An accomplished writer, director and actress, Maria Lee Metheringham has built a notable career with numerous credits across the UK indie scene in a multitude of professions but compiling the most credits in the genre itself. Now, in honor of Women in Horror Month I talk with her about getting into the genre, the projects she's filmed while on lockdown and other upcoming films.
Me: Hello and thank you for taking the time to do this. First off, when did you get into horror in general?
Maria Lee Metheringham: Hey up! Thanks for having me. I got into horror as a kid really, I had strict parents who wouldn’t let me watch anything scary or above my age group in terms of the ratings but I always managed to sneakily watch stuff when I had sleepovers at mates houses or had my own TV in my bedroom, watching a scary film with the sound off!
Me: Were you into genre films growing up? What films specifically got you into watching horror movies?
MLM: I loved watching both action, horror and sci-fi films and even loved playing PlayStation games with a horror theme, especially Silent Hill and Resident Evil, shooting up zombies and monsters. As a young kid I was obsessed with watching the TV series ‘Goosebumps’ and ‘Are You Afraid of the Dark’ and was always reading Point Horror books. The first horror film I watched was The Exorcist, followed by Chucky and Nightmare on Elm Street, which gave me a love for the late 70s and 80s styles of horror films like Halloween, Friday 13th and Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Absolutely loved the Alien films too, combining Sci-fi and horror together!
Me: Being one of the busiest actresses and directors in the scene at the moment, are you in a state of excitement or exhaustion at the projects you’re participating in? Does that help to offset issues like physical fatigue, hectic work-schedule, etc?
MLM: Oh definitely in a state of excitement! I just want to be on set as much as I can really, especially now in the current state where there is nothing much else to do. Films are very restricted right now but luckily I have the release of ‘Bite Night’ coming up which is with the distributors and also the small cast and crew films I am doing with CineNorth Studios and Purgatory Pictures. Working alongside filmmaking is tiring but I like to keep busy so I only see it as a positive thing.
Me: With several appearances in Matt Shaw's efforts like the quarantine-centered Lockdown and sci-fi comedy They Came from the Sky, I Saw Them, what do you recall most about your time with these films?
MLM: The lockdown shorts written by Matt Shaw were very much welcome and with them mainly being comedy was a nice boost within a very repetitive 3 months or however long it went on for. He just threw the short scripts my way and I was like, yeah! Keep them coming! They Came From the Sky was a crazy idea Matt had and was a way of getting together on a film set with a group of filmmakers and just having a laugh and doing something crazy and ridiculous to lighten the lockdown blues and get into being productive again. That is exactly how it was as well, we all had a right laugh and made something I would definitely say is unique! You need a certain type of humour to get this film. I mean I never thought I’d be acting alongside Matt with our heads superimposed inside a vagina and repeatedly saying the word Moist, then getting blasted with a face full of jelly!
Me: As well, you also released several new shorts including Lost in Sleep. Where did the inspiration for the short come from? Were there any unique stories about its conception?
MLM: Yes, these shorts I got together with Cinematographer/Editor Jamie Walker to do, as we wanted to get cracking on creating something we could put together in a short space of time and also tell 3 different stories with different themes. I wrote about 5 short scripts during the lockdown and we made the 3 as restrictions were lifted/relaxed, starting with ‘Fade’ and then ‘Dangerous Game.’ ‘Lost in Sleep’ was very much inspired by a dream/nightmare I had as well as the feelings of a lot of people around me feeling like they were stuck in a void of nothingness, feeling lost and hopeless and just not knowing what to do. Suicide has gone up massively and there’s been a huge feeling of emptiness, depression and loneliness with the pandemic which doesn’t seem to be talked about in the media or anywhere. I wanted to write something to try to make that feeling visual. It’s very dreamlike and shows those subconscious thoughts and feelings, following one character as he suffers from sleep paralysis and the black dog, which in this film is shown as a sleep demon.
Me: What was the set like while shooting the film? How did the cast and crew react to the type of film being made?
MLM: Well, there were literally only 4 of us on that film set and it was mainly shot outside on location with one shot being filmed indoors. We filmed out near Sheffield way and met the Actors onset, the main Actor being William Marshall and his friend Jamie Curran playing the sleep demon and also operating the sound for us too. We found a woodland area with fields and trees, which was surprisingly quite busy when we turned up but as it was a large area and we had scouted out where to do the shots before the filming day, we knew where would be quiet suit the shots we wanted. William played the role very well and knew exactly the mental state of the character we were trying to portray. Jamie Walker was able to get some great shots with the drone as well as create the right atmosphere of the dreamlike world with the framing of the shots etc.
Me: Do you recall having any odd or funny on-set stories about yourself or any of the other cast/crew members?
MLM: Do you know the bulk of filming these shorts was pretty smooth running apart from my dodgy practical effects skills when filming Dangerous Game, I made a neck wound that kept on disintegrating, so we just covered it in blood to hide the mess, seemed to work! There was a lot of odd moments in Matt Shaw's They Came, when we were recording sound for a sex scene and we were all stood around the mic with tiny fart pots that you get as a kid, just stood there about 6 of us poking our fingers inside this goo whilst looking at each other and making varying fart noises, was great. The entire week of that film was odd, so I’d say just watch the film for that! While we were filming Bite Night we just kept setting off fire alarms all week with our excessive use of smoke machines and during the club scene at the beginning, we nearly lost the massive python snake down the hole of one of the floorboards, that could have been awkward!
Me: Your other recently-released short, 'A Dangerous Game,' offers quite a dramatic and personal approach to the material at hand. What do you do to get yourself into the mindset of the characters portrayed in the feature?
MLM: Well, Dangerous Game is focused on a very dark sexual relationship between two people. The woman in the relationship Claire played by Anija Sly is bisexual and she has an open relationship with Paul played by Matt Shaw. Only Paul has been exploiting her sexuality for his own personal gain and it’s a one-sided situation where she feels trapped and obliged to keep him happy. So the story takes a dark turn. I ended up playing the role of the Lone Women due to the original Actress having to pull out but because I am confident with the more risqué characters and it was something I wrote and could relate to I had no issues playing it. I usually write scripts based on personal experience or from the experiences of others close to me and things that I see. I hope it comes across and is relatable to other people too because of this, I am not just coming up with random made-up ideas for the sake of it. When I make a fun light-hearted feature it’s because I’m inspired by films I love and want to do something with a similar theme.
Me: With the state of the world as it is right now, what changes or difficulties have presented themselves in getting new projects going?
MLM: Well, the main difficulty is having films that were not finished before lockdown started which require quite a few cast members and busy sets. I was near the end of filming Cowgirls Don’t Lie with lynx Elite Productions and then lockdown happened so we can’t finish until it ends. We have big fight scenes going on in that film so we can’t even cheat it.
Filming the shorts with CineNorth Studios we’ve kept the cast and crew very small, so mainly only 4 - 6 people on set and a lot is done on location. In Matt Shaw’s Box, there were only 4 of us for a full week living and filming in one location so we were basically isolating together whilst making that. We are now in pre-production with the next feature film with Matt titled The Call which again is a one character with a cast and crew of 4 people and one location. It’s very restricted but where there is a will there is a way and we are determined to one productive and make things happen.
Me: With a role in the confined thriller 'Box' being done in this environment, what were some of the initial restrictions and guidelines like to get it filmed?
MLM: Well, we had to make sure we were all based in one location first off, we all had to have our own spaces within the house we were staying in, which we did. There is only one character in the film, aside from myself having a small role but the box itself was inside a large room and the only person in the box was either Matt or myself and we were filmed separately, although you won’t know this watching the film as we did some nifty little cheats. The house was pretty much empty which was ideal as it meant we had a lot of space to move around etc.
Me: Another of your upcoming projects, Bite Night, is set to be released soon. What can you tell us about the film’s potential release?
MLM: Well it’s all in the hands of the distribution company currently and I’ve been told they are looking at release early this year, so we shall see. Fingers crossed not too much longer. There’s always a bit of trial and error getting everything sorted for release with all the edits and sound, artwork and contracts, etc. Plus I’m sure things are probably running slower than usual at the moment with everything that's going on. It is set for worldwide release though and Pumpkins is also set for its UK release soon too as that has only been out in the USA and Canada currently. Something to look forward to anyway!
Me: With appearances in films ranging from The Witches of the Sands,” “The Shadow Over Whitby” and “Bad Moon Rising” to name just a few, what do you do to prepare yourself for your upcoming workload? How do you keep the projects categorized so it’s not stressful or overwhelming?
MLM: I’ve never felt stressed or overwhelmed with the projects I’ve been involved with as they are all nicely spaced out so easy to manage. I only had one-off appearances in both Witches of the Sands and Bad Moon Rising so was straightforward to shoot. In fact, my scene in Bad Moon Rising was filmed at Horror On Sea Film Festival by Mike Dixon in one of the side rooms, pretty much improvised most of that scene and done within about 10 minutes haha. I am good at learning lines though, I’m like a sponge for soaking them up. Which is going to be very much needed for The Call as there will be a lot of lines to learn and I’m carrying that film myself. Love a challenge though, so really excited for it.
Me: What else are you working on that you'd like to share with our readers?
MLM: Well, Mark Blake Smiths ‘Shadow Over Whitby’ will hopefully get to be finished come summertime depending on the lockdown situation. That's a really interesting script and got a very old folk-horror style to it which I love. Then Mycho Entertainment is in the process of starting a new Thorn film ‘Wrath of Thorn’ as soon as they can and I can get stuck back into my role as Mina Adams once again. As I mentioned, I am doing another film with Matt Shaw playing the lead role in The Call which will hopefully be good to start over the next few months. I’m also in the process of writing a feature film with CineNorth Studios, a horror based on PTSD, which would be ideal to film over the summertime, so fingers crossed for that too.
You can follow our projects and news about what we’re doing on www.cinenorthstudios.co.uk
Also updates on my other feature films on www.greatnorthernproductions.co.uk
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!
MLM: I don’t think the advice for women would be much different to the advice for men wanting to get into the film industry. It’s all about networking as much as you can, creating opportunities for yourself by getting out there and making things happen. Don’t be afraid to experiment and don’t be afraid of criticism, you will get loads so just take it on the chin and be thick-skinned. Being professional, reliable and easy to engage has a massive impact on people wanting to work with you. Do what you say you’re going to do, don’t just be a talker.
This interview ran as part of our Women in Horror Month celebrations. Click the banner below to check out all of our reviews and interviews about the occasion:
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