Hitting VOD in September, and DVD in October, Sledge is filmmaker Kristian Hanson’s homage to the classic horror-comedies of yesteryear – the American Werewolf in London’s, the Scream’s, and the Child ’s Plays. We caught up with Hanson to talk about wearing numerous hats on what’s unarguably a trusty love letter to the horror genre.
Sledge – how did you come up with the name?
The name actually was easy to think of due to the weapon of choice for Adam Lynch is the Sledge Hammer. However, I thought it was too easy so I kept trying to think of something else. I thought of Adam Lynch Lives, Sledge-Hammer etc. Finally I just asked my wife and my Co-Director John Sovie II and they both agreed that SLEDGE should be the title, and that is how we ended up with the title.
Is Adam Lynch based on anybody? Or even inspired by another movie maniac?
Adam Lynch is not based on a real person, but he is a combination of some of my favourite horror slashers that I wanted to combine. The mask is a tip of the cap to Leatherface with the face of his victims sewn together. The humor and joking side is a tip of the cap to Freddy and Chucky who were the first two slashers I ever saw growing up at the age of five and six. Finally the clothes are a lot like Jason to top off the ensemble that is Adam Lynch.
Had you always envisioned yourself in the main role or did it just work out that way?
Since being a little kid I have always loved the horror slashers and wanted to play one in a film. I remember seeing Child’s play when I was five and Freddy when I was six years old. As I got older I got to watch Hellraiser, Friday the 13th, Texas Chainsaw and the Halloween series and knew that if I got the chance I would have to jump at it, and that is what I ended up doing.
Did you hold open auditions for the cast or rope in actors you knew?
Funny enough we did do open auditions but it was in Potsdam, NY. We had a couple people show up but ultimately the only one that worked out was Stephanie Tupper who played Sarah in the film. Dustin Bowman the actor who plays the lead guy found out about Sledge in the local newspaper and showed up on the first day of filming. We joke that he was our godsend because he was spot on perfect for that particular role. When we tried to get other people to audition they said they weren’t interested and ultimately cast John’s friends in the other roles like Nash (Russ Matoes), Shawn (Travis Hanson) and Michelle (Desiree Holmes).
I’m not sure how much money you had to shoot the movie on but I think its low-budget is part of the appeal – so many slasher classics had next to no money and it’s what worked in their favor. Don’t you agree?
I think so because you have to be creative when filming certain scenes. We had a total of $800 to use on camera so we ended up making our own blood, brains etc. Our fake blood on one day consisted of corn syrup, red food dye and cocoa powder, and another day we ran out of cocoa powder and used soy sauce. I still apologize to my wife and to Stephanie Tupper (Sarah) for the soy sauce blood because it had to be horrible. Now do I wish I had more money to do some other effects? Of course I would. But we made due with what we had and overall I believe we have a fun and funny film that people will enjoy.
Have you any ideas for a sequel to Sledge?
The sequel is actually written and ready to go. We were looking to film it this summer but due to my schedule at work we pushed it off for one more year. I actually have most of the cast lined up and I can guarantee the death toll will be higher and the laughs will be even better.
Sledge is on VOD September 2nd and on DVD October 7th on DVD
