In celebration of Oz Femme Fatales of Horror Month, I’d like to welcome the multi-talented Vanessa Gudgeon.
( Soxie Liqueur'e © Angela McSwain)
VG – Thank you so much for having me!
What do you love the most about horror?
VG – I could probably go on for days about everything I adore about horror, but the thing I love most is the community it has created. There are so many amazing people, from fans to creators and everyone in between who have been brought together by this genre, whether it be in person or online. I’ve met most of my closest friends through horror in one way or another and for that, I am eternally grateful, because they truly are “my tribe” and I can’t imagine life without them.
You are currently working on a film in pre-production titled Mr. Bang-Bang and The Babes of Death, could you please tell us about this project, what is your involvement and has the COVID pandemic affected the production in anyway?
VG – Mr. Bang-Bang and The Babes of Death is about a group of ladies who attempt to bring a dildo to life, but in a terrible twist of fate, they accidentally give life to a gun and his sexy bullet babes and that’s when the fun begins! I wrote Mr. Bang-Bang a couple of years ago and am now co-directing it with my partner in crime Duncan Shaw. Unfortunately, pre-production has been a little slower than we would have liked, between lockdowns and the resulting slowing down of shipments meaning long waits for prop-making supplies, there’s been more than a few setbacks, but on the other hand, we’ve also been able to use that extra time at home wisely.
You worked on The Harbour Theatre’s production of Let The Right One in doing props and sound in 2020 and it recently won the Hywell Williams Award for Technical Achievement at the 46th Annual Robert Finley Awards, could you please tell us about the production and how you go involved?
VG - I’ve been creating foley and running the sound for Harbour Theatre since 2010 and while I was already slated to be working on sound for this production, I was ecstatic to have been approached by our incredible director Jo Sterkenburg, who asked Duncan Shaw and myself to help out with some of the props and workshopping some of the more gruesome scenes which were so much fun to work on!
Duncan and I created the knives used to slit throats and cut hands, live on stage, which have inbuilt chambers filled with blood to spill out over the actors. It was such a challenge to get the desired effect right in a live setting, but once we worked out the correct angles and placements for the actors it turned out way better than we thought it ever could. These knives were modelled off a real kitchen knife and to look at them side by side, from the correct angle, it is very hard to tell them apart, so you can imagine my glee each night, as audience members gasped in horror, as our creations were truly brought to life by the actors.
You are very multi-talented, from alternative model to Burlesque Dancer, Actress to film maker and even a mermaid, in which of these roles do you feel the most at home, and could not live without doing?
VG – That is such a tough question because, for me, they all sort of meld together as one. All the creative “gigs” I do have a lot of traits in common and in a way, they are all extensions of each other. I really do love them all for so many different reasons and I feel just as much at home dancing upon a stage, as I do on set, or posing in front of a camera or swimming beneath the waves in one of my beautiful tails.
(Mermaid Soxie © Hope Emmily Tucker Tail by The Mertailor)
Where would you like to see yourself in 5 years?
VG – I hope that I will still be doing the things I love and if it were with a bigger budget, I wouldn’t be complaining.
Your favourite horror movie and why?
VG – I have a lot of favourites, but I’m going with 1984’s A Nightmare On Elm Street because to me it’s the perfect balance of horror, comedy and practical effects.
Which horror villain can you relate to the most and why?
VG – Mary Mason from American Mary, because, while things end up getting way out of hand, at the end of the day, she was trying to help people the only way she knew how.
How has the COVID pandemic affected you personally?
VG – It’s been tough. Just like everyone, I’ve not seen a lot of my friends and family in person since this all started and having to attend funerals via video links has been rather surreal… But I have also been in a fortunate position to be able to discover the joys of time in lockdown, I found time to work on our film, watch movies and thanks to the internet, I think I was more social than I have ever been before in my adult life. I attended birthday parties, dinner parties, board game nights, video game nights and played D&D all without ever having to leave the house and I really got into all the things people were putting in their window, I put up teddies and drawings, which I changed up often for the local kids in my neighbourhood to see as they walked past with their families and I’m still putting drawings in the windows for “special days” like Halloween and Christmas, they aren’t masterpieces, but they are certainly a good bit of fun.
Do you have any advice for women wanting to start off in a career in horror or film?
VG – Don’t ever let anyone tell you that you can’t work in this industry because, while it’s hard work, you can do it, if things don't work out right away, don't give up and if someone ever tries to make you do something you don't want to, walk away, because there are so many better people to work with and you always deserve to be safe.
Are there any other projects you would like to let us know about?
(Vanessa Gudgeon and Duncan Shaw photo by Danny O'Loghlen)
VG – Yes, as I have mentioned in the past, I am still a part of the upcoming feature anthology film; Bleederville, which has officially started filming, but unfortunately, like many projects at the moment, production had been slowed by the effects of the pandemic. It has a fantastic script that was written by several different West Australian writers and I am very excited to see the end product!
Where can our readers find out more about you?
VG- You can follow me on Instagram @soxie_liqueure and like both Mr. Bang-Bang and The Babes Of Death and Bleederville on Facebook to keep up to date with what’s happening.
Thank you for being an Oz Femme Fatale of Horror.