bmoviefilmsToday, we are thrilled to welcome acclaimed independent filmmaker Jim Haggerty to discuss his latest cinematic venture. Known for his unique vision and storytelling, Haggerty joins us to share exclusive insights into the creative process, inspiration, and behind-the-scenes stories of his highly anticipated new horror film, Demon Huntress. Welcome, Jim!
Do you mind introducing yourself to our readers?
I am Jim Haggerty, for almost 30 years I’ve made over 20 low-budget movies (features and short films), mostly in the horror genre. I’m also the singer guy in the original punk band Drunken Frankenstein which writes and performs songs about monsters and horror movies.
Can you tell us how you started your career?
Well, a long long time ago I had this crazy idea of fulfilling my childhood fantasy of being a filmmaker by shooting a no-budget horror movie. I wrote it every day going to and from work on the bus and cast pretty much everyone I knew, and many of their friends, and shot it all over Queens and Long Island every weekend for about three months. And in doing that, I found my true calling. This is what I had to do. It was the most invigorating experience I had ever had, seeing my ideas and my visions come to life right before my very eyes. Nothing else like it.
Add to that, the movie didn’t suck, and it seemed I actually had some talent and aptitude for doing this. So after finishing the greatest full length movie ever made for only $200 – THE SLASHER – I kept going.
Bec Fordyce played Carrie Avedis in Unnatural Causes (2025) and is now returning for Demon Huntress as Charlene. What makes her such a great fit for the Yellow Ape cinematic universe, and how has your collaborative dynamic evolved over these two projects?
Bec is a great fit in anything – truly one of the finest actresses I have ever worked with. I guess we know each other a lot better this time out. For UNNATURAL CAUSES she was recommended to me, I didn’t know her at the time, and was so good in that. I really wanted to work with her again.
I was so happy that the feeling was mutual. I think this time we had a lot more conversations about the character and the tone of the movie. She really delved into it, which is such a compliment to me to have someone like her – and the rest of the cast – working so hard on what I wrote, not just phoning it in.
Your upcoming new film, Demon Huntress, is described as a supernatural thriller. After the anthology format of Unnatural Causes, what can fans expect from the narrative style and tone of this new movie?
I love anthologies. They’re fun to watch, sort of like sketch comedies. It’s nice that if something doesn’t work, there’s something else right around the corner, like a grab bag of entertainment.
They’re also really fun to make because it’s less like dragging a full idea for the entire shoot, instead you may be shooting each segment in a day or two, so it’s like banging out a bunch of short films and it keeps things fresh and inspired. But to follow UNNATURAL CAUSES up, I felt we should do a singular story, as it seems like it’s been a while since I did. And with so many of the great people that I had met making the last movie, I was very inspired.
The cast for Demon Huntress features familiar Yellow Ape faces like Stacey Brooke, Justin Levine (playing demonic twins!), Tom Ciociari, and Bec Fordyce. How much do you write these specific characters with your recurring actors already in mind?
That’s an interesting question. Truth is I do write with actors in mind a lot. Back in the late 80’s I read an interview with S.F. Brownrigg, one of my biggest influences as a filmmaker. He created a bunch of great horror movies in the 70’s on a very small budget and I remember his advice when working on a low budget, try and find locations and write things you can do there and have a stable of actors that you know, and can depend on that you can plug into the roles. That advice has always served me well through the years.
When I did UNNATURAL CAUSES It had been so long and many of my old colleagues were unavailable for one reason or another. But that led to me discovering a lot of great new people. And in all honesty, the characters in DEMON HUNTRESS were not written with people in mind. But when I saw the auditions they really clicked.
But it’s great to have known commodities for casting and writing.
Dealing with demons and supernatural elements usually requires a mix of practical effects and intense atmosphere. What were some of the biggest creative or logistical challenges you faced while filming Demon Huntress compared to your previous works?
Admittedly, I’m not really an effects driven filmmaker. I’m more about the dialogue and the content, I don’t focus on it as much and some of the effects stuff in a lot of my movies is probably a little lackluster because of it. But I think here we dabbled in effects a bit more than usual – some a bit gruesome, some a bit more supernatural – and I think it works. It enhances everything.
With Unnatural Causes and Twilight Blood successfully streaming on platforms like Tubi and Fawesome, what are your distribution and release plans for Demon Huntress later this year?
Well, we’re premiering the movie in Long Island, doing a big premiere screening on October 29th – almost exactly a year to the day when we premiered, UNNATURAL CAUSES – which may be followed by some more screenings and will eventually be available on streaming and looking to also do a physical Blu-ray release, as I’m a very big believer in physical media.
The biggest challenge to making a low budget/indie movie?
How much time you got? Lol.
There are a lot of challenges to making movies of any sort. But a low budget makes it even more of a challenge. But that being said, I feel sometimes like it’s what separates the men from the boys. It’s hard enough getting a movie made with millions of dollars and tons of people working on it. But when you have a very limited budget and a skeleton crew, to create something that works is a challenge. It forces you to innovate, and find ways to make your vision come to life.
What are your main sources of inspiration in terms of cinema?
Well, my favorite movie is ALIEN, but I guess what always inspired me the most were low budget horror and genre movies that managed to be so effective and entertaining on a low budget. And somehow it worked to make them even more realistic and edgy. Movies like NIGHT OF LIVING DEAD, DON’T LOOK IN THE BASEMENT, TOURIST TRAP, THE HILLS HAVE EYES, and of course, THE TEXAS CHAIN SAW MASSACRE. That gritty low budget aesthetic that was able to be achieved probably wouldn’t have worked as well as big Hollywood films. And that somehow made it more attainable, something like this can be done without a huge budget, you can be effective and move people. That inspired me.
What has been your favorite project until now, and why?
I’ve enjoyed making most of the movies I’ve made. But I guess the three standouts as far as my favorites would be my three personal milestones – THE SLASHER, as it was the first and the one that really started it all, and set me up in this business. Then GRAVE DANGER as it kind of established the sort of ‘golden era’ of Yellow Ape Productions, making movies with that same group of people, cranking them out pretty regularly and doing really good work. And finally, UNNATURAL CAUSES as it was the first movie I made in so long and it began a whole new chapter for me as a filmmaker, it introduced me to so many great people and helped me establish a new loose team to work with, and it gave me the wonderful opportunity to share all of this with my son and have him work on the movie with us.
Those are my favorites!
And I’d like to say thank you very much for the opportunity to talk with you about my films, it was an absolute pleasure.
Demon Huntress Official Facebook Page
The official trailer for Demon Huntress