Necrostein - If you would, please state who you are and where you reside.

 

Stuart R. Wahlin - My name is Stuart Wahlin. I'm a filmmaker who wears many hats, but best known as an award-winning director and screenwriter. I live in the Chicago area.

 

Necrostein - From what it looked like i must ask how much research you did on The Ax Man Enigma to get it as right and flowing such as you did?

 

Stuart R. Wahlin- It all started when a friend from an acting class wanted to spend a night in the infamous Villisca ax murder house for her birthday. The paranormal has always interested me, and the house didn't let us down. But it was the history behind the murders that really haunted me. In the months that followed the Villisca trip, I researched the case pretty extensively, poring over stacks of grand jury testimony, the coroner's inquest, and things of that nature. And although paranormal TV shows have turned Villisca a household name, what few realize is that the murders there were not unique. I began to discover eerily-similar unsolved murders throughout the Midwest during a two-year stretch. That's when it became clear we weren't just talking about a one-off massacre in Villisca. I believe the evidence suggests it was the work of a ritualistic serial mass murderer.

 

Necrostein - why the insitance on using locals for the ax man enigma?

 

Stuart R. Wahlin- I originally cast Slay Utterly about a year ago with all Chicago-area actors. In the documentary, I thought it would be cool to have these actors talking about the real people their respective characters were based on. I've worked with most of them before, and they're all extremely talented. But as I mentioned, the documentary was really intended to fuel our crowd-funding effort at the time. When we failed to meet our goal, it became clear that an all-local cast wasn't cutting it for us, in terms of contributions, or garnering interest from investors. I'd still highly recommend these actors to anyone, but in the end, I knew we'd have to get some names attached, if Slay Utterly was ever going to get made. But I do hope to keep as many of these local actors involved as possible.

 

Necrostein - what kind of response has it received from the viewers and journalists such as myself?

 

Stuart R. Wahlin- When I made The Ax Man Enigma, it was really never intended to be something I'd submit to festivals, or for reviews. It was meant to get people interested in Slay Utterly, which is inspired by the case. The documentary was sort of the cornerstone of an early crowd-funding campaign, which ultimately failed, leading to a difficult decision to recast Slay Utterly. But The Ax Man Enigma has since taken on a life of its own. So far, it's been seen in more than a dozen countries, and it's been received very well. I don't necessarily attribute that to my filmmaking. I think all the positive response has been the result of telling a horrific real-life story--one that many people are already somewhat familiar with, but presenting facts and evidence they probably didn't know before. I think it's been a real eye-opener for people, myself included.

 

Necrostein- What kind of budget did you have?

 

Stuart R. Wahlin- I had absolutely no budget at all for The Ax Man Enigma, unless you count the research materials and the trip to Villisca itself.