SLEDGE - The Lowest Budget Horror Movie!

Brandon Rhiness and Adam Storoschuk from Higher Universe Comics love low-budget horror movies. And SLEDGE is probably the lowest budget of them all.

Their budget was $800. And the movie's great!

Brandon sat down with writer/director/actor Kristian Hanson to talk about this horror gem.

Brandon Rhiness:         How did Sledge come about?

Kristian Hanson:         Sledge came about when I was driving home from my brother’s wedding in 2012. We had made another feature called F4L:Friends4Life in a day and a half in April of that same year. However it was a comedy with some drama in it and it wasn’t really going to go anywhere. Loving horror I decided to sit down and I wrote Sledge in two days and we filmed it two months later. I had always wanted to create my own horror slasher and try to make him different than the others and I believe I accomplished that with Adam Lynch.

Brandon:                     It’s cool that Sledge started as a comic book. How can people check out the comic?   

  

Kristian:                      Well, Sledge actually wasn’t a comic book before hand. Adam Lynch believes he is inside of a movie, video game or comic book. I am a fan of comics and when I was creating Adam I thought of all the comics and horror films I have read and viewed and took situations I always made fun of and threw it into the film. The Sledge comic book cover was inspired by the CreepShow comic book as a way to pay respect to the past films and comics we grew up loving.

Brandon:                    What did you do to keep the budget on Sledge so low?

Kristian:                      The budget was kept low because we didn’t actually have a budget. We ended up making Sledge for around $800 on camera. Having seen so many films I knew that we could do a lot of things off camera, which is what we did with this film. Granted if I could have shown the skulls being crushed I definitely would have, but we didn’t have that luxury here. Plus, growing up a lot of times the scariest things in a movie are the things you don’t necessarily see. Not that Sledge is actually scary because it is a comedy as well.

Brandon:                     Personally, I prefer low-budget horror to super-slick Hollywood horror. What are your thoughts on this?

Kristian:                      I think Indie horror films have the freedom to create what they want to create. They have the ability to write a script and go out and make a movie that horror fans will enjoy instead of being within the confines of a studio. Most horror films that are released are predictable which honestly sucks. I remember going to see THE MIST and it may not be the greatest movie ever made, the ending made me stand up and cheer at the end because it caught me off guard. Films need to have the freedom to surprise and shock since the audience tries and can usually guess what the ending will be. That is why I love the film Martyrs because the film changes so many times of what it is and the ending was just mind blowing.

Brandon:                    What are some of your favourite horror movies?

Kristian:                      My favorite horror films are An American Werewolf in London, Jaws (those two are my all-time favorite two movies) Halloween, Night/Day/Dawn of the Dead,  A Nightmare on Elm Street, The Wolfman (original) Projekt MetalBeast, Fright Night and so many more to list. I have over 1000 horror VHS, DVD and BluRays and continue to add more.

Brandon:                     What advice do you have for people who want to make low-budget horror movies?

Kristian:                      Honestly just go out and do it. Get a camera and your friends with your script and have fun. Granted the move may suck but it is still something you can go and show your friends and family and it is a learning experience. John Sovie II (my co-director) and I consider SLEDGE our film school because we learned a lot about camera work, lighting and doing more than one take for multiple angles in the editing phase etc. Just go out and have fun.

Brandon:                     It seems hard to think of original “slashers” for slasher movies. How did you come up with Adam Lynch and what do you think makes him so memorable?

Kristian:                      I remember sitting on my couch writing the script for SLEDGE. The scene where they are sitting around the campfire I thought about having him jump out and start chasing them but being the silent type. Then I realized I didn’t want to do that. I wanted Adam to be funny and to talk which I love in my slashers like Freddy and Chucky. So I ended up progressing the character after I gave his back story that Alex (Dustin Bowman) portrays and just letting him be the loveable psycho he ends up being. I think the best compliment I’ve gotten is that he seems like the “DeadPool of Horror Slashers.” To be honest I didn’t know who DeadPool really was until that was said to me and now I am hooked on the character and constantly read his comics.

Brandon:                     Seeing as this is a comic book, are you big into comics? If so, what are some of your favourites?

Kristian:                      Now Sledge may not be a comic, but I would love to make Adam Lynch into a comic book character one day. I just haven’t been able to find the artist who would be willing to do it with me. I think Adam would be a great anti-hero much like DeadPool’s Wade Wilson. As for comics I grew up reading comics with my brother Shawn. I am more of a Marvel guy with Spider-man, Venom, The Punisher and DeadPool. When it comes to favorite comics I really enjoy anything Punisher and I have my original Spawn #1 signed by Mr. Todd McFarlane who continues to make some of the best action figures out there.

Brandon:                     Where can people find Sledge?

Kristian:                       Sledge can be found on Amazon Prime Streaming if you’d like to see it along with on DVD via Amazon. It is also streaming on GooglePlay/iTunes/Playstation Network and other providers. We have a limited supply of the signed DVDs on the www.sledgemovie.com store for $10 as well.

Brandon:                     How can people contact you?

Kristian:                      I can be reached via Twitter @KristianJHanson or the Sledge Facebook page www.facebook.comSledgemovie or email Kristian@chpfilms.com That is our website to check out our shorts and upcoming projects.

Brandon:                     After watching Sledge, I’m sure everyone will want to know – will we ever see more of Adam Lynch?

Kristian:                      Next up with be Sledged the sequel. We are hoping to film that in the upcoming summer back where we filmed the original, and hopefully one day we will have a SLEDGE comic book. That is my ultimate goal and dream because I have a lot of fun and adventures I’d love to do with Adam Lynch and his craziness seeing as how he believes he is in a movie or video game. I’d love to have him time warp to the old-west or during mid-evil times like Ash in Army of Darkness.