After giving the giallo a unique rust belt spin with erotic thriller Anything That Moves, writer-director Alex Phillips is tackling serial killer thrillers with “psychtronic noir” horror feature Rough on Rats.
Rough on Rats is inspired by the real-life crime story of “Tillie Klimek, the Black Widow of Chicago. With a body count that rivals Richard Speck and John Wayne Gacy, Tillie dispatched 20 husbands and lovers by feeding them hearty soups and tasty candies laced with arsenic.“
What the premise doesn’t reveal is that Klimek pretended to be a psychic with precognitive dreams that would predict the deaths of her victims, a means of hiding her premeditated murders.
Phillips describes his third feature as “psychotronic noir steeped in Chicago’s well-earned reputation as a serial killer breeding ground.“
Set to star in the film are Ginger Lynn Allen (The Devils Rejects) as the serial-killing hausfrau.
Betsey Brown (The Scary of 61st), Tony Moran (Halloween), and Louise Weard (Castration Movie: Anthology) also star.
Rough on Rats is being shot in B&W on Kodak TRI-X 16mm in and around Chicago with Hunter Zimney (Pet Shop Boys) as Cinematographer.
Lucia Agajanian and Spencer Parsons are producing with Cue Shop providing the score and soundtrack. Missing Link and Vinegar Syndrome executive produce.
Catch up with Phillips’ All Jacked Up and Full of Worms and Anything That Moves on Fandor now.