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Your new movie Ghost
- in a few words, what is it about?
Ghost
is about this group of mercenaries who are hired by the Vatican to
eliminate cultists and demons before they can potentially bring about
the End of Days. There's
basically this fear that evil entities are going to attempt to kick-off
the Apocalypse before God is ready, so this team on earth is fighting
for the Church to prevent that
from happening. This story follows one mercenary in particular,
"Ghost", who is questioning the Church's motives and also
searching for his missing partner.
What were your sources of inspiration when writing Ghost?
1980's
B-movies, especially things that Roger Corman [Roger
Corman bio - click here] has done, mixed with John
Carpenter's ability to tell these wild stories, were all huge influences
on me. I wanted to make
a film that wasn't promoting any religion in particular, or demonizing
it, but sort of create this grey area where the Church is using violence
to eliminate its enemies, but maybe
it's for the greater good? There's no answer here from me on
if it's just or righteous, I just wanted to have some mercenaries
fighting demons and figured it was a great way
to make a very unique found footage film.
Ghost is
somehow related to an earlier film of yours, The Flock - so do talk
about that movie for a bit, and how closely are the two films actually
connected?
The Flock was filmed the year prior and it follows these Satanists looking
for a cult, and it just so happens these mercenaries for the Church are
also looking for them as one of the soldiers
believes his child was abducted by them. I originally had the
story focused on the Satanists and their attempt to reach the cult
before a very dangerous demon was unleashed by
the ignorant cult leader, but the mercenary characters were so fun to
work with that I needed to keep telling their story. So Ghost
is
definitely a sequel of sorts, but more of a spin-off.
Do talk about Ghost's
approach to horror!
1980's
horror is my favorite thing, and so I opted for a sort of
'cheesy-action-horror' vibe with this film. We never once really
tried to "scare" the audience, but rather entertain them with
the classic eighties tropes: one liners, silly dialogue, over-the-top
villains and a rubber suit monster at the end, of course.
Ghost
also features quite a number of action scenes - so what can you tell us
about the stuntwork in your movie?
So, one of the very unique things we do in our films at Horror Nerd
Productions is work with actual veterans, current members of the
military, law enforcement and first responders who
battle PTSD by using acting as a form of therapy. Now, not every
person involved with the film fits this category, but I'd say 60% or
more of the people involved with our productions are
from a military or law enforcement background. Michael Rock, who
plays "Ghost", is a former Green Beret himself, so when it
comes to stunt work, we have experts already cast in the
roles, so I just let them do their thing and follow their lead, as they
know how to kick in doors or clear rooms or engage in combat much more
than I'll ever know. It's an honor to work with so
many real life heroes and I hope the acting opportunities we can afford
them can aid in their rehabilitation from the everyday demons they face.
You chose to shoot Ghost
found footage/mockumentary style - so what was the idea behind that? So
the idea of a camera-man (in this case "Monk," played by me!)
following around and documenting this mercenary just seemed like a fun
idea, so doing it in a found footage, or mockumentary as the subgenre
defines it, seemed natural. But I'd also be lying if I didn't
admit that shooting found footage films greatly helps out a tiny crew
like we have, as we don't work with big budgets. It's an easier
medium to capture. Ghost cost just under $5,000 to make. I've seen productions with lunch
bills larger than that for their productions.
What
can you tell us about your overall directorial approach to your story at
hand? Honestly,
I just go with the flow. I go in with an idea and many times it’s
larger than we can pull off, but I usually have enough meat there to
chip away at it and start constructing something that is doable.
It’s all about being flexible and willing to make changes when
things are getting too big for a tiny indie production to pull off.
You have to know your limits, but you have to push them too. Do talk about Ghost's
key cast, and why exactly these people? We
primarily use veterans and law enforcement and first responders who
use acting as a therapeutic support device for battling PTSD. It’s
such a unique set to be on, mixing Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines,
etc. Michael Rock is a former Green Beret and really coming into his
own as an actor. Toma Smith is Air Force, and the dude is just built
for action movies and creature acting. But we also had some
non-military actors as well: Amanda Morgan (“Mandy”) is a more
traditionally trained actress who really shined as the film went on,
and Joshua Myron McKinney, known to the pro championship wrestling
world as “JMM”, got to really flex his villain chops.
The
$64-question of course, where can Ghost
be seen? Ghost
is streaming on Tubi, POV Horror and Wicked Horror TV. It’s
available on Blu-Ray from the Horror Nerd
Productions store via Big Cartel. Any
future projects you'd like to share? We
just shot a secret project, actually, that’s going to drop later
this year. And then we are currently in production on our Bigfoot
sequel, Tahoe Joe 2, which will begin principal photography in
January. I also directed a segment for Ash Hamilton’s (Holes
in the Sky: The Sean Miller Story) anthology about the end of the world
called F’d: Tales from the End Times.
Filmmakers
who inspire you? Steven
Spielberg (his long takes and lighting are unmatched), John Carpenter, Roger
Corman [Roger Corman bio -
click here], James
Wan, Mike Flannagan [Mike
Flanagan interview - click here], Dutch
Marich. Your favourite movies?
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Jurassic Park,
The Fog, The Thing,
Alien/Aliens, Predator,
Scream, Jaws,
The Howling. ...
and of course, films you really deplore?
I always feel like no one in history has intentionally tried to make a
film people hate on. It’s too hard to make a film to let it fail.
Deep down, any artist wants their work admired. So I try not to bash
films even if I don’t like them in lists like this ... unless
it’s Jaws: The Revenge, which is the worst movie of all time.
Your/your movie's website, social media, whatever else?
https://horrornerdproductions.bigcartel.com
https://instagram.com/horrornerdproductions
https://www.facebook.com/horrornerdproductions
https://www.facebook.com/HorrorDadz
Thanks
for the interview!
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