An acclaimed writer, director, musician, and producer among other roles, independent filmmaker Guerilla Metropolitana has created a small but effective catalog of counterculture art in the extreme exploitation field as he starts his career in the industry. Now, in honor of his upcoming feature-film release of Dariuss, I talk with him about his early start in the industry, the creation of the film itself, and some upcoming projects.
Me: Hello and thank you for taking the time to do this. First off, where did you get the urge to go into directing?
Guerilla Metropolitana: First, thank you for having me here.
I am a former musician with a background in the arts.
My love for cinema goes way back to when I was a child.
I always wanted to write my own stories and turn them into cinema.
However, the big decision to actually start and do it was a couple of years ago when I did my very first work (the short horror film BITS), which was entirely shot at night unauthorized in a purely ‘guerrilla’ style in an apartment block in East London.
Me: Were you always into genre films growing up? What films specifically got you into watching horror movies?
GM: I was always into all kinds of films, from the old classics of any genre to exploitation films, experimental, erotic, and many others.
There is not a particular title that played a ‘master’ influence on me.
I am a visual filmmaker.
I was always interested in the aesthetics of films rather than movies with extensive dialogues.
Me: Having worked on various aspects of film production, do you have any particular preference for working on any?
GM: In all my cinematographic work, I write, produce, direct, edit as well as creating special effects, and also write part of the music.
I also play a role as an actor in any project of mine.
Guerrilla Metropolitana is not just my alias as a filmmaker, but also a cinematographic project where the author/director clones himself multiple times in multiple roles, creating his own cinematographic world of hallucinations, blood, madness, and bodily fluids.
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? How did moving from shorts to full-length films challenge your filmmaking skills?
GM: I started with short horror films and then I made a medium-length horror film about the hypocrisy of British film censorship and the ‘elite.’
Recently I have done (after nearly two years) my first actual full-length feature film called DARIUSS.
In all my work the narrative is purely visual, and I use alternative means of communication but not traditional dialogue.
As hard as it was, the transfer from the short film format to a full-length one wasn’t particularly hard for me.
It was just more challenging.
Me: So, this brings us to your new film, 'DARIUSS.' What can you tell us about the film?
GM: My film deals with human loss, tragedy, mental health, horror, sexual perversion, hallucinations but most importantly madness.
It explores different levels of the human quality and nature.
It is a cinematographic horror voyage into the darkest corners of insanity.
Me: Where did the inspiration for the film come from? Were there any unique stories about its conception?
GM: Originally, it was meant to be a home invasion short horror film of about 15 minutes, but as new ideas developed it became clear that this was going to be an actual film.
I incorporated a lot of my personal demons into the frame of a home invasion horror structure.
The rest followed as I kept working on the script.
Me: Is there anything from your childhood that helped to flesh out the characterizations?
GM: There are a lot of my old demons as a child in this film that they were used and amplified further to make this film what it is.
There is a lot of childlike anger and silliness at the same time but surrounded by an adult environment.
Hardcore sexuality and extreme horror are part of this too.
Me: With a cast of experienced and talented indie actors, how'd you settle on the cast getting involved in the film?
GM: The lead actress is ILA ARGENTO (no relation to Dario Argento) and she is a stage performer in Italy who worked previously as a character actress in a bunch of independent Italian horror films.
I decided to cast her as the female lead for my film.
The lead actor is an Italian filmmaker called Fabrizio La Monica (here under the alias of ARCHIBALD KANE), who was also involved in the film as a technical, editing/photography assistant.
They both flew (separately) from Italy to London for this film.
The other performers were locals here in the UK.
Me: Part of the early buzz surrounding the film centers on the filmmaking style where it's partially shot both in "guerrilla" style and with the use of meta-cinema. How did this approach for the film initially come about? What, if any challenges, did this bring about while filming?
GM: Both the ‘guerrilla’ aspect (in which my own alias comes from) and the use of meta-cinema are already present in my previous work from the start.
However, this time in DARIUSS I wanted these two elements to be the engine of the film to recreate an extreme and ultra level of realism.
In fact, these two elements combined with the ‘mirror-like’ effect story, give the film multiple layers of different interpretations, which is ultimately the strongest quality of the film.
Me: Outside of this, what was the set like while shooting the film? How did the cast and crew react to the type of film being made?
GM: I did all the outdoor shots alone at night in an unauthorized location and with one take only (since I was at risk of arrest if caught) whilst the indoor shots were filmed in a house I know.
Actresses were required to play controversial roles where nudity and sexual scenes were involved (as per script) and just like it was required of them, they allowed themselves to be ‘colors’ for my painting, where my vision could be fulfilled.
No ideological or politically correct actress could ever work for me.
I trashed dozens of actresses in the past (especially from the UK since they are mostly politically correct – with the exception of a very few, contrary to Italian or French actresses who are wilder and far braver).
They were all professional to the highest standard and the atmosphere was relaxed, although we worked hard (like 15 hours in a row).
The same was with the actor.
Me: Do you recall having any odd or funny on-set stories about yourself or any of the other cast/crew members?
GM: There were different funny moments throughout the making of DARIUSS, the funniest was probably a scene where we could not get the attention of the cat (Stella)and we needed her to look at the camera.
So, the actor and I used a slice of bacon and placed it near the camera so we knew she would look at it.
That is how I was able to film that particular scene.
Me: Lastly, what else are you working on that you'd like to share with our readers? Thank you again for your time!
GM: As you know DARIUSS was bought by SRS Cinema and soon it will be out on DVD for the American market as well as on a European VOD digital platform called HORROR FACES.
This means I will be involved in promoting my film for at least a year.
However, I am already working on my next project which this time is another short horror film called CORPORATE TORMENT (it burns like hell!) starring my new heroin JUICY X.
After that, I would take a break and will return for my second full-length feature film: an extreme and powerful lesbo horror movie called THE BENEFACTRESS.
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