It’s been a year and a half since it was first announced that Teen Mom star Farrah Abraham would be making the transition from small screen reality star to big screen feature film actress in the slasher sequel Axeman II: Overkill. And, since that time, we have continued to update on production, with behind-the-scenes photos, official stills, and even an interview with Farrah’s co-star (and fellow reality queen) Rachel Reilly.
So why is it that the film still hasn’t been released?! Filmmaker Joston “El Rey” Theney opens up about the delay in a new press release:
We really wanted to do this film, its fans and the genre the justice they deserve. We wanted to make sure this time around we had distributors and partners that not only had the bottom line in mind, but also the best interests of the fans and the genre in general. It was way too difficult last time to find out when, where and how to see AXEMAN. That was a problem we didn’t want to repeat. Not for #TeamAxeman. So we went into distribution with a plan and a plan that the distributor had to be open to.
In an interview with Horror Society in December, Joston seemed a little more frustrated with the delay. He worked it out so that he would have final cut privileges, and Joston reveals that he delivered that final cut to Blood Red Films around February or March. “My production company #SinningWorks was only responsible for getting the film to the point of a director’s cut then turning it over to be sweetened and color-corrected,” Joston says. “I do know that Chris Otiko of Blood Red Films has been working diligently with the sales agents to get the film through AFM and a few other film markets.”
Although the partnership should ultimately result in more exposure for the film, it didn’t seem to create many fond memories for Joston. “The experience of co-producing this film with Blood Red Films hasn’t been the best one,” he explained, “so I’ve distanced myself from anything outside of my scope of work and divorced myself from the behind-the-scenes bullsh!t that left a skid mark on an otherwise awesome experience.”
Speaking of more exposure for the film, Joston also talked with Horror Society about his decision to cast well-known reality stars Farrah Abraham and Rachel Reilly. “I wanted to open this film up to the masses and you can’t do that with niche performers,” he said. “In order to get this film out to the masses and gain the type of exposure a film like this deserves, you have to cast it appropriately.”
Joston explains that his decision was based in part on his experience trying to promote the original Axeman movie. “I have nothing but the utmost respect for the talent from the first film and they did extraordinarily well with the material, but hyping up that film took way more effort than if I’d had higher profile talent.
“All I did was mention Farrah’s name,” Joston went on, “and the film was on the front page of MTV for almost a week. You can’t buy that type of exposure! It’s what happens when you widen your view and shed preconceived notions. It’s what happens when you stay true to what you are creating and cast to appeal to the masses.”
Joston plans to release the first trailer for Axeman II: Overkill in February, after sitting on it for more than a year. There is still no official release date for the movie, although the press release does say that it should come out in the third quarter of 2016.
Until then, be sure to catch up on the most detailed behind-the-scenes coverage of Axeman II that the internet has to offer in the Starcasm archives! Here are some links with another shot of Farrah and her co-stars:
Farrah Abraham making film debut in horror flick Axeman II: Overkill
PHOTOS Farrah Abraham on set of movie Axeman II: Overkill as Fannie Rae Baker
Exclusive Axeman II: Overkill photo with Farrah Abraham, Arielle Hader and a very large gun
Another exclusive photo of Farrah with co-star Arielle Hader
Axeman II: Overkill photos with Farrah Abraham, Rachel Reilly, plus release date update
