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
