Pulp Features

For those of you who haven’t seen Nightwalkers, a low-budget Supernatural Horror Thriller from Gallows Hill Productions, it’s a classic tale about a town cursed with “strange happenings”. Pumpkin Hollow is home to all kinds of horrific evil, like witches and vengeful and creepy Scarecrows. I am personally afraid of scarecrows, perhaps because they keep going about killing people out of revenge. And it makes a great film as well. In fact, it’s spawning a series, as Nightwalkers 2 is already in production.

Gallows Hill Productions owner Dana Carney is just a Horror Fanatic. It’s no wonder Gallows Hill is having such success after their first film. He’s got some great people in his corner, like his ultra-supportive wife Georgia (what other wife indulges her husband in his horror film making?); his producer Tom Harris (who’s always reaching in his wallet and really making these films “Happen”); Ronny Macomber the young Lion who does lights & sound (he’s a worker); Scream Queen, Brinke Stevens who he owes everything to (she really got this ball rolling); Sean O’Bannon his Main Man (he’s going to blow everyone away with his acting); and Scream Queen, Felissa Rose (the Sweetest Person, she has been behind his project from day one).

From about 12 years old Dana dreamed of being in or making horror films. And how does he feel about living that dream? Let’s find out, shall we?

Heidi: Gallows Hill Productions has so far tackled horror films. What is it about horror filmmaking that you enjoy, and what horror films have inspired you to go into horror film making? Is horror filmmaking more difficult because it has such a devoted and particular audience?

Dana: I don’t see myself doing anything but horror. To me it was always horror films. I was lucky because where I grew up, they had a theatre that played double horror bills. I spent most of my childhood there.

There were two films that really did it for me. The first was Night of the Living Dead. I don’t remember what the second film was… as I was running home to tell everyone about this movie. It really awakened something in me.

That didn’t happen again till I was 13 years old and saw Halloween 1978 on the big screen that was all it took. Right then and there I knew I wanted to make horror films.

I don’t find Horror Films more difficult to make as I feel most true horror fans are forgiving if they see you put forth an honest effort. I’ve had the pleasure to meet a lot of these fans at various conventions. They are the greatest…

Heidi: Night of the Living Dead seems to be an inspiration to indie horror filmmakers everywhere. Russ Streiner, John Russo, and George Romero created one of the first low buget gore films ever, and had monumental success. Eli Roth, Greg Parker, and Jason Griscom, all indie horror directors, have cited it as an influence on their films. What is it about this film that inspires you?

Dana: I think NOTLD inspires all indie filmmakers. It got the ball rolling and let the dreamers like myself start thinking, ‘I need to do this’. NOTLD shows the true spirit of people coming together under hard conditions to beat the odds. I truly love this film.

Heidi: Horror Fans are more forgiving if you put forth an honest effort. What elements, in your opinion, does a horror film have to have in order to be a “good effort?”

Dana: A good effort to me is… not taking shortcuts. Give the fans some good makeup, storyline and a jolt or two every 5 to 10 minutes. True horror to me is being trapped with your back to a wall and the Monster is getting closer. You have to make a stand and quick. That’s true horror.

Heidi: The Film, Nightwalkers is a series of tales all set in the same town of Pumpkin Hollow. Sort of in the vein of Creepshow, Tales From the Crypt, Tales From the Darkside, and other films influenced by pulp horror comics. I haven’t seen a film in a long that embodied all of the gore and joy of the old horror comics.

Dana: Oh sure, I read all of the Vault of Horror and Tales From the Crypt comics as a kid. I get a lot of Ideas to build off of from these great stories. Today I still own every Issue of Fangoria magazine. I have always loved the anthology films such as Asylum and ,em>Creepshow. There is a running theme in Nightwalkers that this town has always had strange things happening in it.

Heidi: Is it Cursed? Will part 2 take place in the same town? What can you tell, without giving too much away, about this town’s “history”?

Dana: Yes there will be some more soul collecting in Pumpkin Hollow for Nightwalkers 2. In the Night Caller segment we have a former resident who made a deal with Satan for eternal life. Now he must kill six townsfolk a year for three years and leave Satan’s mark. There has always been a breeding ground for evil in Pumpkin Hollow, kind of like a magnet to steel. But no one wants to get involved.

Heidi: Gallows Hill Productions likes to use sexy scream queens Felissa Rose and Brinke Stevens in their films. Having such big indie cult idols in their films makes them all the more appealing and fun to watch. I wanted to know what Dana’s opinion of the girls’ addition to the films was (like I had to ask).

Dana: I think the best thing of all about doing these films was meeting one of my childhood hero; Brinke Stevens.

I got in touch with her and we talked about Nightwalkers. She was so supportive and knew we were just getting started. When she agreed to do the part, it was a day I won’t ever forget. Brinke has become good friends with my wife Georgia and I. She is without a doubt one of the most thoughtful and down-to-earth people you could ever meet. I have never seen anyone care for there fans like this woman.

Brinke will be back in Nightwalkers 2 in a big role as a witch with revenge on her mind. Felissa Rose will play Brinke’s daughter. Again another sweet person. Felissa is busy working on a bunch of films as we speak. She is a true professional.

One of the actors I’m totally excited about is Sean O’Bannon. Man he is crazy!!! A total method actor, who throws himself into a role. He plays a insane redneck killer in the film.

We also have great actors Jeff Dylan Graham (Cremains, Dead and Rotting) and Joe Estevez (Hell Asylum).

I feel Nightwalkers 2 will be a sequel that tops the original by far. Nightwalkers 2 is already in another class than the first film. The first Nightwalkers was kind of an experiment to see if it could get done. I learned a lot from that film and won’t be making some of those mistakes again. This time out I’ve had pre-production time to cast, add crewmembers get locations props etc. I have one of the greatest locations because of a lady by the name of Lore Callahan. We will be filming at her Haunted House attraction Hobbs Grove in Sanger, CA. It was also featured in the film Darkwalker. I feel the actors I have involved on this one will make a huge difference. It still takes place in Pumpkin Hollow and has a few things carry over from the first. It’s not a sequel, per say, but a whole new adventure in evil. The stories here are stronger.

Heidi: Sounds like the films keep getting better and better as the storyline expands, the experience goes up, and the budget grows. Many people start off in indie horror with hopes of reaching loftier goals in filmmaking. If Gallows Hill experiences a chance to go mainstream, will they?

Dana: I would like to stay at the indie level. There are so many talented indie filmmakers out there now; Mike Conway, Chris Morgan and James Rogers (who is really working hard on his second film Project Aurora). I’ve seen these guys’ films and they show me indie is where it’s at. It’s all about passion and hard work. Making it happen on your own and putting it up there for people to see. People who will never know the behind-the-scenes lifeblood spilled. That’s how I like it, having the control.

Although “selling your soul” in order to go mainstream may sound pretentious and radically unfair, I can’t help but feel that independent horror always turns out so much more fun that mainstream horror. And one tends to forgive flaws way more easily than in big-time releases…

Heidi: I am one of the biggest supporters and adorers of indie horror that there is. It’s refreshing and exciting to hear you say you’d like to stay indie. Having the control, artistically, truly makes your project your full creation. What elements of control do mainstream horror filmmakers lose? (I know I think they lose all ability to be creative and funny. But that’s just me.)

Dana: I feel huge budget Horror loses a lot of the original vision, because there are too many people wanting different things. I think Rob Zombie made the film he set out to make with House of a 1,000 Corpses. Like it, or hate it, I feel he stuck to his guns and didn’t let anyone tell him what to do. You are at the mercy of studio heads that probably think horror is a joke. They just want to make a quick buck.

Indie Filmmakers are trying to please the “Horror Hounds”; most of the time they barely break even.

I absolutely thought that House of 1000 Corpses had two good scenes in it! Absolutely, at least one or two good, really good, scenes. I liked it better when I saw it the first time, though, in 1974. When it was called Texas Chainsaw Massacre…

Heidi: There is a big controversy between mainstream and indie horror. It seems that everyone wants the control of their film, yet budget limitations hold them back.

Dana: There is a doubled edged sword here… I would love to work with a bigger budget sure, but I feel that pulling off a film on a small budget shows the commitment and hard work of all involved. I see so much waste in big Hollywood horror films. There is a happy medium: if you get some money great!!! Put it into your film…if you don’t have the money that’s ok too. Put your heart and soul into the film. Just make it happen

Heidi: What types of special effects were used in Nightwalkers and will be used in part 2? I want to know about the gore. You got to do so much of the FX on Nightwalkers… how does it feel to be doing the kind of thing that made Tom Savini, and Rick Baker wizards in the horror world? Will you be doing as much of it on part two?

Dana: I did the Majority of the F/X work on Nightwalkers with latex and Props. There was some stuff done by David Pirkle and James Rogers who did some of the zombie work (faces) and an awesome baby sculpture. He is a true talent. In part two, I will still be tackling some of the F/X work, but will have LA’S Al Cortez and Kris Pakowski doing most of the work. I also have Erich Lubatti casting actor James Townsend’s head for a beheading. Erich made the Night Caller mask in the second segment of the film. I will always have my Claws into the F/X. I love it too much. The gore level in these films is there but not over done. I don’t sit on a gore shot or toss tons of blood on a wall. It’s not that kind of film. Like in Creepshow, the gore is there to shock.

And how we all love a good indie horror shocking!

Heidi: Tell us about the future of Gallows Hill. Where do you want to be in 10 years? And what types of films do you hope to be making?

Dana: I feel we are getting better every time out. We have made some great friends in the Industry. I have met with some great talents who I am blown away by. Will we be around in ten years??? I would like to think so; I will probably be passing it on to the younger guys like Ronny Macomber and my Son Brandon.

Heidi: I want to know what the filmmaker’s favorite scene is. It’s always interesting to know what the best part is for them… Mine is usually the sex scene, or if there isn’t any, then the gore scene.

Dana: My Favorite scene from Nightwalkers is after these punks brutally slaughter an innocent family. One of them gets his head crushed open by an avenging Scarecrow.

Ah. Sounds intriguingly gory…

Heidi: What is your favorite horror movie? You mentioned Halloween and Night of the Living Dead as movies that inspire you, but when you sit down and watch a horror flick, what do you like to watch?

Dana: I love them all. I got around 200 horror DVDs, lots of indies and low budget ones. I’m a sucker for anything with “Zombie” or “Living Dead” in the title.

For all of you true die-hard horror fans reading this, want to hear some real Fan Love?

Dana: I thank God daily for these people and the horror fans out there. Thank you to all those who have Purchased Nightwalkers. And for those who have not, Get it now!!!! Or the Scarecrow is going to get ya!!!!!!!!

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