El Danno: Without revealing too much, can you tell us a little bit about the I Am Vengeance story/plot?
Richard: Hmmmm... Without revealing too much eh.. Ok... How`s thissss... I Am Vengeance is the innocent sugar cube that triggers off a psychedelic nightmare.. It`s an exploration of life and death and that thin line called suicide that can unite the two great divides.. It`s a guided tour into the conscious and subconscious mind of the world`s greatest victim.. It`s about being randomly selected.. about seemingly being "CURSED" by your own appointed destiny.. I Am Vengeance is the symbolic, high tech (spiritual) rape of a character named David William Hughes... It`s a journey through love, loss, betrayal and death.. Sex, violence, solitude and Doom... Hopefully there will be something for everybody. :-)
Anyway..
IAV at it`s most stripped down basic is a story about REVENGE.. Kind of a combination of the themes prevalent in classic films like The Exterminator and I Spit on Your Grave but these "themes" will be presented in a completely different manner..
My advice will be to just turn it on (whenever the hell it`s finally ready :-))... Take your trip and see where all those strange faces, colors, symbols and sounds will lead ya..
I Am Vengeance Screen Shots
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El Danno: What are the fundamental philosophies behind the creation and filming of I Am Vengeance?
Richard: To begin releasing all the impressions that years of indulging in horror films have left in me.. To unleash all these characters who (for too long) had been confined to the realms of my imagination..
Through IAV I wanted to re-introduce the psychedelic film experience.. To re-birth the LSD film and to bathe it in showers of crimson delight.. To set in motion "The First of the Doom Rock".. A film that pays homage, respect and a "from the heart" tribute to the greatest bands in the universe.. I hope to keep the Doom/Stoner Rock theme a constant in any film I`ll ever shoot..
Along the way I hope to carve out my own little space in this no budget indy film world.. I want to keep doing these psychedelic splatter flicks without ever worrying (or giving a shit) whether my ideas are marketable, mainstream or whatever.. I just want to do my own thing, find a merry little crew to do it with and hopefully have some fun along the way.. Hopefully over time these films can create a select audience all their own.. Now that would be WILD! :-)
El Danno: How gory is it gonna be?
Richard: It`s pretty gory... I have to salute Orlando Florida`s most intense, WICKED and EXTREME FX team of Joy Patricoski and Brian Angeloff for seeing to it that all my crimson drenched visions came true with a vengeance..
Throats are slashed, blood is drank, skin is chopped and eaten, nails meet skull, bullet meets head.. A dead rat is devoured... I`ll also be using footage of an extremely graphic wire coathanger masturbation sequence (I shot this way back with the second IAV cast) that is sheer splatter SWEETNESS...
Again... Hopefully something for everyone.
I Am Vengeance Screen Shots
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El Danno: There are some killer bands on Volume 1 of the soundtrack (Count Raven, sHEAVY, Eternal Elysium, and Lowrider etc..) How did you get such a great lineup of bands to provide exclusive tracks for the movie?
Richard: Destiny maybe? :-)
Actually I think this question could be better answered by Jadd or Aaron at MeteorCity (because without their involvement, none of these orginal tracks would`ve been possible).. They`re the guys who made it a priority to secure exclusive/original tracks from the bands and they did what was required to make it happen..
Care to chime in Jadd.. Aaron??? :-)
Aaron: There are a lot of great bands in our scene to choose from, so it`s never hard getting a good lineup! Really, the problem is that there are so many good bands, it`s hard to narrow them down. But there were a lot of bands who were inspired by the idea of working on Ritchie`s project, and a few others we`d been looking for an excuse to work with for a while. And, of course, some of the bands are on MeteorCity anyway, so we won`t pass by a chance to expose more people to them!
I Am Vengeance Screen Shots
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El Danno: What role does all this heavy stoner/doom music play in the movie itself? Do you use long parts of songs from the 2 volume soundtrack or just short clips? Has the music specifically influenced the way you`ve been putting IAV together?
Richard: The music is (will be) the atmosphere.. I like to refer to the music as the I Am Vengeance experience..
The music will appear in a variety of ways.. Some tracks featured longer.. Some short.. It all depends on what works best in the given situations.. Right now the Bongwater666, Grief, The Awesome Machine, Solitude Aeturnus and Space Probe Taurus tracks are tentatively slated for longer use.. I`ll also make featured use of many of Dan Fondelius`s (Count Raven, Doomsday Government) incredible instrumental tracks.
Two of the tracks have already appeared on promo videos for the film and it`s 2 soundtracks.. I used Lowrider`s "David William Hughes" to represent MeteorCity`s volume and Mirror of Deception`s "Dreams of Misery" to represent Game Two`s volume.. Both promos have been very well received (Thank GOD!) and the songs have definitely played a HUGE part in bringing the on screen mayhem to life.. I hope to have the same success with the film itself! :-)
The music has influenced how a few scenes in IAV were filmed.. The Grief track (Bury the Dead) immediately comes to mind.. sHEAVY`s "Sea of Tomorrow" is another.. The same goes for Bongwater666`s "Cannibal Love Song"..
I Am Vengeance Screen Shots
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El Danno: Is there a track listing for the Game Two release or do we have to wait for that one?
Richard: I`ll let it be a surprise.. :-)
Bands set to appear... Pentagram (Title track of Vol.2), Church of Misery (excellent IAV original!), Northwinds, Cirith Ungol, Grief, sHEAVY, Solitude Aeturnus, Buffalo (NWOBHM legends!), Eternal Elysium, Mirror of Deception, Solace, Dan Fondelius instrumentals... I have a couple more bands I`d love to add on so hopefully that can get worked out.. We`ll see...
Just know that it`s going to be another masterpiece of pure (old school) Doom/Stoner Rock with a little taste of classic NWOBHM thrown in for good measure.
El Danno: What made you to decide to work with MeteorCity and Game Two instead of releasing a double cd through one record label only?
Richard: Actually the choice to split the cd was made by Jadd and Aaron over at MeteorCity.. You may want them to chime in on this question in order to get an accurate answer..
I will say that I`m thrilled with the decision to split the soundtrack! It`s beyond exciting to have two seperate (outstanding!!) soundtracks coming out to represent IAV.. MeteorCity and Game Two are both incredible indy record labels whose hearts are really into the music and the whole Doom/Stoner Rock scene... It`s a blast to be working with them!
Aaron: We had a huge amount of material, especially when you add in score and dialogue clips. When you have that much music, you notice that some songs fit together more than others. When we design an album ourselves, our goal isn`t just to throw lots of elements together, it`s to try to craft a single, cohesive work of art. And it became evident that what we had could be divided into two distinct groups of songs, which on their own would be almost perfect, but together might sound as though we had forced things together that didn`t necessarily need to be together. In other words, two volumes separately could each be stronger than one double-CD volume on its own. We were also encouraged by the fact that we had two great title tracks by two legendary doom bands: Count Raven`s Don Fondelius (represented by his new outfit, Doomsday Gouvernment) and Pentagram. That fact alone almost begged for two separate CDs.
As to why we gave one of them to Game Two rather than putting it out ourselves, there are really two reasons. The first is that we think they can do a good job with it, because their customers are always ready to buy something else with Pentagram and all those other bands on it! The second is that we feel that the reason that all of us have gotten to where we are is through cooperation. The labels and stores and bands in this scene aren`t competing, they`re all working for the same goal: to get people to buy music that they think is good, rather than music that multinational corporations want to convince them is good. And collaborating with Game Two gives us the chance to put our money where our mouth is on this issue--literally. This setup also gives the movie and the bands even more exposure. Every little bit helps.
I Am Vengeance Screen Shots
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El Danno: What are your favorite horror films and why?
Richard: My fav horror`s... :-)
The Wicker Man.. Its look, characters, atmosphere and horrific outcome all combine to make it a film I could never forget.. A true classic in my opinion.
Witchfinder General.. Again.. There`s great characters (Vincent Price is awesome as Matthew Hopkins!).. There`s a unique look and an atmosphere that drew me in.. It`s a great flick.. It also inspired the name and image of my all time favorite band! :-)
The late 70`s/early 80`s horror/slasher scene was a breeding ground for a lot of my favorite films.. Motel Hell leads the way and is followed closely by flicks like Maniac, Mother`s Day, He Knows You`re Alone, Fade to Black, Fear No Evil, My Bloody Valentine etc.. These films really take me back to some great times!
Hong Kong is where all my more current fav`s have come from.. Films like Red to Kill, Dr. Lamb, Run and Kill, Untold Story and Brother of Darkness etc.. The list goes on and on.. What I seriously love about these HK produced horror/exploitation flicks is their complete disregard for being politically correct in any way, shape or form.. These films I mentioned present the kind of humorless, mean spirited viciousness that should (in my opinion) make up a violence themed film... These movies are throwbacks to classic violent exploitation gems like "Last House on the Left", "House on the Edge of the Park" and "I Spit on your Grave".. These films are bleak and depressive (as something depicting a horrific act should be!) and are nothing like the lame ass, comedic (tv star powered) "glossy horror" bullshit that the studios are churning out over here..
The reason that films like "Last House on the Left" have gone on to become legendary is because they were unapologetic and un-flinching in their depictions of ultra violent cruelty.. They were dealing with very depressive and grim content and presented it in the excruciating manner the subject required.. Films like the one`s I`ve mentioned were able to get under people`s skin.. They made the viewers uncomfortable and thus left an impression that would never go away.. That`s what I`m into.. That`s what horror themed films should be in my opinion..
El Danno: Which movies in particular had the greatest influence on I Am Vengeance and why?
Richard: The film with the greatest individual influence on IAV getting made was The Wicker Man.. That`s the film that left the deepest (and longest lasting) impressions with me.. I have a few obvious "Wicker Man" tributes in IAV.. I couldn`t help but to do so.. The film means a lot to me.
IAV actually has a lot more in common (look and atmosphere wise) with the obscure LSD flicks of the 60`s then it does with any of my favorite (horror or other genre) films.. IAV is more of a character study with heavy psychedelic splatter overtones than a straight forward (stalk and slash) horror flick... There`s no scare factor written into IAV..
Anyway, there`s no denying that IAV is a personal tribute to all the films and filmmakers who`ve inspired me but at the same time, it`s NOT a direct clone of anything.. Whatever tributes I added were written in for the simple fun of doing them (one example is a Night of the Living Dead inspired graveyard attack)..
Beyond that and a few other personal (fan based) tributes, IAV`s got a look, feel and atmosphere all it`s own.. Hopefully that`ll be apparent and prove to be a good thing! :-)
El Danno: What exactly inspired you to undertake the massive effort that must be involved in the making a a low budget horror movie?
Richard: Low budget? :-) That would imply there was a budget.. IAV was made by me begging, borrowing (and borrowing MORE!) and charging and going into an ungodly amount of debt and then borrowing some more and charging some more and... I hate to even think about it!
What inspired such insanity...? Hmmmm... A subconscious (or repressed) need to suffer possibly? That`s all I can think of!
What it really came down to was that I had a story in me that I wanted to physically experience outside the realms of my imagination.. I had these characters that I just had to meet.. Had to physically see.. Making IAV was a "need"... It was just one of those things that had to be done for better or worse.
For whatever reason, I was really drawn to the whole guerilla warfare style of no budget filmmaking.. I wanted to follow in the paths set by my Friends/Directors like the modern day Godfather of Gore himself: Tim Ritter (Creep, Killing Spree, Dirty Cop etc..) and Ronnie Sortor (Sinyster, Ravage etc..).. Speaking with them.. Watching them work (through Docu-footage they provided me) and listening to their tales of on set tragedy and accomplishment proved intoxicating to me.. I needed to be part of it all.. Needed to get a camera in my hand and start creating.. Making the scenes happen.. It`s become like an addiction...
I Am Vengeance Screen Shots
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El Danno: What stage is the production of I Am Vengeance at right now? (IE: is it half done or three quarters done etc - is there much left to do before it`s finished? Do you have a projected release date?
Richard: IAV is due for post production any time now.. The current delay is that the May 2001 upgrade to my editing system has yet to arrive.. As soon as it gets here I`ll be getting to work.
Projected release date? haha.. Not touching that one.. I`ve learned my lesson in regards to making any such predictions.. Can you blame me? :-)
That said... I DO HOPE... I seriously, seriously HOPE it can be ready later this or early in 2002.. A lot will have to go right for that to happen.. A LOT!
In the meantime, just keep digging the soundtrack (Volume 1).. I`m thrilled that it`s out there paving the way! (THANKS again to MeteorCity for making it happen!)
I Am Vengeance Screen Shots
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El Danno: What are some of the obstacles you`ve had to overcome during the process of making IAV a reality?
Richard: No outside budget, no actual producer, time and scheduling issues...Those (along with a dude fucking up my camera which resulted in 6 months of down time) were some obstacles IAV faced this go round...
To sum up the reasons/obstacles for why IAV failed initially... It`s almost not even worth talking about anymore.. I mean what`s the point after all this time... All that stuff is 3 (!) years in the past now and I`m way beyond having any real feelings about what happened.. (I actually forgot half the shit that went down till doing the thrae.com interview!)
Anyway... In the span since I originally began IAV, I`ve seen a lot of films going into production only to fall apart and never get completed for a variety of reasons.. What makes it so difficult is that it really requires a LOT of people to join together and share one goal... That`s a HUGE obstacle to overcome..
Think of how tough it is at times to even get 2 people going in the same direction.. One or two people not into it and you`re fucked.. Seriously.. That`s the biggest obstacle I guess... Coordinating so many different people and personalities.. Getting them and (more importantly) "keeping them" all on the same page.. That`s tough to do in the best of times.. Never mind when shit is going bad!
I`m just happy (very fortunate!) and proud that I was able to get IAV shot in spite of everything that went wrong initially... I owe a lot of thanks to Joe Lagana, Joy Patricoski and Brian Angeloff, Greg Freeman and the entire 3rd IAV cast for taking their work seriously and for helping me to finally get IAV completed..
I also thank the original groups for being there in the beginning.. Things didn`t work out like we would`ve hoped but fuck it.. We were a bunch of people just starting out.. We gave it a shot and came up short.. It`s water under the bridge now. I really hope they`re all doing well for themselves these days.. Working with them taught me a lot.
I Am Vengeance Screen Shots
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El Danno: Do you have any particularly bizarre behind-the-scenes stories that you wouldn`t mind sharing with us?
Richard: Hmmmm... Does Joe Lagana (IAV`s Lead Actor) taking a bite out of a dead rat count? That could be classified as being fairly bizarre eh? ;-)
We also faced a potential "Deliverance" situation while shooting footage at a "WAY back in the woods" graveyard.. Thinking about that creeps me out till this day.. A lot of negative shit could`ve went down in there but thank God we managed to get out with no problems.
El Danno: Will "I Am Vengeance" be available on DVD? If so, any plans for special features?
Richard: Will IAV be on DVD.... That all depends on who distributes it and whether they want to release it to that format.. It would be cool but we`ll have to see what happens..
Special features... Well.. If it gets to DVD I have a lot of extra stuff I could probably add to it.. I could include the 2 music video/promos (featuring Lowrider and Mirror of Deception tracks).. I could add a "Night of the Living Dead" inspired practice music video which I shot and set to the sounds of Church of Misery`s "Retal" (an exclusive track from Volume 2 of the soundtrack). I could also cut together some behind the scenes stuff or maybe add some footage that ends up cut from the film for whatever reason.. I could also throw in some of the audition videos.. They were pretty classic! :-)
I also co-shot a music video for Sweden`s Acid Rock masters: Space Probe Taurus.. The video is for the song "Calling Cosmos" (from IAV soundtrack Vol.1) and features the band in action while inter-cutting with a "Weird World of LSD" inspired story that ends in a pretty wild killing scene.. If I can ever figure out how to match the lip synch through all the flashing strobe lights, that could be another cool addition to a potential DVD release.
Anyway.. Who knows how these Distributor/DVD things go or what will happen.. That`s a worry for another day.. There`s no sense in guessing about or trying to predict anything.. I`ll just keep busy, keep learning and will let things unfold as they will...
Hell.. I just Hope IAV will warrant a DVD release in the first place! :-)
Anyway..... Dan.. Stoner/Doom/Acid Rock fans.. All the musicians who`ve joined IAV.. MeteorCity and Game Two Records.. Every person who`s ever worked on IAV.. Anyone interested in IAV... I just want (NEED) to THANK YOU ALL for the patience, support, lessons, belief and for hanging in there.. It`s been a ridiculously long and difficult trip to even get this far.. But it`s almost over.. I hope to have your psychedelic Doom film ready soooooon! Wish me luck in post production and enjoy the soundtrack! I hope you`re loving it as much as I am!
