Killer Kate!, the debut film from writer-director Elliot Feld, opens in select theaters and various VOD platforms tomorrow, Oct. 26.
In the film, Kate (Alexandra Feld) attends her estranged sister’s bachelorette party at the request of their dying father. The weekend, held at a remote cabin booked on a home sharing app, turns into a savage life-or-death struggle that pits family against family, and past against present.
“Killer Kate! is our love letter to the early films of John Carpenter,” said Feld in the initial announcement.
Now, we caught up with Feld to go in depth as to his earlier inspirations.
“First and foremost, I love John Carpenter,” he explained. “He did such an amazing job creating a specific tone and style for his films. For me, I take away two things from his filmmaking. First, pacing. Carpenter had complete control over the pacing of his films, including and especially exposition. He presents such a clear plot with well-rounded characters that you enjoy watching. They’re funny and different and often very authentic. We tried to do this with Killer Kate! by taking time to develop the characters and set the stage for what’s to come in the second half. Lastly, John Carpenter’s signature was always his music. I’m influenced by the 80’s, and the music from that era has transcended the decade. Composer John Hopkins and I spent a lot of time focusing on the score, trying to make it nostalgic, yet original at the same time, which was quite the task.”
The film’s genesis began with Airbnb, and taking it further than just having gore for the sake of gore.
“This all started with Airbnb,” said Feld. “We wanted to make something relevant to our time, and Airbnb stuck out to us. How horrible would it be to get murdered by your hosts? We didn’t want to take the easy way out by filming just blood and gore, so Daniel and I sat down for weeks trying to flesh out the motivation for our killers. Why would they kill four innocent girls? It can’t be “Just because”. There had to be a good reason, and we thought back to the taxicab union strikes. The taxis were upset because they were losing business to Uber and Lyft. They were so upset, in fact, that they wanted the city to ban ride-shares altogether; they essentially wanted a monopoly. It all clicked for us, and we thought – what if a hotel took it upon themselves to violently end their competition? Could it get that bad?”
Speaking to the film’s violence, Feld jokes: I’ll just say that you shouldn’t share Killer Kate! with your Grandparents!
“It’s a different kind of violence, though. It’s more of a comic violence.
“There are multiple deaths and quite a bit of gore. In fact, Kate walks around covered in blood for the entire second half. It’s closer to Evil Dead 2 than it is to something like Hostel. That said, I would love to do something that really pushes the envelope with gore. I don’t mean violence for the sake of violence. I’m talking about a story that is simply brutal and unforgiving. The new Halloween flick got pretty close in parts.”
“My favorite gag is when Kate decides to fight back,” he adds. “She grabs this barb-wire baseball bat, says a cool one-liner, and pummels the bad guy. It’s totally Sam Raimi. I really love scenes that make our hero heroic. I know it sounds obvious, but films don’t always check that box for me. We often miss the triumphant hero.”
With Halloween just a week away, Feld reveals what Kate’s favorite treat would be.
“We love Halloween, and she hates Halloween, so she’s kind of the opposite of us, isn’t she? Since she’s a contrarian and a rebel, I’d have to go with the one candy that no one in their right mind truly enjoys. Kate’s favorite Halloween candy is Black Licorice.”
Killer Kate! arrives on VOD platforms tomorrow as well as in limited theaters!
