By MICHAEL GINGOLD
She sure plays a mean pinball in the upcoming horror/comedy.
Writer/director Joe Davison gave us the word and exclusive photos from his upcoming movie DEMON QUEEN PINBALL MACHINE, in which he also stars. Jim Burleson of Six Gun Productions and Brian Berkoff of Gizzo TV produced, and the cast additionally includes Francesco S. Viola, Elissa Dowling, Paul Wilson, Mike Ferguson, Renee Daw, Taylor Halsey, Jay Bogdanowitsch, Eddie Pollard and Austin Janowsky. The synopsis: “Two broke video-store owners, Derrick [Davison] and Max [Viola], take a job from Kyle [Wilson] delivering a pinball machine to a mysterious client, Eddie [Ferguson]. Little do they know the pinball machine is possessed with a revenge spirit. Along the way they meet occult specialist, River [Daw], who inadvertently gets possessed by the machine. Once they arrive at their location, all hell breaks loose when the Demon Queen [Dowling] arrives to fulfill her destiny.”
“DEMON QUEEN PINBALL MACHINE happened at just the right time,” Davison tells us. “Myself, Jim Burleson and Bryan Berkoff were talking about making something really funny and different, and a few days later, I had written the script. Everyone seemed to like it, and the next thing I know, we were making it!
“There are two sides to this film,” he continues. “One side is Derrick, Max and River, played by the beautiful and talented stuntwoman Renee Daw, who brought an encouraging energy and comedic presence to her character. These three are comedic side of this universe. The other side is the dark reality of Eddie and the Demon Queen—they bring the violence. When the two elements meet, it becomes a chaotic explosion of comedy and death!”
Davison adds that he’s lately been focused on SORORITY OF THE DAMNED, which we last reported on here and which will be coming out later in 2024. “I didn’t think I’d be making another movie quite so soon, but my wonderful team thought it was time I step out and do it. Now we’re here, and I’m super-excited about it!”
So is Dowling, playing the titular occult villain. “The Demon Queen is hell on heels with a sharp tongue and a demonic sense of fun!” she says. “The getup was awesome, a cosplayer’s wet dream. I chose to incorporate a demon voice that I do often for voiceover gigs. It sounds like it has effects on it but doesn’t; I’m just creepy like that [laughs]! The voice was also recently used for Elke, the demon in Full Moon’s new BARBIE AND KENDRA episode that will be airing on THE LAST DRIVE-IN in the near future.
“I met Joe Davison at a Fangoria convention ages ago,” she continues, “but this was our first time working together. Joe reached out to me when he saw the image of Demon Queen that was created for the pinball machine, and said, ‘Hey, that looks like Elissa!’ I was like, ‘OK, I’ll take it.’ She’s hot as hell! It was great to have a director suggest improv without me having to ask first. That’s where all the magic happens. The best part of the film was murdering my real-life husband [Pollard]! All joking aside, it was really nice having Eddie on set with me for emotional support. His character got a lot of laughs, and he added so much to what was on paper.”
Look for more on DEMON QUEEN PINBALL MACHINE as it gets closer to release!
