Save the date! 27th April, 2023, 8pm BST we’ll have special livestream episode of the Bestseller Experiment on youtube where Mr D will be grilling me on the making of the film UNWELCOME! I’ll answer listener questions about the making of the film, and especially *that* ending! Warning: there will be spoilers, so if you haven’t seen Unwelcome already, then rent/buy it now and join us for a fun hour of mayhem and redcaps. It’s all on Youtube, so click on the link below for more info…
Tag: Unwelcome
Getting Confessional with Nadine Matheson
There’s something about chatting with bestselling thriller author and podcaster Nadine Matheson that made me all confessional! We talk about all sorts, including being made redundant, dealing with Amazon, being skint, being old and going for job interviews, why I insisted on getting a proper lunch break and much, much more! This is one of my favourite new podcasts, and I was honoured to be a guest. It’s available on all the usual podcast providers, or you can click on the link below…
UNWELCOME available to rent in the UK
UNWELCOME is available to rent on digital in the UK today! A mere £4.99 for a slice of Redcap mayhem. Just pop along to Apple, Amazon, Sky or wherever you rent your digital movie! No blood sacrifice necessary… unless you *really* want to…
It should be popping up to rent across the world in other territories this week. Tomorrow is the USA and I think from Thursday we’re on Paramount+ in Australia!
UNWELCOME is released in the USA this week…
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!
Mark Edwards on the Bestseller Experiment podcast
Anyone here remember Twinterviews? Or text-based book launches on Facebook? Mark Edwards does! He was pioneering online book launches long before Zoom and Streamyard, and in doing do he’s got an amazing connection with his readers and has sustained a career writing standalone thrillers and sold over 4 million copies of his books. He’s also a delightful bloke and it was a real treat to catch up with him again…
UNWELCOME available to buy on digital in the UK
UNWELCOME is now available to buy on digital in the UK on the usual platforms, including Apple and Amazon.
Here’s the quick synopsis…
Londoners Maya and Jamie (played by Hannah John-Kamen and Douglas Booth) escape their urban nightmare by moving to the tranquility of rural Ireland – only to discover malevolent, murderous goblins lurking in the gnarled, ancient wood at the foot of their new garden. Additional cast includes Golden Globe nominee Colm Meaney, Jamie-Lee O’Donnell (DERRY GIRLS), Chris Walley (YOUNG OFFENDERS), and Kristian Nairn (GAME OF THRONES).
And here’s the trailer…
Redcaps versus Witches… Who would Win?
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…
UNWELCOME is out TODAY!
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!
The UNWELCOME publicity bandwagon gets rolling…
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
UNWELCOME is on the cover of FILM STORIES magazine!
Blimey!! Unwelcome is on the cover of the new Film Stories mag! And there’s a five-page feature on how we made it. Grab your copy here, or just treat yourself and subscribe to one of the best films mags there is!
This is a particular treat for me, as I’ve listened to the Film Stories podcast and subscribed to the magazine since it began, and its editor and founder Simon Brew is simply one of the nicest men you’ll ever meet. So do please support one of the great film independent film magazines if you can!
Mark Stay Writes 