“Be careful what you write because you just might have to make it,” laughs Firebite creator Warwick Thornton, ahead of the Aussie vampire series’ premiere on AMC+ this week.
Described as a story of modern-day colonisation, Firebite, filmed in South Australia, follows two Aboriginal vampire hunters, Tyson (Rob Collins) and Shanika (Shantae Barnes-Cowan), in their quest to end a bloody 230-year war for land and power.
Thornton says the show is like a “rock’n’roll song”.
“It’s sort of like, you can dance to it if you want, or you can read the lyrics and learn something,” he explains, “it’s got two faces and it’s exactly what we set out to do; high octane, high energy, just silly, but educational if you want.”
Rob Collins as Tyson and Shante Barnes-Cowan as Shanika in ‘Firebite’. Photo Credit: Ian Routledge/AMC+
As the series begins, its character development and reimagining of history are so engaging that it’s easy to forget that vampires are its foundation, and it’s not surprising considering Thornton’s previous credits include Sweet Country, Samson and Delilah and more.
“Yeah, it’s sort of fantasy set in reality, in a strange way, you know what I mean?” he tells.
“We could very quickly go into some kind of weird Mad Max thing. And we were kind of like, ‘No, we need to keep it grounded.’ If this was you, how would you kill a vampire? A great way to kill a vampire is a boomerang. So, then you start with that and then you end up with a chopstick gun where you go down to the Chinese restaurant and steal their disposable little wooden chopsticks. And that’s a great way to kill a vampire. So, there’s all these sort of strange realities.
“And there are Indigenous issues that are just naturally occurring that we do want to talk about, but you don’t actually have to listen. You can just enjoy the pace and the fun in a way. It’s a dysfunctional family, Tyson as a father figure is a d*ckhead, you know what I mean? He’s an idiot.
“I’ve got three children, and my job in life is to embarrass the sh*t out of them. That’s kind of what I try to do every day. I’ve worn them down, so they generally roll their eyes now, they don’t say, ‘Dad, get off the pool table.’ They sort of just roll their eyes.”
One of the biggest questions in the development of the series was, “Where do vampires fit into Aboriginal lore?”
“It’s a metaphor for colonisation,” Thornton explains. “I don’t know if this is a spoiler alert, but when you get turned by a vampire, you lose your voice, you lose your memory, which is kind of what happens to Indigenous people when they were taken over by the British around the world.
Kelton Pell as Jalingbirri in ‘Firebite’. Photo Credit: Ian Routledge/AMC+
“You couldn’t sing, you can’t speak your language, and then slowly over years, you kind of can’t remember, and that sort of happens to a person who’s turned by a vampire, and they forget who they are and they have to slowly rebuild themselves as a vampire, rather than remembering the strengths as a human… they lose all that and they start learning how to be a vampire. And that’s kind of what colonisation does to people. So, that’s where the vampires come from.
“The original idea came from… on the First Fleet, there were 11 vials of smallpox, and that’s a true story. That’s actually what they brought. Who brings 11 vials of smallpox to an Australia Day barbecue? It’s kind of like someone with COVID going to a Christmas party, you know what I mean? Knowingly having COVID and going to a Christmas party with children. Not a smart thing to do.
“And it sort of came from there, and it came from that kind of anger, and I’ve always learned to turn anger into energy. And how can I talk about this, but actually in a much more entertaining way, with a bigger audience?
“And so, well, let’s turn these 11 vials of smallpox into 11 vampires, and the British brought them on the First Fleet to start feeding and wiping out Indigenous tribes in Australia. So that’s sort of where it came from. I don’t know, you can be entertained by it or you can be educated, you just take it or leave it and enjoy it.”
As for what Thornton hopes audiences take away from Firebite?
“You know, the series is kicking in the doors and turning the amps up. So, when you watch it, turn it up, have as much fun as possible. Absolutely enjoy it for what it is. It’s a bunch of Blackfellas killing vampires, but if you accidentally get educated, I’m happy.”
Firebite will premiere on December 16 exclusively on AMC+, the new streaming bundle available via Amazon Prime Video Channels and Apple TV Channels.
LEAD IMAGE CREDIT: Ian Routledge/AMC+
