Five FrightFest Facts with Doug Schulze of Thorns

Last night FrightFest saw the UK premiere of Thorns. The film is a daring fusion of spirituality and scientific inquiry, drawing inspiration from the timeless horror classics Hellraiser, The Thing, Alien, and The Exorcist.
A former priest, now employed by NASA, receives a mission to investigate an isolated observatory that has fallen silent subsequent to intercepting an enigmatic radio transmission from the depths of space. Upon reaching the location, his startling revelation unfolds: the received signal has torn open a gateway, unleashing a menacing thorn-covered creature. Struggling to rekindle his faith, the ex-priest is compelled to halt the propagation of this malevolent transmission, averting the descent of inferno upon the world and preventing the ignition of global catastrophe.

Amidst scenes of visceral carnage, anguished sisters, and an apocalyptic scenario drawn from scripture, the enigmatic Archbishop, portrayed by the iconic Doug Bradley of Pinhead fame, adds to the intrigue.

The film got a great response at the screening and we were lucky enough to get some time with director Doug Schulze to talk about the film and his love of the genre.

Doug Schulze, director

1.Tell us about your film.

THORNS is an homage to an era of horror cinema that produced some of the greatest monster movies; the 70’s and 80’s. THORNS is a modern day monster movie with a distinctly retro vibe.

The story follows an Ex-Priest now working for NASA who is sent to investigate a remote space observatory that mysteriously went silent after receiving a radio signal from deep space.

It’s meant to pay homage to great horror monsters like the Thing, Alien, Hellraiser and more.

2. How did you get into making movies?

My father took me to the cinema to see Kubrick’s 2001 A Space Odyssey when I was 5 years old and it began my love affair with cinema.

My older brother was the first in our family to pick up a super 8mm camera and I would help him make short movies. One day he put the camera down and went off to college and I picked it up. I’ve been making movies ever since. In addition to being a filmmaker I am also an educator. I cofounded and am the President of an accredited film institute www.motionpicture.edu .

3. What film would you love to see screened at Frightfest and why?

Michael Mann’s the Keep is a wonderful older monster movie that I’d love to see a 4k restoration of.

4. If you could create your own award to give at FrightFest, what would it be and why?

Maybe an award for BEST HORROR SCENE OR SEQUENCE. There are so many great horror films that have that one scene everyone remembers. So the award might be for that.

5. If your life was made into a horror film, what would it be called and who would play the starring role?

Hmmm. Well I’m not sure my life would make a great horror film. Perhaps it would focus on some of the experiences we’ve encountered in film distribution. Now there’s a horror story. From learning our films have been pirated in certain countries to royalty checks being taken by sales agents there’s definitely a certain kind of horror experience. It could be called SOULSTEALER and maybe Johnny Depp could play me.

Thorns Trailer

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