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Eileen Daly

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Eileen Daly
Born
Surrey, England
Occupation(s)Actress,model and singer/songwriter
Years active1990–present
Websitehttp://www.eileendaly.net/
Eileen Daly at Home

Eileen Daly is an English actress, film star, film producer, writer, model, poetess and singer/songwriter. She is also a well-known contemporary scream queen starring in numerous cult films and has a been fronting her own band called The Courtesans who have been active on the music scene since 2005.

Biography

Early life

Eileen Daly was born on 1 June in Surrey, England. She has a younger brother. She attended drama school but, after a while, opted out to pursue private acting lessons instead. She was living for a time with Tim Pope,[1] who directed promos for the Cure, Siouxsie and the Banshees, and Soft Cell, where her gothy good looks meant she was popular as an extra in several music promos. A variation on her Dark Angel character featured in a video for the band Cathedral ("Hopkins: The Witchfinder General") directed by Nigel Wingrove. Eileen left home quite young and started modelling to earn her keep, based mainly in South London. She tried a number of jobs and did game shows, dancing, mud wrestling, kissograms, TV parts (including roles in the most expensive BBC2 production ever produced at that time Our Friends in the North with Daniel Craig, Malcolm McDowell, Mark Strong and Christopher Ecclestone among others - unavailable for several years it was re-released in the UK in the autumn of 2010). Eileen has taken part in playreadings[2] at the Royal Court Theatre in London.

Eileen also toured coastal towns in a comedy play in the early 1990s.

Eileen was one of the first models for the Agent Provocateur range and appeared on television on The Big Breakfast and Kilroy (television series) promoting the brand.

She is a keen contributor to and supporter of a range of animal charities [3] and a lover of Pre Raphaelite art and vintage clothing.

Most of her efforts in recent years has been dedicated to developing her band the Courtesans, working on songs and videos and extending her fan base. The band, as well as having a distinctive sound, also has a strong design ethic featuring a "Courtesan's Woman" no doubt a product of her time at Redemption and her love of art. The official band web-site launched in 2011 with a strong Gypsy theme.

Eileen is a big supporter of animal charities.

In print

Magazines

Eileen Daly has been a cover model for a range of magazines including Skin Two, Time Out, Bizarre, The Dark Side, The Chronicles, Redeemer, Bite Me[4] and Bloodstone. Many of these magazines have included features on Eileen together with, on occasion, some of her poetry. She also contributed articles and wrote columns for several magazines in the 1990s.

Dark Side magazine

Eileen was a regular contributor and columnist for the Dark Side where she would write about low-budget film and interview directors, producers (she is herself associate producer on several projects) actors and technicians working in that field. Her column was transferred to DVD and Blu-ray World magazine (itself to cease publication) when The Dark Side took a break in publication.

Television

Overview

Eileen has acted in a number of television shows and adverts (Toyota and First Choice among them), usually between film roles, and has been seen in programmes as diverse as Snuff Box,[5] Our Friends in the North, EastEnders, Vampyria (documentary), Sex & Shopping, Eurotrash, Beck, The Big Breakfast, Kilroy, Fantasy By Gaslight and The Fast Show.

Eileen also had uncredited roles as the "example" human female in a Desmond Morris written and presented series on the Human Animal and body language a co-production of the BBC and the Discovery channel which was filmed in 1994.

Bravo

Eileen had already filmed several introductions to Redemption released European horror and cult films when she starred in a number of specially shot introductions and promos for the television channel Bravo (at that stage going through a phase of showing mostly science-fiction and horror programming). The Bravo work was essentially a series of short films and intros where Eileen, in character as the "Dark Angel", would oversee short scenarios linking into the films shown on the channel.[6]

Eileen Daly Peek A Boo (The Peekaboo Show)

With the formation of Redemption TV Eileen was given the chance to shine in her own magazine show where she would interview musicians, actors, friends and celebrities. People interviewed included the actor and comedian Matt Berry, Chris Adamson, Morrigan Hel and Nosferatu (band). During the show Eileen would often take part in short skits or sketches with her interviewees. The programme was very light hearted and would often mock the style, or constant product placement, of other magazine shows. The show features early footage of the Courtesans Eileen's band.

Sexxx (Loaded TV)

In late 2012 Eileen filmed a sitcom set in a sex shop called SEXXX for the newly launched LOADED TV channel. This series is ongoing and began transmission in late November 2012.

Come Again (Loaded TV)

Eileen is a regular celebrity contestant on this game show involving two teams competing in tasks and in answering questions on film clips shown by the host. The show 's other regular team-member is Ben Dover.

Untitled Magazine Show

As of 2012 Eileen was developing her own magazine style show which would feature celebrities, films, music and other media. The show was intended to be similar to the Peek A Boo Show which she had previously hosted.

Film career

Overview

Seeing the filming of many music promos and mixing with actresses and people working in the film industry whetted her appetite for acting even more and strengthened her resolve to get into the film industry proper. Eileen always loved horror films and had wanted to star in them so when she started getting parts in a few independent horror films, it changed her focus on what she wanted to do. It was around this time that she met Nigel Wingrove and together they started up a company called Redemption Films.[7] The recognition she got from the Redemption work became the turning point of her career. Redemption Films used an image of Eileen as its company logo[8] and this became part of its marketing strategy with Eileen featuring as Redemption's Dark Angel in specially filmed intros to the many foreign and cult films released on the label. Many of the films released featured Eileen acting out scenes from the film on their covers and this together with the consistent design of their packaging gave the company a strong identity and made the films collectable. She also featured on a range of Redemption merchandise as diverse as mugs, T-shirts, posters, prints and even pin badges.[9] Redemption re-published the novelisation of the Hammer film Countess Dracula and a photo shoot featuring Eileen was set up to add a series of images to the book and to provide its cover image; the images were later sold as a limited edition photo set and Eileen was interviewed for Video World magazine at the time and a video of the interview was given away as a cover mount. Eileen was hoping at that time to work with French Director Jean Rollin, many of whose films were marketed by Redemption Films, after meeting with him in Paris but it was sadly not to be. A similar fate befell a possible Betty Page film to be directed by Richard Driscoll originally scheduled for 2003.

She has appeared in films such as All About Anna for Innocent Pictures, Cradle of Fear, Messages,[10] Kannibal, Sentinels of Darkness, N(eon), Machines of Love & Hate, Razor Blade Smile, Witchcraft X, Evil Calls: The Raven reuniting her with Kannibal director Richard Driscoll, Sacred Flesh[11] and most recently a series of films with the American actor Joe Zaso[12] culminating in several films with German director and musician Timo Rose. These later films include Darkness Surrounds Roberta, Timo Rose's Beast, Braincell,[13][14] Unrated and Karl The Butcher Vs Axe. She has acted as associate producer on several of her latter films. Eileen has undoubtedly portrayed a vampire onscreen more times than any other British actress with at least four different vampire characters. She has also provided voices for animated characters notably in Monsters Of The ID.[15] She has worked with Dave McKean the artist behind The Sandman and the film MirrorMask on his short film N(eon) which is available on a DVD collection of short films entitled Keanoshow. Some reviewers have dismissed some of Eileen's acting but they have tended to overlook the fact than many of her film roles are low, or micro, budget where rehearsal and re-takes of scenes are not always possible. In many of her roles she has shown an instinctive gift for comedy.

"But she has something more than great acting skill, she’s got charm and an undeniable chemistry with the camera." M.J. Simpson writing about Eileen in Razor Blade Smile.[16]

Demonsoul

A young girl is troubled by bad dreams and visits a seedy hypnotherapist, who is a bit more "hypno the rapist" than therapist, and unwittingly releases the spirit of a vampire trapped within her. This is a case of past life regression. The vampire's spirit then attempts to take over the young girl's body. Eileen plays the vampire's human servant/familiar who is attempting to bring her mistress back to life and who haunts the young girl's dreams. The film directed by Elisar Cabrera has effective imagery and Eileen looks wonderful. Unavailable in any other form than an American VHS cassette for several years this film was released on DVD in 2009.

Pervirella

Pervirella was a low-budget film directed by Alex Chandon and which featured Eileen as the queen of a tribe of Amazon women living in harmony with nature who aid the heroine Pervirella in her steampunk quest to obtain a longevity formula for a horrific alternative version of Queen Victoria. The film had an eclectic cast list including Jonathan Ross, Mark Lamar, David Warbeck and Emily Booth as the title character. The film commenced with a series of faux trailers that were actually introductions to the film proper and its characters.

Witchcraft X: Mistress of the Craft

Tenth film in the variable Witchcraft series (the series currently runs to 13 films) directed by Elisar Cabrera in which Eileen plays the leader of a coven of vampires. The coven falls in with a serial killer in an attempt to control the power of a demon. Eileen has some great humorous dialogue and plays the vampire in a broad comic book style that is one of the better elements of the film. A white witch and an American detective attempt to stop the evil pair in their plot.

Razor Blade Smile

This film was probably the last great independent British horror film of the 1990s and certainly one of the last to be filmed on celuloid before the changeover to video for most low budget independent films. Eileen was given the principal role of Lilith Silver, the protagonist of the film, a frequently fetish clad hitwoman and adventurer who also happens to be a vampire. The role required a range of disciplines and included sword fights, gun battles, stunts and extensive fight scenes. Eileen is not only on-screen for, almost, the film's entire running time but provides narration for the film. The film, whilst being at the time, the cheapest ever film to receive a cinema distribution in the United Kingdom (with an initial budget of £12,000) marked a turning point in vampire cinema which had become something of a joke, with the exceptions being the Hollywood blockbusters of the mid-1990s Bram Stoker's Dracula and Interview With the Vampire, and created a number of much more action oriented and serious vampire films. The role of Lilith Silver, a cat-suited vampire hitwoman, would influence Kate Beckinsale in the Underworld (film series) and the look of vampires in the Blade (film) series among others. Her performance garnered much praise in the press at the time and Eileen was awarded several awards for her performance in the film. Eileen and the director Jake West provided a commentary track for the "Special Edition" of the film.

Awards for Razor Blade Smile include Grand Prize at the Gérardmer Film Festival (2000), Honorable Mention at the Sweden Fantastic Film Festival (1998), a "Vampire Oscar" for Eileen at Vampyria II in London and the film won most of the top awards in the first B-Movie Film Festival (1999), including Best B-Film, Director (Jake West), Actress (Eileen Daly), Cinematography and Special Effects.[17]

SFX magazine voted the character of Lilith Silver the 30th sexiest vampire of all time.

Box Office 09/01/1999 "...Striking cinematography....Intense editing....Sometimes style is everything..."

Kannibal (Headhunter)

Directed and written by Richard Driscoll this film united Eileen with American Scream Queen Linnea Quigley in a tale of the "Russian Mafia", cannibalism and revenge. Eileen portrayed a Russian dealer in drugs and pornography and the lesbian lover of the character played by Quigley. The entire role called for Eileen to adopt a "Russian" accent. This is the second film in which Eileen's character would be crucified onscreen (the first being Sentinels Of Darkness). A 2D and 3D version of the film is scheduled to be released under the name "Headhunter" in 2011 following the re-release of another Eileen Daly film re-titled as "The Legend Of Harrow Woods".

Cradle of Fear

Alex Chandon, wanted to create a horror anthology film in the style of the old Amicus Productions of the 1960s and 1970s the gory, violent and entertaining anthology Cradle of Fear is the result. Dani Filth, the voice of Dominator and lead singer of goth metal band Cradle of Filth (for whom Chandon directed two very dark and disturbing promo videos), is The Man, an enigmatic figure working for an imprisoned child killer who provides the link between four stories in which not terribly pleasant people are each killed in a gruesome manner and, in a break from traditional anthology films, a lot of innocent people also meet terrible ends for no particular reason.[18]

The third segment features Eileen as the girlfriend of a man who has lost a leg and has lost his sex drive. The boyfriend then kills another man so that his missing limb (and libido) can be replaced. A large Cradle of Filth poster is onscreen during the murder as are some other, probably quite rare, movie posters. Essentially a spin on the old transplant-from-a-murderer scenario. The role is essentially a straight one with Eileen playing well a girlfriend trying to console her partner and being rebuffed due to his own obsession with his missing limb. She delivers without doubt the best line of dialogue in the feature and injects just the right amount of gravitas into her role to make that line all the more hilarious. There is a wonderful montage of scenes showing the couple in a park as the man works on getting used to his new limb. A version of Eileen's song "Plastic Surgery" is included in one scene during Eileen's segment.

Machines of Love and Hate

A young woman accidentally runs down a hitchhiker who has a fragmented memory of his past and takes him to her isolated family home to recover. There he meets her disabled father and her mother played by Eileen and a cycle of horror and nightmare scenes begins where dreams and reality intertwine. This film features David Runco, Devon Mikolas and Tina Krause and features remarkably good cinematography. Eileen showed her versatility again by playing different variations on her character almost from scene to scene due to fragmented nature of the story. This film also features a wonderful argument scene where she rants against her on screen husband. The film also includes an amazing knife sharpening scene that is truly inspired. Eileen plays the mother of the character played by Tina Krause despite only actually being seven years her senior.[19]

All About Anna

All About Anna, directed by Jessica Nilsson, is a film from a company associated with the director Lars Von Trier and is one of several films made to appeal to a female audience[20] featuring hardcore sex scenes and scenes of a very adult nature. The film complies with a "Puzzy Power Manifesto"[21] which lays down strict guidelines of what should and should not be included in the film in order that it be tailored for female rather than male sensibilities. As Camilla,[22] the flatmate of the Anna of the title played by Gry Bay, Eileen plays her role for laughs (and was directed to do so) however there is an emotional arc to her character who starts the film treating sex "as men do" as disposable fun and then finds that she has fallen in love with one of her boyfriends. Notable scenes are her failed seduction of Johan (unknown to her Anna's true love) and scenes where she drunkenly tries to initiate sex with her equally drunken boyfriend whilst covered in cotton buds. Both Eileen and actor Adrian Bouchet (aka Mark Stevens) provided an entertaining commentary to the film when it was released on DVD. The film is available in a "soft" version from Germany and a "hard" version. In 2008 Eileen Daly was given an award to mark 30,000 copies of this film being replicated and sold. The film had a limited theatrical run in 2009 as a double bill with Lars Von Trier's Antichrist (film).[23]

Darkness Surrounds Roberta

Starring Eileen, Timo Rose, Joe Zaso, Yasmin Pucci and Raine Brown filmed in the style of an Italian Giallo and with location filming in Florence and Naples the film is a stylish thriller. Zaso plays a blind American policeman relocated to Italy and Eileen plays the manager of an escort/model agency three girls from which have been murdered. In a counterpoint to the blind character played by Zaso Eileen plays a game, at one point in the film, where she is touched by different people whilst her eyes are closed and has to guess their identity. At the time of the production Eileen was treated in hospital but her dedication meant that she still reported to work and completed her role in the film.[24]

Timo Rose's Beast

Alex (Joe Zaso) returns home after he and his girlfriend are attacked and she is murdered. Reuniting with his sister Raine Brown and stepmother, played by Eileen, he is plagued by guilt and also deeply affected by his experience. Meanwhile a pair of monster hunters are tracking a werewolf which is heading in the direction of Alex's home. The film features surprisingly good effects using suggestion rather than extensive make-up and an excellent music score by Marco Werba. The film was filmed mostly on location in Germany with some inserts shot in other countries. As well as featuring in this film Eileen acted as an associate producer.[25]

Darkness Calls: the Raven (The Legend of Harrow Woods)

Originally titled "Alone in the Dark"[26] the title of this film was altered in order not to clash with the film of the popular videogame. Directed by Richard Driscoll[27] the film features Jason Donovan, Rick Mayall and Robin Askwith. The film borrows heavily elements from The Shining, Blair Witch and Evil Dead and is currently available on Region 2 DVD. It has confusingly been announced that the film is both the first film in a trilogy and the first film in a trilogy of two. Eileen plays a psychic who accompanies a group of people into woods that have been cursed and may herself be a serial killer.

Rose - The Movie

Premiered at the London Independent Film Festival in 2012 this is a gritty urban drama and a change of genre where Eileen plays the matriarch in a nightmare world of criminals, drug dealers, street-fighters and pimps the film is directed by Kemal Yildirim. Apart from acting in the film Eileen Daly also performed a song in the feature and will be supplying the title track for the film due to travel to Cannes in 2012.

Blood Pact

Currently in pre-production this is a vampire thriller scripted by horror novelist C. J. Lines.

Music career

Jezebel

Eileen Daly also had a strong love of music, where she felt she had more control of her career and was essentially "working for herself", and formed a band called Jezebel which played in her own words an eclectic mix of rock, Goth and perverse fairy tales. The first CD, Forbidden Fruit[28] was released on 26 March 2004 on the record label Triple Silence a music label linked to Redemption. A track off Forbidden Fruit, entitled "Plastic Surgery" was featured on the Cradle of Fear movie soundtrack CD. Another track off Forbidden Fruit, retitled You're So Cute, is featured in the film All About Anna, performed onscreen by Eileen Daly. Before the Forbidden Fruit CD in 1998, but also under the name Jezebel, Eileen released a single entitled "Persuasion". Eileen performed on Eurotrash and was interviewed about her career to date. Eileen worked with producer and musician Steven Severin who had provided music for the film Visions of Ecstasy for Nigel Wingrove.

The Courtesans

Her most recent musical project, the Courtesans features Eileen Daly (vocals) and Ben Thirkettle (music). The band plays a combination of what they describe as gypsy, glam and rock and are currently working on their first album. Their first single featuring Webcam Girl and Burnout was released on distinctive pink vinyl and a follow up EP Elfing About featured three tracks Mazeltof, Doll and Peckham Rolex and a video to their song Peckham Rolex directed and filmed by Jack Doyle, lit by Daniel Land and edited by James Brady. All of their songs have a strong narrative usually from the point of view of a female protagonist and the songs are often sung in character. The promotional literature for the band and their releases to date features differing versions of a "Courtesans Woman" an illustration based on Eileen by John Gallagher. The band has been busy building up a fan following in and around London and the South of England together with appearances at festivals in Glastonbury and Italy. They have changed their lineup several times since their formation and have performed both Electric and Acoustic sets to a good reception. A track by the band features in the forthcoming film Rose - The Movie and the band will provide the title track for the film which is scheduled to premier at Cannes.

The band are unique in that they perform no cover versions of songs writing and performing only their own original material.

The band launched their official web-site in late summer 2011 and performed at the prestigious Bram Stoker International Film Festival in 2011.

The Courtesans will be releasing their first album ‘The Courtesans’ one song at a time for digital download throughout 2013. The first two songs have already been issued in this way. Each song will have an accompanying video. They will be promoting the album live from September 2013. The video of the first single ‘Burnout’ will be featuring on Loaded TV’s ‘Dial M’ throughout February.

Discography

  • Forbidden Fruit (2004) (with the group Jezebel)
  • Webcam Girl / Burnout (Pink Vinyl Single 2006)
  • Elfing Around (2009) (Eileen Daly and The Courtesans)

Filmography

  • Come Again (2012-13) Loaded TV Game Show ... Regular Team captain
  • Sexxx (2012) Loaded TV Sitcom ... Miss Kitty (6 episodes)
  • Silent Cradle (2012) Feature Film
  • Rose-The Movie (2012)
  • The Turning (2011) Feature Film
  • The Curse Of The Witches Blood (2010)
  • The Horror Vault 3 (2010) .... Missing Woman (segment "A Christmas Haunting")
  • Karl The Butcher Vs Axe (2010) ... Queen Scarar
  • Unrated (2010) .... Samantha
  • Braincell (2010) .... Nurse Audra
  • Evil Calls: The Raven (aka 'Alone in the Dark') (2008) .... Victoria
  • Timo Rose's Beast (2009) .... Lydia
  • Darkness Surrounds Roberta (2007) .... Eleanor Maynard
  • Monsters of the Id (V) .... Jetstream Jenny (an animated feature)
  • Messages (2007) .... Denise
  • Peekaboo Show (2006) (TV) .... Herself (on her own show)
  • Snuff Box (2006) (TV) .... Rich Fulcher's date
  • All About Anna (2005) .... Camilla
  • Machines of Love and Hate (2003) .... Cynthia Marks
  • N[eon] (2002) .... The Ghost
  • Sentinels of Darkness (2002) .... Velislava
  • Cradle of Fear (2001) .... Natalie
  • Kannibal (2001) .... Tanya Sloveig
  • Sacred Flesh (2000) .... Repression (but credited as Catechism)
  • Razor Blade Smile (1998) .... Lilith Silver
  • Archangel Thunderbird (1998) .... Miki Manson
  • Witchcraft X: Mistress of the Craft (1997) .... Raven
  • Pervirella (1997) .... Cu-Rare
  • Our Friends in the North (1996) (TV) .... Dancer
  • Redemption Films (1995) ... The Dark Angel
  • Demonsoul (1995) .... Selena
  • Sweet Nothing (1990) (TV) .... Stripogram

Notes and references

  1. ^ http://www.timpope.tv/
  2. ^ http://www.eileendaly.net/dalymail/june2003.htm
  3. ^ http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=39390832849&ref=search&sid=678558688.1552147255..1
  4. ^ http://www.eileendaly.net/dalymail/september2002.htm
  5. ^ http://www.bbc.co.uk/comedy/snuffbox/
  6. ^ http://www.scumnation.net/Redemption-TV-intros-circa-1997.html
  7. ^ http://www.scumnation.net/Redemption-and-Salvation.html
  8. ^ http://www.scumnation.net/Early-Redemption-covers-and-related-images.html
  9. ^ http://www.scumnation.net/PortfolioGallery.html
  10. ^ http://www.film4.com/reviews/2007/messages
  11. ^ http://www.bfi.org.uk/sightandsound/review/488
  12. ^ http://www.iconsoffright.com/IV_Zaso.htm
  13. ^ http://www.horrorsociety.com/2009/02/09/braincell-pictures-and-info/
  14. ^ http://www.mjsimpson.co.uk/interviews/eleanorjames.html
  15. ^ http://www.monstersmovie.com/castcrew.htm
  16. ^ http://www.mjsimpson.co.uk/reviews/razorbladesmile.html
  17. ^ "British Vampire Flick 'Razor Blade Smile' Wins Top Honors at B-Movie Film Festival", b-movie.com, 31 August 1999. Retrieved April 12, 2007.
  18. ^ http://www.cradleoffear.com
  19. ^ http://www.monstersatplay.com/review/dvd/m/machinesoflove.php
  20. ^ http://www.innocentpictures.com/content/index.php?id=88&la=en
  21. ^ http://www.innocentpictures.com/aaa_manifest.php
  22. ^ http://www.eileendaly.net/dalymail/march2003.htm
  23. ^ http://www.innocentpictures.com/content/index.php?id=58&la=en
  24. ^ http://xploitedcinema.com/catalog/darkness-surrounds-roberta-p-13785.html
  25. ^ http://pretty-scary.net/content/timo-rose%E2%80%99s-beast-2009
  26. ^ http://www.eileendaly.net/dalymail/august2002.htm
  27. ^ http://www.bbc.co.uk/cornwall/content/articles/2008/02/11/aboutcornwall_evilcalls_feature.shtml
  28. ^ http://www.eileendaly.net/dalymail/april2004.htm
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