Greetings, all. Ambush Bug here with another AICN HORROR: ZOMBIES & SHARKS column. I had a chance to chat with filmmaker Chad Michael Ward who helmed the science-made vampire/body horror flick STRANGE BLOOD, which is available now On Demand and will be available on DVD on June 9th! Here’s what Ward said about vampires, body horror, and how he brought STRANGE BLOOD to life…
AMBUSH BUG (BUG): First off, how would you describe STRANGE BLOOD to folks?CHAD MICHAEL WARD (CMW): The Producer pitched this film to me as “THE FLY but with vampires”, and I think the final film is pretty much exactly that.
BUG: What attracted you to do a vampire film and what did you consider in order to make yours unique?
CMW: We didn’t set out to make our vampire more unique so much as we wanted to root it in science and reality.
BUG: Can you describe the work that went into creating Ela, the tumor creature and bringing it to life on screen?
CMW: We went through a lot of versions of the creature during the outlining process—at one point it was to be more insect-like. In the end I decided on something that was very tumor-like, something very body-horror. The Producer brought in FACE OFF’s Ray Wooley at the last minute to provide the final design and build of our “Ela” tumor creature.
BUG: How did you pick and choose which vampire traits to use in terms of powers and weaknesses?
CMW: The Producer and I originally attempted to cover all the different vampire traits/mythos in our original outline, but as the script was written and trimmed done a lot of that had to get cut for clarity and length. In the end, the need for blood became our primary focus for Henry’s vampire transformation. BUG: Where did you find the two leads? They really did a great job at representing truly flawed characters having a real relationship.
CMW: When we started the pre-production process, we were told by the Executive Producers that we weren’t, for budgetary reason, allowed to use SAG actors, which made finding the right people for this film pretty difficult. I spent a lot of time combing through Backstage.com to find actors to audition.
With the character of Gemma, we narrowed it down to two potential actresses during auditions. I had eyes on a wonderful young woman named Cassandra Clark but in the end, the Producer went with Australian actress Alexandra Bard for the role.
For our lead Henry, we went through a lot of auditions and really had a hard time finding the right guy. Robert Brettenaugh was a bit of an 11th hour find. Robert was really new to acting but had the kind of passion and desire we needed to do some of the more difficult material in the movie, including spending half the film in his underwear during a particularly cold Arizona winter and eating fake vomit off a dirty warehouse floor.
BUG: There's a Cronenberg vibe to this one. Obviously THE FLY, but other more disgusting body horror films like SHIVERS, RABID, and THE BROOD too. Was Cronenberg an influence on you in making this film? CMW: When I first started writing the script, Cronenberg wasn’t necessarily the primary influence or approach but as I started to figure out what this story was and how I wanted to present it, I realized that this “vampire” story was more of a body horror thing. I looked to Cronenberg’s work—VIDEODROME, SHIVERS, RABID—but also was heavily into ANTIVIRAL by Cronenberg’s son, Brandon, as well as directors like Nicholas Winding Refn.
BUG: Why do you think body horror films are so effective?
CMW: Body horror films are effective because the monster or the villain is ourself. It’s such a deeply personal and intimate kind of horror because it’s so internal.
BUG: What is your background? Have you had much contact with the field of medicine?
CMW: I originally started as a digital artist early on in my career, doing album covers for European metal bands and book covers like SECRET CIRCLE and THE VAMPIRE DIARIES before I transitioned into photography for bands and alternative bands.
Once I moved to Los Angeles, I landed work as a production designer for several films and music videos before eventually moving into directing and producing music videos myself. Eventually I went back to my writing roots and put together a pair of screenplays before I was approached to write and direct STRANGE BLOOD for the Producer based on a concept he had been toying with. I have absolutely zero knowledge about the medical field, though I do have a heavy interest in collecting old medical paraphernalia.
BUG: For the most part, you went with practical effects here and they look fantastic. Not many filmmakers go this route these days. Why did you choose to do so?
CMW: At the budget level we were working with, we really didn’t have a budget for CGI effects, so almost everything had to be practical out of necessity. We were big fans of practical effects to begin with, so not using CGI was a no-brainer anyway.
BUG: This was a pretty low budget film. Was it a difficult film to put together?
CMW: This was by and far the most difficult project I’ve ever been involved in. The Producer and I disagreed pretty regularly over just about every aspect of the film. I think we weren’t on the same page about a lot of things and I wasn’t allowed much input in the post production process. In the end, STRANGE BLOOD is much more a product of the Producer’s vision than my own. BUG: Do you plan to stay in the horror genre in the future?
CMW: Absolutely. Horror has always been my first and last love. I’d love to expand to other genres someday, but horror is always where I feel most at home.
BUG: What do you have coming up next?
CMW: I’m currently co-writing and producing a short film—another body horror story—with up-and-coming director Graham Denman who wrote the story behind Eric England’s upcoming GET THE GIRL. I’m also taking on cinematography duties on another horror short for a longtime client and friend of mine next month which looks to be a lot of fun. Beyond that, I’m continuing to direct music videos as they come and writing my next feature, which is a horror-comedy.
BUG: Last chance, why should folks check out STRANGE BLOOD and where can they see it?
CMW: STRANGE BLOOD is currently available on VOD through Vudu. I believe it comes out in June on DVD.
BUG: Thanks, Mr. Ward! Below the trailer is my review of STRANGE BLOOD!
New this week On Demand and available on DVD on June 9th from XLRator!STRANGE BLOOD (2015)
Directed by Chad Michael WardWritten by Pearry Reginald Teo (story) , Chad Michael Ward (screenplay)
Starring Robert Brettenaugh, Alexandra Bard, Thomas O'Halloran, Anna Harr, Barbara Jadczak, James Adam Lim, Scott Harders
Find out more about this film here and on Facebook here
Reviewed by Ambush Bug
Deftly mixing classical vampirism with Cronenbergian body horror, the low budget science horror STRANGE BLOOD does a lot with very little and turns out to be a film worth checking out.
The story focuses on a young scientist named Henry (Robert Brettenaugh) who has developed a cure-all solution to all disease by creating a living and breathing tumor named Ela. Henry’s intern Gemma (Alexandra Bard) is almost as brilliant, but more motivated by her heart as she has a crush on her mentor; though he is much more invested in his work to notice. When the overzealous doctor gets too close to Ela and it pokes him with her stingers, Henry begins a metamorphosis into a creature that needs the blood of the living to survive. Battling her own sense of right and wrong versus her heart, Gemma is forced to care for Henry as he changes into something more inhuman by the day.If you immediately thought of Cronenberg’s THE FLY while reading the last paragraph, then you and I are on the same wavelength as I couldn’t get the Cronenberg classic out of my head as I saw Henry change throughout this movie. At the same time, with the watermelon-sized sentient tumor pulsing in the test tube, other body horror films of Cronenberg and his son Brandon with his film ANTIVIRAL come to mind. All of those films exude an icky, contagious feel while watching and director/writer Chad Michael Ward does a great job of capturing that tactile feel that really creeps under your skin with uncomfortable scenes of Henry’s metamorphosis as his body shifts and morphs, and equally intimate kills as Henry’s bloodlust takes over. Ward zooms in close to make these kills personal and almost sensual as Henry laps the blood up from the gushing throats of his victims. So while from a story sense, this may feel a bit too close to the template THE FLY adheres to, Ward gives the film an uncomfortably up close feel to it that suggests much more sophistication than a simple carbon copy style film.
While the two main actors are definitely not pros, they do a pretty great job here. Alexandra Bard has a nice innocence to her that gives this film steeped in science a bit of soul with Gemma, while the really impressive work comes from Robert Brettenaugh as Henry who brings a physicality to the performance that enhances the subtle effects. Brettenaugh really pays attention to posture and body language making the person he is before the infection and after the infection two entirely different looking people.The effects are another highlight here as the pulsing tumor is something out of a science fueled nightmare. The way it moves and convulses like some kind of soft larval creature really does unnerve. The few times CGI were used are not good though, as when Henry cuts himself to reveal millions of little insect-like creatures roaming under his skin feels comically cartoonish. But the practical effects such as Henry’s transformation, the tumor Ela, and the murder sequences elevate what might be a more forgettable film to new levels of unease. STRANGE BLOOD is low fi with some rough bits of acting here and there, but the themes, the story, the direction, and especially the practical effects make it a disgusting and perverse, yet utterly effective body horror film.
Ambush Bug is Mark L. Miller, original @$$Hole/wordslinger/writer of wrongs/reviewer/interviewer/editor of AICN COMICS for over 13 years & AICN HORROR for 4. Follow Ambush Bug on the Twitters @Mark_L_Miller.Be sure to tell your comic shop to support his new comic PIROUETTE (trade released in May Diamond order code FEB15 1090 for only $9.99!) from Black Mask Studios!
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