GO BACK TO THE "WITCHOUSE" THIS HALLOWEEN!

In October, 1999 Full Moon Pictures released WITCHOUSE on the heels of the wildly successful BLAIR WITCH PROJECT. Starring Tempe favorite Ariauna Albright (BLOODLETTING) as a witch named Lilith, the Jack Reed-directed. The chiller set video rental charts ablaze. But no one certainly expected it to follow in the steps of successful series such as PUPPET MASTER, SUBSPECIES and TRANCERS...

Flash-forward to early 2000. Full Moon founder Charles Band commissions our own J.R. Bookwalter to helm a Romania-lensed sequel entitled WITCHOUSE 2: BLOOD COVEN. Although a sequel in name only, the film (starring Andrew Prine and Albright, who does a dual turn here) was a darling of the critics and the sales again proved that lightning can strike twice. But now, apparently the phrase "third time's a charm" is true. J.R. Bookwalter returns for a second sequel to Full Moon's hot new franchise, this time christened WITCHOUSE 3: DEMON FIRE. Shot in only 9 days (the same schedule as the previous two) in and around Los Angeles, the new entry in the series has many claiming it's "the best Bookwalter ever." Breaking from tradition, the new entry finds the shoes of Lilith filled by none other than Brinke Stevens (HORRORVISION), a longtime friend of Bookwalter's -- even though this is the first time the two have actuallyworked as director and actor! While critics of BLOOD COVEN may have found the creatures more cool than creepy, Ms. Stevens' Lilith is, as Bookwalter describes her, "one creepy, mean little bitch."

But Bookwalter has not stopped there. He has enlisted popular Troma starlet Debbie Rochon (ABDUCTED II: THE REUNION, TROMEO & JULIET) in the lead role,and the director was suitably impressed. "The cast really makes this movie sing and dance," Bookwalter elaborates. "Debbie is amazing to watch. She just instinctively knew how to channel the passion of her character and she's absolutely deserving of all the praise she gets." Rochon plays Stevie, a "directoress" who is making a documentary on witchcraft with the help of her friend Rose.

Rose is also played by an actress widely known on the indie scene, and familiar to Tempe fans from her supporting role in BLOODLETTING -- New Jersey's own Tina Krause (PSYCHO SISTERS 2, TITANIC 2000)! "Brinke said it
best," Bookwalter laughs. "Tina was no-brainer casting because she plays a little spitfire and that's exactly how she is in real life!"

Rounding out the female-driven cast is Tanya Dempsey, a relative newcomer. But some Tempe fans may remember her first feature -- Full Moon's SHRIEKER, which was also Bookwalter's debut for the house that Band built. "I had
quite a crush on Tanya while editing SHRIEKER," the director reveals. "She had a lot on her shoulders for this movie because her character goes through some pretty sharp turns. But Tanya handled it deftly and with ease!" Dempsey
plays Annie, a meek woman that appears to be in an abusive relationship and seeks out her two old friends at their sunny beach house. Bookwalter continues, "All the ladies do such a great job that it's unfair to single anyone out...but Debbie and Tanya have some pretty heady stuff to play out and they hit the nail so dead-on compared to what I wanted that
it's pretty creepy for me to watch it!"

So WITCHOUSE 3 is all femmes? Well, almost. The final cast member is an old friend of the director's, and also marks the first time they have worked together. "Paul Darrigo is part of the New Jersey film mafia I met years ago," he reveals. "His forté is stuntwork so he has this great fight on the beach with Debbie. Sadly it's a show driven by the girls, so Paul's character Burke has to face the music one way or another," he laughs. The femme-driven energy of the movie doesn't stop in front of the camera, either. When Bookwalter approached Tammi Sutton to be production designer after a successful partnership on THE VAULT and GROOM LAKE, the two struck up a producing partnership as well. "Tammi has such a passion for making movies," Bookwalter states. "She was so willing to go into the trenches and get her hands dirty with me on the two previous films that I couldn't think of a better person to help me get this one on the screen. And, like all of
the ladies on this project, she's as attractive as she is talented!"

Bookwalter claims that WITCHOUSE 3 was designed with a "less is more" attitude. "After producing GROOM LAKE and having so many CGI-based shows ina row," he explains, "I wanted to get back to basics and see what we could do with something less complicated. I jokingly refer to this as my 'anti-GROOM LAKE' but fans of the first two WITCHOUSE movies will definitely like the departure from the 'dusty old mansion' scenario. This one is sexyand fun...that is, until Lilith enters the picture and then the gloves are off."

With an extremely low budget and short schedule to overcome, Bookwalter knew that in addition to the cast, the movie would have to have its own unique vision. "Tammi makes any set look like a million bucks," he raves, "but it also has to be photographed well. That's where Danny Draven came in." Tempe fans will remember Draven from HORRORVISION, his directorial debut earlier this year which Bookwalter produced. "Danny constantly impresses me, be it as a director or editor, and now as a cinematographer," Bookwalter gushes. "This kid is talented and WITCHOUSE 3 is one of the best-looking shows we've done on DV."

Waitaminute, did he just say DV?? "Yes, I did," smiles Bookwalter. "After shooting 35mm for BLOOD COVEN it was tough for me to say yes to going back to video. But the cast and script were just too much of a draw for me to say
no. I have no shame in giving DV another go, because we've got some of the best gear money can buy and I've certainly pulled more than one rabbit out of my hat on video in the past."

The real allure of the project was Charles Band's willingness to let Tempe run with it. "We've always had a lot of creative control working for Charlie," the director explains. "But usually he still wants script and cast approval. On this movie, he trusted me to just do it my way from stem to stern. We had some very tight time and money constraints but the old adage
'it's not what you have but how you use it' really comes into play. Everyone rose to the challenge and the completed project is a living testament to that."

Bookwalter co-authored the screenplay, using a foundation from earlier work by longtime collaborator Matthew Jason Walsh (THE SANDMAN). "It's been described as 'SEX & THE CITY on acid' which is as good a description as
any," he laughs. "It's very actor-driven but has some great hooks and gags. I had a lot of fun on WITCHOUSE 2 playing up the twists and turns in the story, and this one is even more! Part of the fun for me is figuring out the 'whodunnit' aspect of it...this movie has a nice little twist to it." But as Bookwalter reminds us, "the final verdict is with the audience. My
test screenings thus far have been the best I've ever had!" You can be the judge for yourself come October, when the sequel debuts on VHS and Lunar Edition DVD at stores everywhere from Full Moon.

And when asked about topping the jaw-dropping special edition DVD of the previous sequel, Bookwalter scoffs. "We've got a secret weapon now...we do our own DVD authoring. Expect the usual commentary and the 5.1 surround mix
and the making of, but we're working on some great new material to stretch the boundaries of the medium yet again." Judging from the followup discs for HORRORVISION and THE VAULT, that's a tough act to follow. But if anyone can
do it, it's those crazy kids at Tempe.

Look for more updates coming soon. In the meantime, talk about the movie with your friends (and even some of the cast & crew!) at Tempe Talk — Tempe Entertainment message board!.

UPDATE (08.17.01): Post-production is now complete on WITCHOUSE 3: DEMON FIRE, the latest from director J.R. Bookwalter and star Debbie Rochon! Chris M. Jacobson supervised a rousing 5.1 surround mix complete with an original score by Jon Greathouse, main title and additional score by the popular Midnight Syndicate and original songs by Matthew Jason Walsh (with vocalist Melanie Nowlin) and Phantom Blue!

We hear rumors that the December issue (streets in November) of the popular Femme Fatales will be dedicated to Bookwalter's career and the WITCHOUSE 3 project, including a retrospective by Tempe pal Jason Collum and an on-set diary from actress Brinke Stevens! And stay tuned for a New York Daily News piece on Debbie Rochon which will be plugging WITCH 3 and her other current work!