Red sleep: A web based Urban-Noir series featuring on JTS.TV

One evening, back in the distant days of my late teens, I was walking though town after a long Saturday night of booze and chasing after women. The fact that I was walking alone through on a Saturday night suggests that whilst there may have been plenty of booze, my friends and I may have struck out on the women front - an occurrence that sadly happened all too regularly as I recall.

Anyhoo, the reason for this walk down my teenage lane of memories is due to an idea for a story I had as I wandered through that busy Saturday night. You see, at the time I fancied myself as something of a prospective storyteller, a writer who would one day rival the likes of Philip K. Dick, Tolkien, Asimov and King as a bastion of literature, whether it it be science fiction, fantasy or horror genres, I was going to rule them all. One ring to bind them, as it were. As a consequence, my head was constantly awash with plots and themes for stories that I promised myself that I would write one day. If truth be told, most of the ideas I had were at best, derivative mishmashes, the others were frankly forgettable - and most of them have indeed been forgot along the rocky road of this bloggers life.

However, one story has stayed with me - in part due to the unique form that the idea took. As I was walking home and pondering on another night of missed opportunities I suddenly saw another man walking beside me in the street. He was very tall, of local origin and extremely well dressed, in fact he was almost military like in his demeanour. But the thing that struck me most was the look on his face, one of deep confusing dreamlike state that spoke of colossal mistakes that had been made in his life, both by and for him. I know what you're thinking, it was the alcohol talking for both him and me, but no, it was far more than that, there was something else. I immediately constructed a back story for this man with the haunted look on his face; He had been down on his luck, desperate for money and direction after being discharged from the army when he had been offered the chance to redeem himself and his career by the military authorities by testing some new secret weapon, or drug. After which, he would be given a new future - but things had gone wrong and he was lost, alone, confused and possibly in a great deal of danger. As he wandered away down another road, still lost in thought, I envisaged his future as one of intrigue and danger.

Now nothing more ever came from this quite frankly brilliant vision of mine, I never wrote it, in fact I'm pretty sure that I never even mentioned it to anyone else after i realised that it was a theme that had been done a number of times in film and literature and I simply didn't believe that I was capable of adding anything new to the concept.

So you can only imagine my delight when I was contacted by a representative of a new series, Red Sleep, which had recently premiered on a streaming website (JTS.TV) and dealt with some of the very themes that had wandered into my head all those years ago. I wanted immediately to see what they had done and if it worked. And did it? Well read on. 

Red Sleep tells the story of Clyde Harris, an escaped prison inmate who makes a deal with the U.S. military to take part in a year long drug experiment in exchange for his freedom. Sounds simple eh? Well no, because soon after taking on a new identity in Los Angeles, it seems that the deal Clyde made may have come at a personal cost far higher than he ever envisaged as the side effects from the drug and his chequered past catch up with him.

The web series is written, produced and directed by Andre Welsh. The rumours that he also swept the floors and made all the sandwiches have yet to be confirmed by me. Though what is certain after seeing the first three episodes is that Welsh and his team have crafted a richly textured series that will appeal to fans of thriller, suspense and add to that a distinct hint or two of science fiction and horror and you have another heap of the viewing market ready to enjoy a most wonderful series. 

Red Sleep certainly has something for everybody; a classic film-noir voice over from the excellent Ron Kaell and an utterly compelling central performance from Chioke Jelani Clanton as Clyde Harris. Not only that but it only also features the magnificent Don Stark who played Bob Pinciotti in That 70's show - what more could you want? I mean apart from an excellent supporting cast of people  who can actually act?

Well I suppose that you could also want the production to be well lit, photographed and directed - which it is. You could also want more than your fare share of drama, suspense and moments of claustrophobic tension as we see a story of multiple time lines slowly unfold before our eyes - we have that too. Oh, and Los Angeles simply has never looked better, or worse. I've seen the series called 'Urban-noir', and while I'll readily admit from not being the biggest fan of labels, I do love that particular one. 

There is also a thought provoking element to this series in the subject matter of medical experimentation. The USA (like many other countries) has an extensive history, dating back to my own countries' colonial past, of using some of it's prison population for experimental drug research and experimentation. Red Sleep deals with this issue and an ever still pertinent one, namely the selection of such trials in the main from a certain part of the prison population, namely African-American. The figures show that even taking into account the percentage breakdown of prison inmate backgrounds, the use of those from certain racial and social class backgrounds is disproportionally large. 

I love anything like this that aims to highlight certain issues without ever becoming preachy or over sincere in its message. Andre Welsh has produced something that will encourage us to ask questions about society's treatment of parts of its own populace whilst importantly not losing sight of the need to entertain an audience. 

We the viewers are as much in the dark as to what has happened to Clyde as the character is himself, and together we are being transported along the journey he is facing (and has faced) and the dangers and terror that still await him. I have been lucky to have seen a number of fine web series recently and can safely say that this is quite possibly the best that I have had the pleasure to view so far.

Have a look at the trailer below to get a feel of what I mean.

Red Sleep premiered earlier this month on JTS.TV. which is a subscription-based streaming website featuring a whole plethora of web series. JTS stands for Just The Story, in essence because the site brings ad-free versions of a wide range web series online, (often for the first time ever). There are a number of sci-fi and horror based series on its site, three of which immediately caught my eye; 

Continuum  - in which "A beautiful young woman awakens aboard an adrift space ship with no memory of who she is or how she got there and at the mercy of the ship’s mysterious computer."

Vampire Zombie Werewolf - " After partnering with a not-so-classic suburban couple, a webseries producer with a string of derivative, monster-themed successes learns that the deadly creatures of his imagination are real. And they love his work. He’ll have one night to help the couple climb the undead social ladder by dreaming up a new, vampire-inspiring webseries that doesn’t suck, or become the victim of his most rabid fans."

Finally, there is Asylum  - which "Follows a team of doctors as they diagnose and treat patients at a hospital for the criminally insane, and as we learn more about each of the doctors and the asylum itself, we will begin to unravel a mystery that uncovers forces at work more extraordinary than anyone could imagine."

There is a genuine feeling that we are now part of an ever exciting brave new world of entertainment sources that are taking us well and truly headlong into the 21st Century with the likes of Netflix, and now JTS.TV, the link for which can be found RIGHT HERE

Red Sleep Credits: 

Written and Directed by: Andre Welsh
Produced by: Andre Welsh
Co-Produced by: Mitch Costanza and Jeff Gadigan
Cinematography and Editing by: Andre Welsh

Red Sleep Cast:

Chioke Jelani Clanton – Clyde Harris
Ron Kaell – Calvin
Don Stark – Dr. George Reed
Jessica Sonneborn – Katrina Long
Phillip Jeanmarie – James
Tobias Mehler – Dr. Dan Black
Ahku – Darnell
Jo-Anne Krupa – Alexia
Ryan McCann – Jason Long
Jessica Roth – Claire Carson
Aaron Massey – Chip Connelly
Leanne Wilson – Elizabeth
Michael Coons – Jonathan Wright
Andre Matheiu – Crooked Cop
Phillip Jeanmarie – James
Shalonda Shaw – Corrine Johnson
Jenny Pellicer – Grace
Kyle Koromaldi – Anton
Mitch Costanza – Rich Flemming
Cheyenne Costanza – Artificial Flower Girl

For more information on Red Sleep and JTS.TV then follow the links below......

Red Sleep on JTS.tv:

http://www.jts.tv/red-sleep 

Red Sleep trailer #1 on Vimeo:

http://vimeo.com/65130317

Red Sleep trailer #2 on Vimeo:

http://vimeo.com/90301961

Red Sleep tv series on Facebook:

facebook.com/redsleepseries

Red Sleep on Twitter: @RedSleep_Series, @JTSTV

Red Sleep on IMDB:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3481624

UPDATE 30/05/14

After the original article was published I received a very nice message from one of the producers of Red Sleep, Mitch Constanza, who thanked me for the review I did about the web series. One of the consequences of our conversation was my agreeing to do some sort of podcast interview with him, and hopefully Andre in the near future. I ‘m doing this on the basis of two points: firstly, as I’ve already mentioned, the web series is excellent. Secondly, I just love the name, ‘Mitch Constanza’.

In the meantime, I decided to construct one of the now legendary Fifth Dimension ‘interviews’with Mitch.

Q) So provide us with a brief background to filming Red Sleep

(Mitch) Andre and I have been making films together for ten years. He wrote, shot, directed, and edited the entire series. He funded it out of pocket for a fraction of most web series's budgets. He shot it with mostly natural light and one boom operator as our crew.  We shot guerrilla style in the bay area (Oakland and near San Quentin Prison) for a few scenes and a ton in LA.

Q) Yes but that’s all well and good, but what proof do you have this ten years worth of experience?

(Mitch) This is a trailer link to mine and Andre's previous short film in case you want to check it out:http://vimeo.com/29652639

Don 'nice guy' Stark

Q) Well that put me in my place then didn’t it? Especially as it looks rather good......so. erm, talk to me about the wonderful Don Stark (who many will know from playing Bob Pinciotti sitcom That '70s Show)

(Mitch) We got Don Stark to play a dark character in that and he was so excited. He knew our script incredibly well and jumped right into our physical /violent scene. He upped my game as an actor for sure.  

Our collaboration was so strong that he was on board with Red Sleep the moment we asked him. I'm a huge fan of getting to work with actor's we've watched on TV and in movies and give them a chance to play opposite their type.

Q) Yeah but I bet he was a big-time prima donna, bossing you all around like some sort of prima donna type superstar?

(Mitch) He told us that while he loves comedy, he was so excited to get to go to a deeper and darker place for our projects because he didn't have the chance to in a long time.  He was frequently talking out the scenes and shooting ideas with Andre, the director/creator.  Don didn't just show up to deliver lines and there was no ego involved. When he came on set he was fired up to shoot some intense scenes and was a true collaborator. Of course in between scenes we laughed our asses off much of the time thanks to him.

Q) Darn it, Don Stark is a nice guy. There goes a Fifth Dimension blog scoop about him being a nightmare to work with. Bugger. So what else can you tell me?

(Mitch) Please let me know if you have any questions about the show. We're also available for podcasts... although I swear a lot so Andre can do more of the talking if need be.

Ron 'You looking at me?' Kaell

Q) A podcast sounds a pretty good idea - don't worry, I swear for Great Britain so it would be fine  - hey, maybe we could compare US and UK swear words?! :-)

(Mitch) We would LOVE to be on any UK podcasts. Let me know what I can do to help make it happen. My British father in law and I quote Ben Kingsley lines from "Sexy Beast" as terms of endearment all the time so it would be fun to be uncensored while promoting the show.

Jessica 'bloody gorgeous' Roth

Q) And to finish off – how are things going with publicising Red Sleep ( apart, that is, from the magnificent work that I’m doing ............)? 

(Mitch) Last week we were ranked 3rd on soaps.com for the best series of the week and we didn't even campaign for votes. We want to win so we're getting the word out now.  The actors we're nominating for the ballet this week are Ron Kaell and Jessica Roth. 

We realised what a huge opportunity we have to establish ourselves as contenders in the web series community and want to do whatever we can to get recognition for Andre and every body's hard word work.

Finally, I would like to say a genuine thank you to Mitch in taking the time to talk to me. All it leaves me to say to him is a message from Ben Kingsley.....

"Where there's a will - and there is a fucking will - there's a way - and there is a fucking way!"

I Killed The Devil: A Gothic horror web series

I'd like to to draw your attention in this short article to another new web series that I was contacted about this week - and it looks as if it could be another one to keep and eye on. 

I killed the Devil is a horror web series about a man searching for his wife's killer in the supernatural underworld of San Francisco. You know the sort of thing that I'm talking about - Boy meets girl, boy marries girl, boy loses girl to supernatural bad guy in San Francisco, boy then intends to kick the arse of aforementioned supernatural bad guy. We've all been there.

So who is this man and what is his story? Well the filmmakers have been cunningly clever in not divulging too much of a back- story, in fact, one of the few clues to the story is what I've been able to glean from the official website, which is;

"My name is Detective John Roth. I work homicide in San Francisco.

There is an order that only I can see. If I am open to it. If I am good enough. It comes to me in my dreams, my nightmares. Taunting me like a lost lover. 

But I will make this right. 

I will be with you again, my love.

Forever, in the darkness"

The opening episode introduces us to the the plight of the detective as he wakes from another nightmare soon after the death of his wife. He is soon thrust into a disturbing world of violent unreality and hallucigenic like sensations at the hands of supernatural montrosities as he desperately tries to find out who killed his wife, and why. It's safe to say that things don't start off too well for our hero. 

There is no dialogue at all in the episode, instead the viewer is hit with a series of violent and supernatural assaults of imagery and sound as we are transported around the fog-lined alleyways of San Francisco. 

Tony told me that the series has been inspired by the love and inspirations from such diverse origins such as Hammer Horror, David Lynch, Italian horror films (Bava, Argento), The Wicker Man (1973 version!), Kill List and Rosemary's Baby. To be honest, anyone who knows me knows that the best way to find my 'on-switch' is to simply say how much they love Hammer and The Wicker Man. Of course , anyone who knows me also knows that if Tony had said that the Nick Cage version of The Wicker Man had been his choice of preferred movie, then this piece would never have been written. 

These plethora of fabulous influences, even at this early stage of the series,  are clear to see and while it is still possibly too early to make a judgment based on just one episode, I very much liked what i have seen. I would certainly go as far as saying that I Killed the Devil is one of the more unique offerings that I have had the pleasure to see recently. The eight minutes or so of episode one certainly gives an 'Urban Gothic' feel to proceedings that perhaps only the likes of cities such San Francisco, New Orleans or London could really do. Even if Tony had not of mentioned the makers influences, it would have been pretty clear as to what they were - and that is not meant as a criticism, rather the contrary. It is an atmospheric, taught and occasionally poetic example of adult horror and promises good things to come.

The first episode can be seen below....

I Killed the Devil will be presented in 10 episodes of approximately 10 minutes each. The team plan on presenting a new episode every 2 months, finances allowing, and posting each episode on their website. The next episode is due out on May 27th.

So far so good then, but what about the people behind this work? Well, they are San Francisco based Tony Sommers and Dan R. Harris who have over 30 years of combined experience in the film industry and in turn have brought together a very talented cast and crew to make this happen. Dan has an MFA in film from UCLA and has directed several films. Tony is a member of SAG-AFTRA and has been acting for more than 20 years.

For more information on Actor/producer Tony, then visit his IMDB page at  http://m.imdb.com/name/nm1088593/

Writer and director Dan's IMDB page can be found at http://m.imdb.com/name/nm3669599/?ref_=m_tt_cl_t1

For more information on the cast, series and future episodes visit the official website at http://www.ikilledthedevil.com/

The Facebook page for I killed the Devil can be found by clicking on THIS LINK

Thread or Dead : UK Based Horror Clothing To Die For & some further musings on The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974)

I was sat at my iMac the other day, minding my own business and musing on whether I should start a new blog article, read an online newspaper or simply do what the rest of the world seems to do on and go out for a meal so I could take a photo of it to put on my Facebook status update. 

It so happens that my decision was made all the easier when I instead decided to check my emails. After sifting through the notifications that a very nice chap in Africa had died and left me his millions (all I had to do was respond with my banking details) and the numerous offers of Viagra to cure my 'condition' (just how the hell did they know about that?!) I noticed an email with the title Thread or Dead. 

I was more than a little Intrigued by the title and so decided to forget about the promise of millions of dollars and the use of those little blue pills, and continued to read on. The message had been sent by a chap going by the name of Dan Charnley, who had contacted me as a fellow horror obsessive to inform me of a particular venture that he is involved with. 

Thread or Dead, is an original UK based Horror design and T-shirt company and having just re launched the site, are trying to get as many people involved as they can, to get the word out.

I'll be honest, I was more than a little reticent at first. After all, one of my recent posts on my blog was also about a t-shirt design site. Did I want to do another? The answer quickly became yes after I chatted with Dan, and for a couple of reasons. Firstly, that Thread or Dead is a true UK based original designer t-shirt site. Secondly, that it was abundantly clear that Dan and his colleague Luke's personal and professional horror philosophy is very, very similar to my own. Essentially, I was initially advised that they had contacted me in order to get like minded individuals like myself (sweet talking silver tongued devil) to guest blog, so that they get lots of different thoughts and , of course, get the word out there about what they are doing. 

They not only have a passion for horror, but that passion isn't confined to the narrow limitations of popular cinema, as I'll briefly explain.

From what I can gather this has been something of a long-time project for Dan and Luke. Why did they choose horror as the theme for their work? Well, they both love the horror genre, from M R James to Hammer Horror to Evil Dead (Dan is a big italian horror and Luke apparently is a monster movie nut) etc. He told me that they are always comparing notes on movies and and the like and one time they became embroiled in a discussion about horror t-shirts and how the couldn't get hold of any really good ones in this country. All horror merchandise just seemed to be American or film posters or simply just overpriced. Then it dawned on them, to start up their own UK based original horror design T-shirt site. 

The Mission 13 shirt

They had already been working in print and design, (Dan has apparently been hocking his horror illustrations around conventions for a while) and so they decided to go with something that they love. The plan is to build a site with original designs based on their own ideas, film influenced stuff, book influenced etc. 

What I particularly love about their ethos is their notion that they believe that there is so much more to the genre than movies. The mistake that I believe many in this field make is to unashamedly pander to the movie masses, thus in turn omitting a vast untapped area of the genre. They plan to put short stories, a comic based on the Mission 13 shirt and get people involved from a wide area on their site and blog.

So essentially, thats why I'm here. 

I must admit to be rather interested in being given Cart-blanche by Dan to write on his blog page in whatever horror theme that took my fancy. After all, I don't need much encouragement to talk about myself and my horror interests. 

So what did I want to talk about for my first (& possibly last if Dan or Luke don't like this article) guest blog post? Well it seemed only right that I would have to talk about my favourite ever horror movie. The problem is that the title of my number one horror film of all time regularly alternates between two genuine classics; the first being the truly sublime The Wicker Man, of which I mean the original 1973 version, not the frankly reprehensible piece of tosh that was the Nicholas Cage monstrosity. The other movie that I would regard as my horror love of my life is actually the one I'll briefly talk about, if for no other reason that this year sees the 40th anniversary of its original release.

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.

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.

A version of this article appears on the bog section of the Thread or Dead Website at http://www.threadordead.co.uk

The Thread or Dead Facebook page can be found at https://www.facebook.com/threadordead?fref=ts

Luke and Dan will, over the coming months, be giving people chances to win exclusive t-shirts (except for mine, which you can see below - I’m not giving mine away!) There will also be the opportunity to pick up freebies and purchase exclusive limited edition Morgue Members only t-shirts.

Joining the Morgue is free and very easy. Just pop your details in the form on the Thread or Dead website to join their e-mail mailing list (don't worry, they wont sell on your details or e-mail you every hour to tell you what they’re doing...). Once signed up, you will begin to receive their weekly Morgue members e-mail which contains stacks of information about Thread or Dead, their offers and such along with other bits and bobs that horror nuts are going to love.

So... what are you waiting for? I’ve just gone and joined, myself.

Join the Thread or Dead Morgue!

IMPORTANT UPDATE!!

This morning I received a rather intriguing package from my distinctly attractive Post delivery lady person. 

Well I suppose that the Thread or Dead stickers that appear in the photo on the left may be something of a give-away. Another little clue may well be the overall floppy look to the plastic packaging, hmm, it's almost as if there may something of a clothing like garment in there? Possibly even a t-shirt perhaps?

Lets take a looksee shall we?.......

Well blow me down, it only seems to be one of the very samples of t-shirts as made by Luke and Dan from Thread or dead: Clothing to die for. Not only that, but included in my little delivery seems to be stickers, personal hand-drawn pictures and badges of all manner of horrifyingly good loveliness. 

It was all by way of thanks from the boys to thank me for doing my little bit (some would say very little, but hey, I've always said that size doesn't matter.........) in helping to get the word out on their fabulous clothing venture. I had previously been asked which particular t-shirt I would like to choose for my own, it will come as no surprise to those that know me that I immediately plumped for the Karloff Frankenstein monster variation - I'm nothing if predictable it seems. Well so what? Go with what you know and what you like sometimes isn't too much of a bad thing to do.

And do you know what? the pictures on here and elsewhere online simply do not do their work justice, because the shirt is gorgeous. I was going to post a picture of myself modelling the shirt - but I'm not quite sure the world is ready for that sort of thing.

So you will have to make do with my amateurish attempts at taking photos - but one is for sure, you have to admit that the shirt looks great!

Check out below the other captures I made of the goodies sent to me - now who says this blogging lark wouldn't pay?!

An original Dan Charnely  -  now safely packed away to make me

loads of money when he's rich & famous

I'm a sucker for stickers and badges

Teeconomist - showcasing innovative design

Teeconomist clothing.

You know, this Internet thingamajig can be a wonderful thing at times, the opportunities for information, entertainment, innovation and communication are there in an abundance of forms and waiting in what seems like an endless supply to satisfy an infinite range of tastes. Anyway, enough about my nocturnal online habits. 

There are also a myriad of more acceptable online endeavours too. For example, the world of the Indie genre movie and book publishing have been transformed away from the confines and often suffocating control that often stifled rather than encouraged artistic creativity. The online world now offers opportunities for people to finance, create and promote their works in a way that simply never existed 10 years ago. It doesn't necessary always make for good work, some of the self-published works and web movies produced that I've seen in the role of blogger extraordinaire haven't always been of the highest quality shall we say. In fact a good deal of it has been dire, but some of it has been good, very good.

In all honesty, whether the work and ideas are good or bad isn't what is important to me at all in the slightest. It's the intention behind the process that counts in my eyes. What really matters is whether the creative intention is an authentic one, no matter what the medium.

So when William Ayers contacted me with news of the recent launch of his innovative new t-shirt design website, it seemed like the chance for me to prattle on in my usual self indulgent way  talk about something different from the usual fare of movies and books in this blog. If truth be told, I don't usually include much of the promotion of pure economic endeavours. However Teeconomist is a little different, as hopefully you will see.

Teeconomist features designs by gifted and innovative artists, and includes everything from sci-fi and film references to pop culture-inspired motifs (hence, the initial reason as to what interested me about this project).

I must admit that when I heard about this company, my first thought was to wonder just who creates their designs? Were they really trying to promote the work of the talented? Well, it genuinely seems like that is so, because judging from a look on the company website and its Facebook page, there is a range of work from artists from all around the world together with details and links from Teeconomist to the their websites and social media networks enabling the artists to gain global exposure. A selection of previous designs can be seen at the end of this article.

I must admit that I genuinely find ideas like this from William Ayres whose intention is to build a community of like-minded creative people, exciting and appealing. It contains the original ethos of the Internet where ideas and thoughts could be discussed and pursued in an innovative and passionate way by collections of like-minded individuals freely expressing themselves. And if that can be done whilst making money, then what's not to like?

William Ayers says that he "...wanted to set up an affordable t-shirt company with awesome designs, but the idea I like most is that each purchase on the site financially supports the featured artist and helps promote the artists’ great work, all over the world". I agree and like that philosophy, I like that a lot.

Dragon Ball Z design by Worldcollider

Was only available on May 3rd

So what is the low down on this innovative company?

The new t-shirt design website was launched only recently on April 15^tth 2014. Each design will only be available for purchase for 24 hours (sometimes 48). T-shirts sell for as low as $10, (thats about £5.90 in proper British money) and long sleeve shirts and hoodies will also be available for purchase. For today's design go to the link here at   https://www.teeconomist.com

One of Teeconomist’s unique features is ‘OpportuniTee’ (from the economic term Opportunity Cost), which will normally run on weekends. OpportuniTee offers consumers an exciting experience: two t-shirt designs are available for purchase. Buy one design, and the price will increase for the next buyer, while the price of the other design will decrease. Both designs will start at the selling price of $10.

So if you have a moment - check out these marvellous people at Teeconomist. The links for how to contact them can be found at the bottom of this article - if nothing else, it means that every purchase on their site not only financially supports the group of fabulous artists but also helps promote their hard work!

While you're at it, have a quick look at small selection of some of the stunning previous designs that have appeared as a once only option from the company. For more information about the artists responsible, contact the team through the various links at the bottom of this page.

I have to admit to having more than a little love for the Alien and Hulk pics.(Yes, William. That WAS a hint) :-). 

VITRUVIAN HUNTERS

By Samiel

THE GREEN FURY

By Dr.Monekers

BLACKWATER

By Chemabola8

BURTON'S X MEN

By Djkopet

The team can be reached via a whole range of online methods:

Email: info@teeconomist.com

Twitter - +Teeconomist 

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/teeconomist/info

Website - https://www.teeconomist.com

An interview with actress, scream queen and burlesque performer, Kaylee Williams.

One of the genuine joys of this blogging malarkey has been the opportunity that it has given me to speak to a wide and varied selection of creative individuals. Along the way I've spoke to authors, filmmakers, actors and many other talented folks who have been taken in by my pestering and self delusion masquerading itself as any sort of influential blogging talent.

In amongst that ever growing list of genuinely creative individuals, there have also a couple of very famous names, one of which just happened to be long time scream queen loves of my life. Someone once told me you should never meet your heroes, well the meeting may only have been virtual, but nevertheless, Adrienne Barbeau was loveliness personified. If you don't believe me, you can read about her loveliness herself BY CLICKING THIS LINK RIGHT HERE

This particular article is in some way the polar opposite of that interview, because while this may indeed an interview with a scream queen, it is in this case one who is is just in the early stages of her career. I say 'early stages' because she may well be a fledgling when it comes to time spent in the business, but certainly isn't a fledgling in terms of work output. 

Kaylee Williams is a native of Chicago, Illinois.  Since first falling into acting, she has become an established scream queen in the horror genre.

Kaylee was nominated for Best Actress in a Short for her lead role in The Many Monsters of Sarah Roth at the 2010 Oklahoma Horror Film Fest and won for Best Actress in an Anthology or Collection by NerdRemix's Best of 2012 Awards for her role in the segment "Anti-Bodies" in the horror anthology Psycho Street.

Her most recent release is The Lashman (2014), a masterful contemporary slasher movie that I had the pleasure and privilege to recieve a sneak preview of just a couple of weeks ago, a review of which appeared RIGHT HERE. 

For these of you that haven't read the review of The Lashman, or simply cannot be bothered to click on the link, Kaylee plays Jan, who is part of five school friends heading off on a weekend excursion into the hills for a weekend of fishing, swimming and campfire tales near their cabin retreat. For the group, it's the chance for one final celebration before they have to go their separate ways to college and whatever different paths their lives will take them.  Of course, there is a crate or two of beer to help the weekend along. And Mustard, lots of Mustard.

Kaylee (front right), before the screaming begins...

Soon after arrival at their secluded (of course) cabin, the friends are sharing a scary campfire tale about a local urban-myth. He is simply referred to as 'The Lashman' - a man from many years past who was treated pretty badly by the local populace and now whose spirit magically wanders the hills seeking violent and bloody revenge on those that wronged him....or even those who haven't wronged him, he isn't particular. However, little do they realise that a harmless campfire tale of revenge and murder is going to become very real for them and turn into their own worst bloody nightmares!

It's a tremendous slasher film that confounds many of the boring and tedious cliches that have worn down the genre over the years that had regarded apparently 'mundane' things such as character detail hardly being anywhere near the top of their requirements list. In The Lashman, the characters are given time to breathe and develop before the carnage begins - and Kaylee's role in particular caught my eye (and many others eyes , it has to be said). 

It's a performance that is ballsy, sexy and full of wit - the scene where she turns the tables on her jerk of a boyfriend and chastises him is particularly funny. ........ and my god can she scream  - the requisite qualities of a horror scream queen are there in mucho abundance.

Kaylee then fell into my cunning ploy of befriending her on Facebook and then foolishly kindly agreed to give me a short interview. so it transpired that a few weeks ago I compiled my list of my usually cutting edge and insightful questions and sent them to the lovely lady. Unfortunately for me, due to her being as busy as busy could be she was unable to respond straight away.  Despite my pestering, she was niceness personified, even when I asked her recently if she still had the questions, she was apologising profusely for the delay. 

So earlier in the week I was delighted to hear from Kaylee after she had found a window in her schedule to answer my questions - so here it is......

K) "Hey there! Here you go! So sorry for the delay! Thank you for your patience!  :-)"

Me) Hey no worries :-)
Firstly, Kaylee. Thanks for taking time out of your schedule to talk to me - I'll try not to bore you too much! As professional I felt it important to fully, er, research, your Facebook photo's before this interview. So why does Facebook hate boobs?

K) "Ha, I don’t know, you would have to ask Facebook about its personal feelings about boobs. But even if FB were totally pro-boobs, I still wouldn’t be giving away anything for free, LOL."

Me) Hey, congratulations on being nominated for best supporting actress at the 2014 Indie Horror Film Festival for your role in Ron Fitzgerald's "Dark Realm" Project!! You can now lie about how it's being nominated that matters & not winning 

K) "Well I actually did win and I’m SUPER excited about that! It was a huge honor to be named Best Supporting Actress. I think I actually squeeled quite girlishly with excitement when my name was called, haha."

Me) I know that give done working other genres, but you're mostly associated with indie horror. Was working in this genre by design or just a case of where the work happens to be?

K) "Honestly, it’s just where the work has happened to be. Don’t get me wrong, I love doing horror films and I plan to keep doing them, but I’m definitely also open to branching out and doing other genres."

Me) The indie horror scene seems to be incredibly healthy at the moment on both sides of the pond. Why do you think this is the case?

K) "I think that it’s just such a popular genre that there’s always going to be new and interesting indie horror films being developed/released all over the world."

Me) I recently interviewed Cameron Macasland who directed you in the soon to be released The Lashman. What are your memories of filming that project?

K) "What first comes to mind is that it was HOT! We shot in Kentucky in the middle of summer and it was over 100 degrees every day. But it’s easy to forget the heat when you’re having fun. It was such a great cast and crew and we all had a blast working together to create a really awesome film. I’ve gotten to see it and I think it turned out great! It just had its premiere on April 19th. I’m really excited about this one. So far people really seem to be digging it."

Me) So does working in 'mainstream' films interest you?

K) "Absolutely, if given the opportunity I would love to work in mainstream films!"

Me) Apart from your many film roles you are also a performer for the fabulously named, Gorilla Tango Burlesque - Provocative Parody For The Discerning Nerd - Tell us about this, it sounds simply amazing!

And a Billion Princess Leia fantasies are rekindled.

K)  "We do nerd-themed burlesque shows and it’s tons of fun! Some of the things we have parodied include Star Wars, Super Mario Bros, Batman, Indiana Jones, and Star Trek. I currently play Princess Leia in “The Empire Brings Sexy Back: A Star Wars Burlesque Sequel,” Princess Leia/Han Solo in “A Nude Hope: A Star Wars Burlesque,” and various characters in “Temple of Boobs: An Indiana Jones Burlesque.” I also got to play Luigi in “Boobs and Goombas: A Super Mario Burlesque,” which closed last year. I’ve been performing with Gorilla Tango Burlesque nearly every weekend since October of 2012 and I plan to continue performing with them for as long as they will have me!"

Me) I'd like to say many thanks for you giving your time & hope that the questions weren't too tedious.

K) "Thank YOU for the interview!!  ☺"

So there you have it, not only is she talented, funny, gorgeous and it seems a genuinely nice person, but to be honest she had me at “Boobs and Goombas: A Super Mario Burlesque”, which believe me is something I would have given my right arm to have seen, if only for the fabulous title of the piece itself - genius.

Kaylee Williams can be reached by her Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/ActressKayleeWilliams?fref=ts

The most wonderfully named Gorilla Tango Burlesque - Provocative Parody For The Discerning Nerd 's Facebook page can be enjoyed  HERE

The Lashman movie Facebook page link can be found HERE