Your new movie P.O.V. - in a
few words, what is it about?
So it’s a horror about this guy (Zack) who’s just been dumped by his
girlfriend. His big brother, who’s a bit of a loose cannon, decides the
best way to cheer him up is to throw a house party in this abandoned old
people’s home he’s refurbishing that was rumoured to be abandoned
because the previous owner thought all the residents had been possessed by
demons out to kill him. Then as things start to kick off Zack’s friends
fall victim to this ‘demon’ curse and it ‘all hits the fan’.
Then the part that’s a bit unique is that the whole thing is seen directly
through the lead characters eyes in real time.
What were your inspirations when writing P.O.V.?
It was originally gonna be called Rebound. I was making this other horror
film which didn’t have the ‘1st person’ gimmick; was just
a more traditional style filmed piece. But then at the eleventh hour it
all fell apart. I was close to giving up on my filmmaking daydreams and
kinda on the rebound when I wrote this which sort of parallels with the
lead character.
The opening two lines of the film in fact where Zack says ‘You didn’t
deserve what she did to you. You’re not gonna let this tear you apart’
is Zack venting about his girlfriend dumping him but for me is a bit of a
cathartic dig at the actress who walked out on the previous film we were
making. She did apologize about a year later and to be fair
P.O.V.
is a
far more unique animal and a better story so in retrospect it all kinda
worked out in the end.
In another odd coincidence my girlfriend at the time actually dumped me the
Monday I got back from filming P.O.V.. Maybe I should’ve written into the
script that instead of being dumped the lead character had just won the
lottery. Never mind, eh.
In terms of the shooting style there was a music video in the 90’s by The
Prodigy called ‘Smack My Bitch Up’ that was done entirely in this
first person style which had always stuck with me and thought could be a
cool concept put into the world of horror. The three police characters in
the film were actually named Howlett, Jonas and Akerlund after the
Prodigy’s Liam Howlett (who wrote that track) and the director of that
Music video Jonas Akerlund.
With P.O.V.
being a horror movie - is that a genre at all dear to you? I
don’t really have a favourite genre. I like all types of films but am
always drawn to horrors for some reason. Even if a horror film just has a
cool poster, it’s enough for me to give it a watch.
P.O.V. is shot in
its entirety first person, p.o.v.-style - what made you choose exactly
this approach? And what were the advantages but also challenges
that way?
I guess I knew from the outset we’re never gonna be able to compete with
all the big budget films in terms of production value and grandeur so just
wanted to find a different way to tell a story with what resources we did
have.
An advantage to doing long-all-in-one-take scenes is you can get through lots
of pages of the script really quickly, but then this is also a disadvantage
as you can’t cut and certainly can’t save a performance in the edit.
The actors really have to be on it every second; not just the principals
but everyone on screen. Everyone has to hit the mark and the energy has to
be right and to change just one thing you have to go all the way back to
the beginning of that section. It’s not a shooting style I would
recommend to anyone to be honest. It limits what you can do in terms of a
score for the film too; especially with horror the music is massive in
creating tension and suspense. The novelty of sticking a camera on an
actor’s head has well and truly worn off but I’m pleased to have had
that experience and really proud of what we achieved. In your film, screentime equals real time with
hardly any noticable cut - but how long did the movie take to shoot for
real? The
main bit in the nursing home was done over 9 days in November 2013 and
then the other scenes over 4 days between then and April 2014. The last
scene we shot was actually the first scene in the film. That’s not too
unusual on traditional films I guess but for one that’s played out in
real time is kinda ironic.
Do talk about your main location for a bit, and
what was it like filming there?
It was perfect for the story. In the script it’s an abandoned retirement
home and that’s exactly what it was in real life. It had been unused for
about 5 years so in terms of set dressing it was already all there.
Did have a few draw backs. Only a few of the lights still worked. We’d
bought loads of new light bulbs but unfortunately the wiring had eroded.
Not all doors had handles so there were a few rooms if you went in there
was no way out. Also someone had previously broken in and stolen all the
copper piping so there was no heating.
The cast & crew all seemed to enjoy themselves though and become quite
fond of the place. The owners have sold it on now. I’m guessing
they’ll re-carpet as I couldn’t get all the blood stains out of the
floorboards. What can you tell us
about your key cast, and why exactly these people?
I’d worked with quite a lot of them before and most of the main roles were
written with those specific actors and actresses in mind. Luckily they all
said yes when I offered them parts.
One thing I’m really pleased with in the film is the acting. That’s
something I think other no budget films suffer with a bit but the actors I
had were great and very natural; especially considering all the long takes
and the odd shooting style. I wouldn’t be surprised to see all of them
go onto bigger things; it’s just a case of catching that break and being
seen by the right people as they definitely have the talent.
Do
talk about the shoot as such, and the on-set atmosphere? Couldn’t
have really wished for a better cast & crew. Everyone seemed to hit it
off instantly. They all had a laugh and looked after each other and when
it came down to business were really professional. There were no divas. No
egos. Just an amazing bunch of people both creatively and on a personal
level. Anything
you can tell us about audience and critical reception of P.O.V.
yet?
It’s been pretty positive so far all round. I think people are a bit surprised
by it; especially once they realize it’s not another ‘found footage’
horror but something a little different.
It’s got into film festivals in the UK, Australia and the Philippines and is
out on VOD in the UK via thehorrorshow.tv
and soon to be released in the
US with Continuum Motion Pictures. Any future projects you'd like to share? My
most recent project that’s in post production is actually a romantic
drama, so a bit of a departure from a blokey horror. That’s called You
are my Sunshine. I also did a 2 minute comedy short recently called Mr Snuggles about a soft toy who can’t wait to meet his new owner
and am planning and rehearsing another short film for the festival circuit
called Jump which I’m really excited about. What
got you into filmmaking in the first place, and did you receive any formal
training on the subject?
I guess I’ve always been a daydreamer and just want to be a storyteller.
I don’t really know why, that’s just what excites me and gets me
through the dead end day jobs.
I never went to film school. If I had that kind of money I’d probably just
use it to make a film. So am self taught I guess. I’ve certainly made
mistakes along the way and obviously trying to make films without any real
money is tough but I think you
learn more from doing. What can you tell us about your
filmwork prior to P.O.V.?
I’ve
done quite a lot of short films now which have won a few awards and been
selected to film festivals internationally including one into an Oscar/Bafta-qualifying film festival. I’ve had 3 feature scripts
optioned too and some short scripts produced by other directors. Also had
my debut novel published (Tabula Rasa – available on amazon - cheap plug). How
would you describe yourself as a director? I’d
like to think I’m a director that gives the actors something to sink
their teeth into and then let them do what they do best; making the odd
tweak here and there. I think it’s definitely a collaboration between
the director and the actors and the DoP, sound recordist, composer etc etc,
not a dictatorship. If you bring these creative people into the fold it
doesn’t really make sense not to give them room to do their thing and
make the most of their talents. Filmmakers
who inspire you? I
guess the heavyweights that everyone probably says like Christopher Nolan,
David Fincher, Darren Aronofsky, Tim Burton, Scorsese, Kubrick. I like
Steve McQueen’s style too. For horror Neil Marshall. Your favourite movies? Of
all time would be Fight Club and after that there’s so many this would
turn into an essay. ...
and of course, films you really deplore?
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There’s
nothing I really hate. Knowing how difficult it is to make films and just
how much time and work goes into making a film I’d never completely
slate someone’s film. There’s a few that have been a bit of a struggle
to see through to the end I must admit but then the thing about anything
creative is what one person thinks is a masterpiece another thinks is a
pile of ... Your/your
movie's website, Facebook, whatever else?
Website:
www.povhorrormovie.com
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/POVfeature
Twitter:
https://twitter.com/POV_Horror
Out now on VOD: http://thehorrorshow.tv/movie-display/pov-2014
Anything else
you're dying to mention and I have merely forgotten to ask?
Not
really. Hope people check out the film and are entertained for 90 minutes
... well, 85 minutes. Thanks
for the interview!
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