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Sunday 12 July 2020

INTERVIEW: Huw Lloyd talks school hall slaughter and more


Positively horror recently got the chance to interview the brilliant genre podcast host, and creator of the upcoming horror School Hall Slaughter. Please enjoy the full interview below.

Please tell us a bit about yourself and your relationship with the genre.


My name is Huw Lloyd and I’m a writer, director and the host of The Undead Wookie Podcast. I live in Pontypool South Wales with my wife and dog. I have been obsessed with horror all my life and the podcast came about from my obsession and love of discussing and dissecting horror.  

What was your introduction to horror, and at what age?

My introduction to horror was being taken to the cinema in Merthyr Tydfil to see Ghostbuster. So I was about five years old and I clearly remember when Sigourney Weaver started rising off the bed and snarling I freaked out! I had to go and stand outside with my mother until that scene had finished. From then on I was just hooked.

Your upcoming film 'School Hall Slaughter' is currently in the crowdfunding stage, with some great perks for backers. It started as a short, did you always know that you wanted it to be a feature?

Thank you, I love the perks we have put together and I think they are a lot of fun. I always thought it had the potential to be a feature and I had written various drafts over the years of the feature script. But after I had finished putting the short film together I knew the universe needed to be expanded. So I just ploughed ahead and put the script together and then Derek Nelson came on board and we are up and running.  

Where did your inspiration for the film?

The short film was nearly eight years in the making and the feature script had spent the best part of eleven years in various different stages and desk draws. The idea was born out of one of those special moments that only a true horror fan can truly appreciate. Alone, in total darkness, wandering the corridors of the school I teach in search of a prop for a school production that had been left behind. The caretaker had let me into the building and swiftly vanished. So there I was fumbling around in partially lit corridors with only emergency lighting to guide my way. When my brain decided to ask the question, what if we couldn't get out and someone wanted to kill you? On that night School Hall Slaughter was born.  

You also host a podcast where you get to talk about the genre with fellow horror lovers in different areas of the horror community. Is there anything coming up on the show that you'd like to share?

We have got some great episodes coming, Welsh filmmaker Andrew Jones will be back on soon. Gareth Evans (Director of the Raid, Raid 2, Apostle, Gangs of London) said he will be back on at some point. The show is great because we tend to be very laid back and we all pitch different episodes, its great.

Who are some of your favourite people working in the genre at the moment?

That’s a good question… I’m a big fan of Ari Aster, I loved Midsommar. I love folk horror anything involving a sinister cult, I’m in. Of course there’s Robert Eggers who is such a clever filmmaker and packs so much detail into his films. There are some great indie filmmakers working in horror, guys like Andrew Jones and MJ Dixon. I think the MYCHO universe he has created is really good and clever. However I always find that I return to my favourites Carpenter, Bava, and of course Fulci.

And are there any other projects you're involved with that you'd like to talk about?

I’ve been doing a little bit with Jae Prowse who has been on the show a number of times and is just a great guy. Jae is putting together a new horror magazine called Horrified Magazine (@HorrifiedMag). However my main focus is on School Hall, it’s pretty all consuming at the moment.

Thanks again to Huw Lloyd for the wonderful interview. You can catch the Undead wookie Podcast by following the link below:

https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-undead-wookie-podcast/id1279443501

And to donate to School Hall Slaughter, just click this link:

https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/school-hall-slaughter#/ 

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