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Indie Horror Director Eric England (Interview)

  62454_1456991377967_1022705_n  From the mastermind behind the indie slasher hit Madison County,  writer, director, Eric England flips the switch to bring a new suspense thriller called Roadside, if you haven’t heard about this film, I’m sure in the next weeks as the PR campaign gears up, you’re going to be wanting to know more.  And you’re going to be asking, “WHEN AND WHERE?” – a little while back I reported that Roadside will be debuting in the indie director’s home state of Arkansas, March 24th,  but for those that feel left out on the west coast.  Well Roadside will also be premiering on March 2nd at the Dread Central’s CiniMayhem Film Festival.

Since he wrapped Madison County, the young indie director as gone on to helm two more pictures,  Roadside and Contracted,  and there’s no signs that he’s going to be slowing down any time soon.  He’s guickly growing a fan face and rightfully so,  all wanting more.  Eric took time out of his schedule to talk about his upcoming film Roadside.  He does give away some gory details of what we can expect.

Horror Society: For those fans that don’t know what this film is about, what can you tell us about it?

Eric England: It’s a suspense-thriller about a man and his pregnant wife, on their way to his family’s house for Christmas dinner. That, in and of itself, is scary since they’re not exactly “happily married”.. but things get worse when they’re forced to the side of the road and held hostage by a gunman they can’t see, hidden amongst the trees.

HS:  My follow up to that question is, what can you tell us about the characters in Roadside, and the man or woman who is holding our couple hostage on the side of the road?

Eric England: There’s not much I can tell you about the gunman – that would ruin the mystery ;) But about Dan and Mindy, they’re just a normal husband and wife. They have their problems. They have jobs. Lives that get in the way. And while they’re thrust into this horrible situation, they realize what’s really important in life and how far they’ll go to save it.

HS:  You brought back on some familiar faces from (Madison County) after two films now; do you guys have an unspoken bond that they just know what you want in a scene?

Eric England: Yeah, absolutely. Ace and Katie are two of the most talented actors I’ve ever seen. They really got a chance to show what they can do and they did it well. We had no time and very little money, making this movie, so I had to work with actors that knew what I wanted from the jump. I had that in these two. They’re in nearly every shot of the film — so they had to be on their toes. No phoning it in on this film.

HS:  Roadside is your follow up to the highly successful indie slasher film Madison County, what got you excited about this story?

Eric England: Just the contained nature of the story. Madison was a story about a group of people searching for answers.. it just happened to have a serial killer wearing a pig on his head. And in this market, that will be exploited. So I really wanted to do a movie that was about the people where there wasn’t much to distract from that. Our “killer” is faceless and off-screen the entire film, basically. So that, to me, was interesting. The mystery and suspense came from the inherent danger of the situation. It wasn’t something to be fabricated through camera work and music. The danger was real from the jump.

HS:  What are the key elements do you think make a great suspense thriller?

Eric England: It starts with the characters. You have to have characters that feel real, that you can relate to, or people aren’t going to pay attention. You could put them in the most terrifying situations, but no one is going to care what happens to them if they don’t identify with them.

HS: On a scale of (1-5) how on the edge of our seats will we be for this thrill ride? 1 being (so-so) and five being (nail-biting)?

Eric England: I don’t think that’s up for me to decide. Haha. All I can say is this film will make you think twice about pulling over to the side of the road from now on.

HS: The premiere of Roadside is right around the corner, do you get nervous around this time?

Eric England: A little bit. I think it’s easier, having done this before now. But it never goes away. My nerves are just a little more resilient this time around. I’ve made 2 films since MC premiered, so I’ve learned a lot and my skin has gotten thicker.

HS:  There must be something really cool about having a premiere of your film in your home state?

Eric England: Absolutely. Madison County had a special place in Arkansas’ heart because we shot there. But being asked to bring Roadside home is a nice treat. I think the Arkansas crowd will really relate to it. Especially the audience outside of the usual “genre” demographic. This isn’t a “typical” genre film. It appeals to a much broader audience.

Horror Society:  It was recently, announced that the film will have its world premiere at Dread Central’s CiniMayhem Film Festival, how excited is everyone at team Roadside?

Eric England: Really excited. Heather and Dread Central have been constant supporters of us. Ever since Heather came to the set of Madison County, she’s been part of the family. So for her to ask us to be a part of her first festival and to be included in Indie Horror Month for the 3rd year straight is just an honor. We’re glad we’ll be showing the film in LA first again.

Horror Society:  Now a couple easy questions, what do love about horror films, and is it a genre that is near and dear to your heart, or is there other genres that you want to tackle?

Eric England: I think I just gravitate toward the darker side of life. It’s interesting to me for some reason. And there are a lot of things to explore in that world. I’m certainly open to other genres and would love to explore them soon, but I think no matter what I do, it will stay grounded on the edgier side of things.

Horror Society: If you could work with any actor or actress out there who would it be and why?

Eric England: I don’t have a “list”, per se. I’m just attracted to talent. I want to work with talented people. It makes my job a lot easier if the actor is just engaging and fun to watch. There’s nothing like seeing an actor put on a clinic for the camera. That moment on set when you just know that take is going in the movie. We had a lot of that in this film and my next film, CONTRACTED.

Horror Society:  Why do you think fans love horror films so much?

Eric England: Because everyone has a dark side to them and through these films, they’re able to explore that.

Horror Society: My last and final question, I promise, is there anything else that I forgot to ask that you’re just dying to tell the fans?

Eric England: Roadside is playing in LA March 2nd, Arkansas March 24th, New York in April and Boston in the spring. Worldwide distribution will be announced soon and CONTRACTED premiers will be happening soon as well.

I want to thank Eric for taking this bloody awesome time for doing the interview.  You can follow and stay up to date on both of his films Roadside and Contracted on their respected Facebook pages.  I know that I’m bloody excied about this film and I can’t wait for what’s too come in the future.

Official Facebook Roadside:  https://www.facebook.com/RoadsideFilm?ref=ts&fref=ts

Offical Facebook Contracted: https://www.facebook.com/ContractedMovie?ref=ts&fref=ts

Follow Eric on Twitter and Facebook to stay up to date:

Twitter: www.twitter.com/eric_england

Facebook: www.facebook.com/ericengland

 

slashernwoods

Director, Writer, self proclaimed lover of all things horror

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