Full Moon Features founder Charles Band on making movies he wants to make

Formed in 1988, Full Moon Features is a well-known name within the horror genre. The production company is responsible for some straight-to-video classics like The Puppet Master series, Demonic Toys, Subspecies, The Gingerdead Man and Evil Bong. Along with Troma Entertainment, they’re one of the longest-running indie film companies in the U.S.

Now, Full Moon plans to unleash a new production label, Pulp Noir, to release films described as darker and edgier, dealing with more mature subject matter. The first film under the new production label, Quadrant, directed by Full Moon’s founder, Charles Band, addresses the threat of new technologies like AI and VR.

Quadrant also features one heck of a serial killer, Erin (Shannon Barnes), who uses the quadrant technology for evil purposes while transporting herself to Jack the Ripper's late 19th Century London. The black and white scenes create a cool film noir aesthetic. We recently spoke with Band about the new film, production label, and Full Moon’s longevity and future plans, including a Puppet Master: Leech Woman movie and maybe a sequel to Head of the Family. Check out what he said below!

This interview was edited slightly for clarity.

1428 ELM: With Quadrant, how does it feel to release your 400th movie under the Full Moon Features umbrella?

CHARLES BAND: [Laughs]. That was purely by accident. I don’t really think about it too much, but I had to. It was pointed out to me because I’ve always numbered my movies. It’s sort of poetic, and I’m happy about it because it’s the first Pulp Noir movie. I have a bunch of those in progress and development. The fact it’s the 400th is cool, and the fact it’s Pulp Noir No. 1 is cool, but I don’t generally think about it. I’m just making movies. I’m on an endless roll, and I’m looking forward, always. I don’t look back. But this makes you pause for a moment, for sure.

1428 ELM: Talk about Full Moon’s new production label, Pulp Noir. How will the films under that label be different than what’s released through Full moon proper? I will say that Quadrant feels much darker in tone and subject matter than Full Moon’s staples like Puppet Master or Demonic Toys.

CHARLES BAND: It has a lot that will be different. It’ll definitely be darker and edgier, more like movies I made 20-30 years ago, like From Beyond and Castle Freak. They may have an overall Lovecraftian vibe, but I think people watching movies want something edgier.

When a movie like Terrifier can be so successful, I think I needed to mix it up as far as not continuing to only make movies that people are used to, whether they’re bizarre comedies like Evil Bong or Gingerdead Man or more Puppet Master movies. I’m very proud of the last Subspecies we made a few years ago. I think that was a real good effort. It’s very hard to make these movies with our shrinking budgets.

But I wanted to go back to some high concepts that are classic, character-driven stories but with a bit of a modern twist. Because I’m a big film noir fan, I decided to do things a little differently. For instance, when Quadrant comes out on Friday [Aug. 23] as opposed to the usual release pattern, the movie will be released on all formats, meaning you can check it out on Full Moon, rent it on Amazon, or see it for free on Tubi, with the commercials

It’ll also be available on day one on Blu-ray, DVD, and even VHS, which I know sounds bizarre. But why not, as a little toast to the past? There are still people who collect VHS. The other thing we’re doing with Pulp Noir is that about a month later, it’ll be available in black and white.

The subject matters are also current. Yes, Quadrant is the story of a female serial killer who channels Jack the Ripper. I don’t want to spoil the story, but she gets involved with these scientists who develop this program called quadrant. It’s basically a virtual reality-type thing. You put on a helmet and get induced with some kind of weird drugs. Suddenly, you’re wherever you need to be to get rid of your nightmares. It’s for people who can’t sleep and who have terrible nightmares. You go into that virtual land and deal with your demons.

In her case, she channels Jack the Ripper, but we find out that she’s obsessed and fascinated by the Ripper stories. She uses the device as a thrill ride, as opposed to conquering her fears. I won’t say anything more.

The story is very character-driven. I was blessed with some amazing actors. All of them in this movie are fantastic. It’s a sci-fi horror movie. Every so often, you’re in the virtual world where these characters go and meet up with some crazy stuff. I’m really happy with it.

To drive the point home more about Pulp Noir, I’ve shot the second Pulp Noir movie. It’ll be out in early October, and it’s called Death Streamer. It’s a pretty classic vampire story. This decadent vampire lives in an opulent house. He takes his victims down to a kill room. He not only kills them but livestreams their death. There’s a reason for that, which is part of the story.

Again, we’re using the idea of technology that makes it current. What gave me the idea for this was a joint venture about six months ago between Meta and Ray-Ban. They came out with these glasses. They’re pricey, but you can put them on and livestream, or record up to a minute of content. It’s really cool. Once those glasses are on, you’re not holding a camera or your phone. If not for a little light, no one would know you’re recording a conversation.

We tricked out the glasses and made them look evil, like glasses a vampire would wear. If you go to the Full Moon site on YouTube, you can check out the trailer for Death Streamer. I’m really happy with the way these first movies turned out.

1428 ELM: Quadrant has this premise that Erin (Shannon Barnes) can put on a VR helmet and go back to 19th Century London and experience Jack the Ripper’s time period. What inspired this concept? Was it the rapid rise of AI and the debates surrounding it? How much regarding AI was on your mind while shooting Quadrant?

CHARLES BAND:  I was right in the middle of those debates. I made what I think is technically the first AI movie using AI technology in the right way. I made a movie last year called Aimee. I’m very proud of the movie. It kind of came and went because it didn’t have a horrific title, but it’s a clever film.

It’s about an AI character who comes into this environment. It’s basically in this guy’s computer. He’s a computer hacker. He falls in love with her, and she falls in love with him. Then, she becomes jealous of his relationship, and all sorts of hell breaks loose.

I think it was a good use of the technology, just like Quadrant. Quadrant takes place in a virtual world. We didn’t use just AI. There is some CGI in there. Even though I’m a big fan of raw puppetry and stop-motion animation, you use it to animate characters and creatures in the real world.

For instance, if a project required an AI character to be in a real room with real humans, and you’re trying to fake a human character or trying to do something that would bring AI into the real world, I’m not a fan of that. In the case of Quadrant, it’s a virtual world. I think the AI we conjured up works really, really well.

You could say, what if money was no object? What do you do? Build London circa 1880? You actually build the street on a sound stage and put a lot of smoke there? That would not even make sense because you’re in the quadrant world, the virtual world.

The premise needs to lend itself to what AI does well. We did create all of those environments in AI, but the movie, which is 74 minutes, only has about four or five minutes that are AI. The rest is in the real world and is a character-driven story where things go wrong.

I think AI is used the right way in Quadrant. It’s a tool. I don’t believe it’ll take over the world. I do understand people’s concerns. I won’t belittle anyone who’s worried about it, but if you’re going to use AI in a low-budget horror movie, I think we used it the right way and contained it to the virtual world.

1428 ELM: On the one hand, Quadrant is releasing on major streaming platforms. On the other hand, Full Moon still releases a lot of physical media. Quadrant is releasing on physical media as well, even VHS. Can you address the importance of physical media to Full Moon’s brand?

CHARLES BRAND: I’ve met tens of thousands of people who have watched my movies over the years. I did a tour many years ago in a lot of cities. It was called Charles Band’s Full Moon Roadshow. I did it for over five years and went to several hundred cities. I hung out with fans and signed things. I brought celebrity guests, including Bill Shatner, who’s a friend, and horror celebrities, like Barbara Crampton and Bill Moseley.

I’ve talked to tons of fans and go to many conventions. A lot of them love physical media. They want it on their shelves. It’s not what it used to be. Still, they’re fans of these movies and love physical movies. I also meet people who tell me they watch a movie when it comes out on Full Moon Features and then order a Blu-ray.

Yes, you can find various movies on streaming sites, but those sites can go down. If you have a physical movie, no one can take it away from you. There’s a real hardcore fanbase for physical media. Also, VHS is like vinyl. A lot of people still collect VHS, and I meet them all the time. I’m going to sign every one of those VHS tapes for free. I think it’s really cool some people still buy VHS. I’m sure some also buy it for the novelty.

I run into young kids at these conventions. Usually, they’re Puppet Master and Demonic Toys fans. I’ve had really fun conversations with them over the last few months. We always carry a few VHS tapes at our stand. I’ll show it to a kid and ask, what is that? The most fun part is asking kids what a video store is. Two people over the last few months said the same thing. That it’s a place where old people go to rent a movie. [Laughs].

It’s amusing to meet people who are unaware of the experience of going to a video store when that’s how most of us discovered movies. We went to the local video store and went to the horror or sci-fi section.

1428 ELM: What’s been the secret to Full Moon’s longevity, if there is one, and what’s in Full Moon’s future other than these upcoming Pulp Noir titles?

CHARLES BAND: Pulp Noir doesn’t mean I’ll just make Pulp Noir movies. Sometime next year, I’m going to make what I think is the 13th Puppet Master movie, which is Puppet Master: Leech Woman. I promised the fans I was going to make it. It’ll be totally gross and weird and fun. We have a great script, also from Courtney Joyner, who wrote Quadrant. She’s one of our great writers.

We’ll continue to make movies people are familiar with as far as Full Moon-type movies, definitely a new Puppet Master movie. I’ve also been promising for 20 years to make a sequel to Head of the Family called Bride of the Head of the Family. I’m going to try real hard to do that soon.

We’re going to keep doing what we like doing. The secret is unbelievable perseverance, even through really difficult times. I wrote a book called Confessions of a Puppet Master. Harper Collins published it. Yes, it’s my story and the story of an entrepreneur, but it could be the story of any type of business. You have to believe in what you’re doing, even when things get really, really difficult, as they have for me over the years.

The other secret is that I only make movies that I like and that I would want to watch. Every year, people tell me what I should make, including who should be in it, the stories, and the ethnicities. I’ve heard this for literally 50 years. I’ve never followed that. I make movies I want to see, for better or worse.

You also have to stay a little ahead of the curve. You have to do something different and innovative. With Pulp Noir, even though they’re classic horror and sci-fi stories, they involve some current technology. I’m lucky that I’ve done it long enough and know how to make these movies well enough in a really short period of time with little money. [Laughs] The average studio shooting schedule is 50 days. We shoot our movies in five or six days.

They’re ambitious in a way, story wise. Quadrant is not an unambitious movie. Quadrant has a lot of scope for a small movie. You have to keep doing things that you like and that you hope the fans will like.

Quadrant will premiere on Aug. 23 on Amazon Prime, Full Moon Features, and Tubi. It'll also be available to purchase on Blu-ray, DVD, and VHS the same day.

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