By MICHAEL GINGOLD
At the Official Selection Pitch Session for the Frontières International Co-Production Market at the current Fantasia festival in Montreal, the most energetic and funny presentation was given by producer/writer Kelly Kay Hurcomb and director/writer James Watts (pictured) for their body-horror feature project WORM. RUE MORGUE caught up with the duo, who previously teamed on 2021’s DEATH TRIP, later in the fest to find out more about the film (which Mitchell Stafiej is producing, and for which they’re seeking co-production and financing partners)–and their dream cast.
“In short,” Hurcomb describes, “it’s about an ex-child star named Blake Paulson who is trying to get back into the game, back into the entertainment industry. She swallows a tapeworm to lose weight and hopefully get some kind of competitive advantage, but the tapeworm starts eating away at her physically and mentally. Her hunger grows, she loses her grasp on reality and she devolves into bloodthirsty cannibalism. It’s a gory, cathartic, violent, feel-bad but fun romp!”
Watts compares the movie particularly to Andrzej Zulawski’s POSSESSION, and also to Abel Ferrara’s MS. 45. “What we find really funny about MS. 45 is that the main character is mute, and none of the men notice once,” he says. “That’s the most hilarious thing we’ve ever seen in a revenge film like that. In terms of what we find funny about WORM, it’s that the more Blake eats and yet the more unhealthy she looks–she’s emaciated, her eyes are sunken–the more directors love her. The audience is aware that she is sick, but the directors are like, ‘Oh my God, she looks great! I love this woman!’ ”
“Until she starts eating them, obviously!” Hurcomb laughs.
Another, very different inspiration is one that the filmmakers aim to reflect in the project’s acting ensemble. “We’re huge fans of the DEGRASSI franchise,” Watts says of the Canadian TV series featuring junior-high and then high-school students. Hurcomb continues, “Our hope is to cast former members of DEGRASSI: THE NEXT GENERATION as fictionalized versions of themselves in the film. To play with their pasts and recontextualize their old roles will hopefully be interesting for them, because it definitely is for us. Having that kind of context built in for the audience that knows the show will be incredible; it’ll be a link for those who know, and if you don’t know, it will still be fun.”
“The thing about that show is, there were so many talented people in it,” Watts notes. “We’re huge fans of Cassie Steele, and we wrote this film with a lot of those actors in mind. Our dream is to get the right person from the series who wants to take on the role of Blake and change it [to incorporate aspects of] themselves. We have a script we’re happy with, but it will change with whoever takes that part, because we want them to make it their own, adding stuff they’ve found interesting in the industry.”
“Having their experience help inform the character is ultimately very important to us,” Hurcomb adds. “Whoever takes on the lead role will have a sense of ownership of this project, and it’ll be a collaborative approach.”
Behind the camera, the duo are seeking artists to create the titular worm and the gore resulting from its takeover of Blake. “One of the things I’m most excited for is, I’ve always wanted to work with big practical effects,” Watts says. “It’s one of my favorite things, and this movie really lends itself to that–a kind of unreal gore, which is what we love, like the finales of THE BROOD and SOCIETY. That’s our North Star. And again, POSSESSION; that’s another huge one for us. In fact, if we could go back in time and cast Isabelle Adjani, that would be the dream! But we love the DEGRASSI cast. If there are any of those actors–we love Lauren Collins, we love Nina Dobrev, we love Shenae Grimes–please hit us up!”
“This movie is everything I’ve ever wanted to see in a film, to be honest!” Hurcomb concludes. “So I hope other people feel similarly.” We’ll keep you informed as WORM crawls closer to fruition!
