Hishkenstien: After Dark – A ’70s retro Halloween film

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Hishkenstien: After Dark is a new B-horror/comedy written and directed by Gare Scare and produced by Alex Akira, Janice Click, and Gare Scare.

Watch the trailer here:

Ramirez Hishkenstien (extraordinary method filmmaker, occultist and erotic provocateur) returns from the grave to fulfill his earthbound purpose by showcasing a collection of his bizarre lost films before he can eternally rest in hell. The movie is based on characters created in the short film Bad People Doing Bad Things, which gained a cult following in 2021. Hishkenstien: After Dark features a wide cast including cameos from Lloyd Kaufman of Troma Films and Carey Means of Aqua Teen Hunger Force.

Rabbit in Red Quick Cut Review:

Hishkenstien: After Dark is a deliciously sleazy, exploitation-style B-horror gem that masterfully blends terror and comedy. Alex Akira shines as the devilishly charismatic Ramirez Hishkenstien, bringing depth to his wacky character. With a cast of eccentric characters, including Femmesteak and Skid-row Joe, and a visually stunning psychedelic aesthetic, director Gare Scare delivers a wild ride. Perfect for Halloween viewing, this anthology film’s unique tones, practical effects, and catchy retro soundtrack make it a standout celebration of strangeness.

4 knives

A Q&A with the cast and crew of Hishkenstien: After Dark

Alex Akira (lead actor, Ramirez Hishkenstien), Emily Buss (lead actress, Femmesteak), Esmee Brown (make-up artist), Alexander Sales (sound mixer), Gare Scare (writer, director)

Thank you all for joining us to discuss your new B-horror/comedy Hishkenstien: After Dark! Gare Scare, it’s great to have you back! Tell us how this film came to life from concept to screen.

Gare Scare: It’s exciting to be back to talk about another film, this particularly being a feature film. Honestly, it was pretty much in a developing process ever since my last film in 2021. It evolved and eventually became what it is today. It was a total trip. It was a mentally exhausting and arduous process that certainly took a toll on me, however looking back on it, it’s a bit of a laugh as I view it as a movie-making boot camp. A lot of accidents and fuckery happened while making the film including injuries, bouncing between multiple editors, various parties rotating in and out of the film and bizarre occurrences that took place on set, which added to the insane levels of stress, however it’s part of what made the film even more wacky and unhinged than the first. Part of the process is starting with many people in a project being on board but slowly finding out your trust circle over time.

“Part of the process is starting with many people in a project being on board but slowly finding out your trust circle over time.”—Gare Scare

The framework of the film is a Halloween variety show where Ramirez Hishkenstien showcases a series of lost films. Can you walk us through some of the titles and what drew you to include them?

Gare Scare: The design of a Halloween variety show was always in mind since the inception of the story. Every segment in the film was initially designed to be an in-universe bizarre/crappy/analog style movie that Ramirez himself would have made. We tapped into this concept in the first film when we showed the Lesbian Witches and the Satanic Rights trailer, and this is simply expanding upon that idea. Each story was directed by a different director, including a partnership with the Janice Click team, however the story itself for each film was my idea of which I let other directors take those stories like taking a bull by the horns.

As the creator, you must have a deep connection with these characters. Do you envision their stories continuing in other projects?

Gare Scare: Yeah, I do. I mean the character of Ramirez Hishkenstien came from a stupid skit that Alex Akira and I did in High School about a wacky doctor in an insane asylum for C-tier celebrities named “Dr. Hishkenstien”. Years later during the pandemic, when the world closed, we ceased our opportunity to create a new story about this weird guy and really build upon the lore and weave it into a horror narrative.

As far as a future for this character, I’d love to do another film, but it really depends on the circumstances. Hishkenstien: After Dark pulled a lot out of me and everyone making it, so if we had the right budget, I’m sure we’d all have at least one more in us. I’d personally love to go back to the roots of the character and tell a story in a hospital setting with a lot of freaky medical experimentation going on, paying homage to movies like One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest and Altered States, but that really depends on if the audience is there for it. I’m very happy that we got two films with this character.

Having originated the role of Ramirez Hishkenstien in Bad People Doing Bad Things, what was your experience like reprising the character?

Alex Akira: I don’t want to spoil the ending of Bad People Doing Bad Things, which people can watch today on my favorite streaming platform, Troma Now! I will share that we wanted Ramirez Hishkenstien to exceed expectations of his previous performance. People thought the character was ridiculous in the first film so obviously we had to try and top that. In Hishkenstien: After Dark, Ramirez is a more devilish version of himself, while also showing new depths to his personality. This movie was a really fun opportunity to make because we got to go more in depth on Ramirez’s friendships, how he perceives the afterlife, and his take on the filmmaking. After getting the opportunity to play Ramirez Hishkenstien in Bad People Doing Bad Things and Hishkenstien: After Dark, I’m crossing my fingers that we all get to see more of the character in the future.

“In Hishkenstien: After Dark, Ramirez is a more devilish version of himself, while also showing new depths to his personality.”—Alex Akira

Emily, what was your experience like bringing Femmesteak to the screen?

Emily Buss: Femmesteak was such a fun character to play. Because she’s technically hypnotized for most of the film, I was able to play up some of the intensity and lean into the campy elements of the action on screen. Despite the minimal dialogue there was a lot of room for experimentation and playing around with expression and body language, which was enjoyable for me. My favorite part was probably the kill scenes because I just loved having the opportunity to be super creepy. I was really inspired by the credits scene in Pearl when holding that intense stare and smile, which I think came out great. Plus, the makeup was awesome, I had too much fun scaring the cast and crew members on some of our late-night shoots. More than anything, I loved being able to go all in and get down and dirty and covered in blood (and Pepto) and really enjoyed playing a role with so much edge and intensity to it. Overall, bringing Femmesteak to life was a phenomenal experience and I hope to play another fame fatale in the future!

“More than anything, I loved being able to go all in and get down and dirty and covered in blood (and Pepto) and really enjoyed playing a role with so much edge and intensity to it.”—Emily Buss

Alex, how do you want audiences to perceive Ramirez this time, and what qualities do you focus on bringing to the surface?

Alex Akira: This time around we focused a lot more on Ramirez ‘s facial reactions and his choice of dialogue. I have not seen a dark and comedic character like Ramirez in movies recently. I think audiences can have a lot of fun laughing with and at the character. Also, I’d like audiences to be creeped out by Ramirez Hishkenstien, he’s someone I wouldn’t want to run into in an alleyway. He’d probably immediately ruin your life if you met him in real life. Overall, I want audiences to enjoy his comedic qualities but also be grateful that Ramirez isn’t going to be knocking on their doors this Halloween.

Do you have a personal favorite among Ramirez’s lost films?

Alex Akira: What was it called again? Esoteric Lesbians of the Black Lagoon or something? All the lost Ramirez films are eye-catching and honestly, I can’t decide which one I enjoy the most. They all are unique in their own way. Each one makes you forget where you are. I think all of Ramirez’s lost films do their job at creating either a gross, comedic, or freakish tone to the overall film. I am excited to hear audiences’ feedback and see which of the lost films they enjoyed the most!

Having collaborated with Gare Scare on two films, how has your creative partnership evolved?

Emily Buss: It’s always been interesting to watch Gare Scare’s creative process on the films we’ve done together. The first time we worked together was back in 2018 and in the time from filming to the actual release, the project had undergone a complete conceptual change. The final product was Bad People Doing Bad Things and when I first saw it, I was blown away by how much more dynamic and exciting it had become compared to the original storyboard. I think Hishkenstien: After Dark was a little more by the book, but Gare Scare really encourages improvisation and taking risks during filming, which elevates the entire experience. Taking an extra few minutes to try something different and unexpected is really freeing and shows that he values the creative opinions of the actors, which I appreciate. I’m always excited by his ideas, especially what he does with practical effects. Helping that vision come into life is a special experience, especially when you feel like you’re respected as an actor and get to become part of the creative process instead of just taking orders. I truly believe there isn’t anyone else out there doing it like Gare Scare and I hope to be a part of his future projects as well.

Alexander, what inspired your approach to sound design in Hishkenstien: After Dark?

Alexander Sales: The movie takes visual inspiration from classics such as The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, so with that in mind, I did research and went on a binge watch of ’70s horror films. I listened close to the blood and gore effects as modern sound effects like that lack a sort of punch. Through doing my own foley work or combing the sound libraries I have, I wanted to bring back that punch into Hishkenstien: After Dark. Those older movies could make me reel back in the couch, as you hear an object hit someone in the head or have parts of them ripped off. So, I approached this movie with the idea that I wanted to make the audience do that in their seats. There is also a comedy, cartoony, and VHS element to this whole movie, call it nostalgic if you want. I had to take inspiration from Hanna Barbera cartoons, such as Scooby-Doo, Where are You! and Looney Toons, using a lot of those classic sounds we heard as kids. I wanted to create a certain soundscape using those sound effects and the blood and gore ones to create a balance between the horrific and gross and the funny comedic things we hear on screen.

What segment of the film required the most challenging sound effects?

Alexander Sales: Not to sound like a cop out, but every scene proved to have some hard challenges. Through either dialogue clean up, or just finding the right sounds for the scene. Each scene was just so vastly different from each other. They could be their own short films. But the segment that stuck out as most challenging was the Esoteric Escorts from the Black Nebula segment. I remember Gare Scare, Alex Akira, and I sat for about 3-4 days, just fiddling with that scene. And that was after 3 other passes I did before showing them! It didn’t really have any blood and gore sounds, but lots of sex and anguish, if that makes sense. I had to find sound effects that would make the audience question what they were watching, feel the bleakness of the scene, and maybe feel so uncomfortable that it would hit their stomach. The scene was just a monolithic beast compared to the others, as it had a different tone to it and required a serious soundscape to it. It lacked comedy and was just uncomfortable as it was. Once we were done with the sound effects and balancing dialogue/music. We decided to bring back the comedy through Skid-row Joe and Ramirez’s commentary. It was needed, as the scene was like whiplash, maybe even making you want a smoke break and a shot afterward. Now, you might just need the shot.

Makeup plays a crucial role in bringing these eccentric characters to life. Esmee, can you tell us about your creative vision for their looks?

Esmee Brown: Ramirez was a very interesting creation; we wanted a zombie type character. We wanted to go for some type of toxic zombie person. I put together neon and green and some black together and then boom we have our main character! When I first saw this character, I was like omg, this looks like 1980’s Frankenstein!

Which character’s look was the hardest to achieve?

Esmee Brown: The main makeup was facial hair and its green color. The green was very specific, and it wasn’t waterproof! For the hair I remember this one time we didn’t get the order in on time for his facial hair, so we had to glue a hair extension onto his face. Not only that, facial hair laying is super tricky in my opinion! His hands were so hard to keep the makeup due to how much he used his hands.

Gare Scare, as writer and director, what are you hoping viewers will take away from the film?

Gare Scare: Well, what I hope people takeaway is a fun time. Ultimately this is a fun and freakish movie that set out to be a Halloween special for adults. Kids have It’s the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown … This puts itself in a Rocky Horror Picture Show type audience for adults. As far as a message to walk away from the film, I’d say it’s about not putting limits on art and film and what both of those can be. We live in a bizarre time now where everything according to streaming services and Hollywood is incredibly mandated where they tell what you can and can’t say or do in a movie or show. Hishkenstien: After Dark basically says fuck all that. You can make a feature length film and not have to pad it out to try and fill an hour and a half, have characters who we are following who do or say bad things (that you don’t have to agree with) and change aspect ratios multiple times if you feel it suits the story.

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