Still from the movie Anything That Moves

Interview: Writer/director Alex Phillips & Actress Ginger Lynn Allen on Their Steamy Thriller Anything That Moves (Fantasia 2025)

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Three years ago, during the Fantasia Film Festival, I interviewed Alex Phillips about his feature debut, All Jacked Up and Full of Worms, one of the festival’s buzziest feature debuts, in part because of the shock value and the awesome practical effects. Phillips returned to Fantasia this year with his second film, the steamy erotic thriller Anything that Moves.

His second movie is a love letter to 1970s filmmaking, with its grainy aesthetic, its use of 16 mm film, and the inclusion of adult film actress legends, including Ginger Lynn Allen. For HorrorBuzz, I interviewed Allen and Phillips about the movie. You can read the full interview here. I included some of it below.

Alex, this movie, like your first feature, is so wild and crazy. Where the heck did you get the idea for this film?

Alex Phillips: The seed of the idea came from my work delivering sandwiches. I was a bike delivery kid. I did that when I was in my 20s. I encountered a lot of fun, strange regulars that I would see all the time. I’d get to know them. I was their point of contact in a lot of ways. I did have some shut-ins and some people who were excited to see me. I wanted to expand upon that personal experience and take it to new heights and take my own personal relationships and use genre and poetic imagery and storytelling to link these experiences together.

Can you talk about the film’s aesthetic, especially the fact you shot this in 16 mm? The whole thing feels like a love letter to 1970s filmmaking.

Alex Phillips: I kind of obsessively watch movies and they become the lens of which I see the world. While it is a love letter to the 70s, I think we come by it in an authentic way. We’re trying to engage with real life but do it by recognizing the history of film at the same time. Being able to shoot on 16 was awesome. With this being an erotic thriller, we get this real physical, literal texture to every image. We could sense it in every way. We could smell it, taste it, and feel it. It was great to shoot on film.

Sill from the film Anything That Moves

Ginger Lynn, what was your experience like being on set for this film and working with a young cast? It seemed like you had a lot of fun. Did you give the younger cast members any advice?

Ginger Lynn Allen: I was lucky because during the beginning of my adult career, everything was shot on 35 mm. I love the feel of film. I love what Alex and everyone put together to make this so amazing.  

Ginger Lynn Allen: I’m a bit older these days, as we all get. I didn’t specifically sit anyone down. I tried to make them feel as comfortable as I do in their own skin and just their skin. The movie isn’t about sex for me at all. There’s so much more to it. I think every actor in this movie nailed it. Working with Hal, he was so easy and so comfortable.

There’s a photo that someone took on the set, after we finished filming. There’s a refrigerator, and I have my breasts out, no panties on, and a little apron. Hal has everything out. We’re sitting up next to each other, drinking bottles of water, with all our parts hanging out. I hoped that my comfortableness fed other people’s comfortableness and got rid of their insecurities. I’m going to sound like someone’s mom here, but I was so proud of everyone in this movie. They pulled it off. It was one of my favorite sets to work on. A lot of young people don’t take things as seriously as my generation did, but everyone on this set was pro. I think we all fed off of each other.

Was it difficult balancing the tone of this movie? It’s steamy, funny, and at times, a horror movie. It really mashes up genres and tones.

Alex Phillips: I think that’s what a movie should do. It was in the script, and we shot it with that intention and found it in the edit also, to really nail those shifts. Every element was driving towards these turns that will feel both character-driven and emotional to bring the audience along on this otherwise crazy ride.

Ginger Lynn Allen: It was really interesting to sit with so many people [at the Fantasia premiere] and listen to when they laughed or jumped. I don’t watch my films a lot, but I loved the reaction from the audience. They got it. Don’t’ laugh here, but I think this is a really beautiful film.

Alex Phillips: We really feel for Liam. Hal did a great job of opening up the world of the film. We can access all of this insanity because he’s so grounded and so open. It’s easy to fall in love with him and worry about him.

Nina Kiri as Evy in the new horror film The Undertone

Interview: The Undertone Director Ian Tuason & Star Nina Kiri (Fantasia 2025)

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I’ve probably watched at least 15 movies from this year’s Fantasia’s Film Festival, and The Undertone just may be my favorite. Nina Kiri plays podcaster Evy, who self-medicates to deal with daily stresses, including caring for her ailing mother. Evy and her podcast partner listen to 10 audio files that follow the haunting/possession of Mike and Jessa. The film is a true auditory nightmare with a heck of a performance by Kiri. This feature has the creepiest sound design that I’ve heard in a long time, and the film draws inspiration from the likes of Paranormal Activity and The Exorcist.

As part of my festival coverage for HorrorBuzz, I interviewed the writer/director, Ian Tuason, and Kiri. You can read the full interview here. I also included some of it below. I also reviewed the film, which you can read here.

Can you talk a bit about the experience of shooting this film, since so much of it relies on the audio and sound design and Evy’s reactions to those factors? 

Nina Kiri: During the first week, we did most of the podcast stuff and the entire length that’s part of the podcast. We did it in chronological order, which was really helpful. She [Evy] slowly starts to descend and unravel, and it was helpful to do that in chronological order, to be honest. Once that was over and a lot of the dialogue was over, I felt more relaxed. I could live in the scenes more.

Michele came the second week. I think that was really nice for everyone. It brought a new energy that was so much more than what we expected. It didn’t really feel like acting on my own because the person playing Justin [Evy’s podcast co-host] wasn’t yet cast, but someone was on location, in a different room, speaking to me live for every take. It really didn’t feel like I shot the movie on my own and didn’t have any scene partners.

Regarding the audio recordings, I didn’t hear them until the day we shot the scenes. That created an organic response. I never felt alone in the parts where it’s just me, which is a lot of the movie.

Ian Tuason: I didn’t really direct Nina specifically about what to do when she’s listening or even speaking to Justin. She could be looking at anything.

Nina Kiri: It starts nonchalant, with the first audio file, but then it gets creepier and creepier. There’s a weight to it that felt more specific. Instead of just looking around, there’s a lot more concentration. She has to hear things correctly because she’s not sure what’s going on. I think keeping things small until it merits being bigger was a really good choice. I remember thinking that so much of this movie is listening. I don’t want to act while listening. I don’t want to try to make it interesting at all. I want to do what feels right. Then there are moments I realized, while watching it, where it becomes a bigger performance and it really pays off. There’s a lot of stillness, and I think there’s a lot of fear around stillness. But with everything else going on in the movie, it’s enough to be authentically listening.

A picture of director Ian Tuason on the set of his new film, The Undertone

Talk about the eerie narrative regarding the audio files and the characters of Jessa and Mike. Where did that idea come from, and Nina, what was your experience like hearing those audio files for the first time?

Ian Tuason: Three films creep me out. The Exorcist is number one. Number two is The Blair Witch Project, and number three is Paranormal Activity. Paranormal Activity is what the audio files are. It’s the couple in bed. They’re recording themselves asleep, and that scared me.

Undertone started off as a radio play, something that I was going to publish as a narrative podcast. Then, all of a sudden, life events happened, and I became the caregiver to my parents. I had this script written already for the podcast, and I thought it would be perfect to make into a film. Then, I added my first favorite film, The Exorcist, in between recordings of the podcast. I feel like I combined my two favorite horror genres, which are possession and found footage, except, in this case, it’s found audio, not found footage. That’s why I think people are going to get creeped out. I think everyone will be scared when they watch this movie.

Nina Kiri: It was basically kind of what I said before. It allowed me to have the experience. Because so much of it is me listening and because listening doesn’t have to involve movement or performance, hearing them for the first time felt like a genuine reaction and not put on in any way. It kind of took my brain away from having to think about being compelling or interesting. I was really listening, and they’re so good. Those recordings are incredible. I don’t think there’s much acting involved when you hear something that good. It always makes me feel better as an actor knowing that the director is trying to help me and support me by helping my performance be genuine.

Ian, can you address the film’s incorporation of folklore and the female demon Abyzou?

Ian Tuason: It’s based on an actual demon from the Book of Solomon. I did some research because I wanted to do the same thing that The Exorcist did regarding an ancient entity. When I was writing the story and needed to find a female demon, and one that threatens pregnant women, I found that one. I used it, and then weird stuff started happening in my house. But I saged my house, and it’s fine now.

Poster of the movie Sweetness

Writer/director Emma Higgins on Her Wildly Dark Coming-of-Age Tale Sweetness (Fantasia Film Festival 2025 Coverage)

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Once again, I’m incredibly grateful to be covering the Fantasia Film Festival this summer for HorrorBuzz. In terms of genre cinema, Fantasia is one of my favorite fests. To this point, I’ve screened nearly ten films. One of my favorites is Sweetness, the feature debut of writer/director Emma Higgins. It’s a dark coming-of-age tale about music fandom, addiction, and a clash of realities. Watch for this film after it makes its festival rounds. It just premiered at South by Southwest a few months ago before screening at Fantasia. It’s worthy of the buzz it’s generating.

I had the pleasure of interviewing Higgins about the film, including her background as music video director and what she learned as a filmmaker directing music videos. Sweetness certainly has a lot of visual flair. You can read the full interview at HorrorBuzz, but I included some of it below. Keep an eye on Higgins, along with the film’s leads, Kate Hallet, who plays 16-year-old Rylee, and Herman Tommeraas, who plays Rylee’s major crush, the Swedish pop start Payton. They both give knock-out performances.

You have a background directing music videos, and this is very much a film about music, obsession, and creativity. Can you talk about your journey as a director and the journey of this film?

Emma Higgins: I talk a lot about music videos as a really great way for any filmmaker to get their foot in the door and build a reel and find their voice, which it was for me. There are very few barriers of entry. With music videos, it’s a very creative space. You can find a local band or artist who needs visuals. They need something. They’ll have a couple thousand dollars that you can rent a camera with, buy everyone lunch, and shoot something weird. Music videos have no rules. It allowed me to make stuff. I made a lot of music videos. I say to young filmmakers to just make something, and then you have to make something else and something else. It takes a while to find your voice.

I truly found my voice. I think a lot of that comes through in Sweetness, just in finding my sensibilities with camera, with color, with lighting, with framing, with a comfort of being on set and problem solving on the go. Musicians can be crazy people. If you can deal with insane musicians who don’t show up to set and have wild ideas, it trains you for indie film in a way I don’t think anything else quite can.

Was Herman Tømmeraas from the Netflix series Ragnarök always someone in mind for the role of Payton? Tell me about working with him, especially since his role here is so different.

Emma Higgins: We found him in the casting process, and when we did, I didn’t know quite what I was looking for entirely until I saw it in him. He was in Skam in Norway and in Ragnarök, of course. The deciding factor for me is that he read for the role and crushed it. The questions he asked when we discussed the character were informed and intelligent. He’s a very smart and well-researched actor.

He was also a professional dancer. I started watching him on stage in all these dance shows he was doing. He has the charisma. I could see the dark in the acting, but you have to see the other side of it, which is the sparkle, performer, and front man. He had it in spades. He just ticked every box and was lovely to work with. I think I won the lotto when I was introduced to Herman. He’s an angel.

Without spoiling anything, I wanted to touch upon the ways this film deals with addiction, destructive decisions, and even grief. What was it like handling some of those heavier themes?

Emma Higgins: There is a lot of heavy subject matter. Part of the inspiration was meeting fans at shows who were very intentional but hurt as well. When they would tell me that a band saved their life, they really meant it, in a very dark way. When they were perhaps contemplating suicide, a song pulled them from the brink of that. The music can really mean a lot to people and actually be a lifesaver. That is art at its best. I hope that’s what most songwriters are intending when they write songs that can connect with people that deeply.

Addiction itself, too, is not something to be taken lightly at all. Even though this is a fun film, there are themes of choice in it and doing the wrong thing. I think you see that often in both of our leads in the film. They have choices throughout the film to do one thing or the other, and they continue to make the wrong choice for themselves, whether it’s an addiction or obsession.

Kate Hallet, as Rylee, really turns in quite the performance here. What was it like working with her, and was she based on any specific music fans you met in that industry?

Emma Higgins: Working with Kate was incredible. She has an amazing career ahead of her. She’s really, really good at taking direction, even with minute changes, like the way she’ll do something slightly different with her eyes or the delivery of a word that can completely change the tone of a scene. She’s a very nuanced performer, which was very needed. The plot and story are absurdist. It needs to be balanced out with a very grounded performance. She holds that down.

In terms of the basis of the character, yes, it was based on meeting fans, but there’s a lot of me in Rylee. I don’t make the same choices she does, but I do understand. I grew up in the suburbs and remember being her age. I remember feeling very lonely and alienated and just really latching onto, for me, movies, and finding something that made me feel like I had a space I could belong in. It was living in movies for me. What she has for music, I had for films. Eventually, through film, I found my freaky deaky people that chose to make films for a living. It gave me a real sense of family, purpose, and belonging, which, for me, was a lifesaver. I can relate to that desire a lot. I think that gave me a lot of sympathy for the character, too.

Anything else that you’d like to add that we didn’t cover?

Emma Higgins: We really want to get more people to see the film. I talk a lot about who the audience is for the film. As a filmmaker, I think that if you’re trying to make a film for everyone, you’re going to fall short. I really made the film for my own teen self. That’s what I set out to make. Now it’s about finding other people, like music fans, genre fans, and horror fans, the girls as well. It speaks to this girlhood experience. It’s satisfying to know that I could make a movie that was designed for me and there would be people who would love that as well. It makes me feel seen. I’m just very grateful for the experience to show this film.

Interview: Fear Street: Prom Queen Writer/Director Matt Palmer

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Recently, I chatted with Fear Street: Prom Queen writer/director Matt Palmer for 1428 Elm about inhabiting the world of R.L. Stine’s books and ’80s slashers. You can read the interview in full here, but I posted some of it below. Fear Street: Prom Queen just dropped on Netflix. Slasher fans should enjoy it.

What was it like to step into the world of R.L. Stine and the Fear Street series?

Matt Palmer: It was exciting. Full disclosure: I think Fear Street was bigger in America than in the U.K. I’ve heard of R.L. Stine and Goosebumps, but this was my introduction to Fear Street. It was jumping into the world of R.L. Stine, but also jumping back into the world of ’80s slashers. It was a combo of those things, which was an incredibly exciting prospect.

This film has some pretty grisly kills and a lot of gore. Did you face any pushback about the level of bloodshed, or did Netflix pretty much allow you to do what you wanted in terms of the gore and the kills?

Matt Palmer: I was waiting for pushback, and then I was very surprised. As much as possible, we did practical effects. There were a few things we couldn’t do only practically. I’m a big fan of the way that Gaspar Noé does practical effects but incorporates digital effects quite seamlessly. Actually, Netflix upped our VFX budget in post-production to enhance the gore and make it more extreme. It was a fantastic moment. Not only did they allow us to do this and not ask us to cut it, but they also asked us for more.

I think there’s been a bit of a sea change in horror over the last 12 months. I think people are pushing back against the PG-13 element of it. They’re ready to go the other way. I think the horror community might be in for quite exciting times. I think things are about to get bloody. [Laughs].

Which slashers served as inspiration for the film?

Matt Palmer: I like slashers generally. My favorites are the slightly more mental ones. I’m a big fan of Pieces, Happy Birthday to Me and Sleepaway Camp. I’m also a big fan of Giallo movies and Argento in particular. I feel like the shadow of Tenebrae hangs quite long over this movie. I love how in an Argento movie, there’s a ritualistic quality when a kill is coming. I thought that when we had a kill coming, we had to bring it home as far as possible and really go to town on those scenes.

I’m also really proud that all of our kill scenes are quite distinct and have quite different tones, pacing, and rhythms. Hopefully, that keeps the audience on its toes.

In terms of the soundtrack, there are some familiar ’80s bangers in the film, including Billy Idol, The Eurythmics, Tiffany, and others. How much say did you have over the soundtrack?

Matt Palmer: Some of the tracks, like Eighth Wonder’s “I’m Not Scared,” were a key track for me. The pulsating quality of that really suggested to me that it had promise visually. The prom scenes should be seen through the young people at prom, but it’s also like an idealized image of that. I felt like “I’m Not Scared” has that throbbing, pulsing quality.

The one thing that did happen is that I picked a few tracks that were very personal to me. I was happy when they came on and were in the edit for a long time. But one of the producers is younger. She’d tell me that a track sounded kind of boring. That’s when the voices were helpful. It was exciting for me because I listened to those tracks when I was 13, but we switched some of those tracks up. A lot of it was to keep the energy up. I picked some slightly down-tempo tunes. Eventually, we found that keeping the pace was the best thing for the movie.

FEAR STREET: PROM QUEEN
(L-R) India Fowler as Lori Granger and Fina Strazza as Tiffany Falconer in Fear Street: Prom Queen | Netflix

There’s a really great sequence where the two competing prom queens, outcast Lori (India Fowler) and popular girl Tiffany (Fina Strazza), have a dance off. That scene looked like it was a heck of a lot of fun to shoot. Can you talk about directing it?

Matt Palmer: I think it was a lot of fun for everyone, apart from the actresses [Laughs]. That was a really tough scene for India and Fina. Not only are they essentially dancing for a camera, but there were about 150 extras around them. I don’t care who you are. That’s intimidating.

Neither of them are trained dancers. We had a fantastic choreographer who worked with them. It was a tough day and more challenging than some of the elaborate kill scenes actually, but I was really, really happy with what we came out with. Fina, as she dances, her performance falls apart. It’s laugh-out-loud funny, the moves that she’s pulling. They’re all classic ’80s moves gone wrong.

Can you also talk about the dynamic between Tiffany and Lori? They make for good opposing characters and come from such different worlds in terms of their popularity, class, and even family.

Matt Palmer: The producer said it was a story about Lori and Megan (Suzanna Son), but now that I’m looking at the edit, it’s a story about Lori and Tiffany. It’s kind of both. There’s a little bit of an element of Showgirls, just in terms of the catty and camp and snarky and snide stuff.

The Tiffany character was a total joy to write. She’s just a meanie. The interesting thing about Tiffany that I’m pleased with is the moments in the film that you see underneath that front. There’s a vulnerable teenage girl who tries to find herself under that mean girl exterior.

Lori is essentially the opposite. She has that strength, but she needs to go through the grind of the narrative to come out on the other side and really exhibit that strength. There’s a real crossing over. One becomes weaker and the other becomes stronger as the movie goes on.

Keystone Poetry (Penn State University Press)

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I’m incredibly grateful to have a poem in the new anthology, Keystone Poetry: Contemporary Poets on Pennsylvania, which just released from Penn State University Press and celebrates the varied landscapes and voices of the state. Edited by Marjorie Maddox and Jerry Wemple, the anthology features 182 poets, including Gerald Stern, Toi Derricotte, Jim Daniels, Sonia Sanchez, Bruce Bond, Terrance Hayes, among others. It also features a number of poets I’ve had the pleasure of getting to know and read with over the years, when I was more involved in the poetry scene, including Dawn Leas, David Bauman, Amy Small-McKinney, and others. I’m thrilled to share the pages with them.

If you’re interested in ordering a copy, here’s a link. For a list of readings across the state, in support of the anthology, please see below.

Day of the Dead Production Still

Day of the Dead, a Woman’s Nightmare, and Post-Capitalist Possibilities

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A few years ago, at the NeMLA Conference, I presented a paper on representations of capitalism in The Amityville Horror, The Stuff, and Day of the Dead. Since then, I’ve revised the essay and focused more on the singular movies, including George A. Romero’s Day of the Dead, the last film in his initial zombie trilogy, which began with Night of the Living Dead in 1968. While that initial trilogy still feels biting and important as whole, right now, Day of the Dead feels most relevant for its critique of capitalism and hypermasculinity. It’s also the only film from that trilogy to feature a female protagonist.

Day of the Dead is a cynical conclusion to the initial trilogy, a film where fascistic military men rule. Yet, unlike Night and Dawn, Day proposes some potential alternatives to capitalism. That makes it radical, and, coupled with its critique of toxic masculinity through the might makes right military characters, Day resonates right now, especially for its female perspective.

After a lot of revision, my essay on Day of the Dead finally found a home at Bright Lights Film Journal. You can read it here.

Alec Gillis for Shout! TV's Double Take Series Honor Roger Corman

FX Guru Alec Gillis (Starship Troopers, Alien Franchise, Death Becomes Her) on Celebrating Roger Corman

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Recently, for HorrorBuzz, I had the honor of interviewing FX wiz Alec Gillis (Starship Toopers, Alien 3, Death Becomes Her), on celebrating Roger Corman for his birthday this Saturday. Gillis, who started his career at Corman’s New World Cinema, working alongside the likes of James Cameron, will host a double feature in honor of Corman for Shout! TV’s double take series.

You can read the interview in full here. I posted some of it below.

Talk about your relationship to Roger Corman and working for New World Cinema.

Alec Gillis: I was very fortunate, at 19 years old, to get an interview to work on a movie called Battle Beyond the Stars. I interviewed with the visual effects department. I brought along a friend that I met a year earlier by the name of James Cameron. This was when he delivered books for the school district. It was that era. Roger was not at that initial meeting, but when we did finally get brought on and hired, we got to meet Roger. He sat behind a giant glass desk. He was a very imperious and intimidating character. He was very tall. He had a booming voice. He was warm enough but there was a wall there. I thought he was really impressive.

I’d then see him around the studio, which was in Venice, California. He bought an old lumber company that went out of business. You’d never know it was a special effects studio. He had prime real estate in Venice Beach. We were all talented up-and-comers that couldn’t believe our luck to be working on a movie, even if it was a knock-off of Star Wars.

Corman is one of the true godfathers of American independent films. He was also known for doing whatever he could to save a buck. Did that prove challenging in terms of the special effects department?

Alec Gillis: I didn’t know any better because I came from my own Super 8 movies in my mother’s garage. This was totally extravagant to me. It was the case for a lot of us. When you’re not in it for the money and you’re excited about any opportunity, it feels like an absolute playground.

Speaking of Roger’s creativity, he was an opportunist. I say that in a positive way. He had a gift for maximizing the assets. I remember once when we were shooting Battle Beyond the Stars we came in and stuff was rearranged on the set. Someone said to us that Roger was here this weekend. He was shooting another movie on the weekend for the Spanish market. He had a whole other movie on the weekends. [Laughs]. I always respected that. I can’t say that every Roger Corman movie was a great, or even a good movie, but there’s something about them. They were fun to work on, and they gave a lot of talented people a foot in the door. That’s part of why he’s so beloved.

What can we expect from your involvement with Shout! TV’s Double Take Series?

Alec Gillis: I chose Battle Beyond the Stars and Galaxy of Terror because those are the two biggest Corman films I worked on. Galaxy of Terror was great. I’d take a quarter off from going to UCLA Film School and then go back to work. That was a great steppingstone for James Cameron as well. I’m going to talk about what it was like back then, what the circumstances were, and specifics about the movies.

What did you apply to later films that you learned on those Corman productions?

Alec Gillis: Battle Beyond the Stars was a great team. Bill Paxton was a carpenter on that film. Gale Anne Hurd was around, though not on that film. James Cameron was there. These are lifelong relationships, and I’m very grateful for that. Galaxy of Terror was my first experience on an exclusively monster-making crew. It taught me that you could literally pull things out of your ear, if you have enough talent, and roll with a lack of time and a lack of resources and not to fear that. That’s a big lesson from Roger. Sometimes, the lack of resources and the parameters are your friend. It can be better than having unlimited time.

What else can we look forward to from you?

Alec Gillis: We have our own Corman-like, indie film called Wellwood. It’s full of practical effects. We shot it on a budget and it’s out in the world now. You can stream it. On Instagram, we’re posting a bunch of behind-the-scenes stuff now.

825 Forest Road Production Still

Hell House Creator Stephen Cognetti Dishes on His New FIlm 825 Forest Road

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For HorrorBuz.com, I recently interviewed Hell House LLC series creator Stephen Cognetti about his latest film, 825 Forest Road, debuting on Shudder this Friday. We chatted about the film’s more traditional narrative storytelling, haunted histories, small town America, and the fact he filmed in the Victorian-looking town of Jim Thorpe, PA, localish to me.

You can read the full interview here. I also included some of it below.

825 Forest Road stars Joe Falcone as Chuck Wilson, who, after a family tragedy, moves to the sleepy town of Ashland Falls with his little sister, Isabelle (Kathryn Miller), and his wife, Maria (Elizabeth Vermilyea). Yet, as the family soon finds out, the town harbors a dark secret.

What was your experience like transitioning from the found footage genre to more traditional narrative storytelling?

Stephen Cognetti: It was a great transition for me to leave found footage behind. I shot this right after Hell House 3. It was in between Hell House 3 and Hell House: Origins, so this happened between two found footage films. It was great to step away from found footage and do a traditional narrative. That’s the style of filmmaking I like doing in production, but I also love found footage horror, as a consumer of it and making it as well. I had fun making the Hell House movies, and I have fun watching found footage movies myself. But I had already done three found footage movies and I wanted to do something else. It’s a specific kind of filmmaking. It’s fun to do, but it’s not a kind of filmmaking to always live in. It’s good to try other styles of filmmaking.

How did you come up with the mythos surrounding Helen Foster and her ghost? Is she based on any specific local folklore?

 Stephen Cognetti: She, specifically, is not based on any folklore. The whole story is based on any small town America folklore. I left New York City and moved to a small town in the Scranton [Pennsylvania] area. This town has its history. Everyone I met always had a story to tell about the town’s history. I imagined, what if one of these stories is about a ghost? I wanted to create my own fictional small town folklore and small town legend. What if it wasn’t a legend but something still affecting the town to this day? If you talked about it, you’d talk about it while looking over your shoulder because you don’t want to bring too much attention to yourself by talking too much about it. If you talk about it to a newbie, it’s a secret warning.

The truth of it came from my own move from New York City to small town Pennsylvania and learning about the history. It didn’t have any ghosts in it, so I created my own.

The idea of locations with haunted histories factors heavily in this film and even the Hell House series. Can you comment on that aspect of your work?

Stephen Cognetti: I can’t actually answer that because I think it’s organic and comes with each story. I’m a history guy. I love history. I was a film major and history minor in college. I took every history class that I could. I love history as a story. There might be, in the back of my head, a story that derives from some place. I think that goes to Hell House and 825 as well, along with films coming up in the pipeline that haven’t been announced yet. It’s always been of interest to me. I don’t know why that is, other than I have a love of history itself.

Speaking of small towns, you filmed this in Jim Thorpe, PA. For anyone who’s never been there, it looks like a Victorian town. What factored into your decision to film there?

Stephen Cognetti: I started exploring towns all around Northeastern Pennsylvania, Southeastern Pennsylvania, Central Pennsylvania, and everywhere. I drove into New York, too. I spent a lot of time driving. Jim Thorpe had a bit of everything. It already had that whole look, that look like it has history. Every building looks like that. The town is cool. The people are great, and it’s a good town to shoot in. It was accessible for me and everyone working on the film coming in from New York. It fit the accessibility, and it had the look.

825 Forest Road is also about loss and family dynamics. Can you touch upon the relationships in this film, especially between Chuck and his sister Isabelle?

Stephen Cognetti: I think Chuck starts out as a sympathetic character and a central character in the film. That’s how the first act is presented to us. As the film goes on, especially as we see Isabelle and Maria’s stories, Chuck can be considered an antagonist in this. He’s not actually any hero at all. I love that development of him and when you see him from a different perspective than his own. When you see him from a different perspective, he’s aloof and has a poor way of dealing with people going through something. I think everyone knows a person like that. Chuck is the kind of person that’s only there to lend very broad support but doesn’t understand it. He thinks he does, but he doesn’t really understand it. Therefore, he can’t really offer any help. He thinks he knows everything. When you see Chuck in other perspectives, you see he’s not the guy presented in the first act. His personality has a lot of flaws

825 Forest Road haunts Shudder beginning Friday, April 4 as part of their Halfway to Halloween celebration.

Good Boy Production Still

Good Boy and a New Type of Haunted House Film

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There’s been a trend this year within the horror genre: haunted house films told from unique perspectives. At the start of the year, we had Presence, directed by Steven Soderbergh. In this particular slow-burn feature, the film is largely shot from the POV of poltergeist(s). The spook(s) torment a grief-stricken family, especially the daughter. Though the film is pretty light on scares, it’s an interesting take on a familiar subgenre. Instead of following a family moving into a home that’s haunted, we largely see the world through the eyes of the supernatural presence.

Now along comes Good Boy, which just debuted at the South by Southwest Film Festival. In this film, we see everything through the perspective of Indy, an adorable dog who’ll do whatever it takes to protect his owner from a frightening entity. Unlike Presence, Good Boy has some really solid scares. So far, it’s my favorite horror film of the year. Here’s my review of the film, which was initially published at HorrorBuzz.

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It’s been quite the year for animals in film. Flow, a wordless film from a cat’s perspective, won Best Animated Feature at the Oscars. Flow has plenty of endearing moments, but it’s also a nerve-rattling viewing experience because the cat must survive mass flooding and life-ending climate disasters. Now along comes Good Boy. Here, we have a haunted house movie, and really a meditation on death, told totally from a dog named Indy’s perspective. Like Flow, it’s one harrowing watch.

Directed by Ben Leonberg, the film stars Shane Jensen alongside Indy. Jensen plays Todd. In the opening minutes, we see Indy at his owner’s feet. Suddenly, Todd coughs blood, just as his sister enters the apartment in time. This opening gives away quite a bit, and Todd’s condition and what’s really going on with this film become much clearer as early as the halfway point. After the foreboding start, the film cuts to various home videos of Todd and Indy, and yes, the two are adorable together, especially the grainy footage of Indy as a puppy in Todd’s arms.

Before the film meets its conclusion, there’s a creeping sense of dread and some solidly scary scenes. Indy fears the rural house that Todd lives in. It’s a long-standing family home, but hardly anyone lasted more than a few weeks in it, including Todd’s grandfather. This is where the film flirts a lot with experimentation. Instead of the typical family haunting, here we have a haunted house movie from the dog’s point of view. We see shadows in the corner through Indy’s perspective. We hear loud thumps at night and then watch Indy’s ears perk up as he whimpers and knows that whatever’s haunting the house is inching closer and closer to his owner, no matter how badly Indy wants to keep the presence at bay.

Some of the camera shots, which sometimes focus on a snowy TV or the staircase, resemble Skinamarink. This is also why I know this film won’t be for everyone. That other film has its lovers and haters. This feature risks the same thing with some of its focused shots and emphasis on the mundane within a house. Yet, like Skinamarink, Good Boy, at some of its most frightening moments, makes familiar objects really, really creepy, creating a sense of the uncanny. Suddenly, the static noise from the TV, and other familiar sounds and images, provoke a sense of dread. There are unsettling moments in this film, especially when the scares are juxtaposed with the prolonged sound of Todd wheezing and coughing. The sicker he becomes, the more his relationship with Indy changes. The word “stay” takes on new meaning here.

This has been an interesting year for both animals in film and the haunted house movie. At the beginning of the year, Steven Soderberg’s Presence showed us the point of view of a poltergeist tormenting a family, especially the grief-stricken daughter. Now, we see everything creepy in a rural spook house from a dog’s point of view. Yet, no matter how much Indy wants to protect his owner, he can’t prevent the inevitable. Though Good Boy’s experimentation may turn off some viewers, this lean feature gets right to it and has some genuine frights. Two paws up for this chilling tale.

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I can’t say what’s causing this new wave of haunted house films, told from creative and clever POVs, but I’m all for it. The horror genre continually finds a way to reinvent itself, while tapping into our collective anxieties and fears. Presence and Good Boy make a familiar subgenre feel new again, and Indy gives one of this year’s best performances so far!

Portal to Hell Production Still, featuring Trey Holland and Romnia Dugo.

Slamdance Film Fest Interview: Portal to Hell Writer/Director Woody Bess & Actor Trey Holland

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I’m grateful to be covering the Slamdance Film Festival again this year for HorrorBuzz. One of the highlights for me so far was an interview I did with Portal to Hell’s writer/director Woody Bess and its star Trey Holland. The horror comedy is a clever spin on the old Faustian bargain. It also stars genre icon Keith David, of They Live and The Thing fame. The interview ran in full a few days ago, and you can read it over at HorrorBuzz. I included some of it in this post, too.

Just prior to the fest, Raven Banner picked up the film for worldwide distribution and sales, so keep an eye out for it.

First, talk about how this story came together and the Faustian bargain at the center of it.

Woody Bess: I’m a huge fan of horror films and movies like Little Shop of Horrors that have a devil’s bargain. There’s Constantine from 2005, which I think is criminally underrated. I’ve always been interested in anything that deals with heaven and hell.

What was it like working with horror icon Keith David? 

Woody Bess: I’m the biggest Keith David fan. The Thing is a film I watch multiple times a year and even his work as the Arbiter in Halo. Getting him to be in our small film is really a dream come true for us. He’s such an incredible actor and actor’s actor. He was also a teacher. He had so many lessons of what to do as an actor for Trey and as a director for me. We learned so much from working with him. We’re so grateful he decided to be in our film.

Trey Holland: It was such a blessing. He elevated the tone to the point that we were able to go back and reshoot some of the teaser stuff because he grounded it in such a different place. For me, as an actor, it was so fun to know, as we were doing the scenes with Keith, that we’d have to reshoot some of the Dunn stuff because it was such a different thing. We asked him to help us, and we’re forever grateful. He influenced the tone so much. He was such a kind and generous actor. Like Woody said, he was fantastic to work with.

Dunn works as a medical debt collector, and some of the scenes when he’s on the phone are some of the funniest in the film. Where did the idea originate to make him a debt collector? Did either of you ever work a job like that?

Trey Holland: I’ve had experience on the other side of the phone call. I had to flip it around. I think we’ve all spent time on a customer service line. I tried to imagine myself in that job and then imagine Dunn in that job and how he’d do it. I never had experience doing it, but unfortunately, we can all relate to the state of the medical industry in the first place.

Woody Bess: Thematically, it fit with the notion of debt that we have in the film. Dunn collects on financial debts, but the demon is a mirror collecting on our ethical or moral debts. We all kind of have a debt to pay and our mistakes to own.

Talk about the role that LA plays in this film. 

Woody Bess: LA is such a beautiful, messy place. There’s so many colored lights and neon signs. It’s overwhelming but can be really beautiful if you kind of embrace it. It’s also a place where people go to pursue their dreams and other people take advantage of that. It really has the best and worst of us in Los Angeles. I’ve been here for ten years. Sometimes, I don’t know why I still live here. Then, I can’t live anywhere else. That’s LA in a nutshell. We tried to capture that visually and what a gorgeous mash of light LA is.

Trey Holland: It’s another character in the story. Like Woody said, the good and bad are here. That’s what this whole film is about, that fine line of morality. That can easily be found in a big city. LA is so pretty. At the same time, it can be very dark. We wanted to highlight those type of elements and then show the beautiful side as well. It’s a perfect backdrop for our film.

This film successfully combines comedy with horror. What were some of the challenges of blending those genres? Not every horror comedy works.

Woody Bess: A lot of my favorite films, including Shaun of the Dead and Get Out, fall in that line. It’s hard to hit both of those notes, of having a joke or scare land. It’s a fine line to walk. In theory, though, a joke structure and scare structure are the same. Get Out is a great example. A scene ends with a joke or something terrifying. We kind of tried to emulate that as best as we could. Jordan Peele is obviously incredible. I’m just a big horror comedy fan.

What was the inspiration for the demon Chip? Trey what was it like working with the demon?

Trey Holland: It was cool. Ideally, it’s the best thing to work with a practical effect as an actor. Everything becomes more real when your creature is right there in front of you and it’s not a tennis ball or a guy in a green suit. Trevor [Newlin] is over seven feet tall already. We put him in some backward hooves, so he was even taller. It was terrifying. It was so helpful, to me, as an actor, to have that right in front of me. I’ll never forget seeing him walk around that corner for the first time. It was great. Trevor did a fantastic job.

Here’s another fun thing, on that same thread. The way Trevor moved, we took that scene to New York. We watched [demon voice actor/human form] Richard [Kind] get into Trevor’s movement in the booth. They [Kind and Newlin] weren’t there together on that day. To watch Rich use Trevor’s acting and marry the two into one was really fun to watch. I think it turned out fantastic.

Woody Bess: Trevor Newlin also played the Xenomorph in Alien: Romulus. He’s just an incredible actor. He was a joy to work with, and he’s very tall. [Laughs].

Anything else you’d like to add?

Woody Bess: It was a joy to make the film. We hope it’s at least a fun time at the movies.