Hot Picks

- Ready for My Close Up 2019

- Talk of the Dead 2016

- Tower Rats 2020

- Script of the Dead 2024

- The Bell Affair 2023

- Easter Bloody Easter 2024

- Velma 2022

- Everwinter Night 2023

- Main Character Energy 2023

- Stupid Games 2024

- Bittertooth 2023

- 4 Minutes of Terror: Night Slasher 2024

- Apart 2024

- The Abandoned 2006

- Becky 2024

- The Evil Fairy Queen 2024

- The Black Guelph 2022

- Followers 2024

- Silence of the Prey 2024

- Battle for the Western Front 2024

- Beware the Boogeyman 2024

- Subject 101 2022

- Driftwood 2023

- The Legend of Lake Hollow 2024

- Black Mass 2023

- Skinwalkers: American Werewolves 2 2023

- The Manifestation 2024

- Spirit Riser 2024

- Garden of Souls 2019

- It's a Wonderful Slice 2024

- Caleb & Sarah 2024

- The Thousand Steps 2020

- The Desiring 2021

- When a Stranger Knocks 2024

- Quint-essentially Irish 2024

- Son of Gacy 2024

- Saltville 2024

- The True Story of the Christ's Return 2024

- Whenever I'm Alone with You 2023

- Jurassic Triangle 2024

- Midnight Peepshow 2022

- Offworld: Alien Planet 2024

- The Swiss Conspiracy 1976

- Sex-Positive 2024

- Here for Blood 2022

- All Over Again 2024

- The Color Yellow 2023

- Des Töchterleins Leid 2024

- I Am a Channel 2024

- The Hermits 2023

- Murdaritaville 2024

- Inheritance 2024

- The Devil's Partner 1960

- First Impressions Can Kill 2017

- A Killer Conversation 2014

- Star Crash 1979

- Strangler of the Swamp 1946

An Interview with Kévin Mendiboure, Director of The Follower

by Mike Haberfelner

November 2017

Films directed by Kévin Mendiboure on (re)Search my Trash

 

Quick Links

Abbott & Costello

The Addams Family

Alice in Wonderland

Arsčne Lupin

Batman

Bigfoot

Black Emanuelle

Bomba the Jungle Boy

Bowery Boys

Bulldog Drummond

Captain America

Charlie Chan

Cinderella

Deerslayer

Dick Tracy

Dr. Mabuse

Dr. Orloff

Doctor Who

Dracula

Edgar Wallace made in Germany

Elizabeth Bathory

Emmanuelle

Fantomas

Flash Gordon

Frankenstein

Frankie & Annette Beach Party movies

Freddy Krueger

Fu Manchu

Fuzzy

Gamera

Godzilla

Hercules

El Hombre Lobo

Incredible Hulk

Jack the Ripper

James Bond

Jekyll and Hyde

Jerry Cotton

Jungle Jim

Justine

Kekko Kamen

King Kong

Laurel and Hardy

Lemmy Caution

Lobo

Lone Wolf and Cub

Lupin III

Maciste

Marx Brothers

Miss Marple

Mr. Moto

Mister Wong

Mothra

The Munsters

Nick Carter

OSS 117

Phantom of the Opera

Philip Marlowe

Philo Vance

Quatermass

Robin Hood

The Saint

Santa Claus

El Santo

Schoolgirl Report

The Shadow

Sherlock Holmes

Spider-Man

Star Trek

Sukeban Deka

Superman

Tarzan

Three Mesquiteers

Three Musketeers

Three Stooges

Three Supermen

Winnetou

Wizard of Oz

Wolf Man

Wonder Woman

Yojimbo

Zatoichi

Zorro


Your new movie The Follower - in a few words, what is it about?

 

The Follower is about a young video blogger called David Baker who decides to investigate the haunted house of one of his follower's.

 

What were your inspirations when writing The Follower?

 

Paranormal Activity, Creep, The Visit, Grave Encounters, V/H/S, Blair Witch.

 

What can you tell us about your co-writer Vincent Darkman, and what was your collaboration like?

 

I met Vincent Darkman during the scripting process of a French TV series. I sent him the story concept and he re-contacted me few hours later. He really liked the idea so I proposed to him to work with me on the whole script. He handled the full structure of the movie and all the dialogue. He also worked on the psychology of the characters. It was a really complete and synchronized collaboration because we have the same sensibility and understanding of the horror genre. The binom worked fully.

 

Why did you choose the found footage approach for The Follower, and what do you think makes your movie stand out of the crowd of found footage flicks being made of late?

 

Found footage always interested me since I saw Blair Witch Project and Cloverfield. I remember the first time I saw Cloverfield in a theater - I really enjoyed it and wanted to do the kind of very realistic and immersive experience that found footage permits. So, naturally I used this form for my feature debut ... and the second reason is a budget matter.

 

Unlike many other found footage films, The Follower got a big twist in the middle and it turns into a psychological thriller. That's not a usual thing in found footage films. Secondly, we didn't want to have a film with cheap images, so we opted for proper cinematography with a good lighting.

 

Related to my last question, what are the challenges of making a movie the found footage-way?

 

Writing a script of found footage isn't an easy task. For example, as the protagonist holds the camera, he is the director and you can only show what he can see (POV). You are very limited in the narration, and it's more complicated to present different angles without justification. During the editing process, you don't have a lot of choices like in traditional movies. You have to show most the scenes without any cuts, and you can't delete shooting mistakes using other shots. Finally, the most difficult thing is to get a proper balance between professional movie and the amateurish camerawork the character would suggest.

 

As a filmmaker, to what extent could you identify with the film's lead character David the vlogger, actually?

 

I spend a lot of time on social medias, watching YouTube videos or posting short horror films. It's really hard to be watched by lot of people because it's saturated. I imagine for the background of The Follower is finding a situation that creates a sort of buzz for the protagonist.

 

What can you tell us about The Follower's cast, and why exactly these people?

 

We shot the movie in France but we wanted an English-speaking movie to distribute it in the US. So we cast the internet actors living in the area and who could act in this language. Most of the cast are native English-speakers language except Carol who is French. We found in Nicolas Shake as the lead a credible personality for the YouTuber.

 

You of course also have to talk about the mansion you shot a big portion of the movie in for a bit, and how did you find it and what was it like filming there?

 

Carol's house is the most creepy thing in the movie and it's also a kind of character. We really needed an emblematic house where people wouldn't like to go. And as the budget was quite low, the house added nice production value to the movie. I found it through one of my contact in the South of France, the place I come from near Biarritz. The house is dated from 1900's and all the decoration is native. All the team slept there during our 12 days of shooting, and it was quite creepy because we heard that it was haunted for good...

 

A few words about the shoot as such, and the on-set atmosphere?

 

Shooting The Follower was very intensive and stressfull. We had only 12 days of shooting for 79 minutes of screen time. We worked a lot in the preparation process to make the shooting possible under low-budget conditions. Sleeping in that creepy house was really immersive for the creativity so we found new ideas during the shoot.

 

Anything you can tell us about audience and critical reception of The Follower?

 

The movie has been released for one month only so it's a little bit early to speak about the audience. Concerning critical reception, opinions are divided. We got some really good feedback as well as less good.

 

Any future projects you'd like to share?

 

We're presently working on two feature concepts. One of them is the adaptation of my awarded horror short The Shoes, a story about demonic shoes who kill people. In its feature form, i want to explain the origin of that shoes. Secondly, we work on the development of Reality Horror Show, a thriller about a lonely girl who is participating in a strange reality TV show. For these two projects, we are looking for production companies to work with. We hope that the success of The Follower will permit us to find one.

 

What got you into making movies in the first place, and did you receive any formal training on the subject?

 

I started to direct movies at the age of 14 years old when I took the vacation camera of my mom. I directed several short films with my young brother as actor. Few years later, I won awards at local amateur film festivals in my city, and I went to Paris at the age of 18 to do a cinema school for 3 years. I studied at ESRA Paris, which teaches direction/editing/scripting/
lighting/effects and provides a professional cinema graduation. Eventually, I've learnt much more on the sets.

 

How would you describe yourself as a director?

 

Perfectionist, demanding, rigorous, passionate, serious, ambitious.

 

Filmmakers who inspire you?

 

Stanley Kubrick, James Wan, Sam Raimi, George Romero, Quentin Tarantino.

 

Your favourite movies?

 

Evil Dead (1981), The Exorcist (1973), The Conjuring, Blair Witch Project (1999), It, The Shining.

 

... and of course, films you really deplore?

 

Blair Witch (remake 2016), Rings (2017).

 

Your/your movie's website, Facebook, whatever else?

 

Feeling lucky?
Want to
search
any of my partnershops yourself
for more, better results?
(commissions earned)

The links below
will take you
just there!!!

Find Kévin Mendiboure
at the amazons ...

USA  amazon.com

Great Britain (a.k.a. the United Kingdom)  amazon.co.uk

Germany (East AND West)  amazon.de

Looking for imports?
Find Kévin Mendiboure here ...

Thailand  eThaiCD.com
Your shop for all things Thai

Kévin Mendiboure:

www.kevin-mendiboure.com

 

The Follower:

http://www.terrorfilms.net/film/follower-new

www.facebook.com/thefollower.themovie/

https://www.instagram.com/thefollowermovie/

https://twitter.com/FollowerFilmOff

 

Anything else you're dying to mention and I have merely forgotten to ask?

 

As mentioned previously, we are currently looking for a production company to finance our future feature projects.

 

Thanks for the interview!

 

© by Mike Haberfelner


Legal note: (re)Search my Trash cannot
and shall not be held responsible for
content of sites from a third party.




Thanks for watching !!!



 

 

In times of uncertainty of a possible zombie outbreak, a woman has to decide between two men - only one of them's one of the undead.

 

There's No Such Thing as Zombies
starring
Luana Ribeira, Rudy Barrow and Rami Hilmi
special appearances by
Debra Lamb and Lynn Lowry

 

directed by
Eddie Bammeke

written by
Michael Haberfelner

produced by
Michael Haberfelner, Luana Ribeira and Eddie Bammeke

 

now streaming at

Amazon

Amazon UK

Vimeo

 

 

 

Robots and rats,
demons and potholes,
cuddly toys and
shopping mall Santas,
love and death and everything in between,
Tales to Chill
Your Bones to

is all of that.

 

Tales to Chill
Your Bones to
-
a collection of short stories and mini-plays
ranging from the horrific to the darkly humourous,
from the post-apocalyptic
to the weirdly romantic,
tales that will give you a chill and maybe a chuckle, all thought up by
the twisted mind of
screenwriter and film reviewer
Michael Haberfelner.

 

Tales to Chill
Your Bones to

the new anthology by
Michael Haberfelner

 

Out now from
Amazon!!!