Razor Blade Smile - Jake West

A QUICK SLICE OF RAZOR HISTORY

Razor Blade Smile marks the debut feature of Writer/Editor/Co-Producer/Director Jake West. Jake bucked the popular wisdom in Britain that said that a satiric and slick B-movie of Razor Blade Smile's scope just couldn't be done. He was determined to create a darkly comic amalgam of his favorite indie films from comedies to horror and to imbue the film with a uniquely British sensibility. Razor Blade Smile follows in the footsteps of such legendary 16mm indie films as: "El Mariachi," "Evil Dead," and "Texas Chainsaw Massacre."

So what makes Razor Blade Smile different? Where's the angle? Was it financed by a Mafia hit involving suitcases of money? "Well I did try giving blood" reflects Jake, "as it was a Vampire film I thought that'd be novel - but instead of money all I got was a nice cup of hot tea, and a custard cream"

JAKE'S EYE

Sticks and Stones May Break my Bones....but Scripts!
With the Script in hand, Jake West consciously set out to break the horror flick formula - and throw down the gauntlet to make the ultimate Vampire movie. Jake's thinking went like this.....

In my quest for writing the perfect, but filmable screenplay, I considered those who had led the way, and the movies I'd particularly enjoyed (including: Sam Raimi's Evil Dead , Peter Jackson's Bad Taste, John Carpenter's Halloween, Don Coscarelli's Phantasm, and Robert Rodriguez's El Mariachi. I've always had a penchant for horror movies with very tight constructions. These movies, in fact, set up a classic formula by keeping the action in a confined location with a small cast. This standard model is a little tired by now, as it only delivers what people expect. So, I had to figure out what needed to be changed to update the model for the nineties.

I thought the main thing would be to go multi-location, and really open the film out rather than being claustrophobically trapped in the same location ...then I got carried away, I ended up with this script with loads of locations and special effects (make-up FX, digital FX, blue-screen work, Optical printer FX, action set pieces and computer generated imagery) !

I've always loved Vampire Movies, the whole subject fascinates me - so writing a Vampire Movie put the pressure on me to live up to my high ideals of what I think a 'Vampire Movie' should be - plus in the UK I'm fed up of conventional period dramas and social commentary - what happened to entertainment? Also nobody has made a proper Vampire film in Britain for over 20 years...and certainly no one has ever done a female vampire assassin movie!

Bored of the usual tame bloodless fare and predictable narrative structures, Razor Blade Smile was conceived to pump new blood into the genre! "Razor Blade Smile contains every element I've always loved about Vampires - blood, sexual seduction, violent tendencies and a very strong aesthetic look. I've even gone further and mixed it with a cocktail of action, fetish clothing, off the wall humour and conspiracy theory! I think the story is entertaining and fresh - something an audience can really get into - I want people to understand what it could mean to be a Vampire - how much freedom it entails."