Horror Favourites – Barry Dodds

The ParaPod: A Very British Ghost Hunt is a hilarious new docu-comedy that comes to UK cinemas this September and on VOD 27th September. To celebrate its release we managed to convince one of the film’s stars, comedian Barry Dodds, to stop being funny and talk horror.

About the film

After 3.5 million podcast downloads, sold-out live shows and hit specials, get ready to go on the road with hardwired skeptic Ian Boldsworth. Follow as he goes head-to-head with lifelong believer Barry Dodds to discover the truth about the supernatural.

Taking to the roads of the UK in a souped-up hearse, they visit the UK’s most haunted village, the home of the world’s most violent poltergeist, the underground labyrinths of Edinburgh, and everywhere in between. What follows is a rollercoaster of conflict and hilarity, as Barry tries – with increasing desperation – to find the proof to convince his cynical friend that ghosts are real.

Documentary-filmed completely on location over a three-year period, The ParaPod – A Very British Ghost Hunt is produced by Bil Bungay (Moon, Diego Maradona, Nureyev, When The Lights Went Out), directed by and starring award-winning podcast pioneer Ian Boldsworth (The ParaPod, Peacock & Gamble Podcast, The Mental Podcast) with multi-award-winning comedian Barry Dodds.

Horror Favourites – Barry Dodds

Below Barry takes us through his horror favourite:

“I was surprised just how difficult it was to sit down and write what my favourite horror film of all time is as it changes like the wind. I discussed it with a couple of friends within the horror movie community and there seemed to be an assumption that because of my work on The ParaPod, it would be a film cen-tred around ghosts or the paranormal, but it turned out not to be the case when I came to make a shortlist. Nothing scares me like a ghost story, so it was a surprise to me that the spooks rarely featured in my list. I’m a huge fan of horror and there are a few that have left a real mark on me, left me open-mouthed on first viewing. The Exorcist being one, À l’intérieur being another. Both are films that I think showed writers and filmmakers at their finest and are near impeccable works but the one that I keep coming back to, that I am always excited about reading about and buy every re-release of, is one that surely must be near the top of every horror fans list. That film is George A Romero’s 1978 Dawn Of The Dead.

George (as I shall affectionally call him, despite having never had the chance to meet him) changed hor-ror. Night Of The Living Dead caused a shockwave that took everyone by surprise and the on-screen vi-olence was like nothing seen before. After this movie, there was no putting the genie back in the bottle and countless imitations followed yet his masterpiece was never bettered. The only film to knock it from the perch, for me, was Dawn Of The Dead, his ambitious sequel that re-wrote the rules once again. The plot is simple but a lot is lying beneath the surface of the green-faced ghouls, themes such as race and consumerism run through the film as much as the zombies do. Well, shuffle anyway (take note, Mr Snyder). Four protagonists seal themselves up in a shopping mall, a safe haven in an undead outbreak. They have everything they could ever want, but at what cost?

When I first saw this film I got halfway through and just didn’t get it. Was bored by it even. However, I was drawn back to it and finally discovered why it’s as loved as it is. For a casual cinema-goer, it offers all the thrills you would expect from a zombie movie – blood, guts, action etc. The effects are dated now but the film still gives the same emotions it did when it was released. You care about these four people and their situation feels almost envious, until the rot sets in. The horror isn’t just in the gore and the un-dead, it’s in the mental state of those trying to survive. The movies final battle scenes still leave me tense as the dream slips away from them but the ending is perfect. You learn nothing about what might hap-pen to these people in the future. It ends perfectly.

A few years ago I went to Monroeville, to visit the mall where it was made. A lot had changed but you could still feel the film in there. It’s as much a star of the film as the cast is. I asked a security guard about the filming and explained that I’d travelled from the UK to see this place. I was told that if I went to the corridor that leads to the management offices I would see something. There was a little green plaque stating it was the home of the original Dawn Of The Dead. It made me feel sad that this was just tucked away, only to be seen by those who looked for it. George sadly passed away in 2017. The only remaining visible icon from the film, a wooden bridge, was taken out of the mall. The sun was finally setting on this iconic location. However, in 2018 a local sculptor asked fans around the world to help leave a tribute to George in the mall. I’m very happy to say that a bronze bust of the horror icon now watches shoppers as they go about their business in the mall. Before I was involved in the making of The ParaPod – A Very British Ghost Hunt, I don’t think I realised what it took to be an independent film-maker, to go it alone and create your own vision, your own movie without interference, without the fi-nancial backing of a huge Hollywood studio and the work involved. It made me respect what George achieved even more. So there we go. Dawn Of The Dead. My favourite horror film.”

The ParaPod – A Very British Ghost Hunt is coming to select cinemas from 7th September find your closest cinema here: theparapod.com and don’t forget to catch it on VOD from 27th September.