Director Glenn Ciano talks Inkubus, Robert Englund, Infected, and More!
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Glenn Ciano will not be stopped. With an incredibly infectious energy level and a “by any means necessary” filmmaking attitude, this director is brimming with excitement about the theatrical release of his first feature film. And the lucky bastards at this year’s Rock and Shock horror movie and music convention, will be the first to bear witness to Ciano’s creation, Inkubus starring Robert Englund.
“I wanted it to be something a little different,” Ciano says of Inkubus. “Kind of a throwback to the ’80s’s genre flick. A little bit of nuts and guts with two powerhouse performers in Robert Englund and William Forsythe.”
And with names like that attached to his first feature film, Ciano had to be sure to excel in the director’s chair every time out. “I had to approach it head on and give fans, guys like me, something to cheer about again,” Ciano said. “Robert is unbelievable. A consummate professional and one hell of an actor. And then I wanted to hang all the emotional baggage of the film on William Forsythe, one of our incredible American actors.”
But even with big names like this, Ciano’s project was on a very limited schedule and budget, with just 15 days to film Inkubus. “I had Robert for the run of the show, but I didn’t have anyone else for the run of the show,” Ciano said. “I was flying Joey (Fatone) all over the country. I had (Jonathan) Silverman for about eight days. You have to juggle. You have to make it happen. It’s all on you. You have to have a game plan. I slept in my office most of the time because I was going to make the most of the opportunity to direct my first feature film. And I’m really proud of it and really psyched to be able to premiere it at Rock and Shock with not just horror fans, Robert Englund fans.”
Thanks to the work of producer Chad A. Verdi, Inkubus will be making its world premiere at Rock and Shock in Worchester, Massachusetts, on Saturday, October 15 at 8 pm. “Chad has produced the three movies I’ve made, and he’s the one giving Inkubus a shot theatrically,” Ciano said. “He’s putting it out himself, and not many producers would do that. I really applaud him for that. He’s taking it to the fans and giving it theatrical life.”
And bringing it to the fans is what Glenn Ciano is all about. “This is for the fans. They’re either going to make something of this movie or they won’t,” Ciano said. “They’re going to be the ones to make this movie a success. And I believe that’s true on every level. I don’t care how much you try to pound something into an audience, I don’t care how many ads there are to go and see Cowboys and Aliens; if they’re not going to show up, they’re not going to show up.”
Part of the reason Ciano is so excited about the premiere of the film is the fact that he can be with the fans as they see the film and enhance the entire experience for them. “This is the first time an audience is going to see this movie. We’re treating it like Comic-Con,” Ciano said. “The last convention I did I brought the Inkubus weapon. I let people try it on. They were like, ‘Wow, is this a prototype?’ I was like, ‘No, that’s the weapon Robert Englund wore in the movie.’ They looked at me like I was crazy. And I am ’cause that’s what I wish. I wish I could go to a convention and be like, ‘Wow that’s so cool1! Can I put it on?’ ‘Yeah, you can!”
He continued, “I want people to get excited about this movie. There’s nothing better than premiering this movie in a roomful of fans. And you know, they might turn on me, but I’m giving it my best shot and taking it right to them.”
Inkubus is scheduled for a theatrical release in at least nine cities on October 28, but the Rock and Shock folks will be the first to have a look. And Ciano can’t wait to get there. “I’m a fan. I love what I do, and I’m not afraid to be a fan,” Ciano said. “The people who turn me off are just haters and are afraid to be a fan of the next guy. I want everyone around me to be an all-star. I don’t have to be the star. I want to Willie Nelson this thing. I want to play with my friends.”
And thus far Ciano has been able to do just that. Along with his cinematographer Ben DeLuca and the rest of his Glennergy Team, they’ve put together films in an almost guerilla fashion. “I don’t believe in what I can’t do,” Ciano said. “I believe in what I can do. Movie-making is problem solving. I’m not going to sit here and cry in a corner because I can’t rent a light. If I can’t rent it, I’m gonna build it. We built our own lights. We built a 35-foot crane. As much extension cord as I could have was as far as I could go with my lights, and I was shooting steadi-cam in the middle of the woods. At the end of the day the only drama anyone is going to care about is when the lights go down and the movie starts to roll. And I enjoy the process of delivering it.”
With Inkubus about to be released, Glenn also has another film currently in post-production entitled Infected. Michael Madsen stars with William Forsythe again returning to work with Glenn. “One of my favorite writers out there is Jeph Loeb. I kinda took a Jeph Loeb approach to the zombie genre,” Ciano said. “He (Loeb) got to redefine almost every superhero out there. I was looking at zombie movies thinking, ‘You know, everyone always wakes up in a hospital and the world is already to shit’. I want to know why. Then sometimes you find out why, and it’s just some angry ape in a cage and the government messing around with him. I wanted something scarier. Then something scary happened to me.”
A run-in with a deer tick and a Lyme Disease scare helped inspire Ciano to create an idea for Infected which would “bring more science to the fiction.”
I’m sure we’ll be hearing much more about Infected, but today belongs to Inkubus. Check out the trailer for the film starring Robert Englund, William Forsythe, Jonathan Silverman and Joey Fatone below. And if you’re lucky enough to be at Rock and Shock for the premiere, track Glenn down. He’d love to say hello.
Synopsis
Detective Caretti (JOEY FATONE) and Officer Cole (JONATHAN SILVERMAN) head up a skeleton crew, working the final shift at a soon-to-be condemned police station. They’re interviewing a suspect who, despite his blood-soaked clothes, claims he did not kill his girlfriend. He tells them that a mysterious stranger appeared from out of nowhere and killed her in front of him. The officers don’t believe him…until a mysterious stranger, named Inkubus (ROBERT ENGLUND), appears from out of nowhere, holding his dead girlfriend’s head.
Inkubus is restrained and begins to confess his litany of crimes. He uses his one phone call to contact the retired Detective Gil Diamante (WILLIAM FORSYTHE), who almost caught him thirteen years ago and nearly lost his mind in the process. When the retired Detective Diamante arrives on the scene, the cops – unlucky enough to be present – are fated to participate in, and witness, the demon’s crowning achievement of murder, gore, and mayhem.
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