Hi boys and ghouls!

May is here! Which means HorrorConUK is just around the corner, and for me being a Rotherham actor it really is just around the corner! After appearing at HorrorConUK last year with the screening of The Railway Carriage, I am more excited than a Zombie eating brains to be back with the screening of Halloween Up North.

Some of you from the world of Indie Horror will know who I am and will have heard of The Railway Carriage, some of you won’t have a clue who I am, so let me tell you a little about myself and the reason why I am at HorrorConUK this year.

Back in 2012, I took a career change from working as a professional painter and decorator to becoming an actor. This happened by accident, when I found myself spending 5 days on a West Yorkshire film set playing a Zombie in the independent horror feature film, The Eschatrilogy: Book of the Dead. It opened up a real passion inside me for the arts, spurring me on to do more. I injected all my energy into this and since then I have worked on a number of Indie Horror flicks including Blaze of Gory, Cleaver: Rise of the Killer Clown and Grindsploitation. I am a member of Spotlight and Equity and love acting more than anything, It gives me such a buzz. I also write and work as a producer.

The Railway Carriage was successful with many festivals and a couple of conventions screening the film. The best two places I saw the film last year were the STARBURST International Film Festival in Manchester and HorrorConUK at Magna, Sheffield. HorrorConUK is like no other convention thanks to Gill and Wendy who organise it, these two lovely ladies really made it one of the best, and for me being local it’s the perfect place to be.

OK, So why am I here again this year? Well, those of you who know me, will know I work along the talented filmmaker Steve Call at Steve Call Productions on the award winning show Up North. This is the reason Steve Call and I will be at HorrorConUK this year with a screening of the 3rd episode from Season 1 called Halloween Up North. The show is written by myself, and I play the lead role of Mick Smith with the beautiful actress Carley Motley playing my wife Rosie.

In the episode Mick and the gang are on the run from Jack and Jill, two Zombies who have escaped from Barnsley Zoo. The show features a number of Sheffield actors including Keiron Goodwin and Samantha Senior and veteran TV & stage entertainer Bernie Clifton. Halloween Up North also features Cortney Palm, the American actress known for portraying Zoe in the 2014 film Zombeavers and Sushi Girl in the mystery thriller of the same name.

Up North began as a pilot last year until Essex TV commissioned a full series. The show won an award for reaching 100,000 viewers and for been voted one of the top 5 shows on their channel. Now the show comes to the people of South Yorkshire with series 1 broadcasting each Monday night at 21:30 on Sheffield Live! You can watch the episodes on TV via Freeview or Virgin if you live in Sheffield, or watch live online at www.sheffieldlive.org/tv The show is directed by Steve Call, who also plays Patch in the series.

Working alongside Steve Call is a huge honour, we work great together and have a brilliant friendship, he is like a brother. Steve believed in me when I came to him with the idea for Up North and when I said we need to do a comedy horror episode he jumped at it considering he had never done “Horror” before. I contacted Cortney Palm in the USA and she watched some of pilot episode and loved it, so we were thrilled to bits when she took part. Writing the script for her and seeing Cortney act it out was amazing and a proud moment. Filming the show in Rotherham and Sheffield is also a huge honour, and being a proud Yorkshireman it really is the best feeling in the world. A huge thank you to HorrorConUK for having us back.

Some of the zombies you see ambling around at HorrorConUK actually worked on this episode and they really helped bring the horror to the comedy short.

If you love Horror you should already have your tickets for this awesome two day event. If not, please make sure you do and watch Halloween Up North. Steve Call and I will be there both days to introduce Halloween Up North and will be happy to chat about this funny episode. Thanks to Sheffield Live! and HorrorConUK, Up North comes home after a successful run down south at Essex TV.

I can’t wait and hope to see some of you at HorrorConUK watching Halloween Up North. If you want to know more about the show please check out the links:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt4481062/?ref_=nv_sr_1
https://www.facebook.com/Up-North-823316491090585/?fref=ts
https://www.comedy.co.uk/tv/up_north/

Thanks, we will see you soon!
Dean x

Halloween Up North will be screened at 3:40pm in Hadfield & Huntsman 13th & 14th May