Saturday 25 July 2015

Interview with Marcus Koch Director of American Guinea Pig Bloodshock 2015

This was probably one of the most curious people I wanted to interview definitely after recently watching American Guinea Pig Bouquet of Guts & Gore the glorious FX guy that is Marcus Koch ...



Matt : Marcus tell me about your life and how its got you to where you are today with your fx and directing ....

Marcus: I was born and raise on horror films, going to the drive in, or renting VHS, so I thank my parents for never holding me back and understanding from an early age it was all make believe. but I loved watching horror movies and love the really gory ones, i wanted to not only know who got to do those things, but it amazed me, that someone gets paid to do those things. i was like, that's what I want to do ! and just started doing it on my own, I'd borrow my dads video camera, and would try out little fx tests, and tape them to see how they looked, the fx tests were fun, but i needed to put them in some kind of context, so i started writing little scenes or scenarios around them, eventually they became short films, and the summer of my 9th grade year i decided i was ready to take on my first full feature film. so i look at the early years as a sort of film school, I really learned a lot how to do things, but more importantly how not to do things. from there, i started contacting other directors in hopes i could get hired to work on their films, and slowly it sort of just took off. I've worked by word of mouth my entire adult life. I've been fortunate enough that people recommend me to other filmmakers, and over the years the films have gotten bigger, getting to work on films that air on the syfy channel , or can be rented in red box, or Netflix. , and recently did FX on a film that had a theatrical release.

Matt: You have had a lot of back luck recently with your health but extremely happy you are making a good recovery, you attended SinS to put out a screening of Bloodshock the second movie in the AGP series without giving anything away as a lot haven't seen it still, you put out what u felt a beauty of a movie although incomplete how did u feel it was received ?

Marcus: I've got terrible luck, sometimes my life feels like a bad sitcom , where everything bad happens to the main character. i was bit by some bug coming home from a film in Georgia, never saw what it was, and with in 30 minutes i had to find a hospital, no idea what bit me. a few weeks later, as we were filming bloodshock, i had another reaction most likely a result from the bug bite and ended up with an infection in my bloodstream that spread to through my body making me very sick, and i started to lose the ability to use my hands or walk, it was extreme painful. I'm recovering now. i can walk again, but some days i have trouble with my hands. which for a sculptor, its a very depressing thing. as for the screening of bloodshock it was a very short turn around for a showing, only giving me 4 weeks to finish the FX inserts and edit the entire thing. usual it takes me a few months to edit a film, but then when i got sick i was unable to do anything, but i was determined to at least no show up empty handed and editing thankfully is just clicking a mouse. so i was able to sit at my desk and at least start the edit once i had use of my hands back. it was a rough cut, but i think the initial reaction went well. , its totally different from Bouquet. a completely different direction, but I'm very happy with this new film.



Matt: Which is your favourite to be doing the fx work for a movie or being the camera directing ?

Marcus: I love doing Both, but if i had to choose, i think directing is a bit more satisfying, because there is a lot more going on from start to finish, going from concept, to script, to filming to editing, it's pure hell, but i think much more rewarding in the end. with FX on other peoples films, I'm only a part of their puzzle, which in one way gives me more time to focus on the fx, but for the most part, i show up, do my job, get paid and move on to the next project. and wait for a year sometimes more to finally get to see the film.

Matt: You are attached to a lot of great horror movies over the years not just directing what has been your favourite and why ?

Marcus: I like different films for different reasons, my favourites are the ones i get to do more then just body parts and get to be creative, I've become known and the blood guts and gore guy, so its a lot of body parts and disembowelment, and after a while it gets redundant. so i really love getting to do weird things like melting bodies, or creatures and tentacles , my two favourite films to watch again and again would have to be Bloody Bloody Bible Camp and Sweatshop, mainly because of the vulgar humour in them, i think they are funny quotable films. 3 other films, that aren't that great, but i got to do crazy weird things are Closet Space, Imago, and Psychic experiment. had a lot of fun working on those. but the over all films just aren't my cup of tea. the other film that i love is WE ARE STILL HERE, its got everything i like in a horror movie, mood, atmosphere, and a crazy amount of blood, typically, a script will call for lots of blood to be sprayed, but once you get to the location, like someone's house. you have to be very careful not to get blood on anything, so scenes like that get cut down, or altered, but in We Are still here, i got to make a huge bloody mess! because the owners of their house were in the process of remodelling. so we could spray blood everywhere!



Matt: With the completion date for Bloodshock October and General presale November are the perks going to be as interesting as the previous or are u thinking more outside of the box (due to the movie I wont give anything away)?

Marcus: With the Bloodshock presales, its going to be similar, but there is definitely far less body parts, as the film doesn't have any dismemberment in it. there are a few for some of the scenes involving weird surgeries, but mostly, its going to be a lot of the antique medical equipment and props used in the film .

Matt: Has there been any standout movies in the community for you this year also Is there anyone you currently would love to work with director/actor within the community and reasons ?

Marcus: 2 of my favorite films i've seen recently are Found and Pieces of Talent. i think they are small films that really took it to the next level. and i love to work with Scott and Joe, also James Bell's Tantrum is so fuckin weird, i'd love to work with him, because his films really are outsider art with a gore twist. Another director i admire is Dustin Wade Mills , his films are fun, and twisted, and he does so much with so little, i recently got to work with him on Her Name is Torment 2, and Neon Doom, we got to do some weird crazy things. i'd work with him again in a heartbeat. and lastly, i'd love to work alongside Fred Vogel, Jason Koch, Jeremi Cruise, and Ryan Nicholson doing FX. 



Matt: Finally what does the future hold for the man that can smash a Rubik's cube in a record time..

Marcus:  I've got a full schedule for FX lined up for next year, hopefully get to direct another film soon after that. I've got a few scripts I'm trying to find funding for, which isn't my strong point , raising money, but in the meantime, I'll keep busy with the special effects work. also plan to get a few new cubes to solve in my downtime.

Of course i couldn't be more thankful for this interview you really have gone deep into the answers and i really appreciated the honesty you have shown.

If you haven't checked out Marcus previous work hunt him down and buy 100 Tears, Fell and of course ROT.

Marcus Koch on IMDB ..

Marcus Koch IMDB

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