Fango caught up with writer/director Gerald (THE QUICK AND THE UNDEAD) Nott, who gave the lowdown and exclusive pics (see more below) from his latest genre outing THE FLESH KEEPER, as well as news on its Los Angeles premiere. Produced by Nott Entertainment in association with Mjollnir Entertainment, FLESH KEEPER was filmed over the course of 30 days in Texas and southern California in September 2006, and “is about a group of friends who find themselves hunted by the sadistic Joad family after their car breaks down during a road trip in Texas,” the director tells us. “Murdered, trapped, tortured and turned against each other, they soon discover the inhuman family’s darkest secret lurks in the cellar and has an appetite for human flesh!”
Produced by Nott, Clint Glenn and John Reynolds, the indie production was spawned from the writer/director’s ambition to assemble “different types of stereotypical horror-film killers and have them live together. We’ve got the typical monster in the basement, the long-haired wild hillbilly maniac, the fatherly patriarch and the normal-looking psycho, and we take your typical kids-make-a-wrong-turn [plot] but pit them against all four of these madmen!”
With a cast comprised of QUICK AND THE UNDEAD alumni Erin McCarthy, Dion Day, Jimmy Hazard, Parrish Randall and Toar Campbell, plus producers Reynolds and Glenn (the latter as the chainsaw-wielding crazy), THE FLESH KEEPER also features Arianne (RED VICTORIA) Martin and CLOSET SPACE’s Morgan McCarthy and Peyton Wetzel. FX were provided by Jeff West, “whose work is astounding,” Nott raves, with director of photography Stacy Davidson (director of DOMAIN OF THE DAMNED) on hand to capture the carnage. The writer/director adds that his approach would often be to “come up with ideas on the spot and present them to Jeff with little to no time to prepare. Jeff would always impress us with what he was able to pull together. There was always blood around!
“A lot of THE FLESH KEEPER depends on mood and pacing,” Nott continues. “Sure, we’ve got some nice gore scenes, but a lot of it is done in shadows to hide what we may not have had the money to do. To me, the true scares come from the characters’ reactions to what is going on around them and not necessarily from the gore itself. I like to think that the film just jumps to its feet and keeps on running. I have never been a big fan of ‘torture porn.’ I’ve been more interested in the adventure—the thrill of almost getting caught and then narrowly getting away.” Nott does apparently deliver though on the wet stuff, though, promising that “there are times in the film where you think we’re going to stop, but we just keep going.”
SoCal genre fans have a chance to get a sneak peek at THE FLESH KEEPER this weekend; it premieres Saturday, November 24 at 8 p.m. at Landmark’s Rialto Theater in South Pasadena (1023 Fair Oaks Avenue), so make a pilgrimage to celebrate Thanksgiving with some cinematic bloodshed. As for future genre endeavors, Nott Entertainment is angling to get into the saddle of DEAD MAN’S DRAW, another horror/Western starring Glenn, as well as WITHIN THE DARK, an OUTER LIMITS-esque psychological thriller. For more info on the company’s plans as well as THE FLESH KEEPER, visit its official site here and the film’s MySpace page here.
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