Alexandre Michaud

I started making small indy horror films back in 1997. That was way before file sharing and youtube and all that stuff. Even editing a movie on a computer was brand new technology so... yes, I guess I'm one of the old guys.

3. Your released some popular horror films on VHS some years ago. Tell people about the plots and titles.

In 1999, we released a brutal cannibal film called URBAN FLESH. It tells the story of a group of thrill killers on the prowl who end up torturing the wife of the detective in charge of tracking them. URBAN FLESH was a semi-success and had a lot of people talking about us back then. I then went on to work with Kevin J. Lindenmuth on a few films as director (ALIEN CONSPIRACY: THE ALIEN AGENDA, GOREGOYLES etc...). I then moved to producing and ADing with a couple of projects with Christian Viel (RECON 2022 and RECON 2023). I directed my last film in 2006 about a serial killer murdering serial killers. Movie is called CLEAN.

4. You have handled different elements in the film profession, including directing, production and writing, no? Which do you find the easiest?

Script writing is the most enjoyable for me because it doesn't involve anybody else and no money. Every other aspects of filmmaking I enjoy except that it's tainted by time & money constraints. When you work with a very tiny budget, you always have to rush, ask for favours and compromise which is never enjoyable.

5. And the hardest?

Hardest part is directing because you've got to balance a lot of plates that don't necessarely go well together. You've got to deal with staying on budget, personnal relations with the cast and crew, the technical stuffs etc... At the same time, you've got to stay true to your artistic vision. It's hard to keep the balance between the artist and the project manager role.

6. have your films been commercial made available on DVD form the original VHS?

All my films were available on DVD at some point. My first movie, URBAN FLESH, was originally only available on VHS but we completely re-edited and remastered it in 2004 for a DVD release with Sub-Rosa.

7. Of the titles, which are you most proud?

CLEAN is definitely my favorite. It played at Fant-Asia festival and it sticks pretty well to the concept and feel I had in mind when I started it. It's gloomy and nihilistic. I think we did a decent job on this one.

8. Is there much of a demand for Indy horror in Canada now?

Yes and no. The new generations do have a taste for cheap independent genre movies and there are a lot of people making them but as far as I can figure, there is no actual industry to support it. Basically, young filmmakers are now doing it for the fun of it instead of trying to build a career out of it. There are good and bad things about that.

9. Since you are French Canadian have you thought of releasing these titles in French for marketing?

I thought about it. From the get go, we decided to shoot in English because we wanted our films to be seen by as many people as possible. We wanted our films to travel. It was a good decision in the late 90s as the industry supported us and our films did travel much more that if we had shot them in French. Things have changed now and the audience is more open to foreign films but back then, that's how it was.

10.You are considering the production of a different set of projects now, with books?

Yes, we're working on series of short novels.

11. You are planning a series of books that kind of take from the old El Santo Vs. The Vampire Women type theme?

The MASKED AVENGER is a book series for all the family featuring the adventures of a luchador fighting crimes. It's an homage to El Santo but also to the French book series Bob Morane. We want to come back to the good old days of Fighting Fantasy when reading was fun. I feel like boys have been forgotten a little bit by the entertainment industry and we need to cater for them. Boys will always love wrestling, monsters and adventure so this project makes sense to me. Go to maskedavenger.tv to follow the 2015 launch of the series.

12. You are also planning a set of ultra-violent/ultra sexy female spy books?

This one has nothing to do with the other. It's the complete opposite. CHERRY BOMB will be an erotico-action series in the tradition of Cherry Delight and Stanley Morgan. It will mix sex and violence. Basically, it will be 50 Shades Of Grey for men! Go to paperbackoriginal.com to see when it's coming out.

13, Other authors are going to be working on the series too?

I'm not writing any of the novels. I'm just acting as creator and project supervisor. Professional writers are being brought in to write the novels. We will not hide that, no ghost-writing. The name of the writer will be on the cover of each book. It will just be a different writer every time.

14. Do you hope to make these into a film series?

Actually, THE MASKED AVENGER started out as a script I wrote. We went to the film markets for a few years and it got really close to get made but it all kind of fell in the water. Maybe someday somebody will see the potential and it will happen. The script is ready if anybody is interested.

15. Have you found any vast difference between writing for the screen and writing books?

Writing for the screen is more about placing the pieces of the story together and pacing it so it won't have boring parts. Novels give more freedom as far as pacing goes but requires a subtle prose style and refinement that does not exist in screenplays. If fact, style and refinement is not desirable in a screenplay, in my opinion.

16. Do you have any other future projects in mind?

I've been working as a concert promoter for a little while. We put on shows for international acts here in Montreal. We do mostly metal. Company is called 13 Media Concerts. We took care of the ex-Iron Maiden Blaze Bayley Canadian Tour in 2014. We also worked with Neil Turbin (ex-Anthrax), Pain Of Salvation and The London Quireboys. I'm still doing that. I kind of moved away from filmmaking because it was not satisfying to me anymore. Maybe I'll come back to it one day, who knows.

17. Do you still prefer the horror genre?

18. What big name directors do you admire?

Always been a big fan of Argento, Fulci and Soavi. John Woo was also my biggest influence when I started. His ability to mix drama and over-the-top action in his early HK days was amazing. Jodorowsky is also an artist that really inspire me.

Clive Barker will always be at the top of my list. Style, refinement and storytelling skills. I'm also a fan of David Morrell and Robert B. Parker. My guilty pleasure is the Mack Bolan Executioner book series. Mindless violent fun.

20. Have you patterned yourself after any of these people or do you consider yourself original overall?

I don't know. Nobody is really 100% original. Good artists inspire us. They give you a vision of what you could be as an artist. It's normal that you pick up some tricks from the guys you look up to. It's all about expressing your own vision on the screen but there is a reason why you connect with the artists that you like and it's normal that you may end up expressing similar things.

21. Anything else to ad?

Don't forget to check out maskedavenger.tv and paperbackoriginal.com in 2015. There's a lot of cool stuff coming up. Also, if you're in Montreal, support live music and come to one of our concerts; 13mediaconcerts.com .

22. Closing comments?

Never forget that, may it be a horror film, a sexy-spy novel or heavy metal music, it should always be considered as ART. Support ART. Do not consume ART.