Horror movies &stuff Interviews "Blood Red Fear" Director Thomas Ulitzka
We recently chatted with Thomas Ulitzka, Writer and Director of the upcoming Taiwanese horror film "Blood Red Fear". In the movie...the population of Taiwan is wiped out by a virus leaving only two survivors left. But soon the pressure of the situation begins to get to one of them, causing them to slowly move into a mental state of madness. In this interview, Ulitzka who's of German descent, talks about the movie, why he prefers to shoot films outside of Germany, and the market, or lack thereof -- for Taiwanese movies in general.
MR. H:Not many horror films come out of Taiwan, most come from Japan, or China, or Korea. Is "Blood Red Fear" your attempt to get Taiwanese horror on the map?
Thomas:Being that I am German, I can only speak for myself. For me the main problem was always that in Germany the limitations in stories are way too big. A German project Blood Red Fear would have never been possible. So I don't see much reason to become a director there. For Taiwan, Taiwanese people usually would rather shoot themselves than watch a Taiwanese movie. The state subsidies the movie production as a countermeasure, but it is very difficult to
create any interest. Even for soap opera, most stuff gets imported from Korea or Japan. However the advantage of the situation is, that in Taiwan because of this I can have a very high level of creative freedom. You can say the whole thing was a trade off for me.
MR. H:Describe to the folks the basic premise of "Blood Red Fear."
Thomas:Taiwan got struck by a terrible disaster, which killed the whole population of the island. There are only two survivors left, walking the streets alone. One of them wants to make the best of the situation. But the other one cannot withstand the pressure anymore, and slowly moves into madness. I really don't want to reveal too much. The story enfolds slowly as you watch.
MR. H:Let's talk about the characters in the film. Give us some background on them, their personalities, and how they play into the overall scheme of things.
Thomas:Ace was a singer in a rock band before Taiwan got struck by the disaster. So her personality is very outgoing and she loves to stay in the focus. Yvonne however is the whole opposite. More shy
and doesn't like to talk much. For how they are connected, see the movie.
MR. H:Is "Blood Red Fear" your directorial debut, or have you worked on other projects before this one?
Thomas:No, Blood Red Fear is my directorial debut.
MR. H:What made you choose this particular project at this particular time, and were you also involved in writing the movie as well?
Thomas:I wrote the whole script by myself. The main focus for me is always interesting characters in interesting situations. Also I could include some personal experience of me and other people I know. That made the idea behind Blood Red Fear especially attractive for me. Also for e.g. I got inspiration for the opening scene from an accident I had at Chiang Kai Shek airport four years ago.
MR. H:What do you think sets "Blood Red Fear" apart from other asian horror films such as "Ringu", "The Grudge", etc.?
Thomas:No ghosts and no supernatural. Blood Red Fear got nothing to do with Ringu or The Grudge.
MR. H:Who are some of your favorite directors currently in the asian horror genre?
Thomas:Difficult question. My main interest in asian movies goes more for old samurai movies like Sleepy Eyes of Death (Nemuri Kyoshiro) or Kiru. And my favorite director is Kenji Misumi.
MR. H:Will "Blood Red Fear" hit cinemas in Taiwan first, like most foreign horror films that get an initial theatrical release in their respective territories?
Thomas:As I mentioned earlier Taiwanese people do not watch Taiwanese movies. For e.g. last year there was a rather big budget horror production done in Taiwan. But it wasn't really successful in terms of box office. So if you own a cinema in Taiwan you earn much more money showing Hollywood movies. On the other hand in the United States there is a certain interest in asian movies. That's why it is
better to concentrate on the U.S. market first. If we can get a small scale Taiwan deal for DVD after this, than everyone involved can be quite happy. I think it is better to try small steps and not
wanting too much too soon.
MR. H:When can we here in the U.S. expect to see "Blood Red Fear", and what distributors have you talked with so far about a stateside release?
Thomas:Worldwide distributions goes through Seikei Publication Ltd.(Japan). However there is no real framework for a Taiwanese horror movie in the U.S. So we will enter the U.S. market on a very
small scale first and than try to expand. Also since Blood Red Fear is not the typical ghost/zombie/vampire/slasher movie it is necessary to control the marketing.
MR. H:Have you given any thought to a sequel to "Blood Red Fear"?
Thomas:I've got some ideas left, which I couldn't use for Blood Red Fear because of different reasons. But I don't want to repeat myself and the story of Blood Red Fear does not have much room for a
sequel anyway. So a sequel would be very difficult.
MR. H:Give us some background on the actors that appear in the movie.
Thomas:20 year old Liaw Yan-tin who plays Yvonne is an upcoming local talent. She did win many prices for he theater work. In the future we might see more of her. 18 year old Yul, Chen-su who plays
Ace is a Taiwanese model.
MR. H:Is "Blood Red Fear" more of a visual horror film that relies on alot of blood, and disturbing images to terrify the viewer, or is it more psychological? Or is it a healthy dose of both?
Thomas:Blood Red Fear is more psychological. I think more disturbing are the things you can only hear but cannot see.
MR. H:What typical horror film cliches if any, did you try to avoid implementing into your movie during the filming of "Blood Red Fear"?
Thomas:No guy chasing girls with a knife! No zombies, no blood drinking vampires! Also the style of Blood Red Fear is rather slow.
MR. H:Do you have any other horror projects lined up in the near future?
Thomas:It is not always very funny to write such dark material as Blood Red Fear, but yes, I have another horror project lined up in the near future. But that one is totally hardcore. I will see if this one is possible in Taiwan.
MR. H:What scares most foreign audiences is far different from what scares most american audiences. In fact most mainstream american moviegoers couldn't even handle the average asian horror film on the level of sheer terror that they play on. Being that most foreign directors want their film to reach U.S. shores in some capacity, did you take any of this into account during the making of "Blood Red Fear" as far as watering down or rewriting certain key "scare scenes", or did you just go all out and throw caution to the
wind?
Thomas:I did just go all out and throw caution to the wind. That is the only way to do it, in my opinion.
MR. H:The majority of american horror audiences, or horror film fans have been grossly disappointed by most asian horror remakes due to the real terror that the originals bring, being replaced by cheap-done-before scares in the redo's. Do you think "Blood Red Fear" will achieve enough buzz and status to pique the interest of an american
studio in remaking it, and if so...how do you plan on handling that scenario so that the remake is up to your standards?
Thomas:Because of the high costs in the U.S., studios there are under much pressure to re-earn the budget as soon as possible. So they might not be in a position to take risks and try out different things. That is the great thing about Taiwan since it is possible to try out some experiments there. But for the U.S. I think it also depends with whom you are working. So need to be very careful in choosing the right partner there. For Blood Red Fear, since we come from a very low level concerning the popularity of Taiwanese
movies it is necessary to concentrate on creating the basic buzz first.
End.
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