Exclusives
‘Dread’ Director Anthony DiBlasi on Real-Life Fears
While on the red carpet for the premiere of Lionsgate’s Saw VI we were lucky enough to catch writer-director Anthony DiBlasi who was on hand to talk about his forthcoming Clive Barker adaptation, Dread, which arrives in theaters January 29 as part of this year’s After Dark Horrorfest. In addition to talking Dread, DiBlasi reveals that a change of title might be coming to his adaptation of Barker’s Pig Blood Blues. Read on for the full interview.
DREAD is a psychological thriller centering on three college students who study other people’s fears. As the study progresses, one of the students begins to seek salvation from his obsession by exploiting the terrors of his fellow participants.
So, you have DREAD arriving in theaters this January, it’s a Clive Barker adaptation, correct?
“Yes it is, by the same title DREAD from his “Books of Blood” collection. I adapted it,” DiBlasi tells Bloody Disgusting.
“How was adapting it?”
“It was good, it has its up and downs because they are only like 28-page short stories,” he continues, “I’ve been working with this project for a long time, and with Clive for a long time, so I know his work and I think he really trusted me to adapt it.
“Going into DREAD I knew what I wanted to do, so I just kind of threw it down,” he continues. “I try not to think of his fans when I’m doing it. I’m mainly thinking, `Is Clive going to like this?’ He’s so open with adaptation that’s he’s not so much `oh my God he changed this?’ – some of the fans get like that, but they’ve been pretty responsive so far.”
“Just how bloody is DREAD?”
“For a thriller it’s pretty bloody. It is a thriller, its Clive’s ONLY psychological thriller, there’s nothing supernatural in it. It’s about college age, which is rare for a Barker film, but it does get pretty bloody.”
“DREAD focuses on an experiment in fear, what’s your real-life fear?”
“I’m not telling you!,” he jokes. “The car accident thing was based on real life events with me. There’s a whole back story with the car, it’s actually a Ford Mustang, in the film it’s a 1965, mine was like an 1983, but it’s the same color and I was in a really bad car accident when I was 16. That’s where that came from.”
“You filmed it in London?”
“We shot in London and in the surrounding areas; it was great! The best part of shooting – I love working with actors – but working with Sam McCurdy, the DP who Neil Marshall works with all the time – The Descent films and Doomsday – we just had a great relationship. It was such a good experience. London is good if you wanna drink a lot,” DiBlasi laughs.
“Is there talk of extra features on the DVD/Blu-ray release yet?”
“We just started doing them now. Lionsgate is releasing the DVD. We have a lot of behind-the-scenes making-of extras. We have stuff like with one of the girls who has a full body birthmark – there’s stuff about that getting putting on. We [also] have deleted scenes and full scenes that were cut out along the way. ”
“Blu-ray for sure? What was it shot on?”
“I think it will, yeah. It was shot on Viper. The HD master is great and I like it better than the 35 print. We got a lot out of the Viper; you wouldn’t know it was the Viper.”
So, what’s next? PIG BLOOD BLUES still?
“PIG BLOOD BLUES is next,” he exclaims revealing he might change the title. “[I’m] thinking about changing the title. It doesn’t mean anything. It takes place at a reform center for boys and the name of the center is called “Tether Down” and I always thought that would be a good title. We start this January in the UK again. ”
You can check out DREAD in theaters this January as part of After Dark Films’ 4th Annual Horrorfest.
Out today in select theaters and on digital platforms is heartfelt and playful documentary Mockbuster, which sees a director cold call a studio and ask to helm a lost-world dinosaur epic.
Inexplicably, they say yes.
Our exclusive clip below highlights both the comedic nature of this bizarre scenario as well as the pressures of shooting dino feature The Land That Time Forgot in a mere six days, with no real feature experience.
A dino attack scene causes friction on set in this scene.
In the documentary, “A struggling filmmaker’s opportunity collides with chaos and compromise when Sharknado’s notorious studio, The Asylum, invites him to direct a ‘mockbuster.’ With six days, a micro budget, and mounting pressure, Mockbuster is a comedic, behind-the-scenes documentary exploring the balance between low-budget filmmaking and creative ambition.”
More than just an inside look at filmmaking via low-budget film studio The Asylum, it doubles as one man’s pursuit of his dreams to charming, humorous effect.
“Mockbuster is a documentary about my own journey, but it’s also a love letter to one of the last grindhouses still functioning in Hollywood. We get to meet the characters and creators of some of the most infamous (and most hated) B-movies of the last few decades. People who make movies purely for profit – no pretension, no artistry, just monsters, C-listers, and chaos. A film that both genre fans and cinephiles can enjoy. But Mockbuster isn’t just about filmmaking, it’s about losing sight of your dreams, and reclaiming them in your own twisted way,” Director Anthony Frith said in a statement.
From Executive Producer and famed documentarian David Farrier, Mockbuster opens in select theaters and on digital platforms beginning July 10.