Fango recently heard from MAGUS director John Lechago about his upcoming feature BIO•SLIME and being appointed by Full Moon’s Charles Band to take over the directorial reigns for KILLJOY 3, the latest installment in the killer clown series. Read on for the scoop.

“BIO•SLIME is about the inner conflict of the human condition. Just kidding!” laughs Lechago. “It’s about a mysterious creature that can travel as a mass of slime and likes to consume scantily clad scream queens. I approached this film with a simple goal: blood, slime, girls and gore. It has everything that a Fango fan would expect. I wanted to do something that was similar in essence to my first film, BLOOD GNOME. Without a huge budget, a horror filmmaker has to deliver on what the fans really want to see. And that is really what BIO•SLIME is about.”

While principal photography on the film only entailed a mere 12 days with four more for special FX and pick-ups, BIO•SLIME’s post process has kept it from exhibition for almost two years. “I edited the movie and did most of the visual effects myself,” Lechago explains. “That’s why an independent movie like this can take so long in post. I have to work on other films while I complete this one, so the time gets dramatically lengthened. I have to say that I am happy and relieved to be finally finished. My fans know that I am not satisfied until I have done the best that I possibly can. I tend to be a bit of a perfectionist, but I want to give the fans the best under the circumstances.”

One could guess that the circumstances surrounding BIO•SLIME’s inception may be a heavy influence from the wave of ’80’s melt movie cult classics, however that’s not all that factored in. “The films that really influenced me were ALIEN and John Carpenter’s THE THING. Those two were directly influential in how I structured the movie,” he says. “They were more influential in how the victims related to the threat. Of course, I also drew from other movies such as STREET TRASH, both versions of THE BLOB, SLIME CITY, THE GREEN SLIME and CREEPSHOW II. The latter were influences for the aesthetic part. However, dealing with real slime is a pain in the ass! I never want to work with it again! It does not take direction very well.”

Apart from being covered in green goo, Lechago also recently joined the Full Moon Pictures family, coming on to direct the third KILLJOY movie. “I’ve known Charles Band for a few years now, and he asked me if I would take on the challenge of making the third installment of the franchise,” he says. “Taking it over wasn’t so bad. My strategy was to break it down and think more about the demon clown himself. I wanted to give him more to do. I wanted to explore his frustration. I think that giving Killjoy more depth made him more dangerous because he is now more emotional in his evil deeds. It’s also funnier that way."

Helming KILLJOY 3 also allowed Lechago the opportunity to work with writer/actor Trent Haaga, who aside from playing the titular slasher in KILLJOY 2, wrote last year’s acclaimed DEADGIRL. “Working with Trent was a joy,” he says. “He’s easy to direct because he really pays attention to the context of the scene. He also has already developed the character because he played the part in the last one. I just pushed the character further, but it was really Trent who defined him. It was a pleasure to see what he would do with each scene. Working with Full Moon was great all around. The company knows to trust the filmmakers. At the beginning of the production, Charles is specific about what he does and doesn’t want and after that he lets us do our job unhindered. That way each of his directors can instill their own personality into the movie. He’s been producing for a long time and knows how to prep.”

The one thing readers will most likely want to know when it comes to BIO•SLIME and KILL JOY 3 are their abilities to repulse, and the way Lechago sees it, they won’t disappoint. “I have to say that I love gore, slime and general naughtiness. I try to deliver as much as possible every time,” he says. “BIO•SLIME has plenty of gook, blood, and gore. I also threw in a few tentacles. KILLJOY was a little tougher, because it’s more about the characters. So I devised situations where we would see a gory feast and bloody violence. I armed Killjoy with a giant carnival mallet with which he gets some great hits and one really good splat out of it. I also created three more characters as his sidekicks, including his girlfriend, a demoness clown who wears makeup all over her body.”

BIO•SLIME will have its premiere Monday, March 29 at the LA Film School Theater at 7 p.m., while KILLJOY 3 is awaiting its release date. Keep checking Fangoria.com for more info on both as it comes in. 

 

 

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