SHRIEKFEST 2015 INTERVIEWS: Filmmakers Richard Karpala, Leah McKendrick & Jonathan Rej

- By Bryan Stumpf

What a difference a year makes! In October 2014, I was living in Upstate New York and had to take a 6 hour flight to Los Angeles to attend the 14th Annual Shriekfest Film Festival & Screenplay Competition. (See my series of Slaughtered Bird interviews from Shriekfest 2014.)

And yet for the Shriekfest 2015, the festival was a mere 15 minute walk from my Hollywood apartment. With travel arrangements of little concern this year, I attended more of this year’s screenings, particularly the short film blocks on Saturday and Sunday.

Also in 12 months since Shriekfest 2014, I feel I’ve become a veteran of short horror film production. After moving to Los Angeles in January 2015, I’ve helped several filmmaker friends with their horror shorts. And currently, my first short film, Annulment, is just starting a run through the film festival circuit, while I’m in post-production for my second short film, Ghost Walks.

For my Slaughtered Bird interviews this year, I decided to interview filmmakers who not only produced my favorite shorts of the festival, but also made inspirational strides in short horror filmmaking. All three of the following filmmakers produced shorts with innovative storylines, clever timeliness, and deft subversion of current horror cliches.

We begin with Richard Karpala, the writer/director of Shriekfest Official Selection, IRIS, in which a man uses his smart phone to assist in burying a dead body, to surprising results.

Hello Richard, thank you for being interviewed for The Slaughtered Bird. I very much enjoyed your short film IRIS. At an early age, was there a movie and/or experience that convinced you to go into the film industry?

The first film that ever moved me to tears and completely overwhelmed me was The Land Before Time. My aunt gave it to me as a gift and saw me ball my eyes out. She was devastated! She thought I hated it. But it was such an important story to me. I think that was how I caught the cinema bug.

Could you talk a little bit about where the inspiration behind IRIS came from?

I was sitting at the airport and watching everybody at the gate. How many were reading books and how many were staring into their phones? If I was a time traveler from the past and showed up in the present and saw this vision of us staring down at these things in our hands I would feel a pit in my stomach. First thing I do is check my phone at night and when I wake up. I have a hard time without it. It’s scary and insidious and this is only the beginning.

Could you talk a little about the production for IRIS? Were there any challenges filming in the wooded and rocky locations?

Digging a grave in the mountains is a lot harder than it sounds. It’s actually really rocky so you have to use a pickaxe. Now I know not to bury anything in the mountains if I can help it. Shooting dangerous cliff scenes with a stuntman is also in my opinion a challenge. We got lucky with weather on some days - during one afternoon a beautiful fog rolled in that we were able to capture - other days you may be rained out and have no choice but to sit under a canopy and wait the weather out while daylight burns away. The other challenge is making sure you account for having enough daylight to get back down the mountain before the mountain lions eat you.

In your end credits, you mention that your short was “filmed in beautiful Colorado.” What are your thoughts on the Colorado film industry? Do you feel any constraints filming so far from Los Angeles and New York? Do you feel there are unique advantages to filming in Colorado?

I’ve filmed two shorts in Colorado and used all of my crew there. It boasts such spectacular scenery I couldn’t imagine shooting them anywhere else. It’s no surprise Tarantino filmed in Telluride. IRIS especially takes advantage of the Rockies and is my most “Colorado film.” I hope to shoot there again someday.

What has been your experience with the IRIS in the film festival circuit? Do you have more plans for it, after the film festival circuit?

I love the festivals because I get to travel to new cities for the first time. Montreal-wow! Someone told me that is where young people go to retire. I can believe it. I just came back from screening IRIS in Telluride, another very special and eerie little place, especially at night when the darkness seems so intense it smothers everything around it, including sound. Try walking around Telluride at night you’ll know what I mean. After our fest circuit ends next year we’ll share IRIS online.

As a writer/director, what are you plans and goals for the future?

More shorts, radio plays, feature films and hopefully some television.

Who are your current inspirations for screenwriters/filmmakers?

Christopher Nolan, for his stunning leap of faith with Interstellar. Robert Zemeckis is doing real interesting work right now in mid budget dramatic storytelling. And I think Danny Boyle just keeps getting better. Steve Jobs was a restrained and fantastic cohesion of his style with Sorkin’s amazing writing. The writing phase I find myself in at the moment also owes a lot to Alfred Hitchcock.

What are some ways you might stand apart from other screenwriters/filmmakers?

It’s too early to look into the mirror.

Thank you very much for taking the time to answer these questions, Richard.

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Another Official Selection that I enjoyed at Shriekfest 2015 was No Service, a horror short that, like IRIS, revolves around our dependency, for good or for bad (usually the latter), on cell phones.

In No Service, a woman by herself deep in the wilderness can’t get service on her phone, and must venture down backroads to finally acquire service. Once she’s finally able to access her voicemail, she discovers a sinister event has transpired.

After the screening at Shriekfest, I spoke with No Service writer and lead actress Leah McKendrick —

At an early age, was there a movie and/or experience that convinced you to go into the film industry?

I always knew I wanted to be in the film industry. Is that a weird thing to say? My grandparents met making a musical in Hollywood and I didn’t find out until I was much older- but I always knew I would be a performer. My favorite movie as a kid was Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, which in retrospect is pretty fitting because I love horror and everything I make has a female lead. Not to mention I do a lot of musicals.

Could you talk a little bit about where the inspiration behind No Service came from?

I’m always trying to think of the next low-budget concept. I’m an actor, so anything I can do that is driven by character and emotion, I gravitate towards. I thought it would be kind of interesting to have a series of events unfold through voicemails — have the film start very mundane and all of a sudden our protagonist looks around and realizes that the world has completely changed. I’m a Walking Dead nerd and sometimes I sit in my house and think how cool it would be if zombies existed, like a weirdo.

Could you talk a little about the production for No Service? Were there any challenges? How did you find your director Kholi Hicks?

For a (next to) no budget 5 minute short, there were a LOT of challenges! The lens on the black magic was cracked when we got to Lake Tahoe. The day we wanted to shoot, there was a thunder storm. Kholi wasn’t feeling well. We lost a couple of our actors when we changed the shoot date and a couple of friends had to step in. There was a moment where I was just about to say, “forget it. Let’s scrap it. It’s becoming a hassle and it’s just supposed to be a stupid 5 minute thing.” When it was done and I watched it, I was like, Ok..So it’s not amazing. Then once the cut was locked and sound was cleaned up, scoring done - I showed it to a few people and they were super positive. The fact that I’m doing an interview about it for a UK film site is kind of a trip!

Kholi is a longtime friend. Originally a group of us were just going to my parent’s cabin for the 4th of July weekend to barbecue and hang. But then I thought, maybe I should just ask Kholi to direct this and have my friends be in it? Kill 2 birds with one stone! It helps having creative and supportive friends. Kholi is super smart and down for whatever.

What has been your experience with No Service in the film festival circuit? Do you have more plans for No Service, after the film festival circuit?

It’s been surprisingly busy! We got the Judges Honorable Mention at my acting school’s festival, John Rosenfeld Studios. We did Shriekfest which was awesome, and next it’ll screen at Telluride Horror Show! Honestly, the film has completely surpassed every expectation I had, so I’m not sure what’s next for it. People have asked if I have a script for the feature version and my answer is - if you have funding then HELL YES I DO.

As an actress/writer/producer, what are you plans and goals for the future?

Right now I am eating, drinking, sleeping, dreaming getting my first feature film made. It’s a thriller about an art student turned vigilante who begins murdering her campus rapists. It’s like a Tarantino revenge story. It’s something I feel passionately about because I can’t take seeing any more stories about campus assault. The beauty of film is you can paint the world the way you’d like to see it. I feel very strongly about this one, so if you know anyone who has ever wanted to invest in the movies, send them my way!

Who are your current inspirations for actors/writers/producers?

I love Lena Dunham. Mark Duplass. Tarantino. Shonda Rhimes is an icon. I love the multi-hyphenates, naturally, because that’s the world I play in. Showing up to a set as an actor these days feels like such a luxury because I’m used to thinking, “Where is the Chipotle? Someone needs to go get the Chipotle,” in between scenes. (Do you have Chipotle in the UK?) Wearing a lot of hats as a filmmaker is a pretty unique experience. I admire people that do it and do it well.

What are some ways you might stand apart from other actors/writers/producers?

Maybe just my sheer ADD with projects. I do musicals, comedies, dramas, dramedies, horrors, thrillers….I’m all over the map. I love movies. I want to make good movies. That’s pretty much my only criteria. As long as they are films that are empowering to women and feature diversity.

Anything else you’d like to share with The Slaughtered Bird’s primarily U.K.-based readership?

Thank you Slaughtered Birds! You can stay updated on my current and upcoming projects at my production company’s page: facebook.com/VillainessProductions. Thank you guys so much for the support and Happy Halloween!

Thank you very much for taking the time to answer these questions, Leah.

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Lastly, an audience favorite among Shriekfest Official Selections was Atlanta Zombie Apocalypse. Although the Shriekfest 2015 shorts were a bit oversaturated with the same tired zombie storylines, Atlanta Zombie Apocalypse burst through the cliches with a whole new angle on the zombie apocalypse.

Jonathan Rej’s horror comedy focuses on four bored friends ambling through a local haunted house attraction, constantly complaining of its cheesiness. Yet mid-way through the attraction, there’s news reports of an actual zombie apocalypse in Atlanta. But are the news reports part of the haunted house attraction?

After the screening, I spoke with director and co-writer Jonathan Rej —

At an early age, was there a movie and/or experience that convinced you to go into the film industry?

The first movie that really grabbed my attention as far as filmmaking was Evil Dead 2. Watching that movie you could see how much fun they had making it. With the script, the acting and the effects, the love and enjoyment really shone through. That was the first time I thought about what was going on behind the camera and I realized that filmmaking could be a lot of fun, very creative and possible.

Could you talk a little bit about where the inspiration behind Atlanta Zombie Apocalypse came from?

Atlanta Zombie Apocalypse was originally a horror attraction similar to a haunted house that was open from 2010 - 2014. Myself and Shane Morton who is a special effects artist wanted to create a live interactive experience where you felt like you were a character in a movie. We approached the live show like producing theatre or a film having a cohesive story line with characters and dialogue. The customer would be put in a situation with characters trying to make it thought the zombie apocalypse. It was a big success, people loved it and we got a lot if press. Being that Shane and myself are both filmmakers it was pretty natural to make a movie out of the live show. I took the script we wrote for the 2013 live show and adapted it for the screen with my co-writer Eddie Ray. The main characters in the movie were created to play the role as customers, but everything they experience in the haunted house is pretty much what we did every night in the live show.

Could you talk a little about the production for Atlanta Zombie Apocalypse? Was it actually filmed in Atlanta? What were some of the bigger challenges filming a zombie apocalypse in and around a haunted house attraction?

It was shot completely in Atlanta and completely at the Atlanta Zombie Apocalypse Horror Attraction. Shooting in a haunted house was great because we were able to use all the sets, props, actors, and make up team who were already working there. It was also a lot of fun to light because you could have crazy color light sources come from any direction with out having to worry if it looked natural.

What are your thoughts on the Georgia film industry? Do you feel any constraints filming so far from Los Angeles and New York? Do you feel there are unique advantages to filming in Georgia?

Georgia is very big for film production. So many big studio films are now shot here they call Atlanta Y’allywood. Having shot in LA and NYC, Atlanta is much, much easier to deal with for production.

What has been your experience with Atlanta Zombie Apocalypse in the film festival circuit? Do you have more plans for AZA, after the film festival circuit?

The film fest circuit has been awesome! There’s are so many killer horror festivals now which is great because the films go directly to the audiences who would enjoy it. AZA has played 10 festivals around the country and won the Audience Award at the Atlanta Film Fest, Best Horror Film at Dragon Con, and received an Honorable Mention at Fright Fest in Kentucky.

As a writer/director, what are you plans and goals for the future?

So many times in this biz you are working to pay the bills by making someone else’s vision. It’s very rare when you can make whatever you want how ever you want and be paid for it. I just want to keep creating things, so it may be another a haunted house, a movie, more music videos, or a comic book but I’ll hopefully keep finding avenues to be creative. I’d like to make the AZA into a feature length movie, but that can be tough when you are paying for it yourself.

Who are your current inspirations for screenwriters/filmmakers?

I feel like you have to take it all in. You can be inspired by the smallest part of something you weren’t even expecting, so my inspirations come from all over. Recently I am into Attack On Titan, Parasyte, The Goon, Rick and Morty, The Walking Dead, Mr Robot. Ready Player One, The Martian. I can see the the AZA movie was inspired by horror films like Return Of the Living Dead and Night of the Living Dead but also John Hughes movies like Breakfast Club and Weird Science. I didn’t think about that when we started but I can see it now. Makes sense as those are some of my favorite movies.

What are some ways you might stand apart from other screenwriters/filmmakers?

It’s hard to stand out. I’m still trying to figure it out but it’s important to create things that you personally want to see. If it’s based on your interests and things you already know about, it will feel much more authentic. I do have some advice though — if you’re making a movie don’t skimp on audio. Get a good recording from a professional while shooting and get a good mix by a professional after it’s edited. People will forgive many things while watching your movie and much of it can be seen as a stylistic choice, but if it sounds bad, the audience will never be able to get past that.

Anything else you’d like to share with The Slaughtered Bird’s primarily U.K.-based readership?

Atlanta Zombie Apocalypse has been released online so you can watch right now for free at www.azamovie.com Also check out more music videos and commercials we’ve made at www.authorityfilms.com. Thanks so much!

Thank you very much for taking the time to answer these questions, Jonathan.

@bryan_stumpf