Bonus Ep Casting Kill
00:15:21
About
Well looky here! It’s another Welcome To Horror bonus episode! A spoiler free review of “Casting Kill” from Director James Smith and Raya Films. Currently available for streaming via Amazon and Tubi, having made waves at various festivals - this is a inventive, low budget, thriller set in the world of the audition circuit, which develops moments of macabre tension, whilst also being wickedly funny. A massive thank you to Producer and Scriptwriter Caroline Spence for reaching out, and giving us the opportunity to watch and review this marvellous film. Catch this smart, darkly funny thriller where you can!
Transcript
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LeeEvening everybody, Lee here.
LeeRegular listeners will know that we recently did a supernatural stories episode, or not, depending on your beliefs.
LeeBut it seems to have gone down quite well and we've spoken to a few people who said they've got interesting stories of their own.
LeeSo, as we tempted the idea at the end of our last episode, we're going to do a follow-up at some point.
LeeSo, if any of you have stories of your own that you think would be interesting that you wouldn't mind us sharing with the listeners,
Leefeel free to either record them and email them over to us at info@welcometohorror.com.
LeeOr otherwise, you can type them out and send them to us and we will read them out on the show.
LeeIf you'd rather not use your name, we will use your first name otherwise, but if you'd rather go under an alias, include that in the message and we'll be sure to use that.
LeeThanks very much, and enjoy the show.
LeeGood evening and welcome to Horror.
LeeI'm Lee.
ChrisI'm Chris.
AdamI'm Adam.
LeeAnd we are here for another cheeky bonus review episode.
LeeThis evening, we've been lucky enough to get the opportunity to watch Casting Kills from 2023.
LeeThis is a new movie out, it is available on Amazon, etcetera.
LeeSo we're going to keep it fairly spoiler-free as we're guessing a lot of you haven't seen it yet.
LeeSo we're going to try and keep it spoiler-free, but there might still be swearing, so the usual warnings do apply.
LeeSo before we kick off,
Leethank you very much Caroline Spence for giving us the opportunity to see this movie.
ChrisYeah, Caroline is the writer and producer.
ChrisAnd the writer, the director and cinematographer is James Smith.
ChrisBut yeah, big, big thanks to Caroline for reaching out, yeah.
LeeYeah, excellent.
LeeThank you, we, so we heard about the film and we're given the opportunity to review it and we said we would.
LeeI then went and watched the trailer and immediately thought, I don't think I'm going to enjoy this.
LeeIt didn't look, the trailer just didn't sort of grab me.
ChrisSo that's funny, I didn't mind the trailer, it didn't affect me too much.
ChrisHow about you, Adam?
AdamI, I just went in with, I didn't watch a trailer, I literally knew a title and a tagline.
AdamI wanted to keep it as, pure would seem ridiculous, but I just.
AdamI was like, I'll just go in with no preconceived ideas or anything.
AdamSo, yeah, just wanted to just.
ChrisSometimes that is best.
AdamYeah.
LeeBut the reason I bring it up is that I was completely wrong.
LeeAnd when I watched the film I loved it.
LeeSo I just wanted to put it out there for anyone who listens to this and then goes and watches a trailer, yeah, the.
Leeyeah, so no harsh, you know, not throwing shade at whoever made the trailer.
ChrisIt's got to be tricky to decide exactly what you should put in to not give away but also to tempt.
Leethere's a lot going on, you don't want to spoil anything but you want to give people enough.
LeeAnd I think that's what it is, because this film did have a lot of twists and turns, a bit like we said with The Perfect Host, it's a difficult one to make a trailer to entice people in without giving anything away.
LeeSo yeah, so definitely, I say, just putting my cards on the table straight away, definitely watch this movie because I loved it.
LeeBut yeah, I, I watched the trailer and thought, oh, this is going to be a slog, I'm going to be honest.
LeeYeah, and I'm very pleased that I couldn't have been more wrong.
AdamYeah.
AdamSo.
AdamI mean, the film is, I mean, like I say, I went in without any idea or whatever like that, but just to give, give an idea of the plot is, it's.
Adamset in the sort of the world of film auditions, like casting.
AdamAnd basically follows Arthur Capston, who is ostensibly a big shot Hollywood producer and basically the people who come and audition for him, some of whom discover some very odd things.
ChrisHe, he certainly is a character.
AdamYes.
ChrisAnd he does have some skills.
ChrisReally, he, he, he's quite fun to watch.
LeeI thought Rob Lad was fantastic, he was, yeah, he was absolutely captivating.
LeeAnd especially the changes in his personality, yeah, I thought he delivered those really, really well.
ChrisYeah.
AdamBecause, because I wasn't sure, but I sort of, obviously, like I say, looking, looking into the film afterwards, I didn't realize, because I wasn't sure whether he had, because obviously it was clearly a British production and filmed in London, so I was like, oh, I'm not sure if he is actually American, but he's not.
AdamSo.
LeeOh.
AdamI'm, I'm going to say top work on the accent because I was like.
Adambut no, I mean, he was, yeah, it's, it's a very difficult role to.
AdamPull off well and he did.
ChrisIt says on IMDB, it's creepy, vicious and brilliant.
AdamYeah.
ChrisYes.
LeePerfect.
AdamYeah.
ChrisI can sum that up.
LeeHe.
LeeAgain, it's, it is definitely a lower budget movie as, you know, as we know.
LeeBut yeah, the, the acting in it was so good, that really stood out to me, the score.
ChrisYeah.
ChrisYeah, that's it.
ChrisDefinitely.
LeeIt was such a higher level than you're used to at this kind of with these budgetary constraints.
ChrisYeah.
ChrisYeah, they did a great job on the low budget.
AdamWell, it's, it's working to what you've got.
LeeYeah.
AdamAnd the fact that it is essentially a single location.
Chris
AdamI mean, it's, well, a single area, a very small, sort of single location is sort of, yeah.
AdamAnd a relatively small cast.
Chris
AdamI mean, we're not even relatively small, a fairly small cast.
AdamI mean, you've got auditionees who sort of appear and disappear, but you sort of, you are talking like a main group of sort of four or five characters who are the sort of the driving forces in this.
AdamSo.
ChrisI did love the interaction, the dynamic between Arthur Capstone and Dominic.
AdamYeah, because that was.
LeeYeah, and Dominic and Ruby as well.
LeeLike I thought they, like they, you know, like they sold being not quite friends but acquaintances really, really well.
ChrisYeah, definitely.
LeeWhich, yeah, which is normally quite difficult, especially at these, you know, sort of entry levels when people are first getting into acting to sort of having that, picking up that dynamic and really making it feel lived in.
ChrisYeah.
LeeYeah, and I was on board all the way.
LeeThis film flew by, I know it's only an hour and 19 minutes.
LeeBut it was one of those excellent films where I put it on, I thought it had been on for half an hour and I paused it to go and get myself a drink, I went, oh my God, there's only 15 minutes left, like it just flew by.
Chris
AdamAnd because it, it's, I think probably, actually thinking about it, Lee, I can sort of see where you might have been put off with the trailer.
AdamBecause I think it obviously evokes the sort of investigation into sort of.
AdamGoings on with producers in Hollywood and the sort of exposure of that whole CD side of, acting and Hollywood and showbiz or whatever.
Adamso it, but the thing is.
AdamIt evokes that, but it's not about that, it's.
LeeNo.
LeeIt's.
AdamIt's a wholly unique set of circumstances.
AdamIt's not sort of like a a retelling of a horrible story as it were.
AdamEven though, you know, it.
LeeIt's definitely horror.
AdamIt's got horror.
LeeIt's got horror.
LeeBut that was the thing, I think you're quite right, I think I watched the trailer and was like, well, this isn't horror as you say.
LeeThis is going to be about a CD pervo who's using his position to, you know, to abuse women or whatever and, and I was like, well, although that is horrible, I don't think it's horror.
LeeSo yeah, so I was very pleased that it wasn't that and it it definitely was horror.
Leeand it had those comedy elements exactly, yeah.
ChrisThey really managed to get that balance right because especially with the sub text of what it's about.
ChrisIt's you could, you could certainly get that wrong and make it very distasteful.
LeeYeah.
ChrisBy trying to make it comedy, but somehow, yeah, they really really got that good.
LeeYeah.
AdamI've also got to share, give a shout out to Andrew Elias, who's the caretaker.
Chris
AdamBecause, my God, I spent the whole time thinking, is he someone in a band?
LeeYeah.
AdamBecause he, do you know what I mean?
AdamThere was just something about him, I think it was the glasses admittedly.
AdamOr and the sort of delivery, but I did feel that he was like.
AdamIf I find out that this is like the second saxophonist from Madness or he was in the Blockheads.
AdamLike Ian Dury's band.
AdamI would feel that it was that, that just seemed correct.
AdamBut he was just great.
AdamI just thought he was a fantastic character.
Chris
Adamand there was also.
AdamBecause that's the other thing as well, is there sort of.
AdamThere is more to it and I quite like the fact that it's not not every plot strand is fully sort of wrapped up as it were.
LeeNo.
Adamor.
AdamWhatever.
AdamBut, the character like Ian Renshaw, his character Xander was just, so fucking menacing.
AdamYou know.
AdamThere was.
AdamIt was, it was like, I really want to see him being a sort of charmingly menacing in a lot of other things.
LeeYeah.
AdamHe just.
AdamYeah, it's, but it was, but yeah, I just think the,
AdamThe fact that in the press pack they talk about sort of, Hitchcock and stuff like that, it is definitely that thing where Hitchcock's.
AdamAll of his, all of his films, all of his thrillers, whatever, are funny.
AdamTo greater or lesser extent, I mean, there's certain things.
AdamI mean, North by Northwest is essentially a comedy.
AdamBut it's sort of.
AdamBut I think, yeah, so I could see that element to it.
AdamBut also you mentioned it earlier, Lee, the score by Sean Finnegan was just.
LeeOh, that's so massive.
LeeSo good.
AdamFucking incredible, I loved it.
LeeYeah.
AdamI just, I, I don't know if it's available, but I hope it becomes available because, yeah, I'll be first in line.
AdamBecause I thought that was just really magnificent score.
LeeIt was one of the first things that grabbed me, you know, even in that opening scene.
LeeWhere it's kind of almost silent, you know, like there's no, nobody speaking.
LeeAnd it's just setting the scene.
LeeAnd the characters.
Leeyeah, and that sound just comes in and it's huge and it's just, it just sounds magnificent and it just kind of filled all the space and just, oh yeah, it was amazing, so good.
ChrisYeah.
ChrisI do think yeah, for the low budget, they definitely created a really good style.
ChrisWith that, and and even the cover of it, just yeah, they certainly captured something menacing.
AdamYeah.
AdamIt's that sort of thing, it's, it's menace but funny and macab.
ChrisYeah.
ChrisBut yeah, that's definitely.
AdamIt's very darkly funny.
AdamThere are sort of like, I mean, it's like, you know, what people keep in their fridge.
LeeYeah.
AdamYou know.
AdamYeah, that's a, that's a moment, so.
ChrisSo does this lead us on to another Hitchcock then, you mentioning him?
ChrisBecause so we only watched Psycho, I think.
AdamWe, we, we should do plenty of Hitchcock, I think it's something that I really feel, fuck it, I don't care if they're even the horror ones.
LeeYeah.
LeeWhat, what's the one about the body where they find the body in the wood and nobody wants to take responsibility for it?
LeeI can't remember what he's called.
AdamTrouble with Harry?
LeeYes, I think it is, yeah.
LeeOh, see, now that was just, sorry, slightly off topic.
LeeBut yeah.
LeeLike, that was one I'd never even heard of, it was in the box set and I just chucked it on one Sunday afternoon.
LeeAnd I was like, this is amazing.
LeeLike, why is nobody raving about this in the top three of his movies?
LeeIt was so much fun.
LeeBut yeah.
AdamYeah.
AdamBut definitely I think that, yeah, without shadow of a doubt, I recommend Casting Kill.
LeeDefinitely.
ChrisYeah.
AdamYeah.
LeeYeah.
AdamAnd I'll be interested to see what, because I know, I know that,
AdamJames Smith and Caroline Spence sort of have worked together on a few other films.
AdamSo I'll be quite interested to maybe go back and check out some of that.
AdamBut also to see what comes next.
LeeYeah.
LeeDefinitely, and they've got such a great click, and it obviously works so well together.
LeeIt'd be great if if they can kind of keep that.
LeeThat team working together.
Leeyeah.
AdamOh, definitely, yeah.
AdamI'd like to see, I'd like to see more of everyone who was in it.
LeeYeah.
LeeYeah, without a doubt.
LeeIt was.
ChrisSo, yeah.
ChrisSo it's Raya Films.
ChrisI don't know if I mentioned that earlier.
AdamI don't think we did.
AdamNo, so, yes.
AdamRaya films and it's streaming on Amazon.
AdamAnd Tubi, I believe.
Chris
LeeYeah.
ChrisYeah.
ChrisSo we'll be definitely checking out.
AdamI don't know if you pronounce it.
AdamI don't know.
AdamI hope it's not Tubby, I don't want to carry for life looking at it going Tubby.
AdamI know I am, I don't need you mocking me.
LeeExcellent.
LeeRight.
LeeSo.
LeeThanks again very much Caroline.
LeeFor sending this our way and giving us the opportunity to see this movie.
LeeEverybody else get out there and watch this, it's it's a, it's a nice, tight, compact movie.
LeeYou'll have a great time with it, yeah.
LeeWe were all totally blown away by it.
ChrisAbsolutely.
Adam
LeeYeah.
LeeAnd keep up the good work and we'll keep an eye out for what you've got next.
LeeThanks ever so much for listening everybody.
LeeGood night.
ChrisGood night.
AdamGood night.
UnknownMy family saw the mouse now.
