When the Screaming Starts

“When it comes to murder, someone always ends up getting killed”

British mockumentary When the Screaming Starts will stream exclusively on Screambox on September 20th.

Fangoria Editor-in-Chief Phil Nobile Jr. raved that the film “does for serial killers what What We Do in the Shadows did for vampires.” Now, the guys over at Screambox have kindly let me have a sneak peak, and I kind of think Phil Nobile Jr may very well be on to something.

Aidan Mendle has a dream; he aspires to be an infamous serial killer. When struggling journalist Norman is invited to follow Aidan on his journey, he believes he’s finally landed his big break.

As Aidan and his newly recruited murder cult embark on a blood-soaked rampage, will Norman’s dream of becoming a renowned filmmaker turn into a nightmare?

Sounds pretty good so far doesn’t it…

Conor Boru makes his feature directorial debut on the Screambox original movie from a script he co-wrote with Ed Hartland. Hartland also stars with Jared Rogers, Kaitlin Reynell, Octavia Gilmore, Ronja Haugholt, Vår Haugholt, Yasen Atour, Kavé Niku, and Rob Tofield.

The cast is pretty much spot on, Ed Hartland as Aidan does a great job of playing the regular guy (ok so he wants to be a serial killer but…) being filmed for a documentary, the comedic elements are there, but are natural and not forced and Jared Rogers works well with him as the filmmaker trying to get something worthy of a documentary.

For me the fun really starts about 20 minutes in, when the rest of the cast get involved. The making a family section is superb, basically they audition for serial killers in such a mundane and distinctly “British person looking for a flatmate” way. Here Kaitlin Reynell shines as Claire, absolutely nailing the role of girlfriend with an underlying “hang on a minute” aura. She’s a fantastically menacing girl next door.

Everyone really seems to be enjoying their roles, not hamming it up (which is a danger with mockumentaries) and I actually found myself feeling sorry for poor old Micky (played brilliantly by Rob Tofield)

The film ticks along at a nice pace, they introduce characters at the right time and build them fast, you really get a feeling of who they are and what they’ve done straight away, even though it’s mainly mad murderous psycho’s to be fair. Dare I say it, you may actually root for a couple of them.

The film ambles along nicely, so far so documentary with character bonding, a bit of weapons training and the normal family life of a murder cult then about 40 minutes in, shit gets real and the blood begins to flow and like any good family, rifts begin to open up.

Will Aiden fulfill his dream to be remembered, will Norman finally get the footage that gets him his 15 minutes of fame, or will it all fall down around their ears?

Find out by watching When the Screaming Starts streaming exclusively on Screambox on September 20th

“Horror and comedy are like two sides of the same coin, which is why fans of both have embraced this sub-genre so readily,” explains Bloody Disgusting Managing Director Brad Miska. “When the Screaming Starts is the perfect combination of humor and horror. It’s Shaun of the Dead meets Spinal Tap, and we know that fans are going to eat it up.”

The Screambox release follows the picture’s award-winning festival run, which kicked off with the U.K.’s FrightFest last year and included Popcorn Frights, Panic Fest, Telluride Horror Show, and London Independent Film Festival, where it was named Best Sci-fi/Horror Feature.

When the Screaming Starts joins Screambox’s growing library of unique horror content, which also features Pennywise: The Story of IT, Masters of Horror, 13 Nights of Elvira, PussyCake, Toxic Crusaders, and the forthcoming Terrifier 2.