Writer-Director David Ryan Keith Tells Us About His Upcoming Film ‘Ghosts Of Darkness’ In An Interview

February 16, 2017

Written by Kelli Marchman McNeely

Kelli Marchman McNeely is the owner of HorrorFuel.com. She is an Executive Producer of "13 Slays Till Christmas" which is out on Digital and DVD and now streaming on Tubi. She has several other films in the works. Kelli is an animal lover and a true horror addict since the age of 9 when she saw Friday the 13th. Email: horrorfuelinfo@gmail.com
david ryan keith
I had the opportunity to interview writer-director David Ryan Keith about his upcoming paranormal thriller ‘Ghosts of Darkness’. The film, which arrives on Digital HD this March, centers on “two paranormal investigators are unexpectedly thrown together in the hope of solving a 100-year mystery.Locked for three nights in a house with a dark and unsettling past, the two investigators must put their differences to one side and work together. They soon discover the myths and stories are nothing compared to what actually resides within the eerie walls of Richwood Manor. Scepticism and showmanship are soon put to one side when the two investigators realise there is more at stake than just their professional reputation. For once they have stumbled onto the real thing, but this time it’s their own lives at stake.”
ghosts of darkness
Horror Fuel: “Not only did you direct Ghosts of Darkness, you also wrote it. What inspired the story?”
DRK: “To be honest the motivation for writing a paranormal movie was based solely on the fact the direct to DVD/VOD market is still crying out for them. I’ve always enjoyed watching these kinds of movies, so getting the chance to make one was allot of fun for me. As far as writing the actual script, you can’t help but be influenced by films you’ve seen in the past; the trick for this film was to make it work within our budget limitations and try and deliver something fans of these kinds of paranormal movies will like.”
Horror Fuel: ” The two main characters, played by Koltes and Flannery, are almost opposites, was that on purpose?”
DRK: “Yes I wanted the characters to be completely different, I thought it would be fun to see how a sceptic would cope being locked in a haunted house with an over the top flamboyant psychic. In terms of actual actors we also cast complete opposites, one being your good looking all American hero, and the other being an almost classic Sherlock Holmes stereotype Englishman. It’s tough to come up with really fresh original ideas within this genre, we’ve seen these haunted house movies re-hashed so many times over the years that we thought it
important to at least make the characters more three dimensional than the ones normally associated with this kind of movie.”
ghostofdarkness 2
Horror Fuel: “Did you research any real events while writing the script?”
DRK: “We actually met up with a real Ghost Hunter, all the props used in the movie by the character Jack Donavan are gadgets paranormal investigators use in their real life investigations. Both me and my producing partner Lorraine also attended a ghost hunt on a
famous haunted boat in Scotland, although it was interesting watching the process it was also hilarious to observe the organizers try and ramp up the fear factor when it was clear nothing of interest was happening paranormal wise. I’m more than open about the possibility of Ghosts & Demons, but unfortunately I’m still waiting to see any of them with my own eyes.”
Horror Fuel: “Your previous film, ‘The Redwood Massacre’, a slasher, is very different from ‘Ghosts of Darkness’. What made you want to jump to a different subgenre ?”
DRK: “The Redwood Massacre was a really fun film to make, but after making one slasher film you quickly realise there aren’t many other directions to take it in, the formula is pretty much set in movie stone. I think the reason paranormal films have stayed so current over the last
decade is the fact the genre lends itself better to actual storytelling, the audience is more likely to take a risk on films like Ghosts Of Darkness because of the fact it’s such a popular subject, and for a film maker it’s open to unlimited cool spooky tales that can work within any budget if done right.”
Horror Fuel: “What’s next for you?”
DRK: “We have a slate of three films we want to produce over the next couple of years, all horror based. One aspect of film making that never changes is how hard it is to find investment to get these kind of films made. We live in Scotland and the local industry isn’t exactly
knocking on our door wanting to invest in horror/paranormal, hopefully Ghosts Of Darkness preforms well upon it’s release and we can get rolling with our other projects in the next couple of months.”
Horror Fuel: “If you had to pick one, what would be your favorite horror movie and why?”
DRK: “I have to say I still love the original Fright Night. Ok maybe it’s not a full on horror but to me it’s an example of perfect filmmaking. I grew up in the 80’s/90’s so those movies of that era are permanently burned into my brain, even though the horror market is currently saturated with indie horror movies, you do find some of these films are successfully doing things I think the larger studios would never have taken a risk on. But lets be honest, you can’t beat the original films like Halloween, Hellraiser, Evil Dead etc”
Be sure to catch David Ryan Keith’s  ‘Ghosts of Darkness‘ from on Digital HD on March 7th. Follow the film on Facebook and Twitter  and visit Clearfocus Productions for updates and more.

Share This Article

You May Also Like…