“As the story unfolds, so do the clothes!”
Ahead of the holiday season, NakedSword Originals unmasked a teaser site for “Scared Stiff 2: The Amityville Whore.” Like the original feature, the sequel’s initial promo campaign harkens back to campy ‘80s teen slasher pics. This time, however, the studio fully embraced campy hilarity between bouts of red-hot sex.
If you need proof that the concept was ahead of its time, just look at the current season of ‘American Horror Story.’ Maybe Ryan Murphy is a NakedSword fan?”
The horror-comedy is a product of co-directors Chi Chi LaRue and mr. Pam and “the deranged mind of screenplay writer Jackie Beat,” Toby J. Morris, VP of Marketing for Falcon Studios Group, which includes NakedSword, told XBIZ. Beat, a drag star and comedian, also penned the original “Scared Stiff,” winner of multiple 2017 Grabby Awards honors and a 2018 XBIZ Awards nominee for Gay Movie of the Year.
Studio exclusives Cade Maddox and Josh Moore topline with Brock Banks, Calvin Banks, Dante Colle, Drew Dixon, Link Parker, Adam Ramzi, Taylor Reign and Colby Tucker.
The storyline follows home-hunting newlyweds Calvin Banks and Colle whose realtor (Moore) shows them an expansive, mysterious mansion that is suspiciously affordable.
“The first 'Scared Stiff' script sat in Jackie’s drawer for over a decade,” said Morris. “Finally, she came across it and pitched it to Chi Chi, who sent it over to NakedSword Network President Tim Valenti and he loved it. “It was a perfect project for us.”
LaRue partnered with mr. Pam to corral an all-star cast that included Ryan Rose, Wesley Woods, Jack Hunter, Colby Keller, Seth Santoro and Tom Faulk.
“They embraced their roles to perfection and the movie was a huge success,” recalled Morris. The secret ingredient was LaRue’s styling of the cast “from head-to-toe,” he said. “Down to Jack Hunter bleaching his dark-brown hair to resemble ‘80s icon Billy Idol — and wearing a ton of Chi Chi's jewelry — and Tom Faulk's shag cut. Ryan Rose looks like all-American high school football star, which he actually was in high school. Here’s a funny side note: the blue sweater that Ryan wore in the movie was so scratchy and stinky. He hated that sweater; it was from Goodwill. But he did take a liking to his white ‘80s tennis short-shorts. If you need proof that the concept was ahead of its time, just look at the current season of ‘American Horror Story.’ Maybe Ryan Murphy is a NakedSword fan?”
The original “Scared Stiff” remains a top-seller for NakedSword. Its success prompted the crew, and the new cast, to “commit 1,000 percent to the project,” said Morris. “Pam and Chi Chi complement each other seamlessly.” For the sequel, he notes, “Pam took on more of the technical responsibilities, while Chi Chi came up with some incredible sex scenarios and concentrated on coaching the actors to make sure they were prepared the minute they walked on set.”
The mansion that was the primary shooting location contained amenities that eased the occasional stress and strain involved in shooting a dialogue-heavy script. “We're not going to lie, there were some very long days on set, but if you ask the guys, they'd probably all agree that having the entire cast staying in the mansion all week while filming made it a lot of fun,” said Morris. “You don't see the entire location in the film but there was huge pool, a 12-man hot tub, a trampoline, little dogs and everything they could possibly need, including self-described ‘porn mom’ mr. Pam.”
Morris described a “demon semen” scene as a particular highlight. Castmates Calvin Banks and Dante Colle awaken as ghosts Cade Maddox and Taylor Reign spray them with seed. “Our grips, Billy and Jai, filled enema bottles with fake cum and soaked them from the sidelines off-camera. We had to shoot that scene a few times and by the end they were covered in it,” said Morris. “It was hard to film and keep the cameras steady because cinematographers Leo Forte and Pam couldn't stop laughing. Not to mention Calvin was wearing a Jackie Beat drag queen sleep mask — so funny!”
NakedSword began to prep their audience for the feature well ahead of its debut with a carefully planned social media and web campaign, which includes a promotional microsite stocked with downloadable wallpapers, cast photos, scene breakdowns and more.
Morris described “unique attention to detail in graphics, editing and promotion” to ensure continuity between the finished product and its online identity. As Halloween approached, NakedSword began touting the title’s release with a social media contest inviting fans to show their best “Scared Stiff Face” by dropping their photo into a personalized movie poster template and tweeting it to NakedSword with the hashtag #ScaredStiffFace. Winners received a free one-month membership.
“We take pride in the fact that no one can really predict what our next movie will be,” said Morris, noting that NakedSword will celebrate its 20th anniversary in the coming year. “We kicked off 2019 with ‘Rags to Riches,’ featuring Alam Wernik and Austin Wolf, about a young gay man's quest for the A-List in New York City. Our next big release was the ‘Five Brothers’ two-parter, loosely based on the ‘Animal Kingdom’ series. We set the industry and the internet on fire by casting the exciting and beautiful Danni Daniels, our first ever trans female performer as the grand matriarch of an incredibly hot and incredibly fucked up family. And we've ended strong with ‘Scared Stiff 2.’ Nothing is off-limits.”
