We're only a day away from the two-episode premiere of Slasher: Ripper on Shudder and AMC+, and not only do we have an exclusive clip just for Daily Dead readers, but director Adam MacDonald (Pyewacket) provided us with some behind-the-scenes details!
Synopsis: "Slasher: Ripper takes the franchise back in time to the late 19th century and follows Basil Garvey (McCormack), a charismatic tycoon whose success is only rivaled by his ruthlessness, as he oversees a city on the cusp of a new century, and a social upheaval that will see its streets run red with blood. There’s a killer stalking the mean streets, but instead of targeting the poor and downtrodden like Jack the Ripper, The Widow is meting out justice against the rich and powerful. The only person standing in the way of this killer is the newly promoted detective, Kenneth Rijkers, whose ironclad belief in justice may wind up being yet another victim of The Widow."
This is a time period I love seeing explored in horror media, including Penny Dreadful and the graphic novel From Hell, so I asked director Adam MacDonald what it took to keeping the new season true to the time period. I also asked about how they're playing with expectations viewers may have based on what they already know of Jack the Ripper:
Adam MacDonald: "We were determined to capture the lighting of the period more than anything. Bring in the candles, natural light as much as possible to help submerge the viewer in our world. We stayed away from stage-like, high key lighting that you see often with this period on Television, as well as some tropes of the era like fog – although, we do hint at it at times, cause it truly is period accurate – and I'll say Showrunner Ian Carpenter loved the look of the film THE DUELIST for this season, which was a touchstone for us.
I don't know if the goal was to subvert expectations but when your show is subtitled “Ripper” and your killer is called “the Widow,” all bets are off. But of course, Jack the Ripper being notorious for such brutal killings in White Chapel, I will say, what the Widow does to their victims would make even Jack queasy."
About the New Season: "Starring Eric McCormack (Will & Grace), the all-new season of the hit horror franchise debuts with a two-episode premiere on Thursday, April 6 on Shudder and AMC+ with new episodes rolling out weekly on Thursdays.
Slasher franchise alumni Paula Brancati, Gabriel Darku, Salvatore Antonio, Lisa Berry and Sabrina Grdevich join McCormack for the all-new installment, with Clare McConnell (Star Trek: Discovery), Thom Allison (Killjoys), Daniel Kash (Aliens) and Sadie Laflamme-Snow (The Way Home) rounding out the cast.
Developed and produced by Shaftesbury and created by Aaron Martin, the 8-episode series is executive produced by Martin, Showrunner Ian Carpenter, Christina Jennings, Scott Garvie, Thomas P. Vitale, and Director Adam MacDonald, with Producers Paige Haight and Erin Berry. Slasher is produced in association with Shudder and Hollywood Suite."
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