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!
Just one month until you can see this handsome devil in action in UK cinemas…
This pic appeared in the new issue of Empire magazine and it’s the first clear look at the malevolent redcaps who cause so much chaos in the story. The original designs for the redcaps came from the wonderful concept artist Paul Catling, and they were brought to life by the genius of Shaune Harrison’s prosthetics, Paddy Eason’s VFX, and second unit director (and redcap wrangler) Rick Warden.
This is how this redcap is described in the original script…
A BIG NOSED REDCAP - two foot tall and standing on skinny legs with an oversized, misshapen head.
Its eyes are milky-white and skin is like burned bacon. Tufts of hair sprout from odd places and its jaw juts out revealing razor sharp rows of teeth. It wears a tanned skin cloak stained dark red and a dagger on a belt.
Film is a collaborative medium, so there are plenty of others who helped bring this critter to life. Do check out their names on IMDb here. It never fails to amaze me just how much work goes into making movies, and the best way to see their incredible work is on a big screen so I really hope you can make it to the movies on January 27th! (I think we’re out in the US in March… not sure about the rest of the world yet, but I’ll bang the drum here when I know more).
There’s more info on the Warner Bros UK website, and here’s the trailer…
Mark Stay Writes 