Interview: James Cullen Bressack (Psykik Junky Pictures)

Exclusive Horrornews.net Interview w/ James Cullen Bressack
Movies: Theatre of the Deranged and Treasure Chest of Horrors

Our last interview was in the summer of 2011. In the past year, do you  think you have grown as a writer/producer/director?

Hey! Excited to be doing another interview with you a year later! :) I do. I think we are always growing and learning. If you aren’t learning something by what you are doing or improving then you aren’t doing things right. I am and will always be a student of my craft.

How did starting Psykik Junky Pictures come about?

Once upon a time in a galaxy far far away….(sadly it’s not that exciting :/) Jarret Cohen and I formed a production company to house my first film MY PURE JOY, and with its success we decided to keep the production company together and put out more films within it.

What was the process of finding the stories used in the anthologies,  Theatre of the Deranged and Treasure Chest of Horrors?

How The series are set up is we acquire the rights to pre made shorts to include within the anthologies. ANYONE can submit their horror short to be included. We wanna give a voice and a vehicle to support the truly independent no budget filmmakers. Too many times have I seen awesome horror shorts go without a wide audience because
they weren’t feature length. So I decided to collect a few shorts from friends of mine and put together an anthology to showcase them. I wanted to help other film makers get
their shorts seen by a wider audience. I am a strong believer of a film can be made on any budget. I used, what little power I had with my name, in order to get distribution for this film. I believe in creativity and want all people who want to make films, able to make films, and help them find the audiences they deserve. This series will only get better with each installment as long as filmmakers and fans submit their shorts to us! so email Doug@psykikjunkypictures.com  if you have a short. He loves getting emailed!

Do the individual stories relate to each other and how do you weave the  stories together?

The shorts are all woven together by a crazy horror host that introduces them all. I always enjoyed Elvira and Tales from the crypt growing up and think the idea of a horror host is alot of fun.

You directed “Speak Easy” in Theatre of the Deranged. Tell us about that  story?

“Speak Easy” wasn’t originally suppose to be in the collection, but the runtime was short so I had to throw together a short to plug in. I tried to match picture quality with the other shorts so I used a similar camera. I ended up with a very surreal short that I like quite a bit. The short stars Jon Bloch (Hatfields & McCoys) and JD Fairman (MY PURE JOY). It is about how a conversation should have gone versus how a conversation went. It’s really about the volatile state of the human psyche, that anything can send someone over the edge.

What was your biggest challenge being the director of “Speak Easy”?

My biggest challenge of “Speak Easy” was shooting it in 1 day. I had no crew, it was just me, my producer, and my actors. I had to get everything done that day. I’m notorious for making my actors do a minimum of 10 takes per angle so I had to work on alot faster of a schedule with this one. I ended up preplanning all the shots and shooting it shot by shot, hitchcock style, shooting to edit.

Now, as far as horror anthologies go, do you have an all time favorite?

My all time favorite, as I’m sure most agree is Creepshow! Nothing tops that bad boy!

As a producer, what do you look for in a horror movie?

I look for something that is fun and silly and yet packed with violence. You have to give the audience a good camp fest when you produce on a lowbudget.

What can you tell us about this Secret Horror Project Shooting in Thailand?

Damn, I wish I could say a bunch of stuff about it but I have been sworn to secrecy. What I can tell you is that Benetone Films & Hillin Entertainment are great to work with. They really got behind this project and I think we will be making something people will not forget anytime soon. I promise you guy’s there will be red stuff. By the gallons ;)

What other horror flicks should our Horrornews.net fans & friends be on  the lookout for?

Keep an eye out for The Thailand film as well as this other film I shot in Big Bear that I’m not quite allowed to talk about either :/ oh and MY PURE JOY, if you haven’t seen it yet, check it out please :) Thanks for reading everyone. And thanks for having me for another interview :)

Coming soon
Press Release: TREASURE CHEST OF HORRORS II

From Executive Producer’s James Cullen Bressack and Jarret Cohen at Psykik Junky Pictures and directors Doug Waugh, Shawn C. Phillips, and Alex Powers comes this HORROR ANTHOLOGY starring Penthouse Pet Veronica Ricci (Bloody Mary 3D) Shawn C. Phillips (Don & Murph), Joseph Frantz (CKY & VIVA LA BAM), and Miles Dougal (Detroit Rock City & Chillerama)

The anthology is hosted by Mona Screamalot (Veronica Ricci). Prepare yourself for party killers, Giant Killer Babies, Satan, A angry murderous child, A bacterial infection like no other, a murderous cross dresser and A ton of that redstuff we know you all love!

The Film is currently looking for distribution and just finished post-production.

Interview: James Cullen Bressack (Psykik Junky Pictures)