After attending HorrorHound — the annual Cincinnati-based convention celebrating all things horror — for nearly 20 years, filmmaker PJ Starks got to show one of his own works to an adoring crowd with the release of “New Fears Eve.”
In the film, three best friends all attend a mandatory New Year’s Eve party at their job. Unbeknownst to them, all the employees of the company (cheekily named Hooper Industries, in one of the film’s hundreds of references to other horror classics) are being hunted by a mysterious serial killer known only as The Doctor.
The horror-comedy was filmed in Starks’ hometown of Owensboro, KY, and he wrote, co-directed and co-produced the film with Eric Huskisson. It features some serious star power: the creator of the “Final Destination” franchise, Jeffrey Reddick, produced and stars in the film, as do Felissa Rose (“Sleepaway Camp”), Dave Sheridan (the “Scary Movie” franchise) and Hannah Fierman (“V/H/S”).
That’s not all: after rounding the film festival circuit, “New Fears Eve” was picked up for distribution by Cineverse, best known for releasing the “Terrifier” franchise. How does such a low-budget slasher draw such big names?
“It started with Jeffrey. We’d convinced him to make a small cameo in our last movie, “13 Slays ’til Christmas,” and he was so impressed that he told us whatever we do next he wants to be a part of it,” Starks said. “I got him the script for this one and he instantly fell in love. Then we … got in touch with Felissa Rose, who is a horror icon because of “Sleepaway Camp.” She read the script and loved it too, and asked ‘Hey, is there anyone I might know that you’re interested in?’ I knew Hannah and Dave were friends of hers, so she sent them the script, and both also jumped on board.”
Tonally, the film draws most from the works of Wes Craven and Tobe Hooper in a self-aware way (“the term ‘meta’ has been thrown out there at me,” Starks said) while still finding its own voice. It’s likely one of the larger film productions that Owensboro will ever see.
“We’ve done films here before, but this was immediately different. We were working with the police to shut down roads, and using real fire trucks and ambulances in shooting. And it features all of Owensboro’s landmarks,” he said. “We all have day jobs, so we were real weekend warriors with it. It was a lot of very passionate, very talented people that worked really hard to put this film together … and I think it definitely shows, because it looks much grander than the budget that we were working with, and that’s really a testament to everybody on the project.”
When the film eventually finished and started screening around the country, Starks was terrified — pardon the pun — of public reception. He had “put a lot of things from my personal life under a thick layer of dick and fart jokes” into the film and was worried audiences wouldn’t take to it. But after screenings in New York City, Houston, Chicago and more where audiences repeatedly told him how much they loved the film, those worries faded. But his favorite screening was closest to home, at HorrorHound, where he got to host panels on filmmaking and a special Q&A.
“I’ve been going to HorrorHound since 2008. I’ve made a lot of friends with people there, the festival organizers, all of that. So, watching it there with all these people that I’ve become friends with, and everybody was so receptive and really had a great time with the movie, that was an incredible feeling,” he said. “We ended up winning the audience choice award there, which we didn’t even realize we were up for. It’s one thing for a group of judges to enjoy something, but when the people who are watching all the films pick yours as the best of all the ones they had seen that weekend, that means a lot more, I think.”
The rave reception to “All Fears Eve” meant that for the first time, Starks was getting offers from distributors instead of having to seek them out himself. When Cineverse reached out to the team, they were over the moon.
“To be housed under the same company that put out, you know, the “Terrifier” movies, “Return to Silent Hill,” the “Toxic Avenger” remake, that was pretty awesome,” he said. “It was vindicating, because it shows we were right to keep going and keep trying to get a bigger and better opportunity. The payoff was worth it.”
New Fear’s Eve is streaming now on Prime Video and is available to purchase on Blu-Ray here. For more information on Starks’ and Huskisson’s other films, visit the website of their production company, Blood Moon Pictures.
