Connect
To Top

Meet John Ward of Dark Park Films

Avatar photo

Today we’d like to introduce you to John Ward.

John Ward, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I was born in Los Angeles, 1967. I spent most of my life either living in Southern California, Los Angeles, or Northern California, the Bay Area. I went to two different film schools; College of Marin and Los Angeles City College. Some of my student films were finished and some weren’t. I wrote short screenplays and many treatments. I worked on some music videos and short films. I missed out on a lot of good opportunities. During a ten-year span, not much was achieved. In 2006 I moved to Las Vegas, Nevada and that’s where everything changed. It still took a few years but when the film bug hit it hit hard. Thanks to social media, I got to know many filmmakers and became friends with them. I supported and collected their films. I became friends with film producer David Sterling. One day he called me and asked if I would like to be a production assistant on a horror film that is going to be shot at the famous Clown Motel in Tonopah, Nevada called Clown Motel Massacre. I jumped at the opportunity! I hit the big time! I was working on a micro-budget horror film! I wasn’t getting paid, but it’s the experience that counts. I had a couple of conversations with the writer and producer of the film, Phillip Tricky. One day, out of the blue, Philip called me and said you are now the killer clown. I asked what happened to the actor that was playing the killer clown. He said that the actor had to drop out and I was the only one not doing double duty so I now get to be the killer clown, William McCready. I got promoted from a production assistant to the lead bad guy in the matter of a couple of days and the film hadn’t even started filming yet! Not a bad way to start a film career.

Shortly after filming the Clown Motel Massacre, I met a filmmaker named John Seymore at the storage facility that I work at.  He asked if I would like to help with his zombie film, Drug Z. I, of course, said yes! Again, I wasn’t getting paid, but it’s the experience that counts This would be my second film that year. I was on fire! I worked on Drug Z for the next few months. What I learned on the Clown Motel Massacre and Drug Z is that you don’t need a large crew and a lot of actors to make a feature film. Both films consisted of maybe three or four people crew people and a small cast of maybe five actors. I might be getting the numbers wrong, but that’s how I remember it. Unfortunately, neither film has come out yet, Clown Motel Massacre might be coming out this year or next year. I’m not sure if Drug Z will ever come out. I learned more about indie filmmaking working on those two films then I did on-and-off to film school. Because of both of these films I knew I could make my film. Thanks to Philip and John letting me work on their films and working in different positions Axemas was born. Plus, working at a storage facility, a free location, didn’t hurt either.

Has it been a smooth road?
Has it been a smooth road? More or less, yes. For a long time, I just worked retail, watched movies, drank beer, and hung out with friends. I was told many times that I had talent and that I was wasting it. Back in the day, it wasn’t easy to work on films like it is today. When I was in my twenties, you had to know somebody to get onto a film. I didn’t really know anybody that worked in film and the people that I did know got me some production jobs, but it was few and far between. When I look back on it now, I definitely could have worked harder instead of relying on other people. But it’s a different story today with the technology that we have like social media. Like I said when the film bug hit, it hit hard, and I have not looked back since. Once I took that production assistant job working on Clown Motel Massacre, I knew this is what I wanted to do. I mean, I knew this is what I always wanted to do, but now was the time to do it. Not everybody can say that they get a call from a producer to go work on a killer clown film or meet a film director at the storage facility that they work at to help with his zombie film. I went from a production assistant to a killer clown on Clown Motel Massacre and then from a production assistant to a producer on Drug Z. Not too bad for my first two films. But, with that being said, there are the haters and people that will try to bring you down once you hit a certain point. At first, you’re a fan and then you’re a filmmaker and some people find that to be a threat. I have been very lucky in my short time making films that I have very few haters and lots of supporters that I also call my friends. So, yes, the road has been smooth, there have been some rough areas with potholes. Sometimes you can see the potholes and sometimes you can’t.

Please tell us about Dark Park Films.
My production company is called Dark Park Films. It’s a film production company that produces micro-budget horror and science fiction films with the prospect of becoming a larger company. I am the owner of Dark Park Films. I am also the primary producer, writer, director of the company. The name of the company comes from the park that is located at the entrance to the canyon where I lived in the Bay Area. The park was filled with wood and metal swings and merry go rounds. It is surrounded by thick trees and was given the nickname the Dark Park. I wanted a name that sounded horror-ish but is still personal to me and I thought Dark Park Films was perfect. Dark Park Films is known for making quality micro-budget horror and sci-fi films like Axemas, Axemas 2: Blood Slay, Meathook Massacre 4, Cannibal, If I Can’t Have You, Skelevil, and the upcoming feature film, Ghoul. Oh, I can’t forget Axemas 3 and 4 that are being shot later this year.

What I’m most proud of with Dark Park Films is the Axemas series. It’s a four-part trilogy. I know that doesn’t make sense, but in a way it does. Axemas 1-3 will be a trilogy. Part 4 will be a clip film in the tradition of Silent Night, Deadly Night Part 2. It will feature 90% new footage and 10% flashback footage to the first three films. What sets Dark Park Films apart from the others? The company’s goal is to be “something scarier, something bloodier, something better”, then it’s competition. It’s a small company that has the prospect of becoming a large company that produces superior horror and sci-fi films, like Blumhouse Productions. Also, something that I’m very proud of is working with Miranda Dudley of BloodMetal Makeup Artistry. We met on Clown Motel Massacre and she has been part of Dark Park Films since day one. My films wouldn’t be the same without her bloody hand-print on them.

How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
Where do I see the industry going over the next 5-10 years? I think the horror and sci-fi genre will only get bigger and hopefully better. Hollywood seems to be out of touch with its audience. But you can always find good horror and sci-fi in micro-budget films. These are the directors of the future. They are fans and filmmakers and they know what their audience wants. Hollywood needs to take a step back and learn from micro-budget horror and sci-fi filmmakers. Horror fans can be very harsh but also very forgiving when it comes to their favorite genre. For the most part, micro-budget in any genre will support each other but will call out shady filmmakers and let people know they should not support their work. Micro-budget films are great, in my option. You can tell while watching them that the filmmaker put his or her heart and soul into making it. One thing I would like to see over the next 5-10 years is that the Las Vegas film scene becomes larger and gets more respect. There are a lot of really good filmmakers in Las Vegas like Joe Lujan, Drew Marvick, Heidi Moore, Nicholas Grant, Selena D, Massimiliano Cerchi, Albert Pyun, Michael Su, Michael and Sonny Mahal, and more. Plus, just outside of Las Vegas in Boulder City is Tom Devlin of 1313FX and Tom Devlin’s Monster Museum. Tom has played an important part in my films even if he knows it or not. So, in the next 5-10 years, I hope that all of us Las Vegas filmmakers get the respect that we deserve.

Contact Info:

Image Credit:
John Ward, Ben Stobber, Romeo Valentino, Phillip Trickey, Joe Meredith

Suggest a story: VoyageLA is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.

Meet Pasadena Series Sponsor:

Global Money World: A multi media platform that showcases music, fashion, and sports. We highlight indie and major artists a lot with daily new content for the culture

Related Items

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

More in