The latest Australian horror flick is a bloody scare campaign
You might have had a giggle at a prank on the Internet recently -- but just what happens when these stunts take a step too far?
This is the concept of Scare Campaign, by Australian filmmakers Cameron and Colin Cairnes. It follows their feature film debut, 100 Bloody Acres in 2012, which has the dubious honour of being one of the most illegally downloaded movies in Australia at the time.
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Scare Campaign is set around a prank TV show, which is desperate for ratings in the face of a new edgy web series that is making them look old-fashioned. It's up to the producers to up the ante, and they've come up with an elaborate stunt that will shock. Only this time, they've gone too far.
The concept for Scare Campaign, which released its terrifying trailer in March, came to the duo as they were hunting for inspiration on the Internet after their first film, the brothers told Mashable Australia.
"We were looking for ideas after the production of 100 Bloody Acres," Colin said. "So as you do, we took to YouTube for some inspiration and we came across some pretty intense stuff."
"There were some pretty extreme stunts from places like Brazil, for instance," Cameron added.
After scouring YouTube for weeks, the brothers finally settled on an horrific plan. "Eventually we thought, what would happen if you pranked the wrong guy? That was the idea we took to our producer," Colin said.
Working with their producer Julie Ryan for months on the idea, the brothers scouted for a location before writing any of the screenplay, searching high and low for somewhere that would help bring the horror to life.
They eventually found Mayday Hills Lunatic Asylum, built in Victoria during the 1800s. It was the fourth of its kind to built in the state and closed more than 20 years ago, in 1995. Seemingly untouched for years, the insane asylum was the clincher.
"Our art director didn't have to do much to it," Colin said of the location, featuring decrepit walls and isolated surrounds, the layout a labyrinth of endless corridors and foreboding cells.
Despite the eerie location, the cast and crew stayed on location during filming for a period of around three weeks. What better way to keep everyone in character, than housing them one of Australia's most haunted locations?
"There are stories from the crew, I hear," Cameron said. "The art department were packing up after a late shoot, and say they spotted a ghost or apparition in the cells. But nothing really happened to me, I'm afraid. I wish something did happen."
Rohan, played by Josh Quong Tart, is the conservatively-dressed maniac of the film, an unassuming psychopath that is very much a legacy of horror films.
"He's as much of a horror fan as we are," Colin said, regarding Quong Tart. "So he really took that role on. I remember they had busloads of ghost tours that came through, and he gave them a fair bit of a fright in his character."
The duo said they aren't trying to emulate bloody, uncompromising horrors that Australians have become infamous for, such as Wolf Creek and Saw. Instead the brothers wanted to find a balance between fright and laughter. "We want Scare Campaign to be entertaining too," Colin said.
Scare Campaign is showing at special events around Australia, with international screenings to be announced on the film's Facebook page. Prepare for the amusing horror.
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