Demon Summer: Kents Gets its Own Splatterfest

By Randy Shaffer

Luke Campbell sits proudly in his directors chair on a chilly Sunday evening, blood still on his shirt from shooting early that morning. Andy Campbell looms over his shoulder, making editing suggestions and various comments about the structure of the film. They each take turns slicing and dicing, formulating the perfect cut to show audiences. These are two men who are certainly in their element. Off in the corner of the room, is actor Bob Hawkins, studying for an exam and watching the Campbell brothers work their magic. This Friday, at the Kiva, IFS (the international film society) will be premiering the Campbells latest feature length splatter flick, Demon Summer. While the Campbells are nervous about that day, they are more nervous about finishing the film.

            "We are still in the final stages of production. We are running a little behind and its hard to shoot now, since its getting cold out and its especially cold when your actors are covered in blood" says co-director Luke Campbell.

            Shooting began in May and has spanned across the entire summer and into the fall. The story of Demon Summer takes place in Louisville, Ohio, a place tainted in secrets that began some twenty years ago when an unexpected evil came over the town, murdering several innocent folk. Now, a bunch of kids accidentally resurrect that evil from a book and its up to them to stop it from spreading again.

            "Its the perfect blend of drama, comedy and ridiculous violenceoh and lovemaking" actor Bob Hawkins, who plays the protagonists goofy sidekick Kurt, jokingly says.

            This isnt the first film the Campbells have worked on however. Besides founding their own production company named Speed Freak Productions, they have also made two other horror films and an extreme wrestling video. Their first foray into the horror genre began with a thirty minute short entitled Teenage Zombie House Massacre. That film was just the beginning for them. Their next film was a bit more daunting, a feature length film; last years cult hit, Midnight Skater. Both are available on VHS through the Campbells website. Just recently, a small horror film distribution company (Tempe video) picked up the rights to the Campbell brothers films. Already on DVD is their extreme wrestling video, entitled Splatter Rampage Wrestling and soon to be released on DVD is Midnight Skater, but not before a few edits are made to tighten the story to the Campbells liking.

            With Demon Summer, the Campbells had a much larger budget thanks to several donations from various friends who desired to be involved in the Campbells Kent made independent films. Because of such a budget increase (now $3000 as opposed to $500) the Campbells were able to purchase a digital video camera and several handy props as well as professional blood. They even spent a few hundred dollars on a special pair of contact lenses that are used by the films villain.

The script for Demon Summer was basically culled from several ideas that the Campbells and other cast members had.

            "The writing process began last January. We started with an initial idea and our friends bounced off of us and then we rewrote everything. By the end, it was a totally different film than what we started with" says co-director Andy Campbell.

            Along with the script, the films gore effects were also greatly enhanced. This time around, the Campbells were able to use real stage blood instead of tomato sauce and other homemade concoctions which provides a more realistic feel to the film as opposed to the campy nature of their previous entries. The Campbells desired to make a more standard horror film with Demon Summer instead of a campy B-movie like Midnight Skater, but rest assured, the film is still full of gore and flying organs that fans of the Campbells have grown to love.

            "Blood and guts is Speed Freak Productions forte. There will always be lots of the red stuff with our films" claims Luke Campbell, who is confident that his fans will be more than pleased with this entry.

            Demon Summer will be premiering on Friday at the Kiva at 7PM. Tickets are free to students. To check out info on the Campbell brothers other projects, or to purchase any of their movies, go to www.speedfreakproductions.com. Links to Tempe video can be found on their site as well as a wealth of information on all of their films.