Norman John Warren (25 June 1942 – 11 March 2021) was an English film director best known for such 1970s horror films as Satan's Slave (1976), Prey (1977) and Terror (1978).[1] Warren is also known for sex comedies such as Outer Touch (also known as Outer Spaced and Spaced Out, 1979).[2][3][4][5]
Norman J. Warren | |
|---|---|
 Warren in 2016 | |
| Born | Norman John Warren 25 June 1942 Hammersmith, London, England |
| Died | 11 March 2021 (aged 78) |
| Occupations | |
| Years active | 1959–2021 |
| Notable work | Satan's Slave (1976) Prey (1977) Terror (1978) Outer Touch (1979) Inseminoid (1981) |
| Style | |
Along with the films of Pete Walker, Warren's movies are sometimes dubbed "New Wave" British horror, on the basis that they upped the ante in terms of sexual explicitness and gore from that of the Hammer and Amicus productions that dominated the genre in UK cinema up to the early 1970s.
Life and career
editWarren was born in Hammersmith. His father Stanley was a survivor of the October 1942 sinking of HMS Curacoa. After contracting polio when he was five years old, Warren permanently lost the use of his right arm. His gradual recovery, which included prolonged iron lung treatment, left him unable to attend school for four years.[6]
An avid film fan from childhood, Warren entered the film industry as a runner on The Millionairess (1960) and as an assistant director (The Dock Brief, 1962) before directing the short film Fragment (1965). Calcutta-born Bachoo Sen (1934–2002), owner of the Astral Cinema in Brewer Street, London, who had an interest in film production, saw Fragment and subsequently hired Warren to direct two feature-length sex films, Her Private Hell (1968) and Loving Feeling (1969). Both were successes, but Warren saw little of the profits.
Not wanting to be typecast as a director of sex films, Warren turned down a third directing offer from Sen (Love Is a Splendid Illusion, 1970) and had to wait several years to raise the money required to make Satan's Slave (1976), the first of a series of horror films that he directed. Warren's final two films, Bloody New Year and Gunpowder (both 1987), were hampered by low budgets imposed by producer Maxine Julius.
Although Warren did not release a feature film between 1987 and 2016, he continued to work in the industry directing music videos and educational short films such as Person to Person, a BBC film designed for students of English. His horror films developed a following, culminating in the making of Evil Heritage, a 1999 documentary about his work, and the release of a DVD box set in 2004.
In 2007, Warren worked on the supplementary features for the Region 1 DVD releases of Corridors of Blood (1958), The Haunted Strangler (1958) and First Man into Space (1959). He was a regular guest at Manchester's Festival of Fantastic Films.
In 2016, Warren announced whilst being interviewed by journalist Steve Green[7] that he was in post-production on a new feature film, a thriller set in London's Chinatown. The completion of Susu was confirmed at Birmingham FearFest in May 2017, at which Warren was a guest of honour.[8]
Death
editWarren died on 11 March 2021, aged 78. His manager said he had been in poor health for a year prior.[9]
Filmography
edit| Year | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1968 | Her Private Hell | Directorial Debut |
| 1968 | Loving Feeling | |
| 1976 | Satan's Slave | |
| 1977 | Prey | Alternative title: Alien Prey |
| 1978 | Terror | |
| 1979 | Outer Touch | Alternative titles: Spaced Out, Outer Reach and Outer Spaced |
| 1981 | Inseminoid | Alternative title: Horror Planet |
| 1986 | Gunpowder | |
| 1987 | Bloody New Year | Alternative titles: Time Warp Terror and Horror Hotel |
References
edit- ^ "The New York Times Profile". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times. 2012. Archived from the original on 4 November 2012. Retrieved 30 January 2012.
- ^ "Spaced Out, a Comedy". The New York Times. 12 December 1981. Retrieved 30 January 2012.
- ^ Sheridan, Simon (2007). Keeping the British End Up: Four Decades of Saucy Cinema (3rd edition) (Reynolds & Hearn). ISBN 1-903111-92-7
- ^ McGillivray, David (1992). Doing Rude Things: the History of the British Sex Film, 1957-1981 (Sun Tavern Fields).
- ^ Fenton, Harvey (2001). Ten Years of Terror: British Horror Films of the 1970s (FAB Press, Guildford).
- ^ Locks, Adam; Smith, Adrian (2021). Norman J. Warren: Gentleman of Terror. Creepy*Images. p. 8. ISBN 978-3-00-070720-9.
- ^ Rose of Eibon (10 December 2016). "Birmingham News, 2016-12-03: Norman J Warren, 27th Festival of Fantastic Films". YouTube. Archived from the original on 15 December 2021. Retrieved 28 October 2017.
- ^ "Birmingham FearFest – Celebrating All That is Spooky in the Second City". Birmingham-fearfest.co.uk. Retrieved 28 October 2017.
- ^ "Horror director Norman J Warren dies at 78". RTÉ News and Current Affairs. 12 March 2021. Retrieved 12 March 2021.
Bibliography
edit- Gods In Polyester, or, a Survivors' Account of 70's Cinema Obscura (2004, Succubus Press) (contributed pieces on Satan's Slave, Prey, Terror and Inseminoid)
- Gods In Spandex, or, a Survivors' Account of 80's Cinema Obscura (2007, Succubus Press) (contributed pieces on Bloody New Year and Gunpowder)