Ad-supported streamer Tubi quickly became a favorite among fans of obscure films and creators alike. But with so many choices, how do you find that deeply buried gem? Today, we’ll be talking to writer-director-actor Mark Byrne about his movie Blood and Breakfast.
Blood and Breakfast tells the story of a group of strangers who each escaped a serial killer. Only to be lured to and then trapped inside a historic inn. As they start being killed off one by one, will they live long enough to figure out who the killer is?
Byrne‘s Background
Ada: What movie made you fall in love with movies?
Mark: Several. I took a film history course which studied the origins of film and ended with Citizen Kane. Rather than breaking rules, Citizen Kane created them and set the foundation for films moving forward. Then years later, I discovered Orson Welles did an even BETTER film, Touch of Evil, which went on to become my favorite film. I also am a huge fan of The Big Lebowski, Apocalypse Now, Alien, and The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly. I know I’ll never make films like that, but they inspire me to chase greatness whether I have the budget or talent to do it or not. Do your best and hope the hard work is recognized and someone enjoys it.
Ada: How did you first get involved with acting?
Mark: I actually started into acting to try and sell a screenplay. I thought if I went on set, all these other actors would be looking for ideas and maybe get me in touch with someone who would buy and finance getting the film made. I went to an agency and took lessons and got a professional headshot and acting resume. All this was a big help for getting me on sets as an extra in Runaway Bride in the 2nd wedding scene and the trailer; “The People vs. Mac” episode of JAG as a tourist; and a credited role with dialog as a reporter in the premiere episode of Daring Capers, Art Attack!.
It was fun for a while, but mostly you sit around waiting, and when finally on set, whatever scenes you aren’t cut out of are blurred out. Once I’d been seen in both movies and TV, nothing was really left for me there. However, I continued acting in Indie films, including three for Conrad Brooks (of Ed Wood fame), as well as in each APP movie.
Moving Out of Acting
Ada: It looks like you branched out from acting into writing, directing, and producing at the same time. Why is that?
Mark: I founded Absurd Productions Pictures (APP) in the early 2000s to be able to make my screenplays into films. At the time when I started in indie film, there was no money, in or out. People made movies cheaply by wearing all the hats and not taking a salary for any of them. Payment was a finished project with the hope of another one. So it’s the way I’ve learned, and since I enjoy all aspects of filmmaking (except scheduling lol), I’ve just continued to do it. The acting is where I’ve really cut back, just doing cameos for all but the crime films, where I still take a role.
Ada: Is it a personal preference to be involved in multiple roles on a project, or is this done as a cost-cutting measure? Do you like directing scenes that you are in?
Mark: It’s both. It definitely started as a cost-cutting measure, but I’ve remained because you need one person involved throughout the process to keep everything lined up. The initial process is just me writing, then Matt Burns and I work together in pre-production, my wife Donna and I during production, and then just me again in post. I enjoy all parts of the production. As for directing the scenes I’m in, I’m not sure I’d say I like it, but I have grown accustomed, and it is not a problem. Our first feature, Taste of Desperation, a black and white film noir, I was lead actor as well as director, challenging, but what I learned to do (and not to do) helped drive the future.
Blood and Breakfast
Ada: What inspired Blood and Breakfast?
Mark: The inspiration started with our goal of each film needing to be different from what we had done previously, such as various creatures, paranormal activities, and clowns. We also took into account what the horror audience loved – lots of kills! The idea this time was for a human killer without superpowers or from another planet or dimension. But rather than just a standard slasher film, the mystery of a whodunit spiced the story, thus a “horror whodunit”. Elements of a slasher film mixed with a more modern mystery, or as some have described: “Knives Out Meets Scream”!
Ada: Who designed the look of the killer?
Mark: Matt and I discussed who the killer would be. Obviously we didn’t want the audience to know, so we dressed him in a dark hoodie and gloves. For face covering, Matt found the cool mask. Then Shawn Burkett designed the poster, and I added the credits. So, the origin of the look really belongs more with Matt and Shawn.
The Killer
Ada: How was their distinctive style achieved?
Mark: Usually in a slasher film, the killer is a known person. Maybe even the one next to you. A serial killer is often a stranger, choosing random victims. The killer in Blood and Breakfast combines these traits, stalking random victims like a serial killer but rather than sneaking away unseen, attacks as a slasher would. His kills follow a series of random clues to get to the inn.
Ada: Were you able to shoot Blood and Breakfast at an actual inn?
Mark: Yes, and it was actually a critical factor in the film. The script called for a distinctive location to shoot the majority of the film’s story. We would not have made this movie if it had to be green-screened or shot at homes disguised as an inn. What we found was the historic Amberson House in Waynesboro, PA. If you like the décor in a room during the movie, you could request it and stay there overnight yourself, as they remain a functional inn complete with an amazing multi-course breakfast.
The location served as almost a character in itself, hiding secrets and witnessing the guests getting killed. Warm and open in the daylight, it became cold and claustrophobic at night. We were able to shoot in each room, and each had a unique theme, so you got a different feel to the space which could also align to the character.
More Blood and Breakfast?
Ada: Without getting too spoilery, the film’s ending leaves the door wide open for a potential sequel. Will there be a Blood and Breakfast 2?
Mark: One thing I like in horror is the double twist where you get a surprise ending and then think you are done and get another surprise. That was the intention here: to get that second twist. As for a Blood and Breakfast 2, APP is committed to never doing sequels. We like each idea to be individual, separable from the others. Sequels are a creation by Hollywood bean counters to make money, stopping only once part 27 loses money. There are a handful of sequels I like, but I don’t generally favor re-doing things. We only have time for so many ideas, and I’d hate to walk away thinking I left something on the table because I was doing something twice. We’re doing another horror movie, but it will be different, as Blood and Breakfast was different from Remnants.
Ada: Matt Burns was part of the launch of this series. How did you two meet, and how many movies have you done together?
Mark: Matt and I met on the set of Gypsy Vampire: The Final Bloodlust, part of cult filmmaker Conrad Brooks’ series. He also met my wife Donna that day, as we were all actors in the film. Matt didn’t stay in the business and moved into band promotion, and I lost touch with most of Conrad’s crew except for Marvin Kennedy. Matt and I re-met at one of the Amazicon Fests we attended outside of Philly. Since then, Matt joined us as an actor for Mismatch, and then as producer and lead actor for Bigfoot, and has been with APP ever since. That would be six films and counting.
Tubi
Ada: Is your work hosted on other streaming platforms? If so, how is your experience with Tubi compared to other platforms?
Mark: I like Tubi better. I really feel they are the premium platform for indie filmmakers in terms of reach, catalog, and amount of ads. That’s if you want free with ads. I also like some of the smaller services where you pay a small annual fee for ad-free. Besides Tubi, we also have films on Amazon Prime Video, Plex, Fubo, Fawesome, Xumo, StashTV, and several others.
Ada: How do you feel about still doing physical media releases as an independent filmmaker?
Mark: I think it’s still important for indie horror. For all other genres, we make DVDs for cast and premieregoers and to sell at our table at events with no online sales. So for non-horror, we have ceased physical media releases outside of table sales. I tried for years to hang on, but non-horror physical media just does not move online. If Amazon gets out of something, there’s a reason.
Now when it comes to horror, it’s a different story. Horror DVDs move very well at conventions and do still make online sales worthwhile. So for horror, I’d like to always have physical media available online, as we do for Blood and Breakfast and Remnants. And continue to have physical media of all our films available at our table during events, horror or not.
The Future
Ada: What projects do you have coming up?
Mark: Let’s start with Tubi, in addition to Blood and Breakfast; we also have a dark comedy, One of One, which focuses on an eccentric millionaire’s contest to produce a unique “item” or “invention” along with a story idea for a slot on a writer’s team. A group of oddballs attempts to join the team, including a go-getter and her stoner sister, a crazy narcissist, a troublemaker, a wanna-be comedian, a well-meaning confuser, a karma-seeking vegan, and a weed dealer.
– – One of One. An item… an idea… a rejection.
As for projects coming up, our latest film, the crime film Devious Intent, premieres Sept. 19th in PA. “When a dying wish intersects with an art heist, some get the paintings and others get dead.” The film features top-tier regional actors along with cult icons Linda Miller (King Kong Escapes), Carl Craig (Destroy All Planets), and George Stover (Don Dohler films). We hope to have it on streaming services by the end of the year. Also, over the course of the next six months, we hope to shoot everything for our 2027 film Roxy’s Brutal Bits, a horror anthology featuring Angel Nichole Bradford as Roxy.
We’d like to thank Mark Byrne for taking the time to speak with us. Check out his movie Blood and Breakfast available now on Tubi!
