An Interview With Michael Klug, Lead From Arthouse Horror BLOOD COVERED CHOCOLATE

Cinema Scholars interviews Michael Klug, star of the arthouse horror film Blood Covered Chocolate. Terror Films released Blood Covered Chocolate on streaming platforms, including Prime, Apple TV, and Tubi.

Introduction

Arthouse horror. These words evoke visions of horrible things beautifully filmed. While more campy or hyper-violent horror will always be an industry standard, films that are creepy as well as visually compelling have a special seat at the genre table. Checking off these boxes and more, writer/director Monte Light’s Blood Covered Chocolate delights with a stylish and sinister slow burn. 

Massimo and Tien are like any couple. With each other’s love and support, they have overcome obstacles and have established their commitment to one another. That is until Tien casually shares her mother’s stories of evil apparitions who eviscerate their victims and steal away unborn babies. Though the couple laughs off such fantastical legends, all joking ends when Massimo’s behavior takes an abrupt left turn. It seems he has been possessed by a succubus from Tien’s tale, forcing their love story to take a grisly detour. 

Blood Covered Chocolate is as ghastly as it is easy on the eyes. Light and his director of photography, Neal Tyler, craft a dazzling frame at every opportunity. As the horror unfolds, a mesmerizing black-and-white palette gives way to a very intentional use of color in specific scenes. And interludes with stock footage and kaleidoscopic sequences give an experimental flare that accentuates the story’s descent without seeming indulgent. A purposely disjointed narrative flow also adds to the dreadfulness of Massimo’s predicament. And though no indie arthouse horror is without its quirks, Blood Covered Chocolate steers clear of campiness.

Holding down nearly every scene in the heavy-hitter, lead actor Michael Klug takes on the troubled Massimo with a multi-layered performance. Through an intense character arc, Klug shows Massimo’s many sides without ever going over the top. No small feat considering the various phases his character goes through. Joined by an impressive ensemble of supporting players, Klug and company ground the outrageous subject matter with praise-worthy portrayals all around.

Blood Covered Chocolate is a perfect little slice of high-art horror with a surprising amount of memorable performances. With a subtle twist on the traditional vampire/succubus tale plus an eye-catching aesthetic, Monte Light captures that weirdly satisfying dread with great success. 

Cinema Scholars recently caught up with the man behind Blood Covered Chocolate’s tortured protagonist, Michael Klug. The actor, also a screenwriter, director, and former film critic, discusses being cast last minute, making the indie with a small crew, and sinking his teeth into such a meaty role. 

Interview

Note: This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Rebecca Elliott:

Hi Michael! Thank you for joining me today to chat about your film Blood Covered Chocolate. I’m calling it art house horror because there’s just such a cool look to the film. There’s such an ambient vibe going on. How did you arrive at this project? Was it through the regular audition route? Or was it some other connection?

Michael Klug:

No, my buddy Monte, wrote and directed it. His first feature called Space was released a few years back and, we’ve been friends for a long time. So, he originally was looking for a name for Space, and he was gonna reach out to this guy. I’m like, “Dude. You know I’m an actor. Just give me the role.” So he did, and it was great. It was a good experience. And so, he was working on his second feature, which is Blood Covered Chocolate. He’s like, “Can you do the reading?” He wanted me to read for, I believe it was Crate. No, not Crate. It was for Gage, the one out in the desert.

So I was just gonna do the table reading. This was during Covid, so it was just online. And  I ended up reading Massimo for that read. But there was no intention for me to be in the film. But there were computer issues and so he said, “Can you do it?” So I had to do it on the fly, which is great. Again, no intention for me to be in it. And then six months later, I literally was two days past my second dose of the Covid vaccine, and his wife called me and said that the lead had to leave. “Can you jump in? Can you do it?” And I said “Yes!” The thing was, we were shooting in six days.

Rebecca Elliott:

What? Whoa. That’s crazy.

Michael Klug:

So it was a little much. I mean, it was a great, very focused six days. I got off the book in time and I got to do as much development as I could. And of course, you know, Monte was at my disposal. But yeah, I had six days to get ready for a two-week shoot.

Rebecca Elliott:

That is insane! Clearly, you’re in just about every scene of the film. But you’re also part of an ensemble cast. So how, what did that look like? I mean, if you only had six days leading up, did you get a lot of time with your co-stars or was it just pretty much show up to set and let her rip?

Michael Klug:

Yeah, it was basically just showing up to set. I met my two leading ladies two days before. We had to shoot the photographs that appear in the film. Which was like, “Hey, how are you? Hi, let’s be intimate here and take a nice picture. Okay, I’ll see you on Monday.” That was it.

But I mean, the second day of shooting with Christine [Nguyen] was the big scene at the end. That was the second day of shooting! And so it was, I don’t know, it was a lot. I’m really glad I did it. It was a challenge. I enjoyed it, but it was, it was kind of crazy, you know, but it’s so nice to look back and be like, “Hey, I did it!”

Rebecca Elliott:

Totally. Back to the look of the film and how beautiful it is… the cinematographer, Neal Tyler is it?

Michael Klug:

Neal. Neal Tyler, yeah.

Rebecca Elliott: 

Such an incredible frame that guy captures. Were you surprised when you saw the final cut? How visually stunning it is plus all of the things that Monte incorporated like the little experimental interludes and the kaleidoscopic sequences. Was he giving you feedback all along as to what things were gonna look like? Was all of that on the page? Or, when you saw it, were you just like, “Oh wow, this is really how it all came together!”  

Michael Klug:

I don’t think there was a lot of stuff on the page from what I recall. But I mean, I don’t think he wanted to burden me with that. I didn’t know all of that stuff. So when I saw the first cut- we saw it at the studio where we actually shot Space. I was so blown away. Like I didn’t anticipate it being quite so visual. Like all those cutaways from those classic horror films. Yeah. The kaleidoscope stuff. I actually reviewed a film a hundred billion years ago called Interior by a filmmaker named Zach Beckler. And it reminded me so much of that because it does have a kind of 2001 detour into these crazy alternate dimensions. I was so taken by it. I was really impressed. Like when we got done with the screening, I’m sure I was like, “Monte, you just kicked ass!” It was great. So yeah, I did not know all of that. That’s the long story short.

Rebecca Elliott:

That was a great answer. Sometimes I wonder like, do the actors even know what this end product is gonna look like? In addition to acting, you’re also a screenwriter and director. Is it tough to switch hats between the three? Or is it a natural thing for you? And how do those other roles help you whenever you’re in front of the camera? 

Michael Klug:

Well, I was a theater kid. That’s actually what my degree is in. But I think that being an actor really helps my screenwriting. It sounds kind of assy to say it, but it’s like, I understand how dialogue needs to sound for it to come out of my mouth naturally. So I mean, I do read my stuff aloud as I’m writing it. And so I think they kind of both service one another. Because I’m not opposed to offering a suggestion for a line. Not that I’m taking writing credit. But like, you know, could I just get in this little extra “the” or “of”, or something just to give it a more natural pace for me? So I think they both service one another and I think it’s a good place to be. It’s a good skill set to have on both sides.

Rebecca Elliott:

Even though the quality of the film is terrific, I get a sense that budget-wise, this was a smaller film. Um, what was it like on set? Was it, really hectic, like on a time crunch, or did you have a little bit of wiggle room in there? Was it a small set?

Michael Klug:

It was definitely smaller. I wanna say our crew was five. Director, DP, PA, sound, and AC, I think it was. Yeah, so it was really small. Massimo’s apartment is actually Monte’s apartment, which they dressed for the film so that, of course, they could shoot it for free. Then all the stuff we shot outside was out in the Salton Sea, out past Palm Springs. We did two days of that, two separate weekends. And that’s kind of it, you know. I mean, it was a very small set. There wasn’t a lot of lollygag time. Mm-hmm. As far as low-budget stuff, you can’t go back and do reshoots. So you gotta get everything you can, and you gotta really plow through.

Luckily, it’s a really smart team, a really fast team. I felt super lucky with all of my scene partners. I was just over the moon about them. It was such a hoot to play. And, you know, and I think the, the benefit of me not having had a lot of prep time is that I think it kept everything a little more spontaneous feeling, you know because they had time to kind of get in and figure things out. But I’m like, “Nope.” I’m sure that must have thrown them for a loop on some things, you know, because here’s this guy coming in that we don’t know what he’s gonna do. But it was a very good set. It was a solid and productive set and a very fun place to create.

Rebecca Elliott:

So that element of relative unpreparedness lent a little bit to the character itself, who also is facing this surprising scenario.

Michael Klug:

Yeah, the sense of it being so raw and basically just following instincts. I mean, I think that’s the same thing that Massimo was doing. So I agree. I think it is something that probably helped the performance. Not that I was conscious of, but at the time I just had to get in and be like, “Oh God, do I have my lines memorized?” You don’t wanna mess up lines and have to do 50 takes when you’ve got everyone waiting on you. But it was so fun to play someone so damaged. I’ve got my own I do think, the low amount of preparation definitely made a difference because there was just no time to think. I just had to get in and do it and hopefully, it worked.

Rebecca Elliott:

Right. Just react, don’t overthink it. You also get to work with a few, shall I say, effects and props in the film. Can you talk about working with the effects crew and some of the challenges that you may have faced with some of the gorier stuff?

Michael Klug:

The only thing I really had to engage with was the- spoiler alert- the intestines. It was another one of those just do it. Because if you think about it, it was just immediately post-covid. And people are handling this stuff, and you know, “Here, let me put this bloody gunk in my mouth and chew on this plastic thing.” I think it’s just that matter of like, you know, just going for it. And certainly, at the moment, Megan [Kingsley], who was Sophia in that sequence, she really brought it at that moment. So it was easy to kind of just get caught up in it, you know? And that was my only really big thing other than, uh… the poop, shall we say?

Rebecca Elliott:

Yes! Oh my gosh!

Michael Klug:

That was the very first thing we shot. So I’m in bed with melted chocolate and a fake turd, and then reacting to that. So I did have to deal with that. But again, it’s like, just don’t think about it. Just react organically to what this guy’s experiencing. He’s just crapped himself. It’s weird, but I guess that’s the magic of this process. It’s like, just get in there and do it. See what happens. This guy sees that he’s crapped his pants because he’s turning into a vampire. How is he gonna react? I love it. Just broken intestines, you know.

Rebecca Elliott:

I love to always ask those questions because I know that behind any good effects or gore shot or sequence, there are some stories about the nuts and bolts behind it that we don’t know. And so I always love to hear an actor’s perspective about what all was going on behind the scenes. Of course, the whole covid thing adds an additional layer that you don’t even think about.

Michael Klug:

Everyone on the crew is in masks, and yes, they’re handling everything with gloves and as much care as they can. But you know, you’re still putting this gross thing in your mouth.  

Rebecca Elliott:

As a filmmaker and a horror hound yourself, is it hard to stay in your lane with a story like this? I mean, you mentioned earlier that dialogue-wise you had a little bit of leeway to add some of your own flavor. But as far as the story goes, was there any input, or was it all pretty much Monte’s vision?

Michael Klug:

It’s definitely Monte’s vision. I read a very early draft of the piece and gave him notes. I don’t even remember. That was years and years ago, so I don’t remember what I told him. It was just a matter of, “This makes sense to me. This doesn’t make sense to me. Here’s a suggestion.” Blah, blah, blah. But I don’t remember if he took any of it. It’s been so long. With the dialogue stuff, I’m a repeater as an actor. Especially when you get into the moment. You may remember in the climax I said, “I don’t remember,” like 80 times or something. Because you know, you’re just in there.

So, but that’s not something Monte’s gonna be like, “Oh no. I only had two I remember. I don’t want 10.” He doesn’t care. But I think that’s in the moment. Who cares if you’re gonna capture what the emotion is, you know? He’s not a stickler, word for word. And he’s certainly open to anything that happens on set. 

Rebecca Elliott:

It’s exciting that Terror Films picked the movie up and is getting you guys uh, nice release on streaming platforms.

Michael Klug:

Absolutely. It’s totally blown me away because I had reviewed multiple films from their catalog over the years. I think four or five that I reviewed I remember rating very highly. So I was like, this is kind of an extra bonus. Cuz I know they put out the good stuff and they liked Blood Covered Chocolate.

Rebecca Elliott:

Yay! It’s like you’ve come full circle.

Michael Klug:

Seriously!

Rebecca Elliott:

That is great. Well, thank you so much. I guess that wraps up our interview with a little bow there. I really appreciate you chatting with me about your film.

Michael Klug: Thank you, Rebecca.

Terror Films released Blood Covered Chocolate on streaming platforms, including Prime, Apple TV, and Tubi.

Read more Cinema Scholars interviews!

An Interview With The Legendary Lance Henriksen!

SISU: An Interview With Director Jalmari Helander

Keep up with Cinema Scholars on social media. Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter and Instagram.