The
feature screenplay that Duckie and I were polishing up last year will
be competing at this year's Women in Horror Film Festival!
"The
Haunt" was actually inspired by our years of working at haunted
attractions like Orlando's Terror on Church Street. It's the only
straight-up slasher that we've ever written.
"Father of Lies" is almost out of post and will begin its festival tour in the autumn. I'm still having a hard time wrapping my head around the idea that I will be one of those "faces on the screen" rather than just being the director who hides safely out of camera frame.
You know me, I just can't stay firmly planted in one specific genre when I write and direct a film, so this one is a fantasy-horror crossover that depicts the Norse Gods in a way that's not often done.
Admittedly, I've been toying around with ideas how to expand this tale into a feature-length story with more characters. I think this short film will act as a "toe in the water" to see how people respond to a re-imagined version of a classic Viking myth.
Stay tuned for updates on the progress of this film. As usual, I'll post about any scheduled screenings and festival showings. You can also learn more about it at Rogue Chimera Films.
I think the above photo sums it up nicely when it comes to questions about why I cast Duckie as the frost giant Loki.
After seeing the rough cut of "Father of Lies", we decided that the film really needed a few additional little scenes to make the story flow better. And as much as I hate being in front of the camera, I had to agree that showing a little more on the tragic romance between Loki and Sigyn was needed as well.
While still portrayed as the main threat in "Father of Lies", the character is far more complex than the power-hungry or jealous god that he's often type-cast as in film and literature.
In this story Loki is also a very sympathetic character, even if he does go about things the wrong way.
This is hands-down the best review I've ever gotten on one of my films. Thank you, The Superficial Gallery!
"This is one of the more intense and cinematically stunning films I’ve
seen in a long time. I’d go so far as saying that the beginning of this
film is a bit hard to watch. This is in no way a negative comment on the
film. I thought it was absolutely brilliant and I was glued with eyes
wide open from the first second to the last."
Recently this BTS video from "Father of Lies" was released to the public. It probably came as a bit of a shock to people who know my dislike for being in front of the camera, even though I did tell people that I was taking a bit part in the film.
Why would I break my long-standing habit of diving out of frame if a camera so much as glances in my direction? In short, because it was a role that required swordplay and stunts that was being shot on a shoestring budget and as far as I was concerned the only people who were going to risk nasty injury on it were Duckie, Garith, and myself.
Well, then our friend Steve ended up having to jump in as "Thor" and since we'd all done plenty of stage combat with him in the past we tweaked the choreography a bit to let him join in the fun.
I still have no idea how the scene will end up looking until the rough cut is done (hopefully in a few days). I can't imagine the action being more than a half minute of screen-time, which may sound terrible but should actually be a good pay-off for the months that Garith and I spent rehearsing for it.
Don't get used to seeing this though. I've decided that being both a stunt actor and a director on a project is not a good fit for me. Especially after I injured myself by miscalculating a fall and ended up saying "picture wrap" with my arm in a sling!
