Richard Bates Jr. has made a name for himself in certain circles for making some truly unique films, predominantly in the horror genre, that really are outside the box. Most of his films tend to have darker sensibilities with Excision being my personal favorite but he’s changing things up a bit with his latest release, King Knight. The film is lighter than his usual fare but it’s also darkly funny in all the right places. The movie also has a real beating heart and sincerity that allows you to become invested in all the characters in a significant way.
In the film, Thorn (Michael Gray Gubler ) is a the leader of a coven of witches that must confront his own past including his looming high school reunion and his estranged mother (played by horror icon Barbara Crampton). As Thorn rediscovers who he is, his coven must discover who they are without Thorn.
I got to speak with Richard Bates Jr. about King Knight and I was honestly struck by his sincerity. He wrote King Knight out of respect for the Wiccan community because he has friends that are actually practicing witches and he wanted to create something that showed them is a real and positive light. We also touched on finding the right balance and tone for the film and the reason the movie has so much heart despite some darkly funny moments is that he told the actors to not play the comedy. They played things as if everything they were saying was serious and that’s why the humor ends up working so well. He also spoke on the cast and he basically got everyone he wanted or they were people who Bates already had worked with previously. Most importantly, we also talked about how people should go out and see this film so it encourages more original ideas to be made. I really dug my conversation with him and I really hope people take the time to discover the film because it’s definitely worth the time.
King Knight releases on digital and on-demand on February 17, 2021.