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Your upcoming debut feature film is called The Lashman. What
can you tell us about the movie?
Well, The Lashman is a movie that I wrote and directed last summer.
It’s a tale of terror about five friends on a camping trip who find out
that their campfire stories may be real.. We wanted to make a movie in the
tradition of great cabin In the woods movies like Evil Dead or
Friday the
13th.
Why did you choose a
lash as your film's weapon of choice? The Lashman’s
bullwhip kind of plays to the character's origins, which of course will come
out clearer to the audience when it arrives. The cracking of a whip is a
pretty scary sound. I think people are going to love it. Basically, The
Lashman is a slasher film. Is that a genre you are really fond of, and
your genre-favourites? Yeah, I think the slasher genre has
produced some wonderful movies. Carpenter's Halloween is probably still my
favorite of the bunch, as it feels like a more real world than some of the
stuff that came after it. In the last few years I’ve really enjoyed
movies like All The Boys Love Mandy Lane and Baghead which kind of play on
some of those classic conventions, while again trying to stay in a real
world situation. What were your main inspirations
when thinking up/writing The Lashman? Well, I had
two stories that I was working on. One was a movie more about
relationships, but I opted for the horror movie as I thought I would have
a wider audience for it due to some other work I had done. I had some
locations available to me and very much let that play into my writing, as
we did produce this on a micro-budget. How would
you describe your directorial approach to the material? I
tried to spell out everything in the screenplay, and when casting made
sure that my actors understood that I wanted them to stay on page, but
would also be willing to give them the freedom to try things as the shoot
progressed. I think every actor needs something different from a director,
and if you can figure out the thing they need then your better off for it.
Sometimes that means a pat on the back, and sometimes it means easing
their fears. It can change daily. I think every actor who worked on The
Lashman would be willing to work with me again, and I think that says a
lot. How far are you going in terms of
gore and violence in The Lashman? Well, I wouldn’t
categorize The Lashman as a gore-hound movie. I still believe that the
mind can imagine far worse than what splatter effects can provide
sometimes. It is however still a horror film, and a slasher. We deliver on
the blood. It’s definitely not for the faint of heart. A few words
about your principal cast and crew? I could go on for hours
about each and every one of them. I had a lot of support from both the
cast and crew. They trusted my vision for it, and worked through some
pretty tough conditions. We slept on floors and barns during the shoot,
and worked in the heat and a lot of time without running water. It is
truly remarkable that no one dissented. We all learned from each other,
and built some very lasting friendships out of our time together. I’m
thankful for them all. The film was shot in
Western Kentucky. What can you tell us about the location as such, and why
did you choose it in the first place? At first I thought I
was going to shoot a bit closer to Memphis, TN, as I had a friend who
owned a cabin near the area. However, a few years ago, my friend Lee
Vervoort had introduced me to Tim & Carole Emery. They own the Copper
Canyon Ranch near Hopkinsville Kentucky. I had spent some time up there
just enjoying the ranch and noticed that Hopkinsville is a bit of a time
capsule in some areas. We found some great locations, and the people were
all very inviting to us. The cabin itself is very secluded, and owned by a
local farmer. We sat down one summer evening and discussed the movie and
he welcomed us to use it. It’s a real beauty that he hand built himself. The $64-question
of course: When and where will The Lashman be released?
The
plan is to release the movie later in 2011. We’re still in our editing
phase, and I have just a few more shots I’d like to grab when the
weather is right. The principal cast is finished, its just extra at this
point. We are planning on hitting up the festivals as well as touring the
movie. We’d love to hit some indie theaters, but aren’t opposed to
playing bars and house parties. Hopefully we find an open door and welcome
mat at some film festivals.
Before
The Lashman, you directed quite a few shorts. Care to talk about those ones
for a bit?
Sure. My last project was entitled The
Dreadful Hallowgreen
Special, which was a made for television movie that aired nationwide
last Halloween. It stars TV horror hosts Dr. Gangrene, and Penny Dreadful.
It is currently nominated for best short film at the Rondo Hatton Classic
Horror Awards. We actually shot it after The Lashman. Both Shawn C.
Phillips [Shawn C. Phillips
interview - click here] and Jeremy Jones who were in The Lashman appear in it. Larry
Underwood [Larry Underwood
interview - click here], who plays Dr. Gangrene, has the role of Eustice in The
Lashman. I
had a weekend off in between shoots, as it had to be out for broadcast
fairly quickly. It was a lot of fun, and a bit challenging as we were
working on different sides of the country, as Penny Dreadful’s Schilling
Shockers airs out of Massachusetts. We’re all very proud of it.
Before that, I did a short documentary for the band Numerics called A Matter Of Combustion, which kind of follows them as they recorded
their record Proud to be a Numerican. I directed two music videos
for the album, and really have enjoyed that relationship. It’s pretty
quirky, the documentary not the relationship.
And EZ-Chewie. EZ-Chewie is a short film that I made specifically for
the Star Wars Fan Film challenge that Spike and Atom.com does every year.
It’s a fun little movie that kind of pokes fun at all the merchandising
they have done with Star Wars, and the fact that Luke and Leia have a
romantic relationship in the first movie. I wanted to do a Star Wars fan
film that wasn’t fat guys running around the woods with light sabers. It
played at Fright Night Film Fest and was nominated for best comedy. It’s
one of those things where if your not a Star Wars
fan you probably won’t
get it. But these days, who’s not a Star Wars
fan?
Larry Underwood as
Dr.Gangrene |
You have also directed several episodes of Chiller
Cinema. What can you tell us about the show, its concept, and its host
Dr. Gangrene?
Dr. Gangrene has been on the air in Nashville since 1999. When my wife
and I first married in 2003 we used to stay up late and watch TV, and
that’s where I found it. At the time they were still doing cable access
and I thought the show was a lot of fun. Dr. Gangrene was doing an
appearance at a Haunted House, right down the street from the video store
I was working for at the time. We decided to go out and say hello. I
talked with Larry (The Doc) as well as Chuck Angell who was working on the
show at the time. We became friends and I worked on some projects with
Chuck. I kept seeing Larry around town and we would chat, and at some
point he invited me out to see them tape the show. At this point Chuck had
left the show for other projects and the show had moved to WNAB, which is
the CW station here in town.. It was very LO-FI, which I liked a lot. I
did a bit of writing and then started directing shows.
The concept is about a Mad Scientist who screens movies while
conducting wild experiments for the viewers at home. Some of the movies
are good, and some are very bad. We work on a budget of next to nothing,
and I have learned so much about being able to improvise and build great
things out of next to nothing. We’ll be heading into the 13th
season of the show later this year. I’ve been working with Larry
extensively for about four years now. He is by far my most frequent
collaborator.
You have also made numerous music videos.
Would you care to name some of them, and how does shooting a music video
differ from making a proper film?
The two I did for Numerics were for the tracks Precious Time and
Through The Cracks. They both did very well and won some awards.
I did one last year for the metal band, Stigmatic that is entitled Dawn Of A New Day. It was a bit out of my comfort
zone, as I’m not really a metal head. What I knew is that they had some
scare elements with the make up and such and we kind of ran with that. We
shot it in an old church that had actually had a service that morning. It
was pretty wild.
The first real directing job I did was for Quiet Company for Fashionabel It got regular rotation on
MTV Canada and won several
film festivals. It really set me up to do some good stuff down the line. I
actually just recorded a commentary track for it that’s going to be on
their upcoming DVD.
Music videos are so much fun to shoot. I’d suggest the burgeoning
filmmakers seek out bands to shoot for. You don’t have to worry about
audio (which is major part of any movie). Plus it’s the perfect medium
for the Internet, and if the band is good or has a fan base then you have
an automatic audience. You can do a lot with them, as you can craft a
linear story, or just do wacky stuff. Either way can work, and it gives
you a lot of freedom to try thing with lights and just ideas in general. I
defiantly cut my teeth doing it that way.
Go Green With Dr. Gangrene |
Is it true that at one
point in your life you made a series of PSAs about litter-conscious
zombies? Yes. They are most commonly referred to as the Go Green With Dr. Gangrene-series. That’s actually one of the
things that brought me to Dr. Gangrene in the first place. I wanted to
take some classic horror elements and movie monsters and use them for
good. We took Dr. Gangrene out of the lab and put him in some more scenic
locations here in Nashville. We tackled issues like littering, seatbelts,
and pet safety. We did a new batch each summer for the past three years,
and are talking about making another run of it. I’m extremely proud of
the work that we have done with those. Any other movies you've been involved with you
want to talk about, any future projects? Well, I have been
really lucky to be able to work with a lot of great people over the past
few years. I’m a big supporter of Micro-Budget cinema and try to get
involved with film-makers who I enjoy. I worked as a producer on Joe
Francis’ Texas Frightmare Massacre, which I think is very clever
horror comedy, and I’m not a fan of many horror comedies. I would say
that if you have any spare change lying around a good place to donate it
is to the type of projects, as the ideas usually outweigh the budgets. Somehow, almost
all your work seems to have some kind of horror theme. Is horror a genre
especially dear to you, and why? You know, I never really
planned it that way. But I don’t run from it. I love genre movies, but I
suspect that at some point in the future that I may want to tell some
stories that aren’t so terrifying. I have a movie about relationships
that I would like to shoot, and really want to work in westerns. I
actually just recently watched an interview with Tobe Hooper from Cannes
the year that Texas Chainsaw came out. He pretty much stated the same
thing, but ultimately ended up staying within the realm of horror, and it
worked out for him so who knows. What got you into
filmmaking in the first place, and did you have any formal training?
Well my father was a television repairman and my mother was an actress.
So the art and science of the movies was kind of always there. We always
had access to a good home theater and I watched a lot of movies as a kid.
Fantasy stuff like Willow, and Conan the
Barbarian. As well as E.T., Star Wars, Batman, etc. My parents have always been very supportive of
me and
my sibling playing in the arts. My mother couldn’t stand horror movies,
and still doesn’t for the most part. So I wasn’t allowed to watch a
lot of modern horror movies when they were out. I was however able to
watch the classic Universal Monster movies which I adore, and was
introduced to Hitchcock at a very young age. A combination of all of those
things shaped me.
I took a few film classes in college, but dropped out and moved to
Nashville after sophomore year. I credit most of my
education to the DVD boom. I soaked it all up. Watching movies, and behind
the scenes extras. I was listening to all the commentaries and reading a
ton of books. Robert Rodriguez Rebel Without A Crew was an
inspiration. The idea that you could just save a small amount and never be
afraid to go big was amazing to me. I very much believe in education. You
have to know where we have been before you can know where you are going.
Directors
who inspire you? As mentioned I really dig Robert
Rodriguez. I think being able to go from Sin City to Sharkboy & Lava
Girl in the same year shows how prolific he can be. I’m a mark for
Scorsese, Hitchcock, Coppola, Tarantino, Kurosawa, Carpenter and John
Ford. But ultimately the model I like to use is Roger Corman [Roger
Corman bio - click here]. The man is a
genius, and at some point has done just about every job you could want in
film. He plays with low budgets, and has always been a good at balancing
finance and art. His book How I Made A Hundred Movies In Hollywood And
Never Lost A Dime should be the first thing they
give you as a film maker.
Your favourite movies?
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I
always tell people that it’s either the 1933 King Kong or
The Good, The
Bad, & The Ugly. Usually that is forwarded by the fact that Star Wars
was more of a moment for me than an actual movie. ...
and of course, films you really deplored? You know, I try
not to spend a lot of time thinking about movies I hate anymore. I applaud
anyone who is able to actually get a movie made, as it’s extremely hard.
I can bash movies within the genres that I love, or even stuff that
doesn’t appeal to me but I’d rather just watch stuff that I have loved
again like House Of The Devil, Primer, or The Signal. Your/your
movie's website, Facebook, whatever else? I do a lot
of social networks, and I invite anyone who reads this to came say hello.
You can find me at facebook.com/cameronmccasland,
twitter.com/CamMcCasland
and youtube.com/cameronmccasland. You can also check the Lashman out at
facebook.com/LashmanMovie,
twitter.com/LashmanFilm or
www.LashmanMovie.com. Anything else
you are dying to mention and I have merely forgotten to ask? I
think we’ve covered it pretty well. I really appreciate you taking the
time to give me a listen, and for the support. Thanks
for the interview!
Thank you.
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find Cameron McCasland at adultvideouniverse.com
