William Burgess' Hipster Holocaust premieres

William Burgess has been a friend and collaborator for many years. He really knows hipsters (might be one himself)—in fact, he used to pick them and their empties up off the floor of the old Il Corral, where Monday nights got their start and Burgess himself lived.

So now Burgess is killing them—one by one—in his new feature, Hipster Holocaust, which makes it’s L.A. premiere tonight (Friday the 13th—how appropriate).

The film is nothing less than stunning. It balances the 21st Century fetish for sensual/technical camera play with truly involving slice-of-life story-telling about a group of Echo Park slackers. And then there’s the slaying—lots of slaying.

Actually Huizenga is only one of the hipsters who succumb to the “Holocaust” in William Burgess’ new movie.

Hey, Burgess—when and where did you film Hipster Holocaust?
Echo Park about 3 years ago.

How do you describe your film? It seems like part comedy/part slice of life in L.A./part horror movie…
It’s a bloody buddy movie about two friends who are basically 50’s juvenile delinquent types who have no character arc who smash in to interrupt the very real world of the white privileged class of Hipster LA. There’s as much sexual intimidation as there is violence so it is a film that I think is a bit difficult to categorize but bloody buddy movie I believe sums it up nicely.

What were your biggest influences when you wrote the script?
What has been left as a result of hours of red-eyed, back room VHS tape viewings since childhood could be called the resin which I scrape off my soul when I cook up a new project. My most accomplished creative works have been the direct result of adversity in my personal life and the work itself is the exorcism. Hipster Holocaust is no different. My biggest influences on this film I’d say were HG Lewis and Ted V. Mikels. Specifically the quote which inspired my continual drive to complete the film was from Lewis who once said (paraphrase): “I don’t want it pretty, I want it Tuesday.” Much like Ed Wood, Ted V. Mikels would populate his cast with striking and memorable faces, actors who occupied a sort of space which feels as much like Mars as it does planet earth- strange cadences, exotic or goonish features and I found myself seeking actors who could have this sort of range. From within this framework I wrote a script that had these characters playing with each other for an hour and a half.

“Failure is natural”…so is murder!

How did you assemble your cast?
I knew I had a cast of excellent characters, people i had worked with on previous projects whom i could trust to be professional on the set as well as strong creative beings. Most of the cast with few exceptions are artists first, actors second which was to my advantage in creating an atmosphere which exists “between space”. I wanted to create a film with hybrid moments whose character motivations and cinematic intentions are leading you somewhere intriguing but unclear until the end. Using actors who were not trained to have a set of rules to begin with helped me mold this. Time-wise I wrote the thing in a week, had my cast in a week, had a month and a half of rehearsals and shot her in 12 days on a production budget of 3000. In exploitation all production elements are subservient to the speed in which you can produce your work. When doing this and keeping your creative channel open, a lot of the subconscious can wind up on the screen if you allow it and in my case it was a direct line. I’ll never tell. Jack Hill, Bela Tarr, Alex de Renzy, John Cassavetes and Kenneth Anger. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre Right now we’re looking for distribution and I am currently in pre-production on a new independent horror feature. Hopefully we can do it for 6000 this time!

Is Actually Huizenga actually masturbating on screen?
I’ll never tell.

Who are your favorite directors?
Jack Hill, Bela Tarr, Alex de Renzy, John Cassavetes and Kenneth Anger.

What’s the best horror movie ever made?
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.

What’s next for you and your film?
Right now we’re looking for distribution and I am currently in pre-production on a new independent horror feature. Hopefully we can do it for 6000 this time!