American friends, UNWELCOME will be in selected cinemas from this Wednesday 8th March! To find if it’s showing near you simply click here, then on the BUY TICKETS button, and a list of cinemas and showtimes will pop up!
I had a great fun answering the questions in an interview with the good folk over at Gingernuts of Horror, where — among other things — I reveal who would win in a fight between the Redcaps of Unwelcome and the Witches of Woodville. Click here for the full interview…
Finally that film what I wrote is unleashed upon an unsuspecting public! UNWELCOME is in UK cinemas today (it’s coming to the USA March 10, and the rest of the world soon after). Does this mean I’ll stop spaffing on about it? Nope. Once again for those at the back, here’s the trailer…
The question I get asked the most is, “Are you going to see it?” To which the only reply is, “No bloody way.” I had my dream screening at the Sitges Film Festival, and with all due respect to the good folk munching popcorn, slurping on vats of coke, and checking social media during the screenings at my local megaplex, it just won’t be the same. Plus, I’m a big chicken. And I really want to see The Fabelmans.
I also get asked, “Is it on near where I live?”, like I go around with a list of screenings in my head (I can barely remember what day of the week it is). It’s on 300 screens in the UK/Eire this week, and my podcast colleague Mr Desvaux reassures me that clicking on this link will give you the local screening times/places… Though when my dad tried it, he got listings in Singapore, so I’m now worried that he’s probably been hacked.
If you want to know more about the making of the film, there’s a Bestseller Experiment Deep Dive with me and director Jon Wright. We recorded this back in the summer of 2021, when we were doing what they call EPK (Electronic Press Kit) interviews and had all the cameras and mics handy…
And Jon is also on a special episode of the Film Stories podcast talking about the film and his career…
My thanks to those who were lucky enough to go to the previews on Tuesday and said kind things. I’m keeping track of of the various bits of press and publicity and have bundled them all here on a special UNWELCOME page, which I’m currently updating on a daily basis!
UNWELCOME had special previews at Cineworld and Odeon cinemas last night and already people are buzzing about it. I understand that Twitter is not the real world and Mr Musk is doing his best to turn it into a digital hellscape, but it was great to see so much love for UNWELCOME last night. Here’s a sample of my favourite comments…
Also, I was delighted to be on the Dominic King show on BBC Radio Kent last night. I’m on the show twice talking about UNWELCOME: at 42:18 and there’s an extended version at 2:38:04… Here’s a listen back link.
And we had a great first review from Ellen E Jones at The Guardian…
This is Straw Dogs by way of Fraggle Rock, essentially; but the script by Wright and Mark Stay weaves in enough anxieties, both contemporary and primal, to sustain suspense even amid the silliness. It adds up to an enjoyably unpretentious Irish-ish folk horror. And not a shamrock in sight.
Ellen E Jones, The Guardian
I love this new poster art for UNWELCOME! The film is out on 27th January in the UK and 17th March in the USA (not sure elsewhere, so please check local listings!). There are more details here.
And here’s the trailer if you haven’t seen it already…
Unwelcome, the film I wrote with director Jon Wright, premiered at the Sitges Film Festival last weekend and I’m still buzzing from the experience. Here’s the trailer if you haven’t seen it already…
The Sitges Film Festival has been around since 1967 and is one of the best horror/fantasy film festivals in the world, so it was a genuine privilege to show our film there last weekend. This year’s festival was the first full-blooded version of the festival since lockdowns ended and they sold over 70,000 tickets this year for 350 screenings over ten days. It’s one hell of an event, with a reputation for incredible audiences who start cheering once the production logos start at the beginning of the movie (except Netflix, apparently… their logo gets booed!).
Five of us travelled to Sitges: myself, director Jon Wright, editor Zsófia Tálas, director of photography Hamish Done-Ditmas, and VFX Supervisor Paddy Eason. We were excited/tense/nervous (delete as applicable) because this was the first time the film was going to be seen by real people. I was whisked straight from Barcelona airport to the midnight screening on the Friday night. This was in the smaller pop-up cinema with 3-400 people. Jon and I said a few words, sat to one side, and waited as the lights went down…
The Sitges audience did not disappoint. They cheered and whooped and applauded. It was simply mind-blowing and such an incredible relief. The film wrapped almost two years ago and its release has been waiting out Covid, Omicron, the collapse of Western Civilisation’s economy etc… So I had no idea if was actually any good. Would it play for an audience? Thank you, Sitges for showing us that all our hard work was not in vain.
On the Saturday morning, Jon and I did interviews for radio and press (it’s testament to Jon’s generosity that he asked me along to these… not every screenwriter gets this treatment!). All the interviewers had seen the film the night before, and loved it and asked really insightful questions. I did feel sorry for our translators (Elena Martínez for the first presentation and the press, and Aina Girbau for the premiere) who had to make sense of my often rambling answers.
Saturday afternoon meant the big premiere in the main 1400-seater theatre. It was sold out, packed to the rafters. We walked out on stage and said a few words and it was like a dream. As the opening credits rolled and the wonderful Sitges audience cheered and clapped I was finally able to relax and wallow in a little moment of bliss (I’ve struggled to enjoy these big moments in the past). The end of the film got another terrific reception, and as we got up to leave we found people still standing and applauding us. It was a bit of an out of body experience.
On the Sunday, I wandered around Sitges. A beautiful town with beautiful people. We’re all fired up and want to return with another another movie as soon as possible. Gracias, Sitges, hasta pronto!
All photos by Miguel Anxo, courtesy of Sitges Film Festival.
That film wot I wrote now has a trailer!
Trigger warning: there’s something truly horrific at 1:02…
And here’s the poster…
Feels great to finally get this out there! Would love to know what you think!
Mark Stay Writes 