Panic Fest 2022: Conor Boru & Ed Hartland Talk Inspiration For When The Screaming Starts

gamerant.com:

Directed by Conor Boru and written by Boru and Ed Hartland, When The Screaming Starts is a mockumentary about a man who inspires to be a serial killer, Aidan Mendle (Hartland). The comedy-horror is filled with twist-and-turns, introducing a struggling journalist named Norman (Jared Rogers) and his journey documenting Aidan and his odd group of peers.

Prior to its screening at the 2022 Panic Festival, the movie played the London Independent Film Festival where it won Best Sci-Fi/Horror Feature. In this interview, Game Rant speaks with Boru and Hartland about the creation of the movie, their biggest production challenges, and pulling the cast together.

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Game Rant: What inspired you to make this movie?

Ed Hartland: The initial idea for the film came when I was reviewing The Ted Bundy Tapes on Netflix for London Horror Society. I found myself completely fascinated and horrified by what I was watching. I thought, “What does it say about me that this is something I can't look away from? What does it say about us as a society given that this is such a popular series, when it's about something as horrendous as Ted Bundy.” We developed it from there and started to think about what the ultimate fanboy of serial killers and what that would look like.

GR: From a director’s perspective, what was the biggest challenge that you faced pulling everything together?

Conor Boru: It was my first feature film. There was just so much coming out of me from every angle, and it's a relatively low budget film. We had to wear many hats, all of us. We also produced as well, which is challenging. Apart from that, I guess the struggles that every