Interview With Jason Horton, Writer/Director of the upcoming "Trap"

It's Thursday and we haven't posted anything new since Monday... I apologize. Yesterday was a holiday and, well, I didn't even think about writing anything until it was too late. By too late, I mean, by late afternoon I was knee-deep in some serious PS3 gaming, after having watched a couple of horror flicks. The two horror flicks? "Dead Snow", which is great fun, fairly original and very gory and "Antichrist", which is, well... um. Yeah. I think Lars Von Trier may have been using the film as a way to air some grievances. Anyhow, I can say that we'll try to make it up to you with quality back to back posts, today and tomorrow. As for tomorrow's post, I read a very interesting article on how the success of "Paranormal Activity" could actually be detrimental to the indie horror scene... very interesting, especially after talking with Brad, who was at AFM over the weekend. For today, we've got a great follow up interview with Jason Horton, the guy who made one of my favorite indie horrors of last year, "Edges of Darkness".

If you haven't seen "Edges", I highly recommend it. We interviewed Jason a while ago, last April, to be exact, and he offered up a great interview about the horror anthology. If you're interested in checking that interview out, you can click here. Now, I usually try to keep in touch with most people, just so I can keep up, offer help, keep up on the scene, but it's gotten pretty tough lately... especially as we've been working on a bunch of projects, ourselves. Anyhow, Jason reached out and said that he was working on a new film called "Trap" and I thought it created a great opportunity to do a follow up interview to see what he's been up to and find out how "Edges" is doing.

Last time we talked, you were about to release “Edges of Darkness”. Fill us in, how’s it doing?

I think it's doing pretty well, especially considering the type of movie it is and the budget it was made for. It's the first movie I've done where I can walk into most stores and see copies on the shelves for rent and sell. I walked into a Hollywood Video in Burbank on the release day and saw that they had over 12 copies on the shelf for rent (ALL RENTED OUT). It was really cool. I haven't gotten a sales report yet from Shoreline or Anchor Bay, but I expect one before the end of the year. I think it's doing better than they expected though, because there' s been some unofficial talk of a follow-up to Edges at a larger budget.

So, now that “Edges” has been out there for a while, anything that you would’ve done differently? Any new lessons learned that you can pass on to our readers?

I think you learn so many things with every project you do. On the paperwork side, make sure you have your deliverables together before you start shopping you film. If the distributor wants the movie, they MAY help with SOME of the more expensive items like Errors and Omission insurance or the HD and Digi BETA Masters, but they will not do everything. Know before hand what is needed, make sure you understand what ALL the items are and how to prepare them properly. It'll save you tons of headaches later. Producers do your research.

On the creative side, Edges was a rushed production from the writing of the script all the way through production. It was a situation where the opportunity to make the movie presented itself and I feared if we didn't move ahead as quickly as possible the money would not be there. So, I rushed and let some things go, script-wise, production-wise, performance-wise that I normally wouldn't have. Out of fear, I made several conscious decisions to settle for less than my and others best work. On a micro-budget production (well I guess any production) you're always going to have to compromise things due to budget or time, but there's a line that each one of must drawl when it comes to the artistic integrity of our work. I feel there are a few times in Edges that I stepped a little too far over over mine. Don't get me wrong, I like Edges and am very proud of the work and everyone in it. I just wish I would have pushed a little harder on the script and the production.

You’re on to your next project now, a film called “Trap”. Tell us a bit about it.

Trap is a relatively "quiet" piece, especially compared to Edges. It follows an abduction that goes bad when a middle-aged kidnapper falls in love with his 15 year-old victim.

It's basically a 3 character thriller/drama. There are two kidnappers, the middle-aged Walter and the younger Franklin. They quickly come to odds at how to handle the situation. Plus there a few cool twists. Like Edges it's very character driven and plays with the conventions of it's genre. But, unlike Edges it takes place in the "real" world. I absolutely love horror and want to continue to work in it. But, I wanted to follow Edges with something different.

What’s the budget for this one and how do you secure financing? Did “Edges” open any doors for you here?

We're still in the process of contracts with the distributors, so I can't go into the budget specifics now, but trust me it was very low. People will surprised when they hear the real numbers.

Trap was developed before Edges US release, but it was through the production and post of Edges that I met the financier. Also, I had pitched three horror project to be shot at one time to a production company a few years back. I had the scripts, breakdowns, art-work, promotional trailers, a full business plan. They weren't interested. About a week after Edges release I get an email asking to resend the proposal.

Last time around, you shot on the Sony Z1U, in HDV Format, and said you wouldn’t recommend it… so, what did you shoot on this time?

This time I shot on "old faithful" a dvx. There's a lot of bad feelings right now about DV, but I still think when used properly the dvx gets a great image that's comparable to the better HD cams. I know this camera better and was able to shoot with multiple cameras without renting. On micros it's all about what you have access to. I did use a lense package and did plenty of advanced HD blow-up tests using compressor and instant hd. This way I can deliver a quality 1080P version of the movie if the distributor requires it (and many do these days). Overall I'm much happier with the look of this movie. Although, due to budget constraints, I had to DP the movie myself. So at times between the technical aspects and monitoring performances, I was stretched a little thin. But due to the small nature of this project, I think I handled it well.

What stage are you at right now and what kinds of hurdles are you facing?

I just locked the cut and finished sound design. I'm still doing some minor color-correction tweaks, but plan to wrap everything up this week. The major hurdle I'm facing with Trap is going to be in how well it sells. The really cool thing about micros is they don't have to sell well, compared to bigger budget movie. But of course you want everything you do to be better creatively and financially than your last. Trap is the 1st movie I've done where I can't really rely on the genre to sell the movie. Edges for how creative and different it was, got a lot of traction just because it was a zombie/horror flick. Zombie/horror flicks even big ones don't need "names" or anything like it to sell. Typically, in bigger budget productions, a movie like Trap would be sold on the basis of star power. I chose to do Trap because, as an artist, it was the story I wanted to tell. I also wanted to show that I can do different things. I'm anxious to see how it is received.

Are there any examples of things that you screwed up on or learned from when doing “Edges” that you applied while making “Trap”? If so, what?

I didn't rush it. I still wrote the script pretty fast, but at least this time it didn't get a total structural overhaul 3 weeks before production. We still had a very short shooting schedule. The movie was shot in 6 days with no room for pick-ups (except a few 2nd unit exteriors). But I took the time to get that one more take and push things just a bit further. One of the biggest differences in the movies, in my mind anyway, is sound. We looked a little longer this time and found a single mixer that stayed with us for the whole shoot. Then in post, I've grown a lot as a sound designer between Trap and Edges, so I really think the sound work in Trap is much better.

And this time I have my deliverables all prepared including a complete behind the scenes package. I lost a lot of BTS footage on Edges and Anchor Bay didn't want include what little I did have. On Trap I have four quality BTS documentaries, 2 feature commentaries, deleted scenes with commentaries and a 5.1 mix. In addition my producer was able to secure a couple of songs for our soundtrack from Chubby Checker.

What are your goals for “Trap”? Will you be doing the festival scene?

I've already been talking to distributors and if the price is right, we'll have a sell before the end of the year. It's not that I don't believe in the festival scene, but with movie at this level I feel you're better off to sell them quick and move on.

Where can people find out more about “Trap” and/or follow your progress?

There's an official site still under construction but up. agpla.com/trap.html
But our facebook page is the one I work on the most. Please become a fan. You'd be surprise at how much that kind of stuff matters to money people and distributors.
facebook.com/pages/Trap/99112199205

We're also on myspace. myspace.com/trap_movie
You can also follow me on twitter @jhorton2003

So, any idea of what’s next after “Trap”? Any ideas brewing?

So many things in the pipes. Like I mentioned before there is talk of a follow-up to Edges and I have a kick-ass script just about done. It's more of a singular story than Edges and stand alone, so you wouldn't have had to see Edges or even know it exists. If this comes together I really think it could be the one that really puts me on the map.

My producer is also really big on following up Trap. Not really a sequel but a movie that features a few of the minor character from Trap. It's a surreal action/comedy.
I have another dozen or so scripts circling around town, you never know when something's going stick. We'll see.

New Horror Out On DVD This Week: Where Is Dead Snow?

This last weekend at the box office wasn't exactly lighting the world on fire... however, there's a few interesting things of note. First up, after being well represented over the last month or so, horror birthed a couple of shit babies this last weekend. Two genre movies were released, "The Box" and "The Fourth Kind". "The Fourth Kind" fared a little better than "The Box", grossing $12.5Million as compared to $8Million... but both would be considered disappointments, both box office-wise and critically. On the other hand, the success story du jour is "This Is It", the documentary / concert film on Michael Jackson. The micro-hit "Paranormal Activity" is finally slowing down and the now the "never was supposed to be made into an actual film", "This is It", is storming the box office. It's in its second week of release and has now grossed close to $60Million. There's a story and/or a lesson to be learned here, as the two biggest successes of late are a film that was made for $15,000 and another one that was cut from footage that was never meant to be seen, but I'm not sure what it is. Crazy... anyhow, let's look at the horror DVD's that are coming out this week and, as usual, you can go to our Youtube Page and see all the trailers and/or click on the titles and go to their Amazon page, where you can read more about them and/or buy them.

First off, let's mention Chris DiNunzio's "Livestock", a film that we had the privilege of checking out a while ago and discussing with the filmmaker. It's a vampire, gangster-horror and it's definitely one for the Dead Harvey crowd. The acting is great and it's really well put together. If you're interested in reading our interview with DiNunzio's, click here. Definitely a good read...

"Summer's Moon" comes from Lionsgate and it's about a girl that's travelling across the country, but ends up captive in some guy's basement and has to make a choice: whether she wants to join up with this guy's family and do some killing... or if she wants to die. The film actually looks alright, but they're really hanging their hat on the fact that the lead is played by Ashley Greene, who plays Alice Cullen in the "Twilight" series. Hey, if you're in to "Twilight", maybe you want to see Alice Cullen in a more, well... compromising position. The trailer has her chained up in short shorts.

Speaking of films that are hanging their hats on, not only actors, but "Twilight", "Hurt" stars "Medium"'s Sofia Vassilieva... and "Twilight"'s Jackson Rathbone and it was obviously done a while ago. The film is described as a dark, Gothic tale that slowly unwinds into... something. I don't know, quite honestly, the trailer bored me. Having said that, the reviews are alright and the production quality looks good.

I don't know where "The Echo" went wrong, but I think the trailer looks pretty good and it was produced by the guys who remade "The Grudge" and "The Ring". It's a remake from a Filipino Film, originally titled "Sigaw" and Yam Laranas, who co-wrote and directed the original film, directs this remake. As for the story, it revolves around a young ex-con who moves into an old apartment building, only to learn his neighbor is an abusive police officer who savagely beats his wife and daughter. When the ex-con tries to intervene, he becomes trapped in a curse.

"Intruder" is a micro-cinema horror that looks really well done... it's from first time director Gregory Caiafa and it looks like it's a classic slasher film, where the slasher is a creepy dude wearing a very creepy clown mask. May have to check this one out.

"Devil Girl" comes from writer/director Howie Askins and I really want to know more about this film. It looks awesome... sort of like a Rob Zombie wet dream or something. I can't tell what it's shot on, probably 16mm with some other mediums mixed in? Very intriguing, really want to see this now...

I don't know what the deal is with "Dead Snow", but I'm going to find out. It's a Danish film, I believe, and it's about a bunch of snowmobilers that run in to a herd of Nazi zombies... or would it be a flock of zombie Nazi's? Group of undead Nazi's? Whatever. It played Sundance and is, apparently, gorier than all hell. It popped up on Amazon, but now says it's discontinued by the manufacturer. I'll get to the bottom of it and figure it all out... then report back. If you care, I've got the trailer up on our Youtube page.

Lastly, there's a few new Blu-ray releases of interest, including the all-time classic, which is being remade, "Near Dark", then there's "Mimic", "Scream" and Robert Rodriguez's foray into horror, "The Faculty".

Red Sox... Yankees... and The American Film Market. Trust me, it's sorta related.

I'm a passionate guy... and I mean that in the way that I get really caught up in what I believe in. When it comes to film, I've been in so many arguments about what's good, what's bad and why, that my more "mainstream" friends were almost afraid to ask my opinion on movies. I'll defend indie horror tooth and nail and I usually talk shit about big-budget, pablum for the masses, Hollywood crap. Really, I can feel adrenaline release when someone talks shit or laughs about the films that I clock so many hours watching. Now, I've come to realize that I need to let these things go and I've been a far more relaxed person of late... I mean, at the end of the day, what you like... you like. What I like... I like and if you don't like it, oh well. However, I'm also a sports fan. This is a tougher thing to be passionate about. In film, one filmmaker versus another filmmaker is totally subjective. However, in sports, one team succeeds at anothers peril. It's just the nature of sport. A winner produces a loser. So, in full disclosure, I'm a baseball fan and loyal member of Red Sox Nation. Everyone that I know, knows that. So, when the Red Sox nemesis and arch-rival, The Yankees, won the World Series a few days ago... I heard about it. A lot. And people didn't hold back. It's been a couple days and I'm finally settling down, but I'm still replying to scathing emails and posts on my Facebook wall... however, I'm going to drop it now and look forward to next season... and I do still have an NFL season to worry about in the meantime.

Anyhow, my spare time over the last few days have been dedicated to replying to friends and family that are Yankees fans. (My parents live right outside of New York) I just replied to someone a few moments ago and thought, that's it. It's over. I'm not going to retort anymore... Then, I stared at this blank post. Before just closing it up and forgetting about it, I decided to peruse some sites that I frequent and I realized that AFM is coming up. It got my mind off baseball and got me thinking. Now, for those of you that don't know about AFM, I'll cut and paste some information that I made up last year:

The American Film Market, or AFM as they like to call it, is coming up this November 4 - 11 (those are updated, 2009 dates) in Santa Monica and I thought I'd just tell you about it. It's an annual event that attracts over 8,000 industry people for eight days. Participants from over 70 countries converge in Santa Monica to buy and sell distribution rights for completed films or to gain financing for projects in various stages of production. It's not a festival, it's more like a massive tradeshow. If you attend, you'll be in the company of acquisition and development executives, agents, attorneys, directors, distributors, festival directors, financiers, film commissioners, producers, writers, press and an array of other people who provide services to the industry. Long and short, unbelievable networking and a wicked opportunity... however, that, of course, comes with a cost. A one day pass costs $275, a pass for the full eight days costs $895. That's a lot of money. Personally, I'd go down to Loews Santa Monica Beach Hotel and/or the Le Merigot Beach Hotel, where it's all held, and hang out in nearby bars and restaurants... probably bars. You're sure to get people coming in for a beer or lunch. Save the $275 and spend it on drinking. It's a no-lose proposition.

When it comes to The Red Sox, I'm always reading books, going through websites and keeping up on all the current events. (Twitter is awesome when deadlines approach, by the way) Look, I'm a fanatic. Now, I do the same thing with indie horror because, well... not only do I aspire to be a professional, I'm also a fanatic. Not only do I read up on the indie horror sites, read books on the industry and watch as much as I can, I also look forward to Monday, when I look through all the new releases that are coming out that week... I also look forward to seeing what's screening at festivals, as well as seeing what people are trying to sell. And so should you. If you're even mildly interested in screenwriting or filmmaking, you need to keep an eye on what other people are doing and what's selling. Now, what's cool about AFM is, you can look through all the films that are on the market, as well as what's screening, and read about their status. Here's a link to their online film catalogue. So, go through the AFM site and look through that catalogue, it'll give you great insight into what the market's like and what other people are up to. It's great research.

So, there you go, enjoy... and have a great weekend. We'll be back on Monday. Go Packers!

Interview With Harry Sparks, Writer/Director of "Rotkappchen: The Blood of Red Riding Hood"

I think that nudity and horror go together like peanut butter and chocolate... a delectable pair. Really, horror has always had a certain sexuality to it and I think there are a few reasons. First off, it's about the audience. Who do horror movies cater to? Well, predominantly younger males, probably aged 18 - 34 and if you're trying to cater to that audience, give them more of what they want... boobs. I'm betting that this was the thinking throughout most of the 80's and early 90's. Then there's artistic reasons... when someone is naked, they're at their most vulnerable. So, when you're in the shower, getting changed or going for a skinny-dip, these are the times that you DON'T want to get attacked. Adding to that, there's a reason that one of the most common nightmares involves not having your clothes on, it represents vulnerability. Lastly, horror and sex are just linked... they're both primal. Hey, it's why guys take girls to horror movies, even though those girls don't like them. We hope they close their eyes and hide themselves in our arms. However, half the time it's the guys that are hiding and the girls that are cheering on the killing, but I digress...

Having said all that, there's a big difference between adding a couple topless scenes to appease the younger males and get that "contains nudity" rating and heading out and making soft-core porn. Now, I have nothing against soft-core porn, I passed out every night watching Cinemax in college, but I don't know where that line between teen boobie-horror and soft-core porn is crossed. Harry Sparks' "Rotkappchen: The Blood of Red Riding Hood" is one such film that rides the line between the two. Without question, the film is well done. Sparks stretched his budget to put together a wonderful looking film that gives us a very unique take on the story of Red Riding Hood. Further, simply from the perspective of cinematography, it's amazing. He really created a unique look and feel that works for the story. However, the film definitely pushes the erotic boundaries... and has excessive nudity. At the end of the day, the film is definitely worth checking out and, if you're interested, you can go to its page on Amazon here, to read more about it and/or buy it. Before you do, though, I recommend checking out this interview that we did with Harry Sparks, the writer/director of the film...

Tell us a bit about "Rotkappchen: The Blood of Red Riding Hood"

Rotkäppchen: The Blood of Red Riding Hood is the story of a German teenage girl named Rose who is brought to America by her mother to stay with her Grandmother. After her first day at her new school, Rose discovers that she just does not fit in with the other students and retreats into her own fantasy world of her favorite childhood story, Red Riding Hood. It is a fairy tale come to life.

You definitely went heavy on the erotic route, tell us a bit about your thoughts behind that. Was it an artistic decision or a business decision?

It was an artistic decision. I determined very early on, after extensive research on the Little Red Riding Hood story that it needed to be an erotic film. I discovered that the story was really about the loss of virginity and about sexual awakening. It was about travelling the road from childhood to adulthood and I wanted to explore that aspect of the story since we have not really seen that before. I felt telling the story from that perspective- exploring the emotions of a sexually adventurous girl dealing with the joy and terror of puberty, would be an interesting challenge. I know that there will be some people that, as soon as they see nudity or a sex scene, will dismiss it as porn or soft porn. But I don’t agree with that way of thinking. We are all sexual beings so why the false modesty? I feel very strongly that the film is as graphic as it is because it needed to be. So ultimately, I couldn’t worry about any criticism that may come my way and just make the movie the way I envisioned it.

If you don't mind us asking, what was the budget and how did you go about securing financing?

I think the production budget was around $30,000, which was a combination of contributions from friends, family, personal income and personal savings. But I think it looks like it costs much more than it actually did. Part of that is because we had the opportunity to shoot in several countries in Europe while visiting family in Germany. It gives the film the epic scope that I wanted. One of the interesting things about being an independent filmmaker with limited resources is that it forces you to be inventive. You don’t have to have a big budget to make good film. The challenge is how to get your vision from the page to the screen and I think we were pretty successful in doing that.

You got some great performances out of your actors, not to mention putting them in some compromising positions. Talk a bit about casting and your directing style...

Actually, some of the actors inspired the writing of the script before it was even written. The character of Rose for example was written for Stefanie Geils. I saw her one evening wearing a red dress, and felt inspired. And the character of Summer was written for Sativa Verte because I knew her as well. The rest of the cast, like Nicole Vuono and Chris O’Brocki, helped shape their characters after they were cast. After meeting Nicole and speaking to her, I knew she could play a great villain, although in real life she is one of the nicest people you will ever meet. And Chris s a great character actor who can play just about any role and I knew he would make a great David. I like to come to the set with a plan-either storyboards or I have a sequence planned out in my head. But I learned that part of directing is listening. Actors can contribute some great ideas, so if someone comes up with a great idea and if it works, I will use it.

I was extremely impressed by the visuals of the film. You mix black & white with color, you use lots of different effects and lenses. Talk a bit about creating the look and feel of the film.

The visual style evolved while researching the story, I discovered that the red cape actually symbolizes her menstrual blood and her readiness for sexual awakening. So I wanted to isolate the color red and desaturate the world around her. Notice in the film, Rose becomes infatuated with Summer only after she sees her wearing a red towel. For the fairytale world, I wanted very warm, saturated colors since this is supposed to be Rose’s imagination and for her this world is much more comforting than the real world. “Jaws” was the main inspiration for the wolf. One of the main reasons that movie worked for me was that for most of the movie you witness the attacks from the shark’s point of view. That is much more terrifying than seeing the whole shark, and I actually prefer that approach to seeing a CG monster because it forces the audience to use their imagination.

Tell us a bit about yourself. What are your influences and what got you into indie film?

I have always loved movies and going to the movies but I think I became interested in making them after seeing the original “Star Wars” in the theater. It must have had an impact because after watching The making of “Star Wars” on television, I set out to try to make my own “Star Wars” film using my classmates at school. I was only nine years old at the time so I eventually dropped that plan! But then when I saw E.T.-The Extra Terrestrial” in the summer of ’82, everything changed. That movie had such an emotional impact on me…I guess it was the right movie at the right time, but I said, “This is what I want to do. I want to be a director and I don’t care what anybody says.” You have to be stubborn and singled-minded if you are going to be a director. So I made my first short film at the age of 14, which didn’t turn out that great. But instead of getting discouraged, I became even more determined. I checked out filmmaking books from the library and studied them, while continuing to make short films with my friends throughout high school. So Steven Spielberg was and still is my biggest influence. He is such an amazing storyteller. I also admire the films of Orson Welles, Alfred Hitchcock, Martin Scorsese, Tinto Brass, and many others.

Film school: Yes or No?

I think film school is very useful because you have access to a lot of equipment you may not otherwise have. It is also a great place to make contacts. I had some of the basic skills before entering film school, but film school helped me hone those skills. The thing to keep in mind though is that simply getting a degree in and of itself does not guarantee a job in the film industry. You really have to work hard and if you have the opportunity for an internship, you should take it. In the end, your reel will say more about you as a filmmaker than anything.

Did the film screen at any festivals? If so, how did it do? What are your thoughts on the indie horror festival circuit?

We haven’t entered this film in any film festivals yet, but may enter a few next year. It’s customary to let your film play the festival circuit for about year and then find a distributor, but I didn’t want the public to have to wait a year to see the film. We started building buzz almost two years ago through social networking, so we knew we had some interest. The entry fee for film festivals can be quite high, and after awhile that adds up. So we’ll choose the festivals we do enter very carefully. When I’m making a film, I’m really not thinking about winning awards. The person I am trying to please is myself and the audience.

Talk about distribution. What lessons have you learned and if you could pass on a word of advice to other indie filmmakers, what would it be?

The main lesson I have learned is that you can distribute your movie yourself. I have heard so many horror stories about distribution companies ripping off filmmakers it’s scary. If a filmmaker does go with a distribution company, they should hold out for a deal they are happy with and not always take the first one offered. But if you are like me and like to retain control, you may want to consider self-distribution. It is a lot more work and responsibility, but it can be more rewarding.

Talk about the indie horror scene. Where do you think it is now and where do you see it going?

I think this is a great time for indie horror. The success of “Paranormal Activity” shows that you don’t need a big budget to make a successful horror film and I’m sure that will inspire a lot of filmmakers. But I think if you are an independent filmmaker, you should try to push the envelope, which is what I tried to do with this film. Many studio films costs more than $100 million or more to make, so they have to take fewer risks to earn that money back and try to appeal to as broad of an audience as possible with a PG-13 film. But an indie film usually does not cost nearly as much and you can afford to take more risks without compromising your vision as much. If you feel in your heart of hearts that your film needs to be an R or NC-17 film, then that is the movie you should make. Eventually, your film will find an audience.

Where can people find out more about "Rotkappchen" or, better yet, buy a copy?

To find out more about Rotkäppchen: The Blood of Red Riding Hood, people can visit the official website, RedRidingHoodMovie.net. The film is currently available at Amazon.com and will soon be available through Filmbaby.com, and eventually Netflix. If people want to get the movie through Netflix, I encourage them to contact Netflix and demand it.

What's next for you?

There are so many different types of stories I want to tell, its hard picking my next project. I really like erotic-fantasy and erotic-horror so I would like to do something else in those genres. I would also like to do a ghost story and a science fiction film. But whatever I do next, I am going to continue to push the envelope.

New Horror Out On DVD This Week, including VAMPIRO!

I got back from my week-long farm visit on Sunday night and Monday morning was a complete shit show... Life was firing turds at me and I managed to start this post, but never finished it. So, if you were wondering why I didn't post anything yesterday, there you go. Now, before we get to the DVD releases, can I just talk about TV-Land for a moment? Are you looking forward to "V" tonight? I remember the original "V", from 1983... and I was in the 3rd grade. It was a huge deal and I really have to say I'm pumped about this reimagining. They're only airing four episodes in this month, then will resume the series in March, so... make sure you check them out.

Anyhow, on to the DVD releases. I don't know if it's just a Halloween hangover, but it's a strange week in releases. There's nothing that had a theatrical release, but there's a few with some budget behind them, then a few low-budget gems. You can check out all the trailers on our Youtube page and you can click on the titles to go to their page on Amazon, where you can read more and/or buy them.

Well, you should know what you're getting in to with "Sand Serpents", it's a SyFy original and it's Desert Storm meets "Tremors". You have a small group of Marines that are stranded in the Afghan desert and the Taliban ain't their biggest threat... massive worms are. Actually, if you've dreamed of Taliban-killing Tremor-like worms, this film will bring your dreams to reality, as, throughout most of the film, the worms do better against the Taliban than the marines do.

I couldn't find the trailer for Will Gordh's "Night Watcher" on youtube, but I did find it over on its distributors site, FabricationFilms.com - link. I'm assuming that it had a fairly low budget, but it does have great production value... it appears to be about some sort of stalker that video tapes his victims, but I really can't find out too much about it.

Directed by Pablo Proenza, "Dark Mirror" looks to be one of the better films out this week and it looks like it's also his feature film debut. The film is about a photographer that moves her family into a home that's filled with mirrors, all which seem to reflect an alternate reality. It's not a blood and guts film, but word around the campfire says you're in for a lot of tension and unsettling visuals. I believe it was released by IFC Films, which is kinda cool. I don't recall a theatrical release, but here it is on DVD.

So, when I first tried to research the film "Gravestoned", I couldn't find shit. Then, after a bit of googling, I found information on marketwire and reuters - a press release site and a news site. IMDB, Amazon and Youtube all produced nothing. Who does your marketing and PR? Seriously? Anyhow, the film looks alright and it's being billed as 'the comedy horror flick for stoners'. It's an indie flick, with a bit of budget behind it, that was filmed completely in Texas with a Texan cast and crew. It's about hot cheerleaders, guys, stoners and a Scottish Terrier that are in a graveyard, being hunted by a zombie.

"Beast Within" is from composer/director Wolf Wolff... yes, that's what he calls himself. Most of his work is in German and I can't find much on this because it shares a name with one of my favorite horror films from when I was a kid, 1982's "The Beast Within" - a film that I haven't seen in 20 years and a film that probably wouldn't hold up to what it is in my head. I think I'll never see it again and just try to remember it as a classic. Anyhow, do me a favor and check this one out, then report back.

Okay, I think I want to see this... "Mutants" has one of films best bad-asses, Michael Ironside, and Steven Bauer, from "Scarface", starring in it. It had the meagre budget of $4Million and it looks pretty f'ing good. It's from Amir Valinia, who's the same guy that brought you "Lockjaw: Rise of the Kulev Serpent" (AKA "Carnivorous") and a few other hip-hop, gangster related films, like "Jump Out Boys" and "Hood Hostages". When watching the trailer, at first I thought it was basically a zombie film, then they started showing a few mutants... I like mutants. Okay, yeah... I want to see it.

Now, the films get a bit more low budget...

I could be missing something, but doesn't "Contagio" mean 'contagious' in Spanish? I found the only trailer I could, but the Amazon page still says it's in English. So, I'm not going to lie to you, I'm not sure if the trailer I found is actually for this film... but I still like the trailer I found.

"Vampiro", from Jorge Ramirez Rivera, looks SO low-budget that it's officially skyrocketed to the top of my must see list. PLEASE go over to our Youtube page and watch the trailer for this. Please. Spanish daytime drama meets low-budget vampire horror...

Lastly, and I'll just rush through these, but urge you to look into them further, we have "Stragglers", from Dave R. Watkins; "Death of Evil", from Damian Chapa; and "The Legend of Vipers Hill" from David A. Lloyd. All of them have their trailers up on Youtube and can be found on our Youtube page and all would be considered micro-budget films. These are the films that Dead Harvey is all about, please watch their trailers, click on the titles to read more about them on Amazon and/or pick up a copy and support indie film!

What I Learned From "ZMD: Zombies of Mass Destruction"

Well, I thought I was going to have an interview for you today... I sent out a whole bunch of them a couple days ago and I thought I'd get at least one back to share. Nope. But that's cool... because I got an email from the After Dark Film Festival, announcing that they've picked up their fourth film for Horrorfest 4, "ZMD: Zombies of Mass Destruction". I guess the film would be best described as a political zomedy and it's probably the first entry into that very specific sub-genre. However, at the end of the day, it's a zombie movie. Probably the oldest and most tired horror genre out there, right? Before we judge, let's check out the plot... ZMD is about a conservative island community that's under attack by the living dead and the rag-tag band of rebels, led by Frida, an Iranian college student, suspected of being an Iraqi terrorist, and Tom, a gay businessman who has returned to town with his partner to come out to his mother, that try to turn the tide and push the invading hoards of the undead back. Hmmm... interesting characters. Could make for a good story. Now, I'm intrigued...

You see, when I read the title of the press release, "After Dark Films Eats Up The New Horror Comedy, "ZMD: Zombies of Mass Destruction", I thought... Man alive, when's the zombie genre going to slow down? Isn't this getting a little old? But, when you watch the trailer and read about the characters, you realize that the movie is fresh. From a political and social perspective, it's extremely fresh. So, really, here's a formula for you: tired genre + fresh story = something new and exciting. Now, I want to juxtapose that with a film that I watched yesterday, which will remain nameless... we'll call it "Film X". The logline and premise for "Film X" were both exciting. It seemed very new, it was a great idea and extremely intriguing. Long and short, I was pumped to check it out. However, a few minutes into the film, I realized that they just wrapped that idea around a very tired and old storyline. The characters were basic cardboard cutouts and I've seen them a million times. So, in this case: fresh genre + tired story = something old and boring.

I don't know why, but I think this is a concept that a lot of filmmakers forget. I don't care how new your core idea is... I don't even care if you've created a new genre. Your characters need to interact, they need to have a story and they can't just be a rehash of something that we've seen before. If it is, your audience is going to lose interest in a hurry. Think about it, why have there been new entries into the zombie genre, year after year, that continue to entertain? The backdrop never changes! The dead come back to life to eat the living... I got news for you, that's not fresh! However, the storylines are. The genre and/or concept will always be the backdrop and the characters and story needs to be equally, if not more intriguing. A lot of films have such great core ideas, but they flop like a dead carp when it comes to the actual plotline and characters. So, please, if you've got a good idea, put as much time and effort into creating interesting characters and plotlines as you put into that backdrop. At the end of the day, the concept is just that - the backdrop. The characters, and how they interact, need to drive the story.

Anyhow, here's the trailer for "ZMD: Zombies of Mass Destruction". Check it out and see what I mean.

A Dash of Perspective, Sprinkled with Procrastination

Right now, I'm on a farm... in the middle of nowhere. I'm not going to get in to why I'm in the middle of nowhere on a farm, but I'm here all week, back home on Sunday. During the day out here, it's just me... and the horse, the goats, the chickens, hens, dogs and, what appears to be a mild gopher problem. Now, if you're wondering, I'm not originally from farm country, so I'm not visiting my parents or anything like that. This is very foreign to me. I'm a city guy and my parents are city people. Regardless, here I am, alone... in a 100 year old farm house. My plan is to get a lot of work done while I'm down here, plus get caught up on some indie horror... Another goal is to get started on a new screenplay, as I've got the time and I can only procrastinate out here for so long. So, I'm laying the groundwork, drafting some character sketches and working on a treatment... but being out here got me thinking.

Now, I'm not really in the middle of nowhere, I'm around 45 minutes to an hour South of Portland. So, it's not like I needed to be choppered in here or anything. The GPS in my car found it without any issue and I'm 20 minutes from a Target. Really, this is what the bulk of the country is like - mass, sprawling suburbia. Land of strip malls. What I find really interesting about out here is, they really only consume mass media... if it's not on a major network TV or playing at the local movie theater, it's independent, 'out there' or niche. So, you can imagine the looks on people's faces here when I talk about micro-cinema horror. They laugh... and I mean, they laugh and point, like I have lobsters crawling out of my ears.

For a lot of us, who cares? If you're making a small, micro-cinema horror film, you're not catering to these people. Success may be getting in to an indie horror festival, selling a few DVD's, breaking into the indie scene and making enough money to make another film. For most indie filmmakers, that's the case and all you need to do is to reach a small sub-sect of a big market. Don't cater to the masses, make the film you want. However, what if you're a screenwriter? Truth is, as a screenwriter, technically, what you create is not a finished product. You're coming up with an idea and trying to sell that idea to someone, someone who will either buy it and make it, or give you the money to make it... or something in between. Long and short, when you're writing, you're trying to sell someone on an idea.

The way I look at it, in life, you're always selling, really. You're selling yourself to an employer, you're selling a product, you're selling your script, you're selling an idea, you're selling your movie, whatever... we're always selling, whether you know it or not. In sales, they say that the most important trait to have is empathy... and it's something that doesn't come easy to most people, but should come easy to filmmakers and writers. What's empathy? Empathy, which literally translates as 'in feeling', is the capability to share and understand another's emotions and feelings. It is often characterized as the ability to "put oneself into another's shoes". Why's that important? Well, think about it, if you're making a film for just you and your buddies to watch, great. Make something that just you guys like. However, if you're trying to reach a bigger audience, you need to think about what they'd like. What they'd ALL like. As they say, people don't like to be sold, but they do like to buy. So, create something that they like and they'll buy it... and you need empathy to create something that they'll like.

Anyhow, those are the thoughts that are swirling in my head, as I sit here in this 100 year old farmhouse, flushing out my ideas. Do I go balls out and write some fucked up story that only a small group of people will actually enjoy or do I write something that caters to the masses? Chances are, now, I'll go somewhere in between... I'd like it to be something that would have some sort of mass appeal, but I can't do PG-13 Hollywood pablum for the masses, it's just not my style. What to do? I don't know, maybe I'll just sit back and catch up on some indie horror and think about it some more... who says it's tough to procrastinate out here?

New Horror Out On DVD This Week... including one with a mutha f'ing puppet

I apologize for getting this post out so late, but I'm out of town and find myself on a farm, around 45 minutes South of Portland, right now. I thought it would be easy to just set up the old laptop and get to work without skipping a beat, but... that's proven to be just a little more than difficult. In any case, I've been working on this post, on and off, all day. It may be cryptic, but it's all here...

I'm almost sick of mentioning it, but I have to because it's just unbelievable. "Paranormal Activity" has now grossed over $62Million, having just pulled in $22Million this weekend and, on its fifth week in release, beat out "Saw VI" for the top spot, which came in second, grossing just over $14Million. Otherwise,, really, horror appears to be hot right, as I'm looking over what's in the theaters now and in the top 10, you've got "Paranormal Activity", "Saw VI", "The Stepfather", "The Vampire's Assistant" and "Zombieland". Not bad, we're definitely well represented. I guess it's that time of year, though. It's also a fantastic week for horror on DVD. There's a lot to go through, so I'll go through a few of the more interesting releases in detail, but mention them all... and, of course, you can check out all the trailers on our Youtube page, found here, and/or you can click on the titles and be taken to their page on Amazon where you can read more and/or buy them.

I'm not going to lie, I've been anxiously awaiting the release of this first film for quite some time. I read about it forever ago, watched the trailer, talked about the trailer, forwarded the link to the trailer to tons of people... and now, finally, I can get my hands on my own copy of "Black Devil Doll". It's screened at tons of festivals and has already built up a huge cult following. How can you not get pumped about a 70's retro, blacksploitation film, where the killer is a black, shit-talking puppet? Check out the trailer, you'll be rushing out to get this one, I promise.

This is actually another one that I've been interested in checking out for a while, but I actually already have a copy of it... in fact, I brought it with me and I'll be checking it out over the next few days. "Rotkäppchen: The Blood of Red Riding Hood" is written and directed by Harry Sparks and I'm assuming that it's loosely based on the story of Little Red Riding Hood, but it's definitely not a kids story... in fact, it's apparently almost soft-core porn. I hope to have an interview with Sparks done soon, as well.

I didn't actually go out and see "Orphan" when it was in the theaters, but I've been wanting to check it out ever since I heard the interview that Creative Screenwriting did with the screenwriter, David Leslie Johnson. If you google "creative screenwriting orphan", you should be able to find it. It's a great interview and it's a cool story because he had to pitch his take on the idea to Joel Silver, then, after getting the job, go and flush it out. The film's got a crazy twist, but if you like studying how screenwriters get their ideas and how they work, I'd suggest finding that interview, then watching the film.

I'm going to just touch on these other films, but the trailers are on our Youtube Page and you can click on them and find out more on their Amazon pages.

I wish I could look into this one more, as "Blood Night: The Legend of Mary Hatchet" looks wicked AND it has a naked girl on the cover, so, all in all, that's a good start.

I'm not sure if it's up your alley... or up anyone's alley, for that matter, but the Executive Producer of "Scary Movie" has come out with another horror spoof, this one's called "Stan Helsing". I liked the whole spoof thing when "Airplane" and "Naked Gun" did it, but... it's a little old for me now.

"Fear(s) of the Dark" is a French, animated horror anthology and it's being called one of the most "visually stunning and unsettling anthologies in modern animation history". Check out the trailer, it does look pretty f'ing good.

Fans of extreme Asian horror, rejoice! "Jin Won Kim's The Butcher" is finally hitting the shelves... My bet is that this flick is one harsh movie. I mean, the trailer is creepy and gory enough...

I can't find much on "Dead Air", but you've got a bit of Bill Mosely and that's alright with me.

Don't let the title fool you, "Sauna" is not about a sauna.... well, actually it is, but it's way creepier and violent than that mild title would lead on. Who knows, maybe there's something lost in translation, but it's a Finnish/Russian film and it's about the space between Christianity and paganism... where two brothers find a sauna where all sins are washed away. Check out the trailer, it's definitely not the feel-good movie of the year.

"Breaking Nikki" has hit the festival circuit pretty hard over the last year or so and it's about a call girl that ends up being the victim in a sick game that's going to spiral bloodily out of control.

"Deadlands 2: Trapped" was the winner of best zombie film at 2009's Fright Night Film Fest. It's an indie horror and it looks damned good, too.

"Late Fee" is an indie horror where a couple tries to rent the scariest movie on DVD on Halloween, but end up being in a real life horror show that they might not live to regret...

Setting Goals and Getting Shit Done... and Slamdance

If you've tried to reach out to me or sent me an email over the last few weeks, you may not have heard back... and, quite frankly, it's because I'm swamped. I'll get to it, I promise. I'm heading out of town next week and I anticipate a lot of time to catch up on shit, but that's beside the point. Lately, my 'day job' has been insane and, as far as Dead Harvey is concerned, we've been working on a few projects, plus I want to make sure that I at least attempt to keep the site fresh... One of our projects, as some of you may know, was born from our "Dead Harvey TV" idea. It's moving along, but its transformed into something completely different than what we had originally conceived. That's not to say it's bad, I really like where it's going and hopefully something comes of it. I know we're pretty excited about it. On top of that, Brad is finishing up a wicked looking documentary right now I'm starting work on a new feature script. Me, I'm really into the ideas and concepts, producing and writing and I've had a few ideas rolling around in my head, but then this one just really solidified for me and now I want to get it out there. My goal for this one will be to enter it into the screenwriting festivals and competitions and see how it does... and, of course, that will give me a deadline to work towards.

Now, I want to write about this because it's really the only thing that works for me and, well, if it helps bring one other indie project to fruition, it's worth writing about. Quite frankly, if I don't have a goal or deadline, I'm not getting it done. Ideas will never get past the 'notes' phase. However, if I set a goal and create a deadline, then work my way backwards, giving myself milestones to reach, I tend to get things done. For me, the goal can't be just "write a screenplay", it has to be something like "write a screenplay to enter into Slamdance's screenwriting competition". Then, I have a date to work towards and I can say, "well, let's pump out an outline by this point, a treatment by here, let's break out scenes next, then let's have a rough draft by February". It's the same as school. If a professor or teacher said, "You have to write two papers this year, but I'll give you a choice - I'll either give you specific deadlines OR you just have to hand them to me at the end of the semester". Guess what? If you picked the latter, you'd do a way shittier job and, possibly, not even get them done. Don't believe me? They did a study on it... it's outlined in the book, "Predictably Irrational". I hate to break it to you, but at the end of the day, we work better and more efficiently when we set goals and deadlines.

So, what about those goals and deadlines? I guess you could just draw a line in the sand and say, "this is when my film will be done by". However, it's probably a lot easier to just pick an existing goal. Lucky for you, there's a shit-ton out there. They're called film festivals and they all proudly display their deadlines. Your first step should be to research the festivals and competitions. Read about the past winners and finalists... watch the films that did well or read about the scripts that were finalists. Pick a festival or competition that suits you, then find out their deadlines and work out a plan to have your film or screenplay ready for that deadline. You want to research them? We have a list of screenwriting competitions and film festivals made up, it's all on the left there. It hasn't been updated in a while, but the links still work... and I'll get to that updating soon, really.

Now, just to throw something out there, as far as objectives and goals go, there's no better than Slamdance. I mention it because the deadline for this years festival, which takes place in January, is rapidly approaching. Next years screenwriting competition is going to be my goal. I figure a year is plenty of time to take a screenplay from concept to polished completion. Anyhow, Slamdance is the King of the indies and it's helped many films find distribution, including this years success story, "Paranormal Activity". If you need some motivation, check out the interview that we did with the Executive Director of Slamdance, Drea Clark. It's from a year ago, but it was a great interview and it's well worth the read. You can find it here.

Have a great weekend and we'll talk to you next week!

Interview With Belinda Greensmith, writer/director of "For One Night Only"

I'm staring at my computer screen, trying to think of a smart way to lead into this interview that we did with Belinda Greensmith, the writer/director of the upcoming indie horror flick, "For One Night Only". However, I just listened to an interview that KCRW's "The Business" did with Jonathan Knee about his new book, "The Curse of the Mogul", which is all about how media moguls act like a bunch of spoiled brats and squander shareholders money, and now I've got guys like Michael Eisner, Rupert Murdoch and Sumner Redstone on my mind... and they're a pretty far cry from the indie horror world, but I guess I can use that...

On one end of the scale, you've got these guys that are running multi-national media companies (and the book argues that they're running them poorly) and they're all about massive corporate moves, increasing shareholders value and, of course, making money. I get that, I do. It's just business... it's not about art. The business is really about market share and reaching as many people as possible and, therefore, niche, indie projects aren't really on their minds... far from it. That's why indie filmmakers are carving their own way. They're utilizing the tools that are available, most of which are online. They reach out through social networking sites, they create websites, they create blogs and they reach out to sites like ours, even when they're not even finished the film... and we'll always oblige an up-and-coming filmmaker and do what we can.

So, with that, please check out this interview that we did with Belinda Greensmith about her upcoming indie horror film, "For One Night Only". It's always interesting to hear from filmmakers as they're in the trenches... and they always offer up something that other filmmakers can take away. Lastly, if you're somewhere between concept and completion and want to talk to us, shoot us an email. We'd love to hear from you, too...

First off, tell us a bit about yourself. What got you into indie film and what are your influences?

I come from the North West of England and was brought up on a steady diet of horror films from an early age thanks to my older brother and growing up in the 80's. I loved all those 80's horror movies - Evil Dead, Last House on the Left, I Spit on Your Grave, Driller Killer, Nightmare on Elm Street, Friday 13th, Halloween... I could go on forever. They were all great in their own way, but I particularly loved those that had very little budget and managed to make the grade.

This is what I've been aspiring to. It's been really interesting watching all the remakes coming out over the last few years and seeing the difference a huge budget has made. Sometimes good, sometimes not... I'm hoping that they leave An American Werewolf in London for me! Very doubtful, but who knows?

Film school: yes or no?

Yes. I've been back to film school after spending a decade in the sfx makeup film industry. Mainly to retrain so that I can write and direct, but mostly to use their free equipment and make as many films as I could to build up my showreel. I came out with a great amount of decent short films for my showreel and had some success with them in festivals so it was worth it.

Tell us a bit about the idea behind "For One Night Only"

I love the supernatural and wanted to write something that mixed all aspects of horror - I wanted the gore, and the sex, as well as the scares in there - so I wrote something that would enable me to combine all of this in one place. I originally set it in an underground cave system based on the old Hellfire Caves here in England where they say a secret club was set up to participate in some seedy activities. The story centered on a group of students looking for the ultimate scary place to hold a halloween party. After I started looking for locations I changed it to an abandoned asylum when I found a real abandoned asylum that I just had to film in.

Talk a bit about how the project came about.

My DP and I were sitting there one day discussing plans for the film, and I had some cash available, and a good few months off, so we decided we should make the film. I started preproduction soon after that and that was it - we were off and running.

What's your budget for the film and how are you going about financing it?

I financed it all myself with earnings from my makeup days, with some cash from my DP Matt Cross. We had a very small budget compared to what they're throwing at horror films these days. Not a lot really but we did it. We had to compromise on the location, as the actual asylum I wanted to use were asking a ridiculous amount of money. We used a smaller asylum, but it still worked and I'm pleased with the results.

What stage are you at right now and what hurdles are you facing right now?

We're actually at post production right now and in the middle of completing the sound design. All our hurdles were during production so now we're over them it's more a case of when are we getting to the finish line. I have two more projects that I am working on at the moment and so the only issue is time and fitting everything in. The film itself looks gorgeous so there are no complaints there.

Speaking of hurdles, talk about some of the hurdles that you've faced getting to the point you're at now. What kinds of unexpected things have you faced that other indie filmmakers may be interested to learn about?

We had lots of hiccups during production. Before we had even started filming we went in to the location - which was an old abandoned asylum in Lancashire - and found that some bees had moved in so we had to push filming back in order to have them removed. They were honey bees so had to be removed safely and not harmed in any way. When we got to actually filming there were all sorts of creepy things going on that we had to contend with. Some of the cast and crew were camping out in the location in one of the wards, and with it being 'allegedly' haunted, minds were working overtime. Plus we were shooting at night so that just added fuel to the fire. Everyone was on edge, especially when we were shooting in the morgue. Plus we had a seance to shoot and so I was asked to try and find a psychic medium who could come and advise the actors that there was no psycho inmate spirit waiting to possess them or murder them in their beds. I couldn't even get a medium to come to the location at night time. In the end I gave them all 'protection' stones that I bought from a wicca shop. There were scratches appearing on peoples arms, things being thrown around, the usual knocks and bangs, lights being turned on in rooms that were locked, whispering in ears - all sorts of things scaring the bejesus out of people. We did spend a lot of time trying to relax the cast and crew and make sure they were feeling okay, and trying to ensure them that there were no ghosts etc. I'm on the fence when it comes to things like this and so I was more afraid of the spiders than the disembodied 'hello' I heard. And I kept all the scary pictures away from the cast and crew until we'd finished shooting. We got some great faces appearing in windows and stuff. Very spooky. So I would say don't shoot in an abandoned lunatic asylum on night shoots doing a seance scene in the morgue, because your cast and crew will shit their pants. Although I think this helped with the film because all the actors were genuinely afraid in their scenes.

What's the goal for the project and when do you think it'll be completed?

My goal is to get a final cut by December and then get it out there.
At the moment, as we're having the score composed, I'm working on a trailer to get out there to create some buzz.

Are you thinking about the festival scene or distribution at this point? If so, what kinds of things are you doing to prepare for it?

We already have a few distributors interested in the project so once we have a screener ready it will be going out to all of them and hopefully will be available to audiences Spring 2010. Although I have to admit that a premiere at Halloween would be my preference. Not to be a cliche, or anything...

Talk about the indie horror scene. Where do you think it is now and where do you think it's going?

I think the indie horror scene at the moment is massive, and just keeps growing. With new technology and filmmakers able to use various platforms for promoting their films it means that there are more out there and easier ways to watch them. There are obviously those that create a buzz, you know, being made for pennies and making millions.

Then there are those that are genuinely independent and actually interesting that you can find on dvd. It's unfortunate though that more independent horror is going straight to dvd without getting a theatrical release now. It seems that special effects are the key for cinema these days.

Where can people find out more about "For One Night Only"?

We have a website - www.foronenightonlymovie.com - which should be up and running soon with the official trailer, cast and crew bios, stills, and information about the real asylum. Until then people can email me with any questions they may have, belinda@foronenightonlymovie.com, if they wish.