It’s 1989 and there’s a pulsing electronic soundtrack flowing over the screams of high school kids as they’re being chased by demons in a dingy Richmond basement.
It’s 1989 and there’s a pulsing electronic soundtrack flowing over the screams of high school kids as they’re being chased by demons in a dingy Richmond basement.
This isn’t a nightmare or a new Iron Regan music video, it’s part of the trailer for local musician and filmmaker Ken Hicks’ latest project Dungeons and Dragqueens.
Though still in its early stages, Hicks has been working on the story for about two years and has (finally) released a trailer in the hopes of finding funding for the project. Shot in RVA basements, house show venues and backyards, Dungeons and Dragqueens tells the story of five desperate teens who end up locked in a basement while on psychedelic drugs.
“They all hate each other.” he said, “And they’re all locked in there together.”
The trailer offers a glimpse of what Hicks has been hinting at for sometime – real FX mixed with a relatable story to create a horror flick any Richmonder could be proud of. Check out the trailer below:
As for plot specifics, the main characters find themselves at their first house show, and while the story might sound familiar, Hicks made a point to make the female leads break horror troupes. While the males shiver at almost every new idea or action, the girls are unafraid to dive head first into a mosh pit or a bag of drugs.
Read more about the music in this trailer from our interview with Hicks earlier this year HERE.
He also spent the last few years quietly scribbling down lines overheard at parties in the hopes of adding a sense of reality to the bizarre script.
“Its about being that age and thinking you know who you are but realizing you don’t. And sometimes you’ll meet someone who will help change that,” He said, noting the movie, while possibly grotesque at times, will have a warm nuggety and endearing center. That’s (partially) where the drag queen comes in. “One of the punk rockers sees the nerdy kid dressed in an elf wig and he gets the idea maybe his just wants to dress in drag but he’s nervous about it.”
He hands the elf-kid some makeup and from there some crazy shit goes down.
“It’s kind of a coming age movie,” he said. “But it’s not little women.”
Keep an eye out for more from Hicks and Dungeons and Dragqueens in the future, and we might get to see another Stephanie record in 2017 as well.
