I Wasn't In The Horror-Thriller MARIONETTE/REPRESSION

Have you ever desperatly wanted to appear in a movie from a certain genre? Well I bloody well have and back in December 2018 I thought it had finally happened when I was booked to be in the horror/Thriller Marionette aka Repression. Did all my dreams come true? Not quite, Stick around to find out how my day went on the set of this Scottish/American production.

The Job!

So I've been on a number of movie and TV productions since taking the plunge back in 2015. I wish I'd taken the advice years ago as it's a different way to get paid and be in a cool film-making enviroment. This one appeared to be no different but (as a horror movie fan especially) I jumped at the chance. I've been trying to get into a horror/thriller since I started but havent seen many of those projects appear in my neck of the woods. Finally, I'd made it! Or so I thought...

I was first asked in a text message if I could play a stand-in for one of the main actors, which involved growing my beard for the part. This basically means you will stand-in for the actor to set up the shots and lighting so they dont have to hang around all day.

I started to let my facial hair run wild and after a week I hadn't heard back from the agency. I got back in touch since no dates had been confirmed to find out if I would I still be needed or if I could finally shave the monstrosity growing on my face. It turns out they'd got another person who had a closer 'look' to the main actor (See picture further down) for the role but they still needed me as an extra in another scene. Great stuff.

I giddily awaited the day and set off to see where I'd be filming and the location did not disappoint. The movie was being filmed partially in Aberdeen at Blairs College which is a former catholic school for boys. It had been closed for decades and with it's gothic look it made it a perfect setting for any horror production in my opinion. I couldn't wait to get into the building as I'm a fan of urban exploring anyway and also to see what the set looked like. Perhaps I shouldn't have been in such a rush...

So What Happened?

Well, not a lot happened from getting into my costume and sitting in a canteen that was being prepped for the next days shoot. I sat with one other female extra (I've forgotten her name now, whoops) and we managed to keep warm by an electric heater which periodically went on and off all day. The old building had a cold atmosphere from years of disuse and I kept my coat and gloves on throughout the day. As the minutes turned into hours I knew something wasn't going right behind the scenes.

We were occasionally told they'd be ready for us within the hour or they were going to shoot a different scene first and get to us after that. I chatted and joked with my fellow extra as I'd waited on sets many a time before although never for this long in the past. Sometime after midday we were told they were breaking for lunch and a hot meal sounded like a good idea to warm ourselves up.

Unfortunatly, we got yelled at by the catering guy as we'd been "encouraged" by the stand-in bloke (see pic below) to get our lunch. The etiquette on set is that crew and the main cast get theirs first however. Foolishly we lined up only for the angry-overworked chef to state "ACTORS AND CREW FIRST!" and block us from getting a plate. Shortly after we all scurried back to our table, we were told to get lunch and our extra wrangler (my name for them) seemed upset we'd been treated so poorly by the chef. If you've ever felt like the lowest form of scum on Earth then you're almost with how we felt for the rest of our time there. Still, I held out hope for the afternoon shoot that was surely to come.

Eventually, as we got into the last 2 hours of our day, we were told we had to change into a second costume as they were shooting different scenes now. No problemo, one quick change from white lab coats into dapper brown slacks and a cardigan; I was again waiting patiently next to the space heater. After another hour we were told that they'd run out of time to film our scenes and we could change and go home. Wow, okay then.

Feeling a little tired and very confused I made my way to costume and from there my 'working' day was done.

So What Was That About?

Although I'd been excited about being on set I'd be lying if it didn't leave a bit of a sour taste in my mouth. To make matters worse it was almost 2 years before I got back on a film set and It felt like a very underwhelming end to my film-extras work. Still, I got to visit the set, see a cool old creepy building and (most importantly) I got paid! It's not often you can get away with doing nothing all day and get re-imbursed for your trouble. I just hope that next time I'm cast on a horror movie I actually get to appear in the finished product so I can die a happy man...Hopefully on screen.

Here's one of my old horror short films I directed and starred in from 2009! Maybe one day Hollywood will cast me but until then, I'll keep making my own.