CHRIS MCKAY adopted a simple mantra when it came to directing the upcoming action-horrorcomedy Renfield: "Make a fucked-up Dracula movie."
At first, that colourful mission statement might sound like a departure for McKay. He had previously helmed episodes of Robot Chicken and the animated The Lego Batman Movie before transitioning to the timetravelling alien invasion blockbuster The Tomorrow War. But actually the king of the vampires and his minion were right up McKay's street.
"I grew up watching John Carpenter movies," McKay tells SFX. "I'm a huge David Cronenberg fan. Tobe Hooper... Texas Chain Saw Massacre. Poltergeist. Jaws was a big movie for me. To this day, I gravitate towards horror. The perennial Christmas present was a Stephen King book - I grew up reading a lot of King.
"There was a neighbour kid down the block and his parents had a VCR. His parents were very permissive. I got to see Dawn Of The Dead. I got to see The Howling. I got to see all this stuff that was hard to find or not in the theatre.
"As I got older, there was The Fly and Scream," he continues. "Every kid in my high school, on their lockers would be sports heroes or somebody from a movie. On my locker, it was pictures of George Romero, Carpenter and Cronenberg. There were images from The Exorcist. I was probably considered very strange..."
RAISING THE DEAD
That weird and wacky sensibility paid off. After he'd completed The Tomorrow War, Universal sent McKay Ryan Ridley's Renfield screenplay, which was based on an idea by The Walking Dead creator Robert Kirkman. Charmed by the over-the-top premise, grounded characters and the story's potential, McKay didn't hesitate to sign on board.
Bu hikaye SFX UK dergisinin April 2023 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Giriş Yap
Bu hikaye SFX UK dergisinin April 2023 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Giriş Yap
Making Alien - Jaws in Space - Forty-five years on from its original release, Alien continues to terrify. We dissect what arguably remains the most chilling instalment in the saga
The seven-strong crew of the commercial mining spacecraft the Nostromo seal their fate after reluctantly responding to a mysterious distress signal on a hostile planet. Here, a face-hugging alien from a derelict ship impregnates and later kills executive officer Kane (John Hurt) after its offspring is birthed onboard. After being unleashed, the fearsome newborn with acid for blood proceeds to dispatch the remainder of the crew.Ridley Scott's much more convoluted prequels have yet to reveal how the knowledge that led to this initial interception was acquired. However, the premise of the original Alien is perfect in its uncomplicated purity.
PURE AND SIMPLE
IN THE FINAL PART OF OUR EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW, SHOWRUNNER RUSSELL T DAVIES TALKS RELAUNCHING DOCTOR WHO
TO CAP IT ALL OFF
CELEBRATING 40 YEARS OF THE BBC SERIES THE TRIPODS
FRENCH REVOLUTION
THE WALKING DEAD SPIN-OFF SHOWRUNNER DAVID ZABEL ON BEING GIVEN THE TOUGH TASK OF REUNITING DARYL AND CAROL IN FRANCE
SILENT KILLERS
THE DIRECTOR OF HOLLYWOOD'S SPEAK NO EVIL REMAKE ON HORROR, COMEDY AND JAMES MCAVOY
BRING OUT YOUR DEAD
THE GHOST WITH THE MOST RETURNS FINALLY - IN BEETLEJUICE BEETLEJUICE
TEENAGE DREAM
JOE LOCKE HITS THE ROAD RUNNING
MOB RULE THE PENGUIN
GOTHAM'S UP FOR GRABS IN BRUISING NEW CRIME SAGA BUT WHERE IS THE BATMAN?
SEASON OF THE WITCH
AS MARVEL TELEVISION CARVES OUT A NEW PATH FOR ITSELF, WE SPEAK TO CREATOR JAC SCHAEFFER, PLUS A CAST OF STARS LED BY KATHRYN HAHN AND JOE LOCKE, ABOUT THE MAGIC OF WANDAVISION'S SPIN-OFF AGATHA ALL ALONG
Ghouls Allowed
Even silence can't save you at this year's Halloween Horror Nights