Screenwriter, director and effects artist Jason Lei Howden granted iHORRORdb (Deathgasm: Interview with writer and director Jason Lei Howden) an interview to talk about Deathgasm and we at DarkVeins have translated the original text for you. Jason talks about his Horror/Metal film, his future plans and much more.
L: Hi Jason, thank you for your time. Tell us about Deathgasm, your Horror/Metal film that has driven horrorphiles and metalheads crazy. How would you describe it?
J.L.H.: Deathgasm is a bloody homage to horror movies and heavy metal. In the film, two teenage metalheads inadvertently unleash the demonic apocalypse, so they will try to save the world with the power of metal. This of course involves lots of brutal shredding, corpse paint and much more.
A kid who gets high listening to the Skinless on repeat while watching endless horror movies on a crappy old VHS player, who feeds on nothing but pizza, beer and dissension, is clearly going to end up after a couple of decades doing Deathgasm (please do not do this to your children, you sick bastards).
The film is unabashedly Metal in both inspiration and execution. That being said, I think it will appeal greatly to non-metalheads but it is definitely the most METAL heavy metal horror film ever made. Metal music drives the humor and the story focuses on the bond between the Metalheads.
L: The film blends horror and heavy metal. How did the idea come about?
JLH: My adolescence as a metalhead and the small farming town in New Zealand where I grew up were great sources of inspiration for me. Many of the characters and situations are based on my experience (demons aside).
L: What can you tell us about the film's soundtrack and wonderful practical effects?
JLH: Several bands took part in the soundtrack and a vinyl record will be available soon. We have death/thrash Axeslasher, Midnight, Canadian power metal band Skull Fist, power metal band Razorwyre, New Zealand epic doom band Beastwars, 8 Foot Sativa, Goatesque, Lair of the Minotaur, "Devil Metal" music by Nunslaughter, Australia's Elm Street, Brutal Death-Metal band Pathology, Norwegian band Fine Wretched (featuring legend Samoth), musician Ihsahn as guest vocalist on a track with Devin Townsend.
All the groups were so extraordinarily generous and supportive. New Zealand's Bulletbelt have been especially amazing. We have two tracks from their 2015 album "Rise Of The Banshee," including the theme music from Deathgasm. Together we shot a video clip with the band's performance and some parts of the film, which should be released soon.
I am so proud to have, in the soundtrack, two tracks by Emperor, the Norwegian black metal legends. "In the Nightside Eclipse" is one of my favorite albums and for me it is one of the proudest moments on the soundtrack. We are currently working on a vinyl version of the soundtrack.
As for gore, we used 80 liters of blood, which is a good amount but for Peter Jackson's splatter masterpiece, Braindead (Dead Alive), they used 300 liters, so I'm still aiming high to try to break the record. Maybe then Jackson will start producing splatter comedies again! We had a great splatter effects team. Tim Wells and Storm McCracken worked hard to get it right, and I must admit they did a fantastic job.
L: How did you get into metal music?
JLH: When I was about 13, a classmate handed me a duplicate cassette tape of Cannibal Corpse's "Tomb of The Mutilated." That album fucked with my brain, for me it was like someone had recorded the depths of hell and Satan's vomit gags. Because of that, because of the strong emotions it gave me, I put the cassette tape aside for a week because my mind needed time to try to process what I had experienced. Then I listened to it again, and then again... From that time on I have been totally addicted to that music.
I started listening to Morbid Angel, Deicide, Slayer and Sepultura, then I discovered Iron Maiden and later Judas Priest. "Powerslave" was a great album for me. I then got really into Megadeth as well.
L: What are your film influences?
JLH: There are so many horror movies I like, from "The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari" to "It Follows," but the main influences for Deathgasm are movies like "Return Of The Living Dead," "The House," "Braindead," and "Redneck Zombies." Those are the movies I loved the most when I was a teenage metalhead, so I thought it would be perfect if the movie veered into splatter comedy.
I became a splatter fan since I first saw Peter Jackson's "Bad Taste." I was 9 years old and after school I went to a store. On the TV shelf some irresponsible employee had left the VHS of Bad Taste and it was mine. I watched the movie and was entranced by all the gore, mutilation, and vomit. From that moment I was enraptured by it.
L: What are your future plans? Maybe another horror film?
JLH: I just received a small grant from the Writers Guild to write. Deathgasm 2, so there will be a script, at least. I can't reveal too much but I can only say that there are a couple of really interesting projects because I have a trilogy in mind and a comic book series that I am currently working on but we need people to support Deathgasm For this to happen. True Horror and Metal fans need to get out there and watch the movie in theaters, via VOD, buy some merchandise or the DVD, to show that there is demand for this stuff. Otherwise you are condemning us to a world of assured Oscars and more Fantastic Four sequels.
