{"id":623519,"date":"2026-09-13T15:20:09","date_gmt":"2026-09-13T15:20:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/623519\/"},"modified":"2026-09-13T15:20:09","modified_gmt":"2026-09-13T15:20:09","slug":"in-the-mood-for-a-slasher-horror-romcom-movie-how-about-one-set-in-kensington-san-diego-union-tribune","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/623519\/","title":{"rendered":"In the mood for a slasher-horror-romcom movie? How about one set in Kensington?\u00a0 \u2013 San Diego Union-Tribune"},"content":{"rendered":"

The filmmaking bug bit Justin Burquist<\/a> right after high school. His brother brought a video camera to their El Centro home, from the audio\/visual department of their high school. Burquist, his brother, and their three cousins decided to make a little movie.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe shot this totally ridiculous thing, and I didn\u2019t want to be in front of a camera, so I held the camera, which meant I picked the shots and they acted,\u201d he says. \u201cMy cousin had editing software and I just remember sitting with him, and there was a lens flare that went from one shot to the next shot, and I just remember thinking, \u2018This is so cool.\u2019 That was pretty much when I was like, \u2018I can\u2019t stop now.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

He left El Centro more than 15 years ago and knew someone who was a student at San Diego State University\u2019s film program. Sneaking on to the student film sets introduced him to other young filmmakers, and he went on to attend and participate in events with the Film Consortium San Diego. One of his latest projects is as a producer and gaffer for \u201cA Corpse in Kensington,\u201d<\/a> a psychological horror\/romantic comedy by writer and director, and San Diego native, Brian Patrick Butler<\/a>. The 93-minute independent film follows a loner who\u2019s reunited with his crush, and her boyfriend, a few years after high school, and they all get caught up in a number of mysterious killings. There are on-screen performances from the late Michael Madsen (\u201cKill Bill,\u201d \u201cReservoir Dogs\u201d), Ryan Bollman (\u201cThe NeverEnding Story III,\u201d \u201cChildren of the Corn II\u201d), and Derrick Acosta (Mega64). A release date for the film is forthcoming.<\/p>\n

Butler, 43, works as an analyst by day, and runs his Broken Swing Productions company as a writer and director outside of that, with films including \u201cTouch\u201d and \u201cBroken Knuckles.\u201d He lives in Kensington and took some time to talk about working on this most recent project in his neighborhood, what it was like working with Madsen, and his love of horror stories. (This interview has been edited for length and clarity.)<\/p>\n

Q:\u00a0How did you become involved in this project with Brian? Why was this something you wanted to be part of?<\/p>\n

A: When I moved to San Diego, to Kensington, I kind of got involved with the local film community, and he was an actor who I\u2019d seen in some films and shorts. I always thought he was fantastic, so I put him in something a long time ago, and then we became friends. I ended up being a cinematographer on a previous production of his called \u201cHemet, or the Landlady Don\u2019t Drink Tea,\u201d so we got closer there, I think. I basically told him that, because I really enjoyed the script, that the next thing he did, I wanted to help him on it. That\u2019s kind of how I got on the production, my buddy was a cinematographer on it and we used a lot of my equipment, as well. I just think Brian is really talented, and one of my friends was on it and I just love making movies. It\u2019s an addiction.<\/p>\n

When I first read it, I felt it was a very personal film for Brian. I was a little surprised, at first, because I felt like his other film was a bit more commercial, and this one felt very idiosyncratic for him. It felt like this was some past memories that he had, and me and my buddy would always try to figure out which character is Brian. I think he\u2019s ended up at the point where he\u2019s like, oh, everybody\u2019s a piece of him, you know? So, I was surprised at how personal the film felt.<\/p>\n

Q:\u00a0How did Michael Madsen become involved, and what was he like to work with?<\/p>\n

A:\u00a0Michael was great. He had done some voiceover for Brian, I think, before production, and he used it in the Indiegogo when we were raising funds. I think they kind of kept in contact, and basically an opportunity opened up where Brian convinced him to come down for a day and shoot one of the ending parts in the film. We didn\u2019t have him for a long time, but I think we maximized that and shot a lot of footage with him.<\/p>\n

It was pretty fun because, I don\u2019t know why I said it, but I have a bunch of Blu-rays and a big TV in my living room, and I told him, \u201cMi casa es su casa.\u201d That was a little surreal because I just did that to Michael Madsen, but he was very kind. He seemed genuinely appreciative, he was like, he didn\u2019t know if he would let anybody come into his place to stay while making a movie. I remember one of the contributors to the Indiegogo campaign had given Brian a bottle of liquor for Michael, and I think (Michael) told Brian to give it to our cinematographer, which I thought was kind.<\/p>\n

Q:\u00a0What appeals to you about the production side of filmmaking?<\/p>\n

A:\u00a0One of the crew members was reading Michael Crichton\u2019s \u201cJurassic Park,\u201d and I was telling the story of how my parents wouldn\u2019t allow me to see (the movie) \u201cJurassic Park\u201d because they thought it was too violent. I remember when I was younger, in eighth or ninth grade, I decided I was going to read the Michael Crichton book, which is way more violent. Of course, my parents didn\u2019t know, but I just ended up reading it and I think I developed a kind of rich, interior fantasy life. I think imagining worlds and images and scenes kind of comes naturally to me, and I feel like that aspect is something that really got me into filmmaking. It\u2019s funny because I think I part company with most people I know in the film world where a story, to me, is not as important; I\u2019m more visual, I prefer images that tell a story, more so than a \u201cstory.\u201d<\/p>\n

Q:\u00a0Are you a horror fan?<\/p>\n

A:\u00a0I am, I love horror films. The thing I like about horror films is, you\u2019re kind of more allowed to get fantastical and do things that I feel like in \u201cnormal, dramatic\u201d movies, you\u2019re not allowed to do wrong. You can do more interesting things with the camera, you can build a more stylized world, and people accept it. I feel like it\u2019s more of a humble genre, in a way. Ironically, maybe. I feel like you don\u2019t need big name actors, sometimes you just need an interesting idea. Even the acting, people will forgive if it\u2019s not the best, and it\u2019s an easier place to probably get your start, especially these days. It seems like there\u2019s always a horror film that\u2019s blowing up.<\/p>\n

Q: Do you have any favorite movies you like to watch during the time of year Halloween is approaching?<\/p>\n

A:\u00a0My favorite horror film is \u201cThe Thing\u201d by John Carpenter, so that usually gets at least a watch every year during Halloween. I\u2019m a big Dario Argento fan, so \u201cSuspiria\u201d will get played at some point, probably during Halloween. It\u2019s not only a horror film, but \u201cPhantom of the Paradise\u201d by Brian De Palma is a great watch. It\u2019s so fun. I think the\u00a0things I enjoy about horror\u00a0is\u00a0the atmosphere and, a\u00a0lot of times,\u00a0there\u2019s\u00a0a sense of isolation, which I feel like\u00a0I\u2019ve\u00a0always enjoyed.\u00a0Maybe\u00a0there\u2019s\u00a0a bit of a growing up in\u00a0Imperial\u00a0Valley,\u00a0out in the countryside a little bit.\u00a0There were fields\u00a0surrounding where\u00a0my parents\u00a0lived\u00a0when I grew up.<\/p>\n

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