, we decided to talk with producer and co-director P.J. Starks about how the film came along, in addition to shedding light on some of their future projects which he’s making with fellow producer Chris Bowers.
DC: I understand that you are producing a number of upcoming indie horror films. Can you elaborate on them?
P.J.S: In 2015 I produced two horror films that both found a reasonable amount of success. I created one called Volumes of Blood. It’s a horror anthology that takes place entirely in a library. It went on to get rave reviews and was just an incredible ride all around. The other was The Confession of Fred Krueger written and directed by my good friend Nathan Thomas Milliner. It’s an origin story about Freddy before be become the dream demon that we all know. It was a fantastic mix of many things. Kevin Roach who played Freddy was utterly terrifying and nailed the role. He’s an awesome actor. Nathan has been a HUGE fan of the franchise since forever and used all that fan knowledge to give meticulous insight into the Krueger character. Unfortunately Wes Craven passed away right before the premiere, but I believe that he would have been really proud of the project. Volumes of Blood had a ton of talent involved, in every aspect and it’s finally hitting DVD and Blu-ray from LeglessCorpse Films. The amount of attention, praise and interest the project garnered was off the scale from what we anticipated. It’s been a long time coming, but I’m glad fans and viewers can get their hands on it. It’s a really exciting time. Currently I’m producing the sequel to VOB called Volumes of Blood: Horror Stories. It’s loosely based on the original, but introduces a whole new cast of characters and sequences that will give the original a run for its money.
CB: Well, aside from working on the sequel to Volumes of Blood, VOB: Horror Stories, at the moment I have several features in the works at different stages of production. My latest film, The Dooms Chapel Horror, will be released worldwide June 14th on DVD and VOD platforms such as iTunes, Hulu, and many others as well as several brick and mortar outlets. I’m also in pre-production on a feature called Church Lock-In; it’s an 80’s style slasher with a twist. I’m very excited to be able to make films right here in our home state of Kentucky. With our state government passing House Bill 340 last year, giving us one of the top three film tax incentive programs in the nation, we can now become a possible contender for studio and high-level indie films. It brings more filmmakers into our area to see the talent that we have at our fingertips and will provide more opportunities for us to make our dreams come true. That is one of the main reasons PJ and I have come together. We both are big believers in community-based filmmaking and these movies are our chance to show the value of that to the world.
DC: How do you find the process of producing? Do you sit back and let the directors do their things, or do you take a more active role?
PJS: I love producing, especially anthologies. While they can be logistical nightmares, you get an opportunity to work with such a wide array of talents. I’m a collaboration junkie. You have you hand in every single aspect of production, so when all the pieces fit together and things go as planned then it’s very rewarding for everyone involved. I wrote a majority of the scripts on the first film as well as the sequel, but when I chose the directors I wanted them to take the stories and it make it theirs. Obviously there are always limitations to some degree, but for the most part I step back and let the directors do their thing. I’m not the only creative entity on set and I recognize that. They need the freedom to bring their vision to life and it’s my job to nurture and facilitate that. That’s not to say I don’t step in when I need to, but overall I try to allow them the creative freedom they deserve.
CB: Being an indie film producer, there really isn’t much of a chance to be able to sit back and relax. When you are on set, you are just as important as the production assistants and the grips at getting things done. Also because you control the purse strings you would much rather jump in and help move something then have it take longer and cost the production more time and money. Also part of your job as a producer of no to low-budget films is bringing community partners together and putting their products and services to use for the film so there is a great joy in being there to watch that process happen. But of course there is a fine line at being a little too hands-on so you have to know what parts to let the directors have and what parts your talents are better suited toward. I definitely give the directors free rein on actors and blocking on set and in pre-production I always ask for the directors’ input on wardrobe, set design, and anything else they feel is important to bring their vision to the screen.
DC: As Volumes of Blood is an anthology film, did you try to make each segment tonally consist or is there a lot of diversity on display?
P.J.S: In Volumes of Blood the tones vary. 13 After Midnight is a monster flick with quite a bit of humor that turns dark very quickly and then it’s followed up with Encyclopedia Satanica, which has a very bleak and atmospheric tone. There’s no comedy or release whatsoever. Then it follows up with a segment that is all comedy. Diversity runs rampant in the film from style of shooting to the look as one sequence is all in black and white. It can be difficult making five separate stories in the same location feel like they are set apart, but also be cohesive at the same time. It was very much a balancing act, but through creative choices and a few happy accidents we managed to pull it off to great success.
CB: I know P.J. definitely wanted to keep the tone consistent across all aspects of the different volumes no matter how different they might be from one another. So consistent looks and vision were definitely discussed at great length during pre-production and will be watched constantly as we go through the process of making this film. I think we are making a movie that is going to blow minds all while keeping our directors, cast and crew very happy and a part of the creative process.
DC: With crap like Movie 43, anthology films have gotten something of a bum rap lately. Did you try to fix that?
P.J.S: After making one anthology I came to find out that most films of that nature don’t typically do well. Occasionally you get some real gems, but overall they fall to the wayside with audiences. Coming up with the concept for VOB I wanted to go back to a time where anthologies didn’t feel like a hodgepodge of random shorts thrown together. That’s how a lot of anthologies feel today or how they were actually produced. It’s easy to make a movie when someone has a film lying around and you just smash cut a bunch of films together.
I wanted VOB to hearken back to a time when anthologies were diverse in story, in characters, in twists, but ultimately told a cohesive story and the entire film was meant to fit together. When Volumes of Blood came out the critics started comparing it to Tales from the Crypt, Creepshow and Trick ‘r Treat so that validated everyone’s hard work and my push to get away from today’s post-modern anthology tropes. Volumes of Blood: Horror Stories follows the same mantra, maybe more so now that I’ve come up with a set of rules for how the VOB franchise should be handled. We’ve already shot one sequence with Nathan Thomas Milliner at the helm and even the rough cut looks fantastic. When you bring together the kind of talent that we have on VOB: HS then there’s no way we can fail. It’s the best cast and crew I’ve worked with to date and I cannot wait to see how the film turns out.
CB: Well this, I believe, is actually something that is a simple fix. Films like Movie 43 and the different anthologies that have come before us rely on being able to use big stars for short bits so that they don’t have to pay them as much because they’re essentially cameos. This also makes the scripts a bit silly and shallow and they lose their overall story and tone quite quickly. When we set out to make this movie, P.J. knew that he wanted some key factors that would be constant throughout the film but he wanted to focus on just making a good overall movie that had great stories and that is what we are doing. I believe that is what’s going to separate VOB: Horror Stories from the rest of the pack. It’s also the reason the first VOB has gotten so much buzz.
Buy Volumes of Blood on Blu-ray here, and on DVD here, and in a limited edition Blu-ray steelbook here.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b7_ssT5JoLo]
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