Safe Haven (2015)

In moments when my mind begins to wander away from whatever task I may be doing (washing the dishes, walking my dogs, driving my car......), I often ponder some of my many entertaining 'What would happen if............?' scenarios. One particular favourite of mine is the 'What would happen to us all if the world did actually succumb to hell and a hand-basket?' The optimist in me would like to think that society would still find a way, not only to survive (with me as its heroic leader), but also to keep hold of some element of decency and humanity. Who knows, in the process possibly even learning from its illogical past mistakes and evolving into a fresh utopia? However, the realist in me thinks otherwise. I don't think it will actually matter what the reason is for the world going to crap; religious fundamentalism, nuclear war, social revolution, disease or a full-blown Zombie apocalypse, the result will be the same - we'll last about 20 minutes (with me as the heroic leader) before we start eating each other...... and I don't mean in the good way.

It seams that I'm not the only one who wonders what the future holds for humanity, be it a free loving Utopia or a free eating dystopia. After all, this theme has been something of a common staple for much of science fiction and Horror lore probably since time began, as well as occupying much of the cultural zeitgeist. This theme has seemingly been on the minds of group of filmmakers just down the road from me in Scotland because earlier this week I received a request from filmmaker Stuart Gilmartin asking if I would like to watch his short film from TACHY studios that contains a distinctly dystopian feel - Safe Haven.

Well it was the week leading up to Christmas and as my loyal reader will know, I'm a goodwill to all women sort of guy - yes I know that's not how the saying goes but I damn well know what I mean.... though unfortunately, so does the local magistrate. So regardless, I put aside the annoying factor that Stuart Gilmartin isn't a girl and decided to watch said film, and then do that thing I do so well. Unfortunately due to certain restraining orders I couldn't do that, so I instead watched the film and the put some thoughts on it onto my blog.

So what is the story I hear you ask - well, its a........

........" dystopian story set in an unspecified time or place, that introduces the character of Jo, an inhabitant of one of many undisclosed bunkers that were built for children from privileged families after the world began to tear itself apart. 

Wanting to encapsulate the hope for the future survival of mankind within these children, the government envisioned that one day these children would rebuild the world around them, saving mankind from the ultimate extinction. 

Having been sheltered from the outside world for the greatest part of her life however, when Jo is released from the bunker, she quickly discovers that the role she has been preparing for, is very much irrelevant in this new world."

At around 25 minutes running time, Safe Haven is a hugely enjoyable slice of dystopian Scottish film making, nicely walking the line between some interesting philosophical considerations and some very good action set pieces. This episode is the first part of a larger story and thus serves as the introduction of both character and narrative - the second of those being something I found particularly interesting. Here webare introduced to a society where the world that we once knew is gone, seemingly forever. The reason for this dystopic occurrence is never fully explained, but merely hinted at, which in truth is always something I especially enjoy. A little mystery never hurt anyone, no matter what the 'The story needs a clear narrative and resolution' brigade would have you believe.

Safe Haven clearly wears its heart and influences on its sleeve with the odd nod and a wink to a number of origins whilst still remaining distinctly original in it's own thematic approach. Yes there some clear philosophical elements about both the individual and the role of elements of society, but don't worry those of you who like your dystopian narrative not to be overly preachy or ambitious because there are a number of genuinely atmospheric and exciting set pieces - for example, the scene where the two girls first encounter the marauding tribe is especially tense and exciting.

In truth, there is very very little to dislike about this film and a whole lot to like - it looks great and makes full convincing use of Fife's wonderful landscape. It is also genuinely atmospheric at certain points and the action scenes are suitably tense and violent - and a good dose of violence never hurt anyone.......right?

The two leads are very good, with Clare Ross excellent as Jo, effectively conveying her journey from initial optimism after being introduced to this brave new world, only to slowly realise the pain and horror that  in fact awaits. Chris Capaldi is good too as the enigmatic stranger who enters Jo's life - however, he is far too good looking for his own good and I'm pretty sure that i feel more than a little threatened by him.

I would recommend that if you get the chance to watch Safe Haven, then do so as soon as you can. I'm looking forward to seeing what Stuart and TACHY studios do with the rest of the story, whether it continues as a feature length film or a further series of shorts. In fact I enjoyed the film so much I decided to see if the man himself would be yet another in the long production line of individuals who have buckled under the pressure of a 5D interview. He foolishly agreed.

Another of the Interview bits........

Q) Before I ask you about Safe Haven, tell me about what set you on the road to film direction?

Hmmm, I'm not sure what exactly set me on the path, I always had an interest in stories more so than other things. As a kid I was always reading or listening to audio tapes or watching films. when I finally got my hands on a video camera I knew film making was what I wanted to do. Admittedly I tend to lean more to the Camera side of production than directing, although I have had my fair share of directing. As I often work with a small group of the same people it becomes easier as we all have particular skills that we can trust in and everyone pulls their weight. It's a great bunch.

Q) What inspired the story of Safe Haven?

I never actually came up with the story, that was Craig Wallace, we both met on the set of another production and hit it off and quickly started working together, when he showed me the concept stuff I really like it, for me it didn't feel like it was a story that too far apart from a plausible future and it stemmed from a younger generations frustrations at the mess that was being made by those in power and feeling generally quite hopeless. To really answer the question though I've asked Craig to step in.

(Craig Wallace) - What Stuart has said pretty much says it, for me it was frustration seeing how bad the world was getting, politics, environment, religion, false ideals just being surrounded by so much crap that only seemed to get worse. safe haven was a glimpse of how I saw the world eventually going if we continue on the path we are on. In a way it was my way of venting these frustrations by writing a story set in the world I had seen. The character of Jo is almost a more naive version of myself, coming into a world she hasn't experienced much of, being made promises of security by people who quickly turn there backs on her when she no longer served a purpose. She is very much a pawn in someone else's game. I feel that's reflected in the story where everyone is out to get you, everyone has a secret and what passed as some level of society, is all built on lies and deceit.

Q) How much did the film cost to make & how was the money raised?

The film was made on about £500 and a lot of goodwill, the money was raised by the main crew, Myself, Craig Wallace, Allan Price and Simon Forrester all chipping in a bit of our own money. Most of the cash went on food for the week long shoot, as well as petrol for cast and crew, stuff for make up, it didn't go far. The pre production really made such a small budget plausible as we had scouted all the locations in advance, we had been and almost blocked things out before even turning up with actors. We spent months talking and story-boarding, doing the odd test shoot, rewriting and a lot more talking. We were lucky in that we managed to pull together all the kit we needed from stuff we already had so there were no hire costs to worry about.

Q) Some of the film locations are stunning? Where was it filmed?

I've got to say, we were really lucky with the weather, it was sunny almost all of the time, except when we came to shoot the stuff with the Tribe's camp. We shot the whole film in Scotland, mostly all in Fife, we shot at the Wemyss Caves, that supplied us the location that Dan and Jo take shelter in, as this is also right right beside the River Forth we were able get some nice locations there as well. The river was handy as we passed off as the sea. We also shot on an old abandoned railway line and Alva Glen in Alloa, the derelict buildings are a place that I've wanted to film in for a while so I'm glad to have ticket that off my list and we also set up camp in Townhill Woods for some of the stuff at night as well as the final setting for the films ending.

Q) What specific challenges & problems did you face while filming?

We had many, the film was originally meant to be a web series, and we actually began filming in November 2013 only for the whole thing to be scrapped when we lost our lead actor. So we ended up going back to the drawing board, rewriting and then re planning for a feature film, but we simply couldn't raise any funds, so finally settled on shooting the first 20 or so minutes in a hope we could get enough interest from the opening of the film to get people to invest in the project. Other issues, like other filmmakers trying to sabotage the production, that's a bit of a long story but a week before the shoot we almost had to pull the plug on it.

The toughest parts were shooting everything on location in environments that were over grown with no access to power or completely run down buildings that were falling to pieces. Scenes at night with very minimal equipment. But I think these are issues most filmmakers experience, the pre production was meticulous so we knew exactly what we were after and were able to flow quite well when the cameras began to roll. Sound was a massive issue as it was summer, a lot of our locations were in the countryside and it was right in the middle of harvest time, so we had loud beeping farm vehicles all day long, noisy planes over head, cars, etc. The entire film had to have ADR done on it.

Q) Hopefully it's not giving too much away when I say that the ending is somewhat open-ended. Is this the first of a series?

I touched on it briefly, but yes, this is essentially the first 20 odd minutes of what we had hoped to be a feature film, or three twenty five minute episodes. This part is very much an introduction to a lot of the characters and themes of the story and we hope it leaves people asking a lot of questions and wanting to see more. If it does well and gathers some momentum and a fan base, we'd like to think off the back of that we could find enough support to raise enough funding to go ahead and shoot the remaining parts of the story.

Q) What are your plans for the future?

Right now we have a feature film being developed along with one short film called “Smile” in post production, that should be out by the end of January. We also have another short film about to start pre production. We are hoping 2016 will be a busy year for us as we look to complete several of our own projects and hopefully work with other filmmakers around the country on their films as well. It's going to be an exciting year. 

I would like to thank Stuart Gilmartin for giving me some of his valuable time.

So, I hear you asking once again, just who are these TACHY studio people that you mentioned? Well I thought it best to let them answer for themselves.....

"TACHY Studios is a film & media company based in Scotland. To create, and collaborate on new and interesting projects and help to raise the bar of Scottish film. We are proud Scots, and we know that Scotland is filled with insanely talented people. We want people around the globe to realise this too, and if we believe that someone has an interesting story that deserves to be told, we want to be part of bringing those stories to fruition. :)"

So there you go.

You can find TACHY Studios on Facebook RIGHT HERE

The Facebook page for the film itself can be found RIGHT HERE

The Clearing (2015) from IronStar Films

This week I was fortunate to experience four and a half minutes of pure enjoyment. Now before you go assuming that this experience probably resulted in yet another addition to my extensive collection of restraining orders, well you can go and clean your dirty presumptive minds. If you must know, my legal team is still fighting the last restraining order. I mean, who knew that writing 145 emails a week to Helena Bonham-Carter in which one suggests that she meet me at a Travel Lodge hotel of her choice while wearing her Bellatrix Lestrange outfit, actually constitutes a criminal offence? No not me either!

However, once again I digress. No, the four and a half minutes of pure enjoyment came from the running time of a rather fine piece of film making - The Clearing. Some time ago I was asked by nearby (ish) Scottish film company, IronStar Films, if I would like to watch and review (as best as my lack of discernible would allow) their debut short feature......and so I did. The film was BloodLoss, which is remarkable a tale of retribution and redemption among a group of friends who find themselves in too deep. These friends are forced by a local criminal to sort out a potential problem, their plans end in a horrific accident destroying their lives forever.

If you want to read the full review and my usual personal envious rantings then you can find it RIGHT HERE

It seems that the good people at IronStar Films weren't overly put off by my attempts at a review and so earlier this week I was contacted by Dean Pearson, writer, producer, director, cinematographer and tea-maker at the company, who asked whether I would like to view his new five minute short film. I thought about it for a moment over my early evening (1st) glass of red wine. I then spent a few more minutes pondering while I had my second glass.

"Ah", but I said......"You'll need to tell me a little more about the film first before I commit myself"

It seems that Dean was expecting this clever line of interrogation from me as he cunningly had a reply in readiness.... very sneaky.

 "The Clearing runs for 5.5 minutes and is a visual narrative which explores the very essence of life and death. Without giving to  much away here is a brief synopsis. After waking up in a strange and otherworldly place called "The Clearing," Chris soon realises he is not alone and must unravel the mysteries that have lead him to this point before its too late."

"Hmmm, that's all very well and good", I replied. " But being the consummate blogging and reviewing professional that I am, I would appreciate a little more detail. For instance, how much did the movie cost and who made it?"

For some reason there was a slight delay in Dean's response to my question. In fact there seemed to be some sound disruption or even a crossed line as all I could hear was some faint muffled delirious sounding laughter each time somebody tried to say the word 'professional' ....... very strange. 

Once the disruption finally eased Dean managed to give me an answer.

"The Clearing was done for £120 and half of that went on the rental of a van! The rest of the budget went on some wood for making the doors and a few other bits and pieces as the scales and table which were bought from an awesome local yard sale called Steptoes. Any other props etc that were needed were either borrowed from friends and family or we had had ourselves."   

I always tend to think that calling a film maker a bloody great liar might not always be the best thing to do, so I managed to stifle my reaction of "120 Quid???!!! You must be bloody well joking mate, you can't tell me that's all it cost because looking at the film stills I just don't believe you!!!" So I slightly amended my actual response.

"Wow, £120 that's impressive, just how did you manage to do that!"

"We had a small but effective crew of 6 on the day including myself. We had Graeme Carr as first AD, Peter Birnie as a production manager. Allan Jennings who recorded the production sound and assisted Peter. Martin Groves was the drone operator and production assistant and our actor Chris who got stuck in and helped when he could!

Bugger, it's almost as if Dean had an answer for everything. I desperately needed to come up with a question to regain my innate need for a feeling of superiority. I decided to fall back on my legendary cutting wit.  "Erm, what about the film equipment that you used, I bet it wasn't exactly an iPhone was it?!"

Once again there was a pause, though this time there wasn't any laughter. Again the line became a little distorted and I could swear the person on the crossed line was muttering about some blogging fool of a buffoon. Blimey, it's a small world, I thought..... Another blogger, I'm glad that I don't know him as he sounds a bit of an idiot though. 

Dean managed eventually to reply. "The main equipment we had on the day was a BlackMagic Cinema Camera 2.5k on a shoulder rig which could easily be broken down to go on the Manfrotto 501 Fluid head and tripod. Our lenses consisted of a Tamron 24-70mm f2.8 as our work horse lens and a tonika 11-16mm f2.8 for the wide shots. We had the privilege of using the DJI Inspire 1 drone which was owned and operated by Martin Groves. We also had one 650 Watt fresnel and a custom made dolly and tracks."

I really didn''t understand a single word of that technological mumbo jumbo, so it was at that point that I decided to cut my losses and so found my way to the super secret online link that Dean gave me and watched the film for myself. The thing is, by the very nature of the length of the movie's running time, it's not particularly easy to review a film that lasts a little under five minutes......but I'll give it a go.

In truth, The Clearing provided a totally unexpected richly visceral experience, both on a visual and auditory level. For a start it looks wonderful with a rich tone of colour, texture and lighting which all serve to very nicely enhance the atmospheric narrative. The quality is such that visually the film completely belies the fact that it cost so little to make, it simply doesn't look cheap at all. In fact, so impressive is the visual element that I've now watched the film a couple of times without the sound and the overall effect is still striking. 

In terms of the sound, well the quality is quite simply superb. When I told Dean that I was about to watch the film he advised me to listen to it with head phones or good speakers for the full immersing experience - and boy was he right! The soundtrack and acoustic effects combine beautifully to provide a haunting and evocative texture that completely envelope the auditory senses. The result is to transport the viewer along the same confused path as the protagonist himself. The music, by Mattia Cupelli ' You'll be live a man can fly' - is simply beautiful.

As for the plot? Chris O'Mara who was in the company's previous short film, Bloodloss, does a fine job of carrying of carrying the sole acting responsibility. He nicely portrays the sense of confusion at finding himself in this strange situation and the choice he has to make to escape - or simply to just simply progress. Having watched it now a few times I will readily admit to sharing some of the same confusion as the protagonist in fully explaining what is taking place. 

There are distinct elements of fantasy and horror that continually simmer just under the surface; there are hints of a fantasy world, or maybe of a space and time between worlds, or even symbolic connotations of the after-life. In all honesty, after numerous viewings of The Clearing, I've thought about it a lot and I'm still not 100% sure of what is actually going on - and do you know something? I like that, I like that a lot!

IronStar films, are an independent production company set up in 2014 in order to produce a variety of media content. As a team they are passionate about film making and are working hard to reach their goal of producing their first feature film. You can find their website at http://www.ironstarfilms.com/#!about/cee5

You can find the Facebook page for IronStar Films RIGHT HERE

Their Twitter handle thing is @IronstarFilms

5D Blog Bite....Kellita Smith, 4TG Game Con and a little taste of Jessica Jones.

The 5D Blog Bite is a series of smaller bite-sized articles that will feature in-between the traditional longer in-depth features. In other words, the bites are still my self-obsessed and self-indulgent musings on various Scifi, horror & fantasy things that catch my eye. The good news then for the Internetland is that some blog pieces are going to be much shorter, with fewer pictures and less obsession with layout from myself. The bad news for you guys is that there will be more blog articles. 

It has been something of a strange week, mainly because it was supposed to be something of a quiet few days for this here blogger with nothing much planned except for trying to catch up with some binge-watching of Jessica Jones and The Man in the High Castle. Well things haven't quite worked out, in fact it's been anything but quiet - not that I'm complaining, mind you. It's nice to be wanted.

It all began with Kellita Smith, her gorgeousness herself who plays the redoubtable Warren form Z Nation, and who in the time-honoured tradition of dealing with me finally succumbed to my requests (pestering, begging, sulking, pleading etc) for a 5D interview. After all, it was only a matter of time until my winning charm and appeal finally won the day and made her realise just what she was missing out on. Now, I know what you're thinking, the accompanying picture of our Twitter conversation looks fairly brief and isn't quite an affirmation of our eternal friendship and general Bon Amie. 

However, don't let that fool you, because I can read the real sub-text beneath Kellita's reply of "OK'. In my interpretation, she is affirming that we are already practically BFF'S and that she simply cannot wait to chat with me about her life, career and potential proposals of marriage from yours truly.

So much of this week has seen me researching Kellita (behave, that wasn't meant in a creepy way) and beginning to compose some piercing and insightful questions. However if that doesn't work I'll just revert to my usual brand of rubbish interviewing. If life doesn't annoyingly continue to get in the way I should have the full interview transcribed with #teamwarren in the next week or so.

Things didn't stop there in getting in the way of my ongoing quest to binge on Jessica Jones (Once again, behave - that wasn't a metaphor.........) and The Man in the High Castle. Because just as I was recovering from the knowledge that my BFF and I would be doing an interview I received a message about a rather exciting event that is taking place next year, and very close to where I live. 

A little while ago news broke that the East of Scotland's largest gaming expo will be taking place in Aberdeen's AECC Arena on 6 & 7th of August 2016. 4TG Game Con 2016 will feature ESports tournaments, indie developers, retro and classic games, exhibitors, merchandise, cosplay, guest speakers, careers advice and photo opportunities for the attendees. 

Of course me being me, I wanted to get on some of that action and so requested (yes you guessed it, pestering, begging, sulking, pleading etc) a press pass for the event. Once again it seems that showing myself to be a pathetic shallow individual who is nothing without his regular doses of public affirmation, because I received a pretty back from the event support stating that 5D would indeed be placed on the press pack list. Hurrah!

Once again, me being me, I wanted to celebrate - so I did so by replaying the first two Gears of War games through the night. As a consequence Jessica Jones was not binged upon. I'm sure she's very glad of that...........

The Railway Carriage (2015)

A short film from Adgar Productions

Directed by Ross Adgar

Starring Dean Sills as John.

I was going to have a weekend away from blogging this weekend, after all, it's been a long weary week in my day job (you know, the one I actually get money for.....this blogging lark doesn't exactly pay the bills you know) and I intended to spend my time binging on the new Jessica Jones series on Netflix (which actually reads much creepier than I intended). It was all going enjoyably well as I found myself halfway through episode 4, that was until I received a message from a Facebook buddy of mine, Dean Sills. He was wondering if I'd be interested in having a look at his latest acting venture, a 10 minute horror short called The Railway Carriage. 

Now, I've known Dean for a little while now and have been observing his progressing acting career avidly - though my lawyers would deny that I'm only doing that in case his career goes stratospheric and so I can hang on to his coat tails and bathe in his reflective glory....moi?  No, not all your honour. The thing is that not only is Dean a solid stand up guy, he also resides in a part of the world that I once spent some considerable time in myself - Sheffield, England. I'll be honest, not all the memories of the place are positive and there's nothing on Earth that would lead me to ever live there again - well except for the scenario where Helena Bonham-Carter buys a property in the area for the sole intention of keeping me there as her pleasure slave........blimey, is it getting warm in here or what?

Anyhoo, the area still has a few reasons to warm my cold and withered heart. Besides which, after doing my usual intense period of blog article research (5 mins max) I saw that some of the filming locations were places I myself had frequented in the dim and distant past, including Elsecar Heritage Railway in South Yorkshire and Elston Chapel in Nottinghamshire. More importantly, the premise of The Railway Carriage had me more than a little Intrigued.........

"The Railway Carriage is a psychological horror short film in which the lead character (John) is trapped in a dream like world where there is no easy escape. Throughout he is beset with flashbacks, vague memories that explain why he is trapped in a train carriage again and again. Is someone testing him? Has he done something so bad his mind has trapped itself in a strange repeating labyrinth? Through the memories and objects he finds in the carriage, John tries to find a way out of the nightmare world he has brought on himself!"

This 10 minute slice of psychological chills will not be for everyone, particularly those annoying individuals who like their narrative neatly signposted and tied up in a nice little red ribbon, with clear step by step plot instructions and an exploratory thesis on what the end of the film means just in case there is the merest hint of ambiguity. Oh and Lord help them if the ending doesn't have a solid resolution.......if I hear once more in my life "Well that's a strange place to finish" I just may have to commit serious violence. The fact is that this film is a fascinating example of tightly woven emotional and suspenseful complexity which will certainly leave the viewer with more questions than answers at the beginning, middle and end of the story. I like that, I like that a lot.

This is no mean achievement considering the very simple premise of the film; Man wakes up in a strange place; man is plagued by chilling images and sounds; man is confused and tormented when he can't escape...... Hey, we've all been there........

The Railway Carriage is a satisfyingly chilling slice of film making, achieved in no small measure from debutant director, Ross Adgar's confident and innovative direction. It cannot be easy to convey feelings of claustrophobic chills with just a 10 minute running time, but with a time honoured horror- making skill of providing some very clever and effective sound effects the viewers feelings of unease are suitably manipulated.

Full credit too must be given to actor, Dean Sills, who almost single-handed has to convey the emotional turmoil on show and for my money does it very well. I'm not just saying that because I know him, for once in my life I'm telling the absolute truth.

The Railway Carriage made its international film premiere at Nightpiece film festival at The Edinburgh Fringe on Saturday 29th August 2015. The festival had 2,101 submissions from 99 countries across the world and only 50 independent films were selected from 23 countries including The Railway Carriage. If you have the opportunity to see this very effective and enjoyable piece of psychological horror, make the most of it!

You can find out more about this film at the following links;

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt4819090/?ref_=nm_knf_t3

https://www.facebook.com/The-Railway-Carriage-1457082814587031/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ysf2eDENNS0

Z Nation pt 3 - Interview with Keith Allan (Murphy)

Every once in a while a TV series comes along that nicely captures the audiences needs and imagination. The reasons for this tend to be many fold; good writing, a fine ensemble cast, great location, a much loved theme tune etc etc. It also doesn’t harm if the series taps in to the cultural Zeitgeist – in this case, our seemingly never ending obsession with Zombies and the accompanying apocalypse that would come with our face-eating friends. In addition, It often helps if the series in question provides us with an iconic character, someone who strikes a particular chord not only with the target audience, but also into the wider public consciousness; Walter White, Darryl Dixon, Tyrian Lannister, Mr Spock etc etc etc. The list could go on.

I've often fantasised about my role in any potential apocalypse - part of me would like to think that I would be a fearless fighting gun-toting heroic leader who would always know what to say and what to do...... and all the while getting all the female attention that I could handle - as it were. Now while a few of you are still lying on the floor at the back in hysterical fits of laughter at the thought of me being all loved up I will readily admit the reality would more likely be different - very different. I would in truth probably be something of an arse; that guy who holds everybody back by moaning that 'We're all going to die!".....that guy who wanders off after being told to stay put and so gets his face eaten off by a marauding zombie....that guy who everyone else hates and wants to kill far more than the Zombies do.......that b**stard who got Glen killed in The Walking Dead.

The thing that I like about Murphy, Z nation's own iconic character, is that while he is a bit of an arse he has also got more than a little style and panache to go with it. This is not to say that he outshines the rest of what is undoubtedly a fine ensemble cast, because the others more than hold their own. Not to mention that they also have in their midst, Kellita Smith, a kick-ass, bad-ass babe who could lead me through the Zombie apocalypse in a feverish heartbeat any damn time.......blimey, is it getting warm in here?

Murphy, let's face it, is something of a jerk. He was a prison inmate who was bitten not long after the outbreak of the apocalypse but survived thanks to an experimental vaccine that had been forced on him by desperate Government officials. Now, while that may have been enough to royally piss someone off, it's quite clear that being regarded as the potential saviour of the human race hasn't really done much to improve his character. If anything, he's becoming more selfish, self-absorbed and cowardly as the apocalypse goes on. And still we love him.

In part this is undoubtedly due to the fine performance of actor, Keith Allan who brings no little amount of charm and panache to what could easily be an unlikable character. But who is this Keith Allan chap? Well, according to the bio section on his website.....

Keith Allan currently stars as Murphy in the new SyFy original series “Z Nation,” which premieres on September 12th 2014.

Born and raised in Sacramento, he attended The American Academy of Dramatic Arts in Los Angeles.  He then traveled to Colorado to work in theatre, where he was awarded The Drama Critics Circle award for his performance as the Emcee in “Cabaret.”  He's also lived in Seattle, where he trained and performed in regional theatre.  His television credits include “Will And Grace,” “Buffy The Vampire Slayer,” “C.S.I.,” “Enterprise” and “Mad Men” among others. As a filmmaker, he has produced, written and directed several short films including the official Sundance Film “The Big Abandoned Refrigerator Adventure,” which toured with the “Spike And Mike Sick And Twisted Film Festival."  In the summer of 2011, he co-wrote and directed his first feature "11/11/11" for The Asylum, and has continued writing and acting in several features for SyFy and the Lifetime network.

In his spare time, Allan likes to write, draw, hike, garden and travel, and gets his boogie on out on the dance floor.  He considers himself a novice inventor having manufactured his own line of kinetic lamps for several years.

Allan currently lives in Los Angeles with his cat Harry Johnson.

What's not mentioned in his Bio is that Keith has recently been stalked, I mean researched, by a handsome, charismatic and talented blogger based in Scotland (before you ask, that's me by the way). Not only that, but said blogger has also been followed back on Twitter by the redoubtable Mr Allan who has also accepted his friend request on Facebook. Of course once Keith realises his horrendous mistake he will no doubt chance his privacy settings to 'Anyone but that British blogger guy'. Thankfully Keith is well and truly oblivious at the moment and very politely agreed to a brief interview with yours truly just a few days ago.

I would like to go on record and give my sincere thanks for his time, it was a genuine thrill for me.......even if he wouldn't give me Kellita's telephone number.

The Interview bit.......

5D)  Far be it for me to ignore the cliched 'tell us how you got into acting'. So Keith, tell us how you got into acting.

KA) I always wanted to be an actor from the time I was a kid. I started in high school doing plays and taking drama class. I was hooked early on from being obsessed with TV and movies. 

5D) How did you get the role of Murphy in Z Nation?

KA) I auditioned, and auditioned and auditioned. I read for the part about 6 or 7 times before I was cast. I really didn’t think I was going to get it.

5D)  Were you a fan of or horror before? If so, what's your favourite scary movie? As it were.

KA) Alien! It has everything I love... great actors, scary monster, amazing art direction and brilliant direction. I can watch it over and over again.

5D) What is it that we love about Murphy, because let's face it, he's a bit of a dick isn't he?

KA) I think the audience can sympathize with his situation of being completely out of control of his own life. He didn’t ask for any of this and now he is a prisoner of his own circumstance. Yea he makes unpopular decisions...but it’s the apocalypse....there are no easy answers.

5D) I must admit it took me a few episodes to 'get' what Z Nation was trying to do in terms of mixing humour and horror. How do you view that balance?

KA) It’s exactly what I love in horror. I come from old school horror in the 70”s and there was always some level of the ridiculous in those films...it made them fun.

5D) Do you get bored/annoyed by the comparisons of Z Nation with The Walking Dead?

KA) Not at all. I think our fans understood early on that we were not trying to be The Walking Dead. We have many crossover fans that understand there is enough room for two different types of zombie shows and they seem to enjoy them both. I think it’s great.

5D) So who would win in a fight between your group and Rick's Walking Dead group?

KA) Well no one in Ricks group can control Zombies with their mind so......

5D)  What's the first thing you personally do when you get a new script - see how many lines you have..... Who dies..........if you die?!!!

KA) I give it a read through from beginning to end to see how the story unfolds. I want to make sure that it makes sense to me as it should make sense to the audience. If not then I start asking questions of the writers and Karl Schafer our show runner. 

5D) So come on, spill some beans of your fellow cast.... Who is the giggler amongst you when filming?

KA) We all have our moments. We get tired and can totally screw up and get giggling. But the truth is we don’t have a lot of time so that is cut to a minimum. If I had to point a finger it would be Russell who plays Doc.

5D) I asked Russell Hodgkinson this same question..... You can get me Kellita Smiths's telephone number, right?

KA) I'm lucky I have it.

5D)  Have you been surprised by the level of fan worship you seem to be getting?

KA) Well I’m surprised of the range of fans I have. Lots of kids...like young 5 and 6 year old kids to older people who I wouldn’t have guessed to be hardcore zombie fans....but boy are they ever.

5D) So apart from Z Nation, what else is in store for Keith Allan?

KA) Well I did a movie called “Kill Me Deadly” the is screening at a film noir festival in Paris this month and I believe is getting distribution soon. I’m also working on getting a film produced that I want to direct and act in called “Hearts Like Fists”. You can go to my web site www.keithallanactor.com or www.heartslikefists.com to see the teaser for the film. Dark comedy, graphic novel, crime fighter super villain...really fun. Also hit me up on twitter at @KeithAllanDuh and friend me on facebook at Keith Allan.

5D Blog bite - King Falls AM: Episode Fourteen: Date Night At TheLibrary

I know you're not going to believe this, but most of my blog articles take quite a while to put together. It may look like an effortless splurge of genius prose after genius prose, but it is most definitely not effortless. As for the blog being a work of genius - well for be for me to say. I suppose that it doesn't help that I have the typing skills of a drunk one-legged Armadillo or that I frequently write something wonderful, then five minutes later recognise it for the catastrophically inept piece of writing that it actually is. If that wasn't enough, I also tend to take an age in obsessively selecting the right pictures and layout for each piece. I know, I have no life.

It all means that I wish that I could be more prolific than I am, but my pedantic nature means that this simply will not change. I know what you're going to say; "No, no, no, you take as much time as you need. In fact, you should take even more time in between posts..... maybe a year or so perhaps?"

Well once again I'm going to fly in the face of public opinion with a new series of articles - The 5D Blog Bite. 

The 5D Blog Bite is a series of smaller bite-sized articles that will feature in-between the traditional longer in-depth features. In other words, the bites are still my self-obsessed and self-indulgent musings on various scifi, horror & fantasy things that catch my eye. The good news then for the Internetland is that some blog pieces are going to be much shorter, with fewer pictures and less obsession with layout from myself. The bad news for you guys is that there will be more blog articles. 

The inaugural 5D Blog Bite features the very latest podcast episode from our friends across the pond at King Falls AM, the home of the small secluded mountain town that has more than its fare share of paranormal goings on.

Episode Fourteen: Date Night At The Library

Sammy & Ben welcome Dan & Larry from television's Mission: Apparition to King Falls with an exclusive interview and investigation from the King Falls Library.

You can listen to yet another slice of comedy infused paranormal activity the link below, brought to you by the late night show of Sammy & Ben - well done, fellas...... another winner!

https://audioboom.com/boos/3814044-episode-fourteen-date-night-at-the-library

Anyway, if any of you good people reading this want to help to promote the show and the King Falls AM station, just send Sammy a message and they'll converse with you and plug and all that happy jazz. Sammy can be reached on Twitter through his handle at @KingFallsSammy

You can also locate the show itself on Twitter via @KingFallsAM

The Facebook page for King Falls AM can be found RIGHT HERE

RIP Gunnar Hansen.

I don't have time for many regrets in my life, I think of them as generally a waste of time. What is done, is done, etc etc etc. However this morning I have a regret of major proportions.

A couple of years ago I had the chance to attend a Com event down in England, here one of the icons of modern cinema horror was appearing. 'Well I suppose that's reasonable exciting, but they happen all the time don't they?' I hear you ask. Well that may be so, in fact I have to be honest because that was actually my reaction. Never mind that the man in question was horror icon, Gunnar Hansen, or that he portrayed arguably the greatest of all iconic cinematic horror characters in perhaps the one of the most controversial and influential horror films of all time. No, because If that wasn't enough the film in question, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974) happens to be my favourite film of all time.

So, my reaction to being able to meet one of my cinematic heroes was to pass up the opportunity. I do recall the reason was that I had some other things going on in my life (the subject of which I cannot remember what for the life of me), so it meant I chose not to travel down. I simply settled myself with thoughts that there would be numerous other chances to meet the great man.

Well this morning the news came through that indeed there would be absolutely no chances. Gunnar Hansen passed away today at the age of 68 and with it my selfish wish to meet him and ask him personally the hundreds of questions that I've had about him, Leatherface and the whole Chainsaw experience for more years than I care to remember. Sadly my chance has passed.

So I hope that you all don't think that I am grabbing an opportunity to take advantage of the news of his death, but I felt the only way to show my appreciation was to publish again a few self indulgent musings on the film that is still at the top of my all-time favourite list.

So ladies and gentlemen, I give you....

 The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974)

Let's stop here, what's the worse that could happen?....

Picture the scene - it's the early 1980's in a small Yorkshire town in England. A young man who has more than a few dreams in his head, stars in his eyes, and a growing obsession with all things Science fiction and horror, hears something startling and wondrous on a national news bulletin. Namely, a that particular movie which had over the years gained a reputation of controversial and mythical proportions, arguably as no other has in the history of movies, was finally to be released on video. Amazingly, some 7 years after its initial production the seminal horror movie The Texas Chain Saw Massacre was finally going to see the light of day over here in the UK. 

Believe me, this was big news. Since its release in the UK in early 1975, thanks in part to the usual suspects within our sensationalist and hypocritical tabloid press, the opportunity to see the movie in cinema's had been withheld by the British Board of film classification. Those bastions (I said, bastions) for the protection of the nations viewing sensibilities, believed vehemently that the magnitude of violence, particularly in two noted scenes and the feeling of claustrophobic terror in the last 3rd of the film, was far too much for the sensibilities of a British audience. Therefore deeming that it was unsuitable for a BBFC X certificate to be issued. Ah bless the BBFC for protecting us from making up our own minds.

So it finally seemed in those dark and distant days of 1981 that the British Board of film classification had finally seen sense it seems and permitted the movie's release. However, this respite of finally seeing sense turned out to be very brief as the video was soon to be removed from the video stores after new video classification rules came in ('Thank you', Margaret Thatcher...).

Seems legit......

Indeed, as it transpired, no theatrical or video release was going to take place for another 18 years thanks to the backward and miss-placed 'protection' of the the public sensibilities by the continuing preaching of sections of the press and political community - bastards.

However, before it was unceremoniously pulled from the shelves, a lucky few of us had managed to get our hands on the film, and it's iconic horror bad-guy, by now had achieved cult status of his own fabled proportions. I had managed to get a copy of the movie from a friend of mine, a grainy 5th of 6th generation copy which meant that the visual quality was less than perfect in some middle parts. But it was MY copy. It may be a lifetime ago, but believe me, it is still difficult to communicate the level of excitement and anticipation that me and my young friends were experiencing as we sat huddled around a VCR on a chilly February evening. Not only were we giving two fingers up to the establishment, we were about to see a colossus of Horror cinema that even today, though it may have been copied a thousand times, still has yet to be surpassed.

I'm not going to give anything near a detailed synopsis of the plot as any self respecting horror devotee will be at least familiar with the rudimentary elements - the other two people in the world can watch it for themselves. However, to basically sum it up... Loosely based on the true crimes of Ed Gein, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre tells the story of Five teenage friends who are travelling across the State in order to pay a visit to their grandfather's grave after stories of vandalism and desecration have reached them. As they travel cross-country to the homestead they chance upon an old run-down property, where they are hunted and terrorised by a chain-saw wielding murderer and his not so lovable family of grave-robbing cannibals.

Just a man and his chainsaw hobby.....

Forget the basic storyline. Put aside opinions on the quite frankly ropey acting in a couple of roles (the cast taken mostly from Director Tobe Hooper's teaching friends and students). While you're at it, if you haven't ever seen the film (and where the hell have you been if you haven't?!), ignore the rather miss-placed and over sensationalised claims that you may have heard that the film is nothing more than thoughtless violence and nothing else. 

No, this is a movie that is much more than that as it takes you along with it on an adrenaline filled journey of barely suppressed terror. Indeed, there are times, particularly in the last act of the film when that the experience becomes more of a sensory and emotional overload - such is it's intense and unsettling power. There are scenes and images within this film that burn themselves onto your consciousness for a variety of reasons. Yes there are scenes of unyielding violence which will shock, even on repeated viewing, particularly from one of the true iconic horror characters, Leatherface, played impeccably by the legendary Gunnar Hansen. For me, there has simply never been a horror character as pitiful or frightening as Leatherface. Much of the credit obviously goes to the director and the editing of the film for this, but I must admit that I have always felt that Hansen has never quite received the recognition for his performance that he deserved. His movement, reactions and presence is quite magnificent.

The cinematography is frankly stunning, originally shot on poor quality 16mm film, this seems if anything to add to the overall atmospheric ambiance, partly in the external country scenes but particularly in the internal terror scenes that are at times genuinely suffocating in their claustrophobic intensity. 

Somebody won't be recommending this establishment

 on Holiday destinations.com

As I mentioned previously, it wasn't until 1999 that the BBFC realised that years of complete miss-interpretation of the movie had taken place. Contrary to popular misconception, there is no over-reliance on explicit violence in the movie (in fact there is a distinct lack of blood and gore throughout). Rather it is the often implied threat of violence and atmosphere that creates the power to shock and discomfort the viewer. 

I could also talk at length about Leatherface and his family's treatment of the teenagers being an evocation and allegory of America in the 1970's with such things as the Watergate scandal and Vietnam making it it quite clear that the modern world world was cruel and nothing like your childhood memories said it was. No one is safe, no-one can be trusted. The hippy peace loving days of the 1960's were long gone. But I'll leave that sort of discussion for those far more qualified and able than I.

I could also talk about the less than successful remakes, with the most recent an attempt to turn Leatherface into some sort of franchise leading character who we are meant to actually support and feel sorry for, thereby losing all the essential elements of this true classic original - but that is a rant for another time.

RIP Gunnar, you will be sorely missed.