An Interview with Indie Horror Filmmaker P.J. Starks: Part 2 – Upcoming Films, Working With Genre Icons, and Supporting Independent Cinema

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Creepy Catalog: Your newest movie as a producer is a short film titled Half-O-Ween. What’s the short about?

P.J. Starks: The film brings the audience into the aftermath of an emotionally charged breakup. This couple ends up finding themselves stuck inside their apartment after their intrusive landlords make an unwelcomed house call. All the while an escaped lunatic is stalking the streets. It’s a sort of “anything goes” dark comedy slasher. Stephen Wolfe, the director, has likened it to Ghost World meets Halloween.

CC: How did you get involved with the project?

P.J.: I’ve known Stephen for years now. We worked together on Dracula’s Coffin and while I wasn’t officially attached to 10/31 Part 2, that he directed a sequence for, I edited the initial trailer for the film. In November of last year Stephen reached out to me asking if I’d be interested in producing a project they were working on that was a mix of A24 and Terrifier. I read the script and overall enjoyed it. I did have some notes, but I liked where he and his producing partner Tim Robinson were going with the concept. The antagonist is vicious, unforgettable, and oozes menace. I’ve seen the mockup of the killer and its pure nightmare fuel. It’s going to be a fun, irreverent slasher.

CC: Is it too early to ask about a timeline for when we’ll be able to watch it?

P.J.: As of right now, yes. It’s filming in Los Angeles this summer which means there’s still time for anyone who might be interested in getting on board at the ground level. Just contact hawthornehousefilm@gmail.com for a pitch deck to see how you can be part of the fun.

CC: You’re also producing The Barn Part III with your Blood Moon Pictures partner Eric Huskisson. What drew you to joining the team as producers for the final installment of The Barn trilogy?

P.J.: When Justin (Seaman) asked me to come on board the film as a producer, I thought it was the right occasion for Eric to get his hands bloody. I talked with Eric about also joining and we made this a Blood Moon Pictures joint venture, which Justin was down for. I’m a fan of the previous two installments. I even had a cameo in The Barn Part II where I worked directly with Diana Prince aka Darcy the Mail Girl, which was a unique and unforgettable opportunity. Part 3 also gave Eric and myself an excuse to get on set. Which was cool because we hadn’t seen a lot of Justin’s crew since we filmed our cameo for Cryptids.

In September of ’24 Eric and I traveled to Pennsylvania to help for around eight days. I know people’s idea of a producer is standing around doing nothing. Sometimes that’s true, but no job is beneath me, therefore, when we were filming, I helped haul equipment, even set up and broke down craft services for a few days. Much of the time I worked directly with Justin as an additional set of eyes looking for continuity errors, etc. We had just missed Kelli Maroney (Chopping Mall) but were there during most of the filming of Courtney Gains’ (The Burbs) scenes. Courtney was cool. I’d previously met Courtney at a convention. We eventually connected on social media so during pre-production Justin came to me asking if I knew of any name actors that might be interested in the TB3. Courtney immediately came to mind. I got them connected and the rest is history.

I have so many stories from the set it would take another interview to tell them all. I will tell you that during one scene where a couple of the main characters are trying to escape a barn, I was lying on the ground outside the door using my legs to keep it closed. Tristan, who plays Kyle in the film, kicked the door and shattered a piece of wood directly above me which, of course, fell and slammed me right in the nuts. One might say I went balls deep for The Barn Part III.

CC: It looks like The Barn Part III might be the biggest and most ambitious project you’ve been involved with. Would you agree with that?

P.J.: Of films I’ve produced outside of my own, yes. There are some very big ethereal set pieces with a lot of monster action. Which is not something I’ve done in my own productions. In New Fears Eve I organized some very large aftermath sequences that involved law enforcement and emergency vehicles. Of course, there were a lot of complicated chase scenes across busy streets, through back alleys and office buildings. There’s a massive kill room sequence with many moving parts. We had a big ER scene that was highly complex from presentation, to props and costuming. Then there were the over forty elaborate kills which were deeply multifaceted in execution. But it’s a slasher with a single masker killer.

The Barn Part III is a completely different beast altogether. It’s very special effects heavy with a lot of animatronic splatter effects. These are all being handled by the wildly skilled Cody Ruch. He built the updated creature suits for The Boogeyman, Hallowed Jack and the Candycorn Scarecrow which are incredible. They’re intricate in the best ways, based off illustrations done by filmmaker Matt Cloude (Coffintooth). Justin had us running around in corn fields at all hours of the night, through the hallways of a high school, and ransacking a creepy old barn. Eric and I were lucky to be there through a large stretch of the on-location filming that included both key cast and creatures. Unfortunately, we missed out on several of the studio-based filming that included a hellscape and several days of gore-drenched carnival chaos.

CC: Any chance we’ll see a return of Dr. Dingle Gary? There has to be a way!

P.J.: Spoiler alert, but let’s just say my character didn’t exactly walk away from this one. [laughs] That tends to happen when a Cock Goblin chews your wiener in half. [still laughing] Maybe my penis had a twin? I don’t know. Anything is possible when you suspend your disbelief. Without saying too much, just keep your eyes peeled in Part 3 because there’s a good chance you’ll spot a couple familiar faces.

CC: You’re also involved with producing the slasher The Last Sleepover. It looks super fun. Can you tell us a little about the story?

P.J.: It’s about a group of former high school friends who reunite for their 20-year class reunion, but a dark secret from their past resurfaces when a masked killer begins picking them off one by one, seeking revenge for a tragic prank they once played.

It’s a fun script that really harkens back to ’90s classic cut-’em-up flicks in the vein of I Know What You Did Last Summer or Urban Legend. That was what drew me to coming on board. Plus, director Gregory Brock and his co-writer Austin Rutherford are the kind of filmmakers I like to collaborate with. They can take constructive criticism and are open to ideas. It’s been a good experience with them. The other bonus is I get to work with my buddy Jason Crowe who’s just as solid behind the camera as he is on screen. It’s crazy to think I’ve known Jason for almost twenty years now. Greg has sent me some dailies that look so good. He also sent me several clips with some digital effects done by Jacob Ennis, and they were gorgeous! It’s going to be a fun project, and I’m looking forward to being on set at the end of May.

CC: Felissa Rose and Lisa Wilcox are in The Last Sleepover. As a producer and director, you’ve worked with lots of horror icons. As a fan, does it ever become surreal working with legends of the genre? Have you ever had a “fan moment” on set, or do you keep it strictly professional?

P.J.: When you’re at an event it’s always surreal to stand there next to someone who’s a celebrity. Someone you grew up watching or admiring. But when you get on set where the circumstances are more intimate it becomes something else entirely. I’ve worked with Jeffrey Reddick, Dee Wallace, Sadie Katz, Joe Bob Briggs, Dave Sheridan, Hannah Fierman, the late Moses Moseley as well as those I’ve already mentioned. It never gets old and it’s almost always unreal, but you have to play it cool. You have to remember they’re normal people, they just have a weird job. I like to remind myself actors are just like the rest of us where they trusted a fart they shouldn’t have and had to change their underwear. Sometimes that helps and sometimes it doesn’t.

When I’m on set I try to keep it as professional as possible. If you treat someone with respect and are friendly, then things are almost always laid back on set. I had dinner with Joe Bob the night before we filmed. By the time he and I got to set everything was relaxed. Diana is a true horror fan so when we made it to set, we’d already been shooting the shit for an hour. At one point her and I ended up lying on a crash mat together and continued our conversation. I can remember laying there thinking, “I can’t believe I’m lying on a dirty mattress with Diana Prince just hanging out”. [laughs]

Jeffrey has become a good friend of mine. We talk on the phone regularly. And Felissa, well she treats everyone like a friend, but she told me I better be on set for The Last Sleepover, so I think we’re a little closer than just strangers at a festival. Lisa Wilcox, I’ve never met but I’m excited to get on set with her. I get comfortable quickly with others so knowing my luck, she’ll be the first celebrity to punch me in the mouth for an inappropriate joke. Especially now that I’ve given advice on how to conduct yourself on set. [laughs]

CC: How different is working with veteran actors like Felissa Rose versus up-and-coming actors and filmmakers who might be working on their first movie?

Across the board, not every actor is the same whether they’re a seasoned veteran or brand new. Some take direction well. Others, not so much. Some actors want you to be more involved with their performance while others want you to step back and let them do their thing.

With actors like Felissa, they come fully prepared and don’t allow nerves to get in the way. That’s not to say they don’t get nervous, but I don’t think they get in their heads as much as a newer actor does. Felissa also has a better idea as to the process of filmmaking, so she or another actor at her level has a better idea of what’s happening and can fall much easier into the workflow. Now I’ve seen seasoned actors struggle a little during a scene. I’ve witnessed up and coming actors knock a performance out of the park in a single take. It all comes down to who is directing and their willingness to respect boundaries, circumstances on set, and set atmosphere. Those elements can make or break a production day.

Now with filmmakers I can see a noticeable difference between one who has been doing this a while versus one who just started. The more seasoned filmmakers tend to be a bit more jaded, more focused, more organized, and more often know exactly what they want or need to accomplish.

CC: Speaking of up-and-coming filmmakers, I saw that more than a decade ago you helped create an indie film program called Unscripted Film School. How important is it to you to help give back to your community, and to support the continued development of independent film?

P.J.: Dude, you are extensive. [laughs] To me it’s very important. At one time I was that aspiring filmmaker who was waiting for the chance to work on a set. I got tired of waiting and took the initiative. I started doing my own thing. Networking and finding people who could help me make my films. Likeminded artists who were just as thirsty to create as I was. Once I’d proven myself and was creating a stronger local foundation for independent filmmaking, I realized there were no legit venues to screen my work. This led me to start The River City Festival of Films, which ran for three years. An all-genre film festival here in Owensboro.

By extension I pitched the idea for Unscripted to the Daviess County Public Library in 2013. This gave other local and regional filmmakers a location to publicly screen their works. This event took off and became The Unscripted Film School which then led me to conceiving Volumes of Blood, which was technically the second Film School. For me those events and programs may have begun as self-serving but inevitably became about unlocking paths for those with a creative desire to take part in something that will give them the motivation to pursue their dreams. Someone had to do it, and it just happened to be me because I got tired of waiting.

Back in the early 2010s, there was me and maybe one other person trying to make serious films and there were zero programs or institutions. Now, nearly fifteen years later, there’s a plethora of local filmmakers in Owensboro all trying to create that lightning in a bottle scenario and multiple professional businesses that cater to those with a creative spirit. The landscape in Owensboro has changed dramatically. I can’t say how instrumental myself or Eric have been with inspiring such change, but there is a noticeable difference for sure since I started doing this seriously back in ’08.

CC: What other projects do you have coming up that you can tell us about?

P.J.: The Boy from Below, Tory Jones’ latest slasher outing, is in post-production. It stars Spooky Madison who’s been making some waves in the indie horror community as an actor and recently a filmmaker. It also features Leah Voysey from the Terrifier franchise as well as Dee Wallace, Felissa Rose, who I just can’t get away from [laughs], and Tommy Lee Wallace who directed Halloween III: Season of the Witch, one my favorite entries in the Halloween series. I was able to hang out on set when Dee was there. She’s a true legend. I grew up watching her in E.T., Critters, Cujo, The Howling, The Hills Have Eyes, Alligator II, and The Frighteners—so getting to stand there and watch her perform in person was pure magic.

I was an associate producer on Jacob Ennis’ The Art of Killing, also in post-production, which you should keep an eye out for. I executive produced Ricky Glore’s horror musical comedy Sweet Meats, that is currently on tour through Troma. There are a few other projects coming down the pike that’ll I’ll be talking about soon. Hopefully one of them will be a sequel to New Fears Eve.

CC: What’s the best way for readers to keep up with you and your work?

P.J.: I’m a self-proclaimed media whore which is good and bad. Good because you can always keep up with projects I’m part of, but bad because it apparently gives people the impression that I’m some rich J.J. Abrams type. I’m accessible on Facebook so connecting with me there is a good way to go. If you go to www.bloodmoonpictures.com you can keep track of New Fears Eve and our various other projects. Blood Moon Pictures is also on Instagram and Twitter. If you Google my name and click the ‘News’ option, it almost always presents something.

CC: One last thing. I know crowdfunding is a super important part of the process for many indie films. What campaigns do you have going on right now that fans can look at?