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Producer Sebastian Wolf Discusses His Horror-Comedy Skin Creepers

August 31, 2019 | Posted by Bryan Kristopowitz

The 411 Interview: Sebastian Wolf

Sebastian Wolf is a German film producer who has worked with director Ezra Tsegaye several times. Wolf’s latest collaboration with Tsegaye is their first feature film together, the horror-comedy Skin Creepers (check out my review of Skin Creepers here). In this interview, Wolf talks with this writer about making Skin Creepers, working with director Ezra Tsegaye, German horror fans, and more.

Bryan Kristopowitz: How did you get involved in the production of Skin Creepers?

Sebastian Wolf: Ezra, the director, had suggested a new idea for a short film. I found it very exciting. But since you can’t earn money with short films or have a chance to refinance the invested money, I suggested to him to make a feature film which I would then also produce.

BK: Explain your relationship to the director Ezra Tsegaye, with whom you had previously worked on two of his short films.

SW: I’ve been working with Ezra for many years in the business and have done many projects like Night Tale, one of the first 3-D movies here in Germany and some short films I’ve produced with him like Casting des Todes or House of Fear, as well as many advertising projects. Over the years a friendship has developed out of the business.

BK: To what extent does the production of a short film differ from the production of a feature film? How can it be the same?

SW: A short film can be produced more cheaply because the team is much smaller than a feature film. Also, you can get more friends for a short film to support you. Then we usually shoot over a weekend when everyone has time and then the film will be a little reworked and finished. The production for a feature film is obviously more expensive because the team is much bigger, so you have to plan a lot more because every day can cost a lot more money. If something changes in a feature film you can’t just call two or three people and say, oh let’s do that next week. If you want a feature film to go to play theatrically, you need better technology and equipment. It’s all more complex because the post-production and the sound design are much more complex.

BK: How was Skin Creepers financed? Is it difficult to get financing for horror films in Germany?

SW: In Germany there are usually classical ways of financing. This means that we get a TV station onboard, part of it is financed from its own capital and part from funding agencies. However, this does not apply to genre films but usually to art house films. For this reason I have financed Skin Creepers myself.

BK: What was your favorite aspect of making Skin Creepers?

SW: My favorite aspect of making Skin Creepers was the project itself and being excited to make it.

BK: Is it right to call Skin Creepers a horror-comedy, or is it rather a horror movie that contains some funny things?

SW: We humans usually think in drawer systems. Is something good or is it bad? That way we can classify things better. We also found it hard to name what kind of movie it is. We wanted to make a horror movie that wasn’t as dark as the classic horror movies, but also not too funny. Some viewers told us after the movie that they didn’t like horror movies and were actually afraid to go into the movie, but then they were positively surprised that the movie is very entertaining, that they had fun watching the movie to see if there were any practical effects in the movie. I don’t think the movie is a classic horror movie, even though we’ve homaged several well-known horror movies, but it’s also not a comedy.

It’s a new genre: a colorful horror movie!

BK: How was Skin Creepers received in Germany?

SW: I would say that the reception was very enthusiastic. The horror fans were very positive about the film. It was compared to films that had 50 times higher budgets. That alone is positive enough.

BK: Are there any upcoming projects you can inform us about?

SW: We are currently working on three projects, but I can’t talk about them here yet. But on our Facebook page Botchco (Botchco is our production company) or the Skin Creepers page we will inform everyone about our new projects!

BK: What do you expect from the audience of Skin Creepers?

SW: I hope viewers will enjoy the film first and foremost, because we put a lot of time and sweat into the project. My tip is to watch it with several people, with confirmed horror fans but also with those who normally don’t like the genre so much. Then it’s more fun.

BK: Will there be a Skin Creepers 2?

SW: Well, I hope so. The script for a part 2 is already finished. Maybe we’ll find a couple more partners who are interested in a second part. Anybody who wants to support us can contact me!