In 2009, Otto Baxter gave an interview to the BBC’s disability website Ouch! in which he outlined his ambitions: the 21-year-old hoped to one day become a porn star, make a rock record, star in Phantom of the Opera and direct “the greatest horror film ever”.
More than a decade later and there is no X-rated, thrash-metal version of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musical on the horizon. But Baxter has made one of the most unusual horror films you’re likely to see. The Puppet Asylum is a 30-minute short inspired by Jack the Ripper, A Nightmare on Elm Street and, crucially, his own experience of living with Down syndrome.
