Len Kabasinski Interview
Len Kabasinski Interview
Exclusive with the indie writer/director
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Staci Layne Wilson / Horror.com: I looked at the pictures from Warriors of the Apocalypse and it reminded me of just about any movie Sybil Danning would've done back in the day — which is a good thing! Is that the vibe you are going for -- old school exploitation / sexploitation?
Len Kabasinski: Maybe a little bit. it is NOT a "grindhouse" style film. It is more like one of the crazy post-nuke movies of the 1980's. Something where if you went to Blockbuster video you'd rent it under the "Super Action" section (yes, that is a real section at my local blockbuster!!!!). A lot of lower budgeted titles come to mind like 2019: After the Fall of New York, Dune Warriors, and Raiders of the Sun... now, I don't have nearly that kind of budget for this film, mind you. But if I had to categorize this film somehow I guess I would call it a "action/martial arts/horror/post-nuke/comic book" film. Seriously, there are over 400 digital FX shot to help create the "comic book" feel of the film and my main girls (played by Darian Caine, Pamela Sutch, and Amara Offhouse) really kick a lot of ass in it whether it's martial arts or guns. the girls did all their own fighting and stunt work... true bad-asses.
Q: How did you assemble your cast?
A: I knew a few of the actors from previous KillerWolf Films movies. It marks the fourth time I've worked with former WWE/ECW superstar Blue Meanie, and the 3rd time I've had the pleasure of working with both Darian Caine and Pamela Sutch. Amara Offhouse I met a friend's film premiere and she auditioned for this film. Several other actors were new to me and did a fine job. A lot of the fight scenes featured indie professional wrestlers and martial artists. I love using those guys because they know how to make the "non fighters" look good. So... it was really a combination of using talent I've known from previous projects and casting from local auditions.
Q: Your proudly announce in your press release that this movie is the first to show Pamela completely nude… so, how did you convince Pamela to bare all?
A: I didn't have to convince her, really. At this point, Pam has been around quite awhile on the indie scene and has a great physique. 99% of 18 year old girls don't have a body like Pamela! Pamela stays in tremendous shape (she has a black belt in martial arts as well as years of ballet experience). It wasn't a matter of convincing, I think it was a matter of saying "Hey, look at my script, the character is developed and in this scene here she is in this situation... is this something you think works for the film?"
It is Pamela's first total nude scene after being topless in a bunch of low budget indies, yes, she was totally nude for her sex scene with my character in my film Curse of the Wolf but visually not as much is "revealed" in the scene for that film. that being said, that scene in Curse of the Wolf is one of my favorite scenes in any of my films and ranks up there with Blue Meanie's "cage fight" with Brian Anthony in First of the Vampire as well as the beginning of that film. Actually I had written a sex scene for her character in Warriors of the Apocalypse with my character as a "flashback" scene that tied a couple characters together. I'd love to shoot that but it would probably have just wound up being a cool deleted scene. If I could go back and do things over again, I'd change at least a dozen things on each film probably ....at least!
Q: What can we expect in terms of gore, violence, sex and... story?
A: The film I would say is "light" on the gore but it has its moments for blood and guts. there is a fight scene or violence probably every 5 minutes. Lots of guns and lots of fighting. So on the violence end I would say that it's heavy but it's very "comic book"-ish in the way it's portrayed I believe anyways. Sex I would say is moderate. Debbie D, Pamela Sutch, Darian Caine, Amara Offhouse all appear fully nude in this film and 2 other actresses in the film are fully nude as well (1 with a sex scene). The nudity in this film is much more "situational" for example in one scene the girls have been captured and are held in "holding cells"....they are nude in the individual cells, that kind of thing.
The story involves this:
After WWIII has devastated America, a small band of female warriors attempt to survive long enough to make it to the last city left. The problem is dictator Rollins doesn't want her city overpopulating so she sends out her team of mercenaries to hunt and eliminate any "survivors" in the wastelands. The females, along with the help of a man out to avenge the death of his family, fight their way to the city combating mutated scavengers, wasteland renegades, and the city's own mercenaries along the way!
Q: The mutated scavengers sound like a must-see for horror fans -- what do they look like? What are their mannerisms? (Are they zombie-like, or...?)
A: Ah.....the scavs. Well, each actor kind of developed their own character with them. Some resemble zombie "shamblers", others more like the more functional "infected" in 28 Days Later appeared. It's a mix. Hardcore gore fans I'm not sure this film will appeal to as the gore isn't heavy at all, however there are some flesh ripping, biting digits off, type of things going on in the film. Some look like diseased (sores, etc) humans, others more distorted from the radiation from the nuke war....so it's a pretty wide variety in terms of them. like zombies, the Scavs main purpose is to hunt and eat humans or any prey they find roaming the wastelands of what's left of America.
Q: What's next from KillerWolf Films?
A: My latest film is Wendigo: Bound By Blood which is just wrapping up this month. 95% of all photography is completed at this point, with us having less than 4 scenes to shoot....
Wendigo: Bound By Blood concerns the native American legend of the wendigo, an evil spirit that would possess individuals who partook in cannibalistic endeavors. Once possessed, the individual would develop a bloodlust to eat human flesh. This film is much like a demonic possession film. It centers around a small town sheriff (Brian Anthony) who is investigating a murder scene, a traveling native American doctor helps him out (Cheyenne King) and together they are on the trail of the wendigo. As a side story, 2 individuals in the witness protection program are being hid in the woods with 2 US Marshalls. The witnesses are awaiting trial against a powerful crime family who has put a bounty out on their heads. Most of the film is in a wilderness setting as humans and the supernatural collide!
The film was principally shot in 8 days in and around Northwestern PA and Western NY. It is the first film I have ever done without actor/friend Blue Meanie in the cast. The crew lived at a campsite for a week with no TV, radio, etc. and "toughed out" a busy shooting schedule.
Q: Tell me a little bit about working with newbie KK Ryder… she's a friend of mine, and she said she was never into horror movies until we met last year, and now she's acting in two of them!
A: KK responded to an ad we had out for actors/actresses. I had talked to her several times before filming about the look of her character, what her character needed to be able to do in terms of fight scenes, and so on. I think I got her hooked on doing fight scenes now! Having trained with legend Frank Dux (the real "Bloodsport" man); I knew she would do great but she did even better than I expected. I paired her up for one scene with wrestling champion Enigma, and the both of them put on a nice little fight scene for the film.
She treated my cast and crew great and took direction well and never complained once on set. Those are the people I like to work with. making indie films is hard work.... from everyone. But in order to get it done properly everyone has to give their best effort and KK did great and I'd work with her again in a heartbeat… don't even need to think about it. I hope this springs her onto doing more and more projects. Individuals with her attitude and work ethic are few and far between. A class act.
Photo of Len Kabasinski and Pamela Sutch © KillerWolf Films