MARTIN KEMP STALKS HORROR CHANNEL

Martin Kemp, the famed actor/musician has turned his hand to horror, bringing us his impressive directorial debut STALKER.  It’s not often that a woman stalks another woman in this genre and here Jane March, who found fame in ‘The Lover’, plays the part of a psychotic female to chilling perfection.

Kemp talks about being a horror fan, why he prefers directing to acting and compares his experience in the Celebrity Big Brother House to ‘The Thing’.

You wrote the screenplay for Stalker, where did the inspiration for the story come from?

Jonathan Sothcott, the producer, came to me asking me to rewrite the seventies movie ‘The House On Straw Hill’, but after looking at it I decided to just take a seed from it and send it on to a different journey, but the basic principle is still there. 

Are you a big horror fan?

Love horror, from the moment I saw Boris Karloff in the Mummy, to The Omen... They keep me on the edge of my seat.

How did you go about casting the movie or did you have people in mind whilst writing?

Casting was easy as we always knew we wanted Jane March and it was a matter of fitting the other parts around her.

Did you have a large budget to play with?

LARGE! I wish. This was tiny even compared to tiny budgets.....but we made the most of what we had.

The film has a gothic chill to it and a bloody climax, are you happy the way the film turned out? 

As happy as you can be! always when you make anything you wished you could go back and shoot it again, or paint or make it again...its only natural!

Did you have to cut any scenes due to time or budget restrictions?

We cut the most expensive scene as it goes because it ended up looking to Dr Who rather than gothic horror!

What was the atmosphere like on set?

The atmosphere was great, but it has to be on low budget, everyone has to chip in....it’s the only way!

Stalker is getting its UK TV premiere on the Horror Channel, how do you feel about that?

Thrilled it’s on the Horror Channel....it’s the home of all great horrors!

Where are you at your happiest when working? Is it acting, playing on stage, writing or directing?

I am by far at my happiest directing....it encompasses everything I love...Music, drama, photography and people!

If you were given the chance would you like to tackle a remake of a classic horror? If so which one would you choose and why?

A remake of a classic Horror...I would love to make ‘The Hunchback of Notre Dame’ – a great mix of horror and romance.

Will you be directing more horror movies in the future and what projects are you working on at the moment?

There is a fantastic project I’m working on at the moment, but you know what it’s like ....I will tell you about it when it’s signed and sealed

You’ve recently come out of the Big Brother house, that must have been a bizarre experience? Did this give you any inspiration for a movie?

A couple of times it was like being on the set of The Thing..... it was fun.

Martin Kemp, thank you

A pleasure.

Stalker premieres on the Horror Channel Oct 19 at 10.55pm