A couple of weeks back I did a write up for SLEDGE to kick off SILVER SCREAM's new Indie Spotlight segment. Since then I've had the chance to ask writer & co-director Kristian Hanson a few questions about his upcoming film and it's villain, the sledgehammer wielding, wisecracking Adam Lynch. Read on for the full interview and don't forget to check out the trailer when you're done.
Synopsis: "SLEDGE: A True American Horror Story hits you from the beginning with originality. From the skull crushing death, to the killer, Adam Lynch, who in his psyche believes he is living in a movie and video game world. With each kill, he adds to his collection, which happens to be the faces of his victims. As a new group of people show up to the secluded rental camp ground, Adam meticulously watches them all to see if any is worth sparing their life. With Alex (Dustin Bowman) as the funny guy, Sarah (Stephanie Tupper) the girl Alex wants to be with, Nash (Russ Matoes) the pansy boyfriend who takes the insults Alex dishes at him, Shawn (Travis Hanson) the dimwitted friend and Michelle (Desiree Holmes) the girlfriend of Shawn, they begin their camping trip with fun, booze and sex, all the pieces needed for a good horror movie.
When the sun rises on the next day however, that is when the death begins and people begin to die, one by one in gruesome and hilarious ways. Sledge is a Horror Comedy not seen before, and will leave you screaming with fear and laughter as you leave the theater. Adam Lynch (Kristian Hanson) is one killer, you don’t want to mess with.”
Jake Cadaverous - "Hi
Kristian and thanks for taking the time out for this interview. To begin with
maybe you could give us a little background info on SLEDGE and the people
behind it"
Kristian Hanson - "SLEDGE honestly came to light because we wanted to film an old school slasher film. We
were prepping to do another script I had done, but with the restraints of not
having any money, I told him I would come up with a fun slasher film we could
film where he lives. My buddy John (who is co-director) lives in upstate New
York where it is beautiful forests, so it would be perfect to film there. The
idea though to film in New York came from my wife, saying that we should fly up
there and film instead of trying to find permits and etc to film it in the Los
Angeles area"
JC - "With so
many classic slasher villains out there like Freddy and Jason, and more recent
creations such as Chromeskull and the Orphan Killer, how difficult was it to
come up with an original character? And an original mask for that matter?"
KH - "It honestly
wasn’t too difficult because I knew what I wanted Adam Lynch to be. Jason,
Leatherface, Chromeskull are all hulking monsters without a voice. I wanted my
character to be funny, someone the horror community could get behind, while the
casual viewer would be afraid of him"
JC - One of
the things I've found while watching the trailer is that unlike a lot of masked
killers, Adam Lynch actually talks. Is this something you decided right from
the beginning? Why did you decide to give Adam a voice?"
KH - "Yes, I
wanted my killer to be like me, kind of a smart ass. I didn’t want him to be a
mute walking around the campground killing people. I wanted my killer to be
like Freddy Krueger was later on in his career where he would make jokes while
or before killing people. One of the best lines to me in a film is when Freddy
grabs the girl while he is the television and screams “Welcome to Prime Time
Bitch!” I instantly knew that I wanted my killer to have a voice after seeing
that one scene and so he does, he talks crap before and
after killing them"
JC - "Obviously
Adam Lynch’s weapon of choice is a sledgehammer. Why choose a sledgehammer out
of all of the available weapons out there?"
KH - "When John
came down here to film our first film F4L:Friends4Life in April, we went to a
store in LA called Dapper Cadaver. There I saw they had these foam headed
sledgehammers and told John I was going to write a script using a sledgehammer
as a weapon. I grew up watching WWE/WWF and my favorite wrestlers was Triple H
and he always ran in and smashed people with a sledgehammer, so I think it just
kind of fits"
JC - "Adam
Lynch is described as living in a 'movie and videogame world'. Could you
elaborate a little on that?"
KH - "Adam is
nuts. At some point in his life he snapped and now believes that the world he
lives in, is in fact a video game or movie. I don’t go into much back story of
Adam in the film, but from what he says in the movie to the characters and his
victims, you can tell he is a fan boy from the 80’s when it comes to video
games and films"
JC - "What can
fans expect in the way of effects? Is SLEDGE going practical all the way or
will there be some CGI thrown in the mix?"
KH - "This film is
all practical effects. We will not have an ounce of CGI in the entire movie.
The movie again is a throw back to the great movies of the 1980’s, but at the
same time, giving it something for this age of horror. I know we all want to
look back and say the 1980’s were the best years for horror, but we need to
start making this the new great era for horror"
JC - "Aside
from co-directing the film, you also wrote the screenplay and play the villain
in the film. Out of these roles which have you found the most enjoyable?"
KH - "I honestly
enjoyed all of them equally. When I wrote the script I created characters that
I grew up with in my friends. So while writing I got to look back at all of the
fun times I had and then slowly have a slasher I created knock them off one by
one. I used to joke about this happening during cabin trips or if we were out
late at night, so what was more fun than actually getting to do it. When it
came to directing I got to work with the actors a lot and that was great as
well. They took what I had to say and I think you will see them shine through
especially since they are not paid actors. They got paid in bug bites and store
bought food. As for playing the slasher, it was a lot of fun. We did a lot of
improve with what Adam says to the characters and it works really well
especially in one scene with Alex (the main guy) and Adam himself. Overall, it
was a great experience filling all of those shoes"
JC - "Are there
any particular movies or directors which have inspired this film or influenced
yourself? If so who and what would they be?"
KH - "Well Adam
Lynch got his name from two people I look up to and they have always been very
nice to me. That would be Adam Green and Joe Lynch from Holliston. When I was
creating the name for the killer I was watching Holliston on my TV and figured
what way would be better to say thank you to them, than to name my killer after
them. I told them at Comic-Con and they were both happy about it, so I am happy
I could do that. As for films that have inspired me, I’d have to say Dead Alive
because it was the first horror film that I saw that could be funny. I don’t
like when people say there isn’t any room for humor in horror. I have seen it
work in Army of Darkness, Hatchet along with my favourite film of all time An
American Werewolf in London and plenty of others, so to say they don’t mix is
wrong"
JC - "And can
you give all the SLEDGE fans out there an idea of when they can expect to see
the finished product?"
KH - "SLEDGE is
going to be done by the end of this year and then we intend to send it to film
festivals. So check your local film festivals and request SLEDGE! If you have a
film festival you are running and want SLEDGE to be a part of it, you can
contact us directly and we would be more than happy to send you a screener and
if possible show up to meet the fans and talk about the film"
JC - "And of
course this being a horror blog I must ask you the inevitable question. What
are some of your favorite horror movies?"
KH - "My favorite
horror movies, not in order: An American Werewolf in London, Jaws, Nightmare on
Elm Street (original), Halloween 1-3, Dead Alive, Living Dead Series (all of
them) Project Metal Beast, Hatchet 1&2, Bad Moon, Silver Bullet, Evil Dead
Series, Martyrs, Bud Abbott and Lou Costello Meet Frankenstein, Original Wolf
Man and the list goes on and on and on"
JC - "Thanks
again Kristian for taking the time to answer my questions. Any last words for
all of the SLEDGEheads out there?"
KH - "Please feel free to contact me on the SLEDGE page on facebook. www.facebook.com/sledgemovie I am always available and will write back when
I get your message. Also, if you have a dream to make movies or write a script,
just do it. Don’t make excuses. I made SLEDGE for $2,000, the key to making the
movie is renting the equipment. You don’t have to buy $100,000 worth of gear
when you can rent it and return it. I look forward to hearing from you fans and
if there is anything I can ever do to help, please contact me"
