Exclusive: Co-writer and Star Noel Clarke Talks Storage 24 and More

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Exclusive: Co-writer and Star Noel Clarke Talks Storage 24 and MoreIn the upcoming British creature feature Storage 24, we follow two former lovers who pick the wrong day to sort out their shared storage unit- while inside their locker, London has descended into chaos as a military plane crashes into the city, unleashing a deadly alien in the area.

While our pair remain unaware of the looming danger around them, the otherworldly predator makes its way inside the storage facility, hunting down anyone that happens to cross its path.

Directed by Johannes Roberts, Storage 24 stars Noel Clarke, Antonia Campbell-Hughes, Colin O’Donoghue and Laura Haddock. Clarke also produced and co-wrote the project, and Dread Central recently caught up with the UK actor (best known for his work on “Dr. Who”) to hear more about the story of Storage 24, what classic comic book villain inspired the look of the alien and his plans for a sequel to the micro-budgeted indie horror flick.

Read the highlights from our exclusive interview with Clarke below, and make sure to check out Storage 24 now that it’s currently on ultra VOD and will arrive in limited theaters on January 11th courtesy of Magnet Releasing.

Dread Central: You wore a lot of hats on this project, but I want start off by talking about your involvement in writing Storage 24 and what inspired you guys to take a different approach to this story since it’s not your usual creature feature at all.

Noel Clarke: Thanks! The idea to set the film inside a storage building came after recently visiting one and the endless corridors of bland doors that you see inside. The more and more doors that we would pass began to freak me out a bit, and I then realized just how creepy those places are. It’s not hard to get lost in there; it’s almost disorienting. You lose time in there, too.

I’m also a huge sci-fi fan so I knew I wanted this to be a sci-fi movie from the start. I brought in a writing team to do a pass after my first draft, and then I brought in a writer who was also a huge horror fan to give the story more of a horror punch; I knew it was important to get someone in there who loved horror, and I’m not saying I couldn’t have done some of it myself, but he really elevated the more horror-esque aspects of the film.

At the same time, we also scripted Storage 24 to be different in the sense that this was always a story that was more about the people and wanting them to survive. There had to be a heart beating beneath all the scares. And I think the storage facility itself even became a character in the movie, too.

Dread Central: You went with a guy in make-up for your creature, which was admirable; can you discuss the design process- was that something you were heavily involved with as well?

Noel Clarke: I was; I had ideas in mind for the creature even back when I was working on the original script. Originally, I wanted him to have shades of Carnage to him but also felt wholly unique, too. So we kind of went with the humanoid approach to designing the alien with these really long arms that made it easy for him to crawl and run quickly, too. I didn’t want the alien to look like a dog, though, so he had to be more human-ish; I thought that would be scarier. A human shadow standing at the end of a dark hallway just seemed scarier to me than if you’re looking at a shadow that’s shaped like a dog.

Dread Central: I know you guys didn’t have the largest budget to work with on Storage 24, but you seemed to overcome that because there were a lot of moments in the film that felt ‘bigger’ than the budget- what would you say was the key element in getting a smaller budget to work for you instead of against you then on this movie?

Noel Clarke: You know, I think the key is to always write to your budget; there’s never a point in writing something you don’t have the budget for because it’ll end up getting cut anyway so it’s a wasted effort. At the same time, you also have to be ready to adapt when you write to budget and things happen that affect your budget and then you have to get creative. In the case of our ending, originally it was written with 20 SWAT guys showing up at the storage building, but in reality we just couldn’t afford 20 guys in full costumes so we went with the ending that is in there now. And honestly, I think it works a little better even than it would have with a SWAT team showing up so sometimes these things work out a certain way and it ends up being a blessing.

Dread Central: And if things go well with the release of Storage 24, have you already given any thought to where a sequel might go if you get the opportunity?

Noel Clarke: Yes, I definitely do have a complete idea for a part two if we get to move forward on that. There’s definitely a lot of possibilities when it comes to aliens landing here on Earth so we’ll see. For now I’m focusing on a project that’s just been greenlit; we start shooting in April, and I’m acting and directing on this one so it should be quite the interesting experience- for everyone (laughs).

Exclusive: Co-writer and star Noel Clarke Talks Storage 24 and More

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