An accomplished filmmaker and writer, Claire 'Fluff' Llewellyn is working hard to not only establish her career either through the work of her company Bloody Brit Productions, her career as an actress or as an author of various works. Now, in honor of Women in Horror Month, I talk with her about her initial start in the industry, her memories of working on several of her films and upcoming projects.
Me: Hello and thank you for taking the time to do this. First off, when did you get into horror in general?
Claire 'Fluff' Llewellyn: Hi, you’re welcome & thank you for having me.
Well, generally speaking, I became interested in horror at an early age. In primary school, [age 5-11 approximately, in the UK], we had a book buying club & I was always drawn to stories about ghosts, witches & the like. There was a very popular children’s book series called Meg & Mog, about a witch & her cat, which I loved lol. This was aimed at small children, so as I got a bit older I looked for more stimulating material. That’s when I discovered The Beaver Book of Horror; also for children, but telling tales of folklore, myths, legends, movie monsters & some real-life monsters. I learned about ‘Jack the Ripper’ & ‘Vlad the Impaler.’ There were pictures of famous old paintings of werewolves & scene by scene photos of actor John Barrymore’s transformation from Dr. Jekyll to Mr. Hyde. I was fascinated by everything I read & wanted more. I loved that book & still have it.
Me: Were you into genre films growing up? What films specifically got you into watching horror movies?
CFL: Absolutely! After reading about the great Lon Chaney & various classic movies, I naturally wanted to watch whatever horror movies I was allowed to. At the time, 1980’s, there were many genre television series that became routine viewing: Dr. Who, The Day of the Triffids, Hammer House of Horror, and of course, whatever ‘Hammer’ horror films came on the tele at a reasonable hour.
In my teens, at the weekends we would visit the local video rental shop & I was eager to check out the horror section. I was super excited when Evil Dead became available after having been banned initially. I found that movie to be a fun watch, not terribly scary but entertaining nonetheless. The sequel was more comedic, naturally.
Some stand-out memories involving horror movies include: not being allowed to watch JAWS when it first aired, so I think I had a bath instead! Lol; being scared whilst watching Halloween for the first time, one of the only films to ever give me nightmares; grabbing whatever snacks I could find to munch on whilst watching Alien with my friend, [mum had recorded it on VHS the night before] because the movie announcer voice warned against eating during this film!
Me: What was the initial inspiration to get into the industry? Were you initially attracted to a specific aspect that appealed to you?
CFL: Hmm, as a kid I thought I might like to be an actor, so I could pretend to be someone else! However, I was quite shy & introverted & found the other kids in drama class to be, well, too “dramatic” lol. So I dropped that class. I did go on to front a rock band in my late teens/early twenties though, which is another story ;)
I entered the regular full-time workforce as a government administration assistant, still yearning for some creative job prospects. At this point I enrolled in night classes for theatrical makeup, practicing on my colleagues in our lunch break, slit wrists was my favourite! I had fun with it, even got to make up my granddad as Frankenstein’s Monster & transform a friend into Medusa for a competition. Unfortunately, this was little more than a distraction.
Fast forward several years & my musical pursuits lead me to Illinois. Wanting to explore every single creative opportunity, I became an assistant to a Gothic Illusionist. We performed at various horror conventions & I was welcomed into the Indie Horror community. I was in my element. I soon got involved with some small independent productions as an actor, & even did a brief stint as a co-host to a local horror host.
To more directly answer your questions, I guess my initial inspiration to get into the industry was my passion for the genre & my desire for a creative lifestyle. What actually got me into the industry was meeting like-minded folk & being inspired & encouraged by them. The specific aspects that initially appealed to me were acting & FX makeup, though the latter I only occasionally dabble in on a basic level.
Me: Being the founder of Bloody Brit Productions, your own production company, what was the inspiration to start it? What do you hope to achieve in the future for your work through the company?
CFL: I started Bloody Brit Productions, which was not the original company name, because I was struggling to find enough acting roles. I’m a writer first & foremost, always have been to some degree, so I decided to turn my hand to writing screenplays as a vehicle for my acting. Bloody Brit Productions is not a full production company, essentially it’s just me & I lack the technical skills & equipment to make a movie by myself, but I prefer to use a fitting company name over my personal name. I have been fortunate enough to have had the assistance of talented & generous friends working under the Bloody Brit banner, [they are not tied to my company & some have their own companies]. I would especially like to acknowledge my first D.P., Rob Sepulveda [RES Digital Media], & editor extraordinaire/ skeleton crew of one: Christopher Kahler [Drunken Flesh Films]. Without them & others who have supported me, including the cast, I could not have made any of my films.
Going forward, I hope I can produce more Bloody Brit Films. To date, the amount of content is slim due to the obvious limitations of having no budget. I would like to be able to achieve a sustainable future in film with Bloody Brit. My goal is to raise a fair budget for a feature film so I can hire more crew, secure up-to-date gear & locations, block shoot & pay everyone for their efforts, with money left for that all-important marketing.
Me: With plenty of short films early in your career, what tools and skills do you acquire working on those that transferred to feature-film projects?
CFL: Essentially, it requires the same skillset to produce a short film as it does a feature. It helps to build your skills, stamina & resources by cutting your teeth on a short film first, although I know people who dive headfirst into a feature right out of the gate. For me a short film was more manageable, especially having no experience & learning everything on the fly. Also, as I’m an incredibly slow & meticulous writer, a feature-length script is a daunting task. I’m quite comfortable writing short scripts & there’s less time commitment required of everyone.
I would say the skills I acquired working on my early short films are: patience; timing; observation; mood lighting; setting the tone; musical relevance; character development, to name but a few. These are relevant to any length of the film.
I have only produced one feature so far, Hobo With A Trash Can. This is an anthology featuring several genre directors. I wrote two short scripts, [one being the overall wrap-around which integrates all the stories into the main premise], so it was more attainable than a full solo feature.
Me: Having worked on various aspects of film production, do you have any particular preference for working on any?
CFL: When you are limited in your resources, [crew, budget, etc], you have to take on many tasks to complete the project. Having done so, I can definitely say I know where my strengths lie & what my preferred roles are. As I’ve previously mentioned, I’m predominantly a writer, this is my greatest strength & something I enjoy. When it comes to the actual ‘ hands-on’ work, my first preference is acting: it’s very refreshing getting out of your own head for a while. Other jobs I enjoy are: casting- you can visualize a character when you’re writing & finding the right match in an actor is exciting; wardrobe- it’s about building the character ascetically & I’m a thrift store junkie, I’m no seamstress or designer though. When it comes to producing, I do what I have to, it’s hard work & again I’m limited in my resources. I would prefer to work with a professional/experienced producer in the future. As for directing, I’m still green & building my confidence.
Me: Outside of the studio, you've also amassed a nice amount of credits for indie films like "III Slices of Life," "Dracula's Orgy of the Damned," "Werewolf Massacre at Hell's Gate" and "Cult of the Shadow People" among numerous others. Is there any specific type of character you prefer playing?
CFL: It’s always rewarding to be assigned a character that’s multi-layered & gets to express a range of emotions or at least extracts strong emotions from the viewer. Playing the villain is great, but portraying a character that’s somewhere between good & bad is much more interesting.
Me: What do you do to stay in character while on-set? When you're not filming, how do you pass the time between takes?
CFL: To stay in character on set, I just filter out any distractions & focus on what motivates the character. Whilst not filming, I’ll interact with the cast & crew if appropriate, offer assistance where appropriate, but mostly I’ll be studying up on my next scene.
Me: From looking at your first shorts "Sub Hub" and "Conscience" to your most recent effort "Visitation," how do you feel you've grown as a writer/director?
CFL: Well, I would say that I have seen how the page translates to the screen. So now when I write a script I have a bit better understanding of how it can be shot, what works & what doesn’t under certain circumstances. As a director, I’m a good writer! Lol. I rely heavily on the expertise of my crew. I have learnt a lot, but I’m still not that confident as I lack the technical knowledge so I need to be able to effectively relate my vision to my team. I’m still deciding if I have the aptitude to be a good director, but I’m not giving up on that role just yet.
Me: In addition to your film-work, you've also become an accomplished writer and poet. Do you feel more at ease here compared to a being on a movie set? How do you become involved in these collections and collaborations?
CFL: I started writing simple poetry & stories in childhood and then poems turned into lyrics in my band days. I had amassed a lot of notebooks/scraps of paper & wanted to immortalize some of my best work in print. With self-publication becoming more accessible, & having some downtime, I bit the bullet & went for it! My first publication in 2019, LOVE is a KILLER, is 50/50 old work & new. It’s a horror-themed poetry collection. Then in 2020, I published a larger poetry collection of mostly new non-genre work titled: RHYME & REASON: Facets of a Life.
I definitely feel more at ease being a writer. I’m an introvert & writing is just part of who I am. However, I also enjoy the creative process of filmmaking & the camaraderie of a team that clicks. I hope I can continue to do both.
As for becoming involved in collections & collaborations, the books I’ve published so far are all my own work, I even created the cover art. I am investigating the possibility of submitting poetry & short stories to other publishers for their collections in the future to hopefully expand my audience. I’m also looking into collaborating with an artist to illustrate some of my longer story poems.
Me: What else are you working on that you'd like to share with our readers?
CFL: I just submitted a horror flash fiction piece to a contest & I’m waiting to see how that performs. I’m not sure where or who will publish it first, but eventually, I will publish it in my own collection. I’m also working on more horror poetry collections, illustrated poetry stories as stated above, & plenty of scripts. One horror/comedy feature script, in particular, has some interest & is at the top of my “must complete soon” pile.
Aside from writing projects, I’m part of the cast of Christopher Kahler’s Giallo film, Steal Your Face, which is delayed in production.
Finally, I would like to mention two events that I'll be vending at this year:
DEADCON, IN - Oct. 15-17
Midwest Monster Fest, IL - Sept. 3-5
Me: Lastly, being that this is Women in Horror Month, what special message do you have for any women out there looking to join in the industry in any capacity as you are one yourself? Thank you again for your time!
CFL: Basically I would say to anyone who has a passion/interest/dream or even just a curiosity about the industry, to just give it a shot! Join relevant social groups, network, practice your craft at home, study & volunteer on local productions. You’ll soon discover your preferences, build your skills & find your place. Perseverance & a thick skin are essential for success. Best of luck to you all
Thank you.
To follow her and her work, check out her social media:
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