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Your new movie Psychic
Vampire - in a few words, what is it about?
Psychic
Vampire
is about a young man who is drawn to a cult that worships a
video game and his voyage out of the cult.
Tate,
what were your sources of inspiration when writing Psychic
Vampire, and is any of it based on your actual experiences within
the gaming world - or on experiences with really bad roommates? Tate:
Oddly enough, I was not playing any video games when writing Psychic
Vampire,
but there were plenty of videos about gaming on the
internet, and I felt an overwhelming amount of empathy. I play a lot more
games now though as a result when I have time. PS2, PS1, Gamecube, NES.
As for bad roommates, I never really had any either, some quips were
stuff I found a little vexxing that a roommate said, but I didn’t
think they were bad per se. How
did the project fall together in the first place, and Dylan, what drew you
to it? Tate: I wrote the script after finding the story on the internet. I
fictionalized it to the max but kept the main plot. There were a lot of
contradictions in the original story which I thought was fun to play
with, but there was this story about people driving each other nuts in
one house. I thought that would be cheap to film. I wrote the script to
include props I had on hand. Actors brought props and warddrobe, which I
would write into a scene on set knowing we had them. Then I called Dylan
and a few other friends to make it happen. Dylan:
Tate and I worked together for a while at Troma - and granted other people
know I work at Troma
and have sent me scripts that they think I would
like - but they often misunderstand what Troma
is about. Troma
isn’t
just blood and gore and splatter, Troma
is smart and has a message.
When I read Tate’s script, it has many of those same nuances - it
doesn’t take itself too seriously, but it’s also very smart, very
well written. It manages to be thought provoking without being
pretentious. Plus, a lot of it is one location, and a little secret
for filmmakers is that single location films are usually the most fun
to make.
What were the challenges of bringing Psychic
Vampire to the screen from a producer's point of view? Tate:
Well, in production, we got kicked out of the apartment we were filming in, but
it was an easy fix, Dylan cheated the camera so we could shoot in the
house we were staying in. In post, there were a lot of sound issues. Dylan:
Funny enough, one of the most challenging parts was making the house look
convincingly gross enough on a 300 Dollar budget for the entire film.
In an ideal world if we had more of an art direction budget we could
have taken it in a Nothing But Trouble direction and just had
garbage stacked to the ceiling surrounding the cast. That being said
we actually shot in two different houses, we needed one that was
smaller for the living room scenes, and then we used a bigger house
with a lot of rooms for the bedrooms. But there definitely needed to
be this claustrophobic feeling - we also tried to get this across with
lighting things garish colors, I wanted it to feel uneasy. Given I was
also the DP, I also tried to shoot things in an uncomfortable way. Do
talk about Psychic
Vampire brand of comedy for a bit! Tate : I
was very inspired by deadpan, “awkward” comedy for this film. I used
Napeleon Dynamite, Eagle Vs. Shark, What We Do in the
Shadows and King
of the Hill as reference. That was mixed with Dylan's and my sense of
humor which is very silly and absurd. Tate, what
can you tell us about your directorial approach to your story at hand? Tate:
I like to call everyone I work with before filming. For actors, I’ll
make sure they have the right costume, send a few reference videos for
their character and build a character with them. That way on set all I
have to do is say can you stand on this line, etc. I’m very hands off
on set, besides acting or directing how the camera should move. I also
talked to Dylan in depth about my vision. She understands my work so
well. You both also appear in front of the camera - so do talk about your respective
characters, and what did you draw upon to bring them to life? Tate:
For my character, I was very inspired by fedorians as well as fuckboys.
There’s a running joke about fedorians thinking they’re nice guys
but I’ve never seen one respect a woman. So I thought fuckboy was not
a stretch but an interesting mix since they tend to be incels.
Dylan:
Well, the characters are loosely based on real people, although granted
people who’s faces I had never so much as seen given the sources all
mostly came from online forums. I think my style of acting is very
cartoonish. I always say I’m most suited to play a villain in 60s Batman. So I think my idea was, play it like that, but then try and
give a humanity to someone like that. What
can you tell us about the rest of Psychic
Vampire's cast, and why exactly these people? Tate:
Bear Spiegel, Kaatia Fedrow, and Bailey Monroe were totally my focus. They understood their
characters so well and breathed new life into them. Why I chose them? I
needed people I know would show up, plain and simple. Added bonus, they
were all very good at their roles. Mister Lobo, Lisa Terror and Lloyd Kaufman
were also added bonuses I wrote in after shooting the main script. What
was the collaboration between the two of you actually like? Tate:
The main way I produce is through writing. I’m mainly able to shoot cheap
because of my scripts. Dylan does a lot of the main problem solving on
set, she helped when we got kicked out of the apartment. I also do that,
not as much. Dylan is also good at getting names attached and helping
with screenings, distribution. She really understands film and that
whole world. I’m an idea guy and I gather and I plan and I budget. Dylan:
I think it worked really well. I don’t know if a lot of
other people would have been able to do it on the budget we
had. I like working with Tate because they actually get
stuff done, and that’s partially why we keep
collaborating. I like working with people who do what they
say they’re going to do - it’s a rare quality. As
far as I know, you're currently raising funds for another movie together, Pizza
Guy 8 - so do talk about that project for a bit, and about your
fundraising campaign! Tate: Pizza
Guy 8 is my love letter to B movies, what really got me into filmmaking.
Pizza Guy 8 is about a killer pizza guy who begins to realize he’s in
a horror movie and tries to escape. It’s very lackadaisical and fun
and weird. Check out our Indiegogo, we’re trying to raise money so we
can pay for travel, hard drives, etc. And hope to get some good
merchandise to get to our fans! Dylan: I
adored the script and quickly realized that this isn't just an
ordinary low-budget film. It's a micro-budget movie that fully
embraces its limitations, taking a clever and surreal approach that
seamlessly combines sophistication with simplicity. Like Psychic
Vampire it’s unpretentious but it’s smart. I think fans of shot-on-video horror will watch it and then be very surprised by the true
charm and wit of the film. Back to Psychic
Vampire: A few words about the shoot as such, and the on-set
atmosphere? Tate: I
had a lot of fun, it felt like a bunch of friends just hanging out! Dylan:
For the most part I’d say the atmosphere was pretty jovial. I love
shooting single location because we all can hang out in a big house.
While we were shooting, that’s when Trump lost the 2020 election. I
was worried we’d get caught in a riot - of course, there really was
a riot, but a state or two over. Also, I kept joking on set that we
were going to shoot it back to back with a sequel called Psychic
Vampire’s Christmas. The $64-question of course, where can
Psychic
Vampire be seen? Tate: The main answer is TromaNow. Otherwise message me on Instagram or
Facebook. @xfilescabinet or Tate Hoffmaster. I will ship you a homemade
DVD if you send me $7 plus shipping. We’re working on distribution and
getting some nice DVDs, Blu-rays, and VHS tapes. Anything you can tell us about
audience and critical reception of Psychic
Vampire? Tate: Had
exactly the intended reaction. I set out to make a cult movie about a
cult. People either love it or hate it. Dylan: So
far I think it’s been pretty positive - once Pizza Guy 8 is finished
we’re hoping to package them as a double feature and get them out
there. Psychic
Vampire is a hard sell because while it toes the line, it
ultimately is more of a comedy drama than a horror film. Pizza Guy 8 is
more of a comedy horror film which I think is a better way to hook
people, and hopefully get the message across. Any future projects you'd like to share?
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Tate: There’s
Pizza Guy 8, but if you follow me on Instagram I’m working on a few
shorts and music videos at the moment! I’m in development for a few
new features as well which I will post about!
Dylan: I also have a film I directed, Spirit Riser, coming out
soon, and my film ReAgitator is currently out on Vudu! Your/your movie's website, social media, whatever
else? Tate: @peacedawgieproductions
is the Instagram. @xfilescabinet I keep more up to date. Peace
Dawgie Productions is also on Facebook. No
website, yet! Check out Psychic
Vampire on Troma Now and Pizza Guy 8 on Indiegogo! Anything else you're dying to mention and I have
merely forgotten to ask? Tate: Mee
bee bo bo bee. Thanks for the interview!
Thank
you!
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