Five FrightFest Facts From Louis Melville director of BOOTS ON THE GROUND
1. Tell us about your film?
Louis Melville: BOOTS ON THE GROUND has made a little bit of British cinema history, by being the first British film to be shot entirely by its five actors all wearing headcams. It’s the story of five British soldiers trying to stay alive on the last night of the Afghan war, “All they have to do is stay alive till midnight”. Only thing is what they are fighting might be more than just the Taliban. BOOTS ON THE GROUND brings a new fresh look at the whole found footage subgenre with its five-person POV style of filming and military backdrop which ends up giving the viewer something much more immersive and original than most other found footage movies.
2. How did you get into making horror movies?
Louis Melville: It all started when I as a little kid was finding some second-hand 60’s Monster Mags at a jumble sale, which I would read under the covers by torchlight, then I moved on to sneaking down to watch old late night horrors movies such as The Dunwich Horror, Children of the Damned and The Haunting on TV after my presents had gone to bed, then along came the Exorcist, I was hooked, add to that the fact that I was brought up in the same small Dorset village as where Gerald Brosseau Gardner once lived, my destiny seemed marked out, horror and the dark side were all around me and I loved it, what else was I going to grow up and do, become Aleister Crowley!!!!!!!!!!!!
3. What film would you love to see screened at FrightFest and why?
Louis Melville: It has to be CANNIBAL HOLOCAUST, I am not sure if it has been shown at Frightfest before, but I would love to see it there. This film is without doubt the Big Daddy of found footage movies, all of us that love to make and watch found footage movies, use CANNIBAL HOLOCAUST as their bench mark.
4. If you could create your own award to give at the FrightFest, what would it be and why?
Louis Melville: I would like to see an award for Best Screamer in a horror film, there were great screamers in horror movies of the 50s, 60s and 70s, we need to find and recognise the best screamers in the horror movies of the 21st Century.
5. If your life was made into a horror film, what would it be called and who would play the starring role?
Louis Melville: It would be called “Carnival of Lost Souls” and it would star anyone that could play me better than me.
World Premiere of BOOTS ON THE GROUND takes place at FrightFest 2017 SATURDAY 26TH AUGUST. Get your tickets HERE and watch the trailer below: