Demon Squad 2 Kickstarter! & Q&A with Director Thomas Smith!

During the 2021 Mystery Science Theater 3000 Kickstarter, creator and star Joel Hodgson announced a pair of titles for the proposed new season that they had already obtained the rights to.  One was the Charles Band production Robot Wars, and another was a recent microbudget neo noir Demon Squad.  When the film was announced, you would have thought the movie had killed MSTies dogs.  I remember all the complaints about the selection, accusing it of being another Atlantic Rim and having foul things to say about it, but it largely seemed like none of the people who were bemoaning it had actually seen the film.  I wasn't convinced this film was something that should cause such a stir, mostly because movies in general don't make me angry very often, even when I dislike them (unless it's Dear Evan Hansen, because fuck that movie), so I was more curious about it than most.  I mean, I know what a Charles Band movie looks like, so I'm not too curious about Robot Wars, but what was Demon Squad?

That night I found the movie on Tubi to see what exactly it was.  I was greeted with a movie that had "homebrew" written all over it, with star Khristian Fulmer playing detective Nick Moon getting drunk at a bar filled with demons played by extras in Halloween make-up and a cute puppet serving drinks.  I was immediately charmed by what I was seeing.  As the film went on, we were introduced to heiress Lilah Fontaine (played by Leah Christine Johnson), who was dolled up in a classic noir femme fatale costume, which was ostentatious but adorable.  As Nick and Lilah went through a classic "mysterious woman walks into a cynical detective's office" opening, I knew that I was falling in love with this microbudget movie.  After watching this film, I came back online to help spread the word that this particular movie was not what people were accusing it of being.

Having it featured on Mystery Science Theater seemed a little mean, if I'm being honest.  It was cheesy and cheap, but it was earnest and good-natured, made by people who had no money but just made a thing because it was fun.  On the flip side, being featured on Mystery Science Theater does help certain movies get more exposure, and as the episode aired (which featured the return of Joel Hodgson as series host), fans seemed to come out of the experience with a similar thought as myself:  "You know, that movie wasn't that bad.  I kinda liked it."  Director Thomas Smith and his wife and co-writer Erin Lilley Smith (who plays Nick Moon's assistant Daisy in the film as well) soon made their way into the online scene and started interacting with fans, answering questions, and also joined Joel Hodgson, Matt McGinnis, and Emily Marsh for a post-episode stream.  Joel, Matt, and Emily all had very kind words to say about the film, words of endearment also came out online from Tom Servo puppeteer Conor McGiffin and writers Devon Coleman and Tammy Golden.

Crow:  "Demon Squad will never be back in anything ever!"

Shows what you know, puppet!

Enter 2023, and Thomas and Erin are testing the waters on a possible sequel to Demon Squad, recently announced to be titled Deadwatch.  They have launched a Kickstarter to help fund the sequel, and after less than a week have raised almost the same amount of money that they had used to fund the original, which was made for a microscopic $15,000.  It's still a long road to their final goal, which is $125,000, including Kickstarter fees and rewards budgets, but while it's quite a jump, this isn't exactly like going from El Mariachi to Desperado.  We're still talking about less money than Sam Raimi made Evil Dead for, so make no mistake that this is a very small budget.

I hoped to get some exposure on the project and hopefully shed some light on what Thomas and Erin plan on doing should the project succeed by sitting down for a brief Q&A with Demon Squad director Thomas Smith.  Luckily, he was happy to do so!

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Q:  So, congratulations on the Kickstarter. I wish it the very best, because I want to see this movie get off the ground. I'm also happy you have had such a pleasant experience with Mystery Science Theater 3000. Fans seemed to give this film a very warm reception, which isn't always the case (just look at Munchie). Was that a surprise to you? What was your Mystery Science Theater experience like, as someone who worked on a film featured on the show?

A: I know I've mentioned it before, but we had no idea the film would be featured until it was announced. I've been a fan of MST3K since high school, but knowing something you made will be roasted on the show... Well, it shifts your perspective a bit. I was incredibly nervous, because, at the end of the day, I'm proud of Demon Squad despite its low budget. Luckily, the episode itself was fun and I absolutely loved some of the punchlines. A lot of the jokes gave voice to some observations I had already had in the edit, but had to chalk up to not having a budget. The MSTies have been great and have been incredibly supportive. I'm glad the movie has found an extended life through the show. Otherwise, it would have been another no-budget film no one saw and was lost to time. My only reservation is that a lot of viewers complain about certain plot points not making sense, not realizing that about a third of the movie was cut for MST3K's episode length, and that greatly affected some major plot points and characters.

Q: I'd definitely agree on that last point. I think film editing was an issue with this season, particularly with Demon Squad and The Christmas Dragon.

But moving closer to the Kickstarter, from an outsider's perspective, the ball started rolling on Demon Squad 2, or Deadwatch, after the Mystery Science Theater episode aired.  So, my next question has to be was there an idea for a sequel before the MST episode, and if there was, is it the same as Deadwatch?  Or did you start developing ideas after the episode aired?

A: We've always wanted to do a follow-up to Demon Squad, either as a series of shorts or a web series or another film. I had been kicking around different ideas after we finished the first film, but kept going back to a concept I came up with more than a decade ago. It was originally a short film follow-up to our first feature The Night Shift, but it didn't quite work for those characters. I sat on the idea and realized it would fit Nick Moon perfectly. We've gone through several drafts to get it where it is, and Erin and I are super happy with it. It's exciting and different. And, while it takes place primarily in one location, that location is a historic mansion. The type of place that's fine to film at for a day or two, but when 90% of your shoot takes place there, it eats through your budget. We knew we couldn't pull this off the way we wanted without some proper funding. When Demon Squad released originally, the reviews would always ask for a sequel or state their desire for more adventures. When the MST3K episode aired, we saw a similar response. Then the MSTie community encouraged us to launch a Kickstarter and, eventually, we caved to peer pressure. :)

Q: You mentioned this on the Kickstarter too, that you're leaning away from Film Noir and inserting these characters into a Haunted House Mystery this time.  The first film took influence from classics such as The Maltese Falcon, but does Deadwatch take influence from any particular films, such as The Old Dark House or The Haunting?

A: Aesthetically, if all goes well, I think you'll see an influence from those type of films. However, this story feels much more like an adventure romp... I'd say it has more of a Doctor Who vibe.

Q: So that River Song GIF on the Kickstarter is also a subtle hint at what you're going for?

A: Haha, it was a conscious choice!

Q: What is your approach to the Nick Moon franchise?  Would Deadwatch build upon the story of the previous movie, like going from Star Wars to Empire Strikes Back, or are you taking an Indiana Jones approach and every adventure is different but just connected to the previous via the main characters?

A: Haha, the Nick Moon franchise. If we could be so lucky... A bit of both, actually. More standalone aspects like Indy but with some carry-over characters here and there. The ending for Demon Squad 2 would actually lead directly into a possible third film. It doesn't end on a cliffhanger or anything like that, but it's very open ended. And leaves our heroes in a different place with new possibilities.

Q: So, we're talking Temple of Doom, where it's a whole new cast of supporting characters, and Last Crusade, where Sallah and Marcus are back?  Lilah can pop out of a portal and say "Surprise!  I'm not dead because hell magic or something!"?

A: Yep! Bert can pop in whenever. And there are a couple of new characters that are pretty fun.

Q: If it's not too much of a spoiler, can you say anything about where Nick and Daisy are now?  Has business improved since the last film, or is it a Ghostbusters II sort of situation where you have these characters who are heroes, but nobody really cares?

A: They're in an OK place business-wise. They're still trying to stay under the radar but people are starting to notice them. The existence of monsters isn't widely known, still.

Q: One thing that's of particular note to MST3K fans is that Devon Coleman, who wrote on several episodes this past season, offers a service of reading screenplays and offering notes.  Deadwatch's screenplay was passed through Coleman, and he has spoken enthusiastically about that.  Can you tell us about that experience or what kind of notes Coleman had to offer?

A: Devon DM'd me before the episode aired because they were looking forward to hearing our reaction to it. Devon genuinely liked the movie, and we struck up a back-and-forth conversation talking about the show and other pop culture -- I consider Devon a friend now. After learning about the script reading service, I wanted to have someone else give their thoughts on the script before we launched the Kickstarter to see what, realistically, kind of shape we were in. Devon seemed to genuinely like the script. There were a few notes that Erin and I addressed, but nothing major. It was a great experience and I recommend other writers to reach out and take part in the service.

For those interested, Devon Coleman can be found on Twitter at @DisguiseVoice and can also be found on the official Mystery Science Discourse 3000 forums.

Q: Speaking less optimistically, this Kickstarter comes at a time immediately after a shake-up at a prominent, platform-building social media site (which shall remain nameless, but everyone knows which one it is) that has made it less accessible for small projects to break through the noise.  Is there anything you would recommend those championing this project could do to help spread the good word?

A: We're trying to figure that out. Press releases have gone out, some Facebook ads are running, and we're asking anyone who can to please share the campaign and try to amplify it however possible. The more folks with large social media followings that can share it, the quicker we can get to our goal!

Q: Excellent, that should wrap this up. Thank you and good luck! Hopefully we'll see Deadwatch in production soon!

A: Thanks! Erin and I appreciate the support!

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The Kickstarter will be running until April 20th, so get those pledges in soon!  For those who haven't seen Demon Squad, you can check it out free with ads on Tubi.  For those who haven't seen the MST3K episode, it's now available to stream on PlutoTV along with the rest of Season 13.  If you like what you see and want to be a part of getting Deadwatch off the ground, every little bit helps!  Back the project for any amount, small or large, or share the link and help spread the word to other people who are interested in getting involved!