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Your new movie In
the Dreams of Those with Unblinking Eyes - in a few words, what's
it about?
While the story might appear simple on the surface, it
is actually somewhat complex and very convoluted. There are two motifs to
be observed throughout -- water and eyes. In short, two tiles in a
dilapidated fountain are seemingly watching and/or dreaming about an
artist and his death. There is even a sub-plot, if one can even call it
that, that is very, very, very loosely tied to the story of Eros and
Psyche. So... that's the high level rundown. Of course, as with most of my
films, while I personally have a set narrative in mind, some of the
details are ambiguous and left open to interpretation. The viewer needs to
use their own imagination.
What were your sources of inspiration when
writing In
the Dreams of Those with Unblinking Eyes? My mind is always working. I had a film idea some time
ago revolving around the thoughts of several statues in the city and how
they've become tired of the disgusting people around them. I did further
develop this concept into a short story, but ultimately the idea was
abandoned. I then took that concept and applied it to those two tiles that
appear in the film, but for a different story all together. That idea was
likewise abandoned. Fast forward some time later, and I revisited the idea
again, albeit dramatically changing it, as I already had the tiles and
didn't want them to go to waste. With all that said, the real source of
inspiration that ignited the story presented in the film was Edvard
Munch's painting Cupid and Psyche -- one of my many favorite works by the
Norwegian artist -- hence that aspect to the story. Indeed, the drawing
seen in the film is a monochromatic pencil drawing of the multi-colored
Psyche in his oil painting. It's not just a "bad drawing", hah. Your
movie seems rather skeletal, storywise, but full of atmospheric,
associative, symbolic and at times even abstract shots - so what can you
tell us about this narrative technique of yours, and how easy or hard is
it not to (literally) lose one's plot telling one's story that way? And few words
about your overall approach to your story at hand?
First and foremost, In
the Dreams of Those with Unblinking Eyes is a horror film. Plain
and simple. But I do believe it does have an "art film" aspect. I am
not talking about those extravagant art films of the 60s and 70s, such as the
works of Pasolini, Fellini, etc. I am talking about the experimental film genre,
which are after all art films. Films that are abstract, ambiguous, driven by
imagery, etc. In my mind, there are two categories of such experimental films --
those that have a story and those that do not (as much as the latter's filmmaker
might say it does). I don't mind that style as long as it has a story. If it's
just a montage of images set to music, isn't just a music video? But anyway, one
can indeed tell a story with visuals alone. It can be done successfully. I have
in the past shot several such "horror art films" -- those
that are largely image-driven, though I'll admit they do have some sort of
voiceover to at least partially explain things. Films like La Fleur du
Diable, La Ragazza con il Cappello Rosso and A View From a Forgotten Grave. The stories
are conveyed through images, camera movements, and symbolism. There are no live
actors. Whether those films were successful or not I can't say, but the idea of
letting the visuals carry the story is not a foreign concept to me. And if those
visuals are interesting and paired with good sound design, you can tell a whole
lot of story and with great atmosphere. So In
the Dreams of Those with Unblinking Eyes is a horror art film. It is both partially actor driven, and
partially image driven. Besides, a statue or tile can not move for the camera!
They can't even blink their eyes.
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SPOILER ALERT: As noted before, In
the Dreams of Those with Unblinking Eyes is actually quite
complex, but you have to study the imagery. It's not just guy walking around and
drawing. Running through some of the shots... Why was the deer fixated drawing
supplies? Does it know what is happening or what happened? The man ends up at an
old pump house / water tower. Did the water flowing through it once feed the
dilapidated fountain -- the fountain that is now lacking empty and dead? Are the
tiles in the fountain dreaming about a lake with water lilies because they miss
the once very wet fountain? The man repeatedly looks up while drawing up as if
sketching a model. Is someone else there? What is he drawing? Ultimately, it's a
rather cryptic image of Psyche (which a Munch fan might notice but most people
would probably have to wait until the credits to understand). What happens when
the man becomes hypnotized by Psyche's "beauty" in his drawing? The
horse becomes agitated. Is someone else there again? Psyche was married to who?
Eros. Eros has what? A bow and arrow. Why do the bells ring when he's struck
down by the arrow? Were they the bells in the tile's dream? Why does the tile see
the man with a pencil in his chest if he was shot by an arrow? Did the man kill
himself? I am not saying this is some amazing symbolist maze of
groundbreaking imagery and filmmaking. I am simply illustrating how the
complexity of the story lies within the imagery though very little, if anything,
is overtly explained. The viewer needs to use their imagination. Ok, I think at
this point I'm rambling, so I'll stop but I hope you understand what I mean!
Do talk about your movie's approach to horror! This film is very heavy on atmosphere -- at least, I
hope as that was my intention. As per my usual way of doing things, I
tried to put more emphasis on a supernatural / dreamlike quality in lieu
of blood, gore, nudity, etc. I
do feel it's quite effective with this one or maybe I'm always just
setting myself up for failure. SPOILER ALERT: That's not to say there
isn't at least a little bit of blood in this one which brings me to
something I need to explain. I do believe I partly failed with one aspect
in this film. It seems most people fail to realize that it is the man's
pencil sticking out of his chest at the end, not Eros' arrow. Did you
notice? That is very important to the story, at least how I interpret it.
I believe this could have been conveyed more clearly but the problem lies
with the fact that it wasn't a normal, recognizable pencil with in an
eraser and such. Furthermore, the shots were subjected to my usual
flou/soft focus and day-for-night effects, obscuring it even further. I
suspected it was going to be a problem when we shot the scene and, as much
as I tried not to, I had to complain about it the whole time. I had a few
solutions but opted not to use any of them and so I kept it as is.
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In
the Dreams of Those with Unblinking Eyes stars Ryan Capizzi, a bit
of a regular in your movies - so what made him perfect for the part? Really, what made Ryan Capizzi perfect was simply the
fact that he is always available and he knows just what to expect! I shoot
in my own style which doesn't typically jive with what is expected today.
Sure, people familiar with Italian horror and the like will understand it,
but the average person is probably expecting something more modern.
Furthermore, anyone else is going to expect a full crew, catered lunch,
etc. which they aren't going to get! I haven't had much luck working with
new people -- of course with some exceptions -- so I try to stick with
those who are tried and true with no surprises. You
also have to talk about your movie's location for a bit, and what was it
like filming there? And did you write In
the Dreams of Those with Unblinking Eyes with that particular
location already in mind? The film was predominantly taken on the grounds of the
Glen Foerd mansion in Philadelphia, PA. It was constructed in the 1850s
and is nestled on a plot of land surrounded a creek, river, by modern
civilization. Being tucked away makes it more usable than anything else in
the area. In fact, I have used it for several films, In
the Dreams of Those with Unblinking Eyes, La Fleur du Diable,
The Thousand Steps,
Garden
of Souls, and even shot or two in La Ragazza con il Cappello
Rosso. So yes, you could say I wrote this particular story with Glen Foerd in mind
but only as a location -- particularly because of the fountain, garden,
statues, etc. The church and lake in the film were shot elsewhere in the
city. A few words about the shoot as
such, and the on-set atmosphere?
Considering it was only me on set for many shots, or
Ryan and myself, it was very easy and casual! With that said, I am very
slow when it comes to shooting so there isn't much time for chatting, but
there is always room for complaining. This one was no different! There
were many little kids and a car that we had shoot around which complicated
things that should have been easy. Furthermore, it was a partly sunny day
-- albeit like 95 degrees. As any filmmaker can attest, partly sunny days
are no fun as the exposure continually gets messed up which forces more
takes. With all of that in mind, put yourself in our position and you can
get a feel for the atmosphere!
One amusing thing did happen that I guess is worth
noting. While filming some shots on the brick steps, a 5ft+ long eastern
rat snake -- a rather large snake around these parts -- came slithering
out right at our feet, putting a halt to things momentarily. I tried in
vain to adjust the camera to film it. While harmless, Ryan was terrified
the rest of the time because it was lurking right in the weeds, perhaps
just a few feet away, as we continued filming.
You also composed the
music for In
the Dreams of Those with Unblinking Eyes - so what can you tell us
about your movie's score, its musical style and influences? I actually composed the opening movement long before
there was even an idea for this film, but it was a perfect fit for setting
the mood. I admittedly have a problem that I often will write random
little pieces of music but will never finish full songs. In the case of
a soundtrack work, sometimes that kind of works. With that sound and style
of that one piece, the rest of the music fell into place while the film
was in the works. I tried to go a little more "classical" with
this one, as opposed to just ominous yet musical sounds, because of the
slight romantic aspect of Eros and Psyche, though of course there still
are some simpler themes. It no secret that Fabio Frizzi, Nico Fidenco,
Stelvio Cipriani, Bruno Nicolai, Ennio Morricone, etc. composed some
fantastic music, but let's not forget about the great Marcello Giombini!
While Giombini was a master of many styles, his electronic scores --
mainly though not exclusively those for several of Joe D'Amato films --
are the best [Joe D'Amato bio -
click here]! That was the biggest inspiration terms of the score. Anyway,
Giombini sometimes went by Pluto Kennedy. So for my planet and former US
president, for no other reason than how it sounds, I went with Neptune Van
Buren.
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The
$64-question of course, where can In
the Dreams of Those with Unblinking Eyes be seen? In
the Dreams of Those with Unblinking Eyes, along with
most of our other films, can be viewed for free on the Filmiracle
Productions YouTube Channel at www.youtube.com/
filmiracleproductions. If you check it out, please
subscribe, like, and comment! With that said, I must apologize for any ads
you may encounter. I hate them just as much as you do. Filmiracle
Productions does not monetize on YouTube but YouTube seems to put ads on
our most "popular" videos (which aren't even popular in the
grand scheme of things) so they can. Anything
you can tell us about audience and critical reception of In
the Dreams of Those with Unblinking Eyes? It seems people are really digging the film's style,
music, and atmosphere, but as noted SPOILER ALERT: many seem to be missing
the pencil at the end. Any future projects you'd like to share?
I am almost always doing something, however at this
time, I not actively working on any film projects. With that said, this
period of downtime won't last long, I'm sure. Your/your movie's
website, social media, whatever else?
I do not have a big social media presence but you can
always subscribe to the Filmiracle Productions YouTube Channel at
https://www.youtube.com/filmiracleproductions and the rather rudimentary
site at https://filmiracleproductions.blogspot.com
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Anything else you're dying to mention and I have merely forgotten to ask? Nothing beyond many thanks for the interview and your
support! I really appreciate it! Thanks
for the interview!
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