Hey y’all! My name is Alex Wiggins and I have been working for Bloody-Disgusting and World of Death for some time helping facilitate and locate short horror films from all over the globe for you guys to gobble up like a savage pack of wolves – in a good way obviously. Anywho, this means I work closely with our curator and creator Tony Wash – an award winning indie filmmaker with a reliable number of cult-centered throwbacks under his belt. I was lucky enough to catch him during all his mad hustling and promotion to get some thoughts and insight into the world of his latest anthology Skeletons in the Closet which is the fourth feature film from this Illinois-based director, writer, and producer. Skeletons is a horror-comedy anthology centered around a young girl and her babysitter watching a late night horror show Skeletons in the Closet – snaring the audience in a movie within a movie as the viewers watch the tales from the show untangle.

Without further ado, it is my pleasure and honor to introduce you to the official question and answers to Tony’s mad, mad world of Skeletons in the Closet:

ALEX (BLOODY DISGUSTING): Freddy or Jason?

TONY WASH: “Jason, but only because of the series of movies, not the actual character.”

Predator or Pinhead?

“Predator by far”

It’s clear from the trailer that this is gonna be a blast from the past! How long has this idea been cooking for you? What inspired it?

“Skeletons in the Closet is a concept I’ve had in my head since college.  I always liked the thought of creating a show with an Elvira/Cryptkeeper crossover and give them the bickering spousal relationship akin to Peg and Al Bundy. The result is The Widow and her husband Charlie, who she murdered years before the show began and keeps his body in their basement. Every episode she rents horror movies and goes to the basement to watch them with him. Is it her way of atonement for his murder? Or is she further punishing him by forcing him to spend time with her indulging in her favorite pastime? The movie they are watching on this particular episode is called “Chop Shop.”  “Chop Shop” is actually an anthology film my co-producers B.A. Lewandowski, Robert Patrick Stern and I began constructing six years ago.  It was about an hour’s worth of content and needed a wrap around to create an overall cohesion.   fit perfectly!”

I love the anthology idea of a show within a show and enjoy that the show “Skeletons” has their own hosts – what inspired them? Do they have a backstory?

“As I said above, The Widow is similar to most female horror hostesses.  Witty, sexy, confident.  The true question is whether Charlie’s reanimation is all in her head a la Norman Bates, or is she a witch with the ability to bring back the dead while also brainwashing her audience to do her bidding?  Charlie is the snappy and quick-witted co-host necessary to create the playful and entertaining dynamic that I believe makes the show as cool as it is.  What did he do to the Widow to deserve this eternity of torment?  Will he ever be freed?  All these questions will be answered if we can get the Skeletons in the Closet TV Series produced!  Hey investors, where are you?!”

A big piece of the glue that holds the tales and movie together are the babysitter and the child she babysits. Do these characters have any root in people you know or relationships you have?

“The third tier to the storyline is Jamie, The Widow’s #1 fan and her babysitter, Tina.  They were basically created to give us more content and further help the solidification of the TV show concept. Not to mention I had access to an incredible 80s-accurate family room location so why not utilize it?! To me, Jamie is a cuter representation of me and every other horror fan out there who grew up in the 80s. I remember lying on the floor in my grandma’s family room watching Tales From The Darkside the TV show with her when she babysat me and it terrified me. But I loved every second! I’m sure kids still get that feeling from the genre, whether it be through their tablet, phone, or flat screen behemoth, but it will never be the same as being plastered within inches of the tube the way we used to do it.”

You went to Tom Savini’s School of FX and have a large record of your films featuring practical effects. What kinda 80’s glee can we expect to come our way?

“Practical FX is what solidified the “reality” of those movies to me when I was younger.  Seeing Jason tear apart counselors felt real because he was actually interacting with fake bodies and blood was actually spraying from the helpless victims. It’s just not the same these days, though CGI has certainly come a long way. I’m just a traditionalist simply put. I don’t know if this will hinder my success or bolster it, but my sincere hope is that true fans of the genre will appreciate the attention to detail my team pays when it comes to FX, story, atmosphere, and terror!”

Crew-wise, how big was your FX team? Any praise or attention to detail you’d like to single a member or the crew out for?

“Every project is different. On High on the Hog, my second feature, we had two FX people, one of which was me. On The Rake, my third feature, our FX team was closer to a dozen people. Skeletons was a smaller production so all in all I’d say we had three or four working on FX. But the mainstay since 2010 has been Jason Kain. Jason graduated from Savini’s school in 2010 (I graduated in 2006) and was brought out as part of the team who created the FX for my WWII horror short, A Chance in Hell.  He happened to be from Dekalb, IL so we kept in touch and have been working together ever since. The best thing about Jason is his ability to translate my ideas to a physical form and thankfully we share the exact same style when it comes to gore and creature design.

Currently, Jason’s work can be seen in the upcoming Chance the Rapper vehicle, Slice. Jason has also been the artist behind Clown from Slipknot’s mask for the past two albums. So his talent keeps him quite busy.”

A really engaging aspect of the film is the fact it is an anthology within a film where it seems the lines between reality and fiction blur – what kinda pockets of subgenre will arise from this situation?

“Well, the cool thing is that the movie is able to explain itself since characters are watching the movies within the movie. So there shouldn’t be any confusion despite us weaving in and out of the movies multiple times. It’s a fun ride for sure! I don’t see how an audience can get bored during this movie’s 80 minute run time. Within Skeletons, there are elements of a slasher film, creature feature, supernatural, action, fantasy, thriller, and comedy. And since there are multiple films within the movie, the subgenres can remain intact without the concern of the comedy removing the horror elements if that makes sense.”

Let’s talk about how badass that little girl is in your film. I instantly connected with her in the trailer remembering how I would stand by excited for Goosebumps or Are You Afraid of the Dark? Where did you find her and when did you know she was perfect for the role? Also – homegirl has swagger.

Haha, Lainie certainly has swagger, or rather charisma, that’s for sure!  She’s basically become my adopted daughter and I love her to death. Her mom and I are good friends and when we’d first met and she found out I was a director, she instantly showed me her three children’s headshots. They’ve all been acting pretty much their whole lives so she was eager to have me consider them for future projects. When I decided that Skeletons would include the third tier consisting of the #1 fan watching the show, I thought Lainie would be perfect. She’s cute, incredibly mature, and enthusiastic. I truly hope if nothing else, that Skeletons becomes a vehicle for her success in the industry because I don’t see what she doesn’t possess that other successful child actors have?  Here’s to hoping she becomes the next Chloë Grace Moretz, Natalie Portman, or Danielle Harris!

Where can we expect to view or stream this title?

Skeletons in the Closet is being released in a limited theatrical run the week of September 9th.  The following week it will be available through transactional VOD so you’ll be able to rent/buy it via a number of online avenues.  The wide release on A/SVOD and physical is set for October 15th.  If people dig the trailer and want to check out the movie, they can pre-order it from the store at scotchworthy.com!  Support indie horror!

Any other ways we can get our hands on merch or follow the title?

“As I said above, you can pick up Skeletons t-shirts, pre-order the Blu-ray and the vinyl soundtrack here. I attend horror conventions (mostly in the midwest for now) and will be selling Skeletons as well as my other films. I’d love to hear people request Scotchworthy in their neck of the woods!”