When we heard Total Film favourite Ben Wheatley was in the early stages of prepping a film called Freakshift, describing it as “Hill Street Blues with monsters,” we simply had to pay him a visit to get more information.
So, after helping Ben out on a test footage shoot, we asked him to expand on that Hill Street Blues comparison…
“It's got that interplay and banter and emotional stuff that’s done so brilliantly in Hill Street Blues. And it involves the teams of people and the professionalism and all those things that are great about cop shows, but with monsters and lots of genre-action.”
But cop shows aren’t the only influence on Freakshift. “It’s also a mix of my favourite video-games. Doom especially, which is why I’ve got our leads running around with pump-action shotguns – which they use copiously.”
So with all these shotguns flying around, will it be an 18? “No, because all the violence is all on-creature."
“But it will have a Paul Verhoeveny-vibe to it – it’s going to have a satirical edge. It’s not going to be harrowing like Kill List, but it’s going to be tense. Tense and actiony.””
So, you’re excited? “Fucking yeah!”
We’re not surprised. Hill Street Blues meets Doom via RoboCop? We’re pretty excited too.
Do you think Freakshift sounds ace? Tell us below!
Comments
badger86
Jan 19th 2012, 15:53
I know 'Kill List' has been divisive, but i loved it and this just sounds awesome, hope he pulls it off.
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thecolouryellow
Jan 19th 2012, 15:55
I don't know what it is I'm missing, but Kill List seemed a bit empty to me. I know I'll get a thousand replies saying 'I'm dumb' and 'I just don't get it', but I didn't see how there was anything to get. Well made, well scripted and acted, but by God, it felt like there was about 20 minutes missing. Still, Freakshift sounds promising.
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Murphy0806
Jan 19th 2012, 16:10
The fact that it didn't answer questions was my favourite thing about it. Not many films challenge an audience and demand they pay attention like that. I can't really say much without spoiling it (so don't read on if you haven't seen it and want to go in knowing nothing at all) but I really enjoyed trying to work out who he was and piece together bits of the film to back that up. @thecolouryellow, you're definitely not dumb and a lot of people have the same view of the film as you. Anyway, I'm eagerly awaiting his next film as it again seems like a proper genre mash-up. It is way to early to tell but I think Ben Wheatley has an extremely bright future ahead of him.
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ChrisWootton
Jan 19th 2012, 16:35
You're the not the only one thecolouryellow.. I really didn't get what was so great about the movie. I'm going to watch it again on doovde though to see if there was anything I missed.. but I'm pretty sure there was nothing that got past me hence my.. meh reaction. Totally agree with you Murphy, Ben Wheatley is a definite one to watch in the future.. the best thing I get from Kill List is that it opens up some pretty interesting discussions about film in general and how much people's taste differs... which can never be a bad thing.
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murphy
Jan 19th 2012, 17:02
The first time i watched Kill List i was suffering a bit of burnout from my seasonal binge and i was slumped on the couch when i put it on,by the end of it i was sitting bolt upright thinking WTF just happened! Even though it begins at a slow pace it's a film that demands your attention and i loved it,so i watched it again the other day after Down Terrace (which although not faultless i really enjoyed too) and it was even better the second time round,looking forward to anything Ben Wheatley does now i think he's one of the most exciting prospects in British film right now and even though the UK film industry might not have the financial clout of hollywood we still rule the world when it comes to actors and directors.
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writerdave87
Jan 19th 2012, 21:55
Agreed, I needed to see Kill List twice just to try and work some kind of sense out of it. Compelling, but very bizarre and unlike anything else i've seen in a while. Don't worry colouryellow I didn't get it either ;) still loved it though!
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