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Guy Edmonds and Matt Zeremes, the creative duo behind ABC ME’s Emmy-winning Hardball series, have a habit of popping up in their shows. When not collaborating on children’s television and books (they co-authored the Zoo Crew and Zombie Diaries series), they work as actors (Wellmania and Home and Away, respectively), having met at university in Brisbane.
It’s for that reason they can’t help writing themselves into their kids’ series scripts, mostly as the adult comic relief. Their memorable performance as the doting dads of mean girl Tiffany (Erin Choy) in Hardball is followed by a turn as John and Jon, the video-game obsessed ’90s throwbacks that run the local bowling alley, in their new, Halloween-timed adventure series Spooky Files.
Spooky Files’ creators and stars Matt Zeremes (left) and Guy Edmonds wanted to re-create the adventures of their childhood.
“Grown-ups in kids’ shows are more fun when they hinder rather than help,” says Edmonds. “John and Jon provide more problems than solutions – real-world obstacles – and comic fodder for the kids. Let’s just say, they’re not the sharpest tools in the shed.”
The 10-part series, made with the production company of Tony Ayres (Nowhere Boys, Glitch, Fires), and shot in inner Melbourne, follows the ghost-busting quests of step-siblings Bert (Thomas Saddler) and Billie (Audrey Sarinas), and Bert’s best friend Xena (Alberta Brudan). Together, they confront monsters, or “spookies”, that represent fears, emotions and behavioural difficulties – sticky-fingered Swampy, nervous Sludge and the self-explanatory Brain Fogger and Chaos.
Heartbreak High actor and autism awareness advocate Chloe Hayden plays the only spooky with a human face – the loose-lipped Truth Fairy. The rest are actor-inhabited puppets designed by special effects guru Russell Sharp.
“The show is aimed at kids aged seven to 11,” Edmonds explains. “So there’s a fine line between being scary enough, but not too scary. As the show progresses, the threat does become bigger, but Matt and I like comedy, so even when it’s scary, there’s always a good helping of humour.”
Xena (Alberta Brudan) and Bert (Thomas Saddler) confront monsters, or “spookies”, that represent fears and emotions in Spooky Files.
Adds Zeremes: “It was important to find the sweet spot with giving kids a fun scare that is exhilarating, but also not freak them out.”
Inspired by the fantasy entertainment of their childhoods (Goosebumps, Labyrinth), Edmonds and Zeremes were keen to minimise the post-production enhancement.
“We set out to do as much as we could practically, and it’s been so cool,” says Edmonds. “You can put [the supernatural character] in a scene. You can put an actor opposite a creature, and they don’t have to imagine anything. It’s literally right there in front of them, so that makes for really awesome performances.”
Working with Ayres was a long-held dream for them both. The prolific producer offered sage advice.
“He said, ‘Don’t hang a hat on a hat!’” says Edmonds. “It’s about keeping ideas simple – just having one figurative hat. You’ve already got a hat, why do you need two of them?”
Adds Zeremes: “Also, when we’re talking about things at a conceptual stage, you can get bogged down in the detail. Tony would always be like, ‘Think about it in a wide shot.’”
Neurodiversity is hinted at in the dialogue, but never named. “In school and in life, kids experience a broad range of people,” says Edmonds. “For us, it’s just about showing a cross-section of Australian life. It’s texture, but it is essentially a story about a crew of misfit buds who are on the spooky side.”
Both hope their audience will engage with what they, as parents, fear is becoming the lost art of imaginative play.
“We remember growing up in Brisbane in the ’80s and going outside and running around on the road,” says Zeremes. “Hopefully, we inspire kids – not to run on roads – but to make a club and try to solve mysteries because it is a great part of childhood, and so many of the Spooky Files adventures that the Spooky Crew go on are things that Guy and I did as kids.”
Adds Edmonds: “It’s hopefully got a more engaging story than YouTube unboxings.”
The Spooky Files premieres on ABC ME on October 23 at 5pm.
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