News

Co-Writer/Director Brandon Christensen Talks “Still/Born”

Published

6 years ago

February 7, 2018

Brandon Christensen’s Still/Born began with a simple set of images: a woman giving birth to twins, a look from the nurse as the second twin emerges into the world, and the same woman standing between two cribs…one of which is empty.

He was just finishing up his work as producer on Colin Minihan’s It Stains the Sands Red. It was a grueling shoot in the desert, and as the two were discussing possibilities for Christensen’s first feature in the director’s chair, they decided that the Blumhouse method might be the best route.

So, setting aside the image he had in his mind, the two began to scour scripts that offered minimal sets, a small cast, and atmospheric tension, but nothing seemed to fit the bill. Before long, they returned to Christensen’s idea, and this time they realized they were really onto something.

“I started building around that idea of a woman who is dealing with loss,” Christensen says. “That led us down this rabbit hole of postpartum depression and psychosis, and we learned a lot about how these things affect new mothers.”

With the addition of a supernatural element in the guise of a Mesopotamian demon by the name of Lamashtu who steals babies to feast on their flesh, the two men knew they had hit upon a subject that exactly fit what they wanted to make.

“We’re dealing with a main character whose inner thoughts are where we are living and breathing,” he says. “She thinks one thing is happening and then she thinks it’s something else, but she’s never sure so we, as an audience, are never sure until it’s too late to turn back.”

With a finished script, they’d soon cast Christie Burke as the young mother in question, and were headed to Christensen’s home town, Calgary, to begin filming. When they arrived, however, they found that the house they’d rented for the shoot had been sold out from under them.

Scrambling to find another location led them to the director’s family home where he’d planned to stay during filming.

In the end, he, Burke, Minihan, and another of the film’s producers ended up actually living on the set while filming.

“It was kind of a Jack [Nicholson] in The Shining moment,” Christensen laughs. “I woke up on set every day and I went to bed every night on set. I didn’t have a car so there was really no escape.”

It might not have been the ideal situation, but the director has high praise for his crew and especially for his lead actress.

“The first six days of shooting were just her [Christie] and the baby, and a lot of the horror stuff happens while she’s alone,” he says. “She went through a huge gauntlet of emotions in those first few days especially, but she was amazing and pushed right through it.”

The film relies heavily on Burke. In many ways, if she hadn’t worked then the film itself wouldn’t have worked.

Luckily, the proved she was up to the task. Her performance is a lesson in the strength of a mother in the face of a threat to her child.

As filming came to a close, Christensen had time to reflect on the things he’d learned from his first time directing a feature film, and he definitely feels he learned a couple of valuable lessons in the process.

“There were times when I was focused on the wrong thing and it would bleed into a scene and I regret that now, but it’s like trying to sprint a marathon,” he points out. “In the end I learned to focus on story and performance first. If you do that, then a lot of other things will just fall into place.”

Still/Born will be given a limited release on February 9, 2018 and will be available on VOD on the same day. Check out the trailer below!

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News

Brad Dourif Says He’s Retiring Except For One Important Role

Published

6 hours ago

April 19, 2024

Timothy Rawles

Brad Dourif has been doing movies for nearly 50 years. Now it seems he is walking away from the industry at 74 to enjoy his golden years. Except, there is a caveat.

Recently, digital entertainment publication JoBlo’s Tyler Nichols talked to some of the Chucky television series cast members. During the interview, Dourif made an announcement.

“Dourif said that he’s retired from acting,” says Nichols. “The only reason he came back for the show was because of his daughter Fiona and he considers Chucky creator Don Mancini to be family. But for non-Chucky stuff, he considers himself retired.”

Dourif has voiced the possessed doll since 1988 (minus the 2019 reboot). The original movie “Child’s Play” has become such a cult classic it’s at the top of some people’s best chillers of all time. Chucky himself is ingrained in pop culture history much like Frankenstein or Jason Voorhees.

While Dourif may be known for his famous voiceover, he is also an Oscar-nominated actor for his part in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. Another famous horror role is The Gemini Killer in William Peter Blatty’s Exorcist III. And who can forget Betazoid Lon Suder in Star Trek: Voyager?

The good news is that Don Mancini is already pitching a concept for season four of Chucky which might also include a feature-length movie with a series tie-in. So, Although Dourif says he is retiring from the industry, ironically he is Chucky’s friend till the end.

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Editorial

7 Great ‘Scream’ Fan Films & Shorts Worth a Watch

Published

8 hours ago

April 19, 2024

Timothy Rawles

The Scream franchise is such an iconic series, that many budding filmmakers take inspiration from it and make their own sequels or, at least, build upon the original universe created by screenwriter Kevin Williamson. YouTube is the perfect medium to showcase these talents (and budgets) with fan-made homages with their own personal twists.

The great thing about Ghostface is that he can appear anywhere, in any town, he just needs the signature mask, knife, and unhinged motive. Thanks to Fair Use laws it’s possible to expand upon Wes Craven’s creation by simply getting a group of young adults together and killing them off one by one. Oh, and don’t forget the twist. You’ll notice that Roger Jackson’s famous Ghostface voice is uncanny valley, but you get the gist.

We have gathered five fan films/shorts related to Scream that we thought were pretty good. Although they can’t possibly match the beats of a $33 million blockbuster, they get by on what they have. But who needs money? If you’re talented and motivated anything is possible as proven by these filmmakers who are well on their way to the big leagues.

Take a look at the below films and let us know what you think. And while you’re at it, leave these young filmmakers a thumbs up, or leave them a comment to encourage them to create more films. Besides, where else are you going to see Ghostface vs. a Katana all set to a hip-hop soundtrack?

Scream Live (2023)

Scream Live

Ghostface (2021)

Ghostface

Ghost Face (2023)

Ghost Face

Don’t Scream (2022)

Don’t Scream

Scream: A Fan Film (2023)

Scream: A Fan Film

The Scream (2023)

The Scream

A Scream Fan Film (2023)

A Scream Fan Film

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Movies

Another Creepy Spider Movie Hits Shudder This Month

Published

1 day ago

April 18, 2024

Timothy Rawles

Good spider films are a theme this year. First, we had Sting and then there was Infested. The former is still in theaters and the latter is coming to Shudder starting April 26.

Infested has been getting some good reviews. People are saying that it’s not only a great creature feature but also a social commentary on racism in France.

According to IMDb: Writer/director Sébastien Vanicek was looking for ideas around the discrimination faced by black and Arab-looking people in France, and that led him to spiders, which are rarely welcome in homes; whenever they’re spotted, they’re swatted. As everyone in the story (people and spiders) is treated like vermin by society, the title came to him naturally.

Shudder has become the gold standard for streaming horror content. Since 2016, the service has been offering fans an expansive library of genre movies. in 2017, they began to stream exclusive content.

Since then Shudder has become a powerhouse in the film festival circuit, buying distribution rights to movies, or just producing some of their own. Just like Netflix, they give a film a short theatrical run before adding it to their library exclusively for subscribers.

Late Night With the Devil is a great example. It was released theatrically on March 22 and will begin streaming on the platform starting April 19.

While not getting the same buzz as Late Night, Infested is a festival favorite and many have said if you suffer from arachnophobia, you might want to take heed before watching it.

^Infested

According to the synopsis, our main character, Kalib is turning 30 and dealing with some family issues. “He’s fighting with his sister over an inheritance and has cut ties with his best friend. Fascinated by exotic animals, he finds a venomous spider in a shop and brings it back to his apartment. It only takes a moment for the spider to escape and reproduce, turning the whole building into a dreadful web trap. The only option for Kaleb and his friends is to find a way out and survive.”

The film will be available to watch on Shudder starting April 26.

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