Review Fix chats with Horror film director Jeremiah Kipp, who discusses his up and coming career and his new slew of short features.
Review Fix: When did you get into horror films?
Jeremiah Kipp: You know those kids who ran around in their backyards with a VHS camcorder gathering up all their friends and neighbors to put on makeup and be in a zombie movie? I was one of those. All of my professional films have, to some degree or other, been horror films, or at least inspired by the tension of genre films.
Review Fix: What attracts you to the genre?
Kipp: Horror has the limitless possibility to be creative, in that you don’t have to stick to naturalistic reality. Also, I’ve found that tapping into fear, terror and the macabre hits me in a deeper place than fantasy or science fiction. I love going to sleep at night because my dreams tend to take me to otherworldly places, even when I am having nightmares. And those are the images that tend to come out when I am making films; you have to be who you are.
Review Fix: Why short films?
Kipp: I always admired how in the short stories of Edgar Allan Poe and H.P. Lovecraft, the tales all move towards one peak moment. The short film format allows you to get there very quickly. But also short films have allowed me to take a wide array of projects instead of devoting myself to one singular low budget feature. I like that ability to be diverse. That said, I’ve become far more interested in the long form of moviemaking lately, and feel ready to climb those higher mountains.
Review Fix: What was the inspiration for CRESTFALLEN?
Kipp: The script was written by Russell Penning, who drew from his own life experiences. Much of what you see in the film are what Russ went through in his own life; he went through a terrible period where he felt there was nothing left to live for. I found his story brave, daring and sincere, and my contribution was to push the material in a more expressionistic direction. The frame of the story is about a woman slicing her wrists in the bathtub, and that dictated the style, which was a sudden flood of memories crashing down upon her.
Review Fix: How did you get Harry Manfredini to do the music?
Kipp: There’s a talented Mid-western filmmaker named Patrick Rea, who has been making short genre films as long as I have. I’m happy to report he just completed his first feature, which has been garnering praise along the festival circuit. Patrick had worked with Harry a few times, and was kind enough to put me in touch with him when CRESTFALLEN has locked picture. Harry understood what we were trying to do with the film, we enjoyed several lively conversations on the phone, and he generously agreed to do the project.
Review Fix: What was it like to work with him?
Kipp: Every composer I’ve worked with is very different, and I like Harry’s approach. He listened to our temp track and studied the film and the script, then we had many phone conversations where he’d ask me questions about the narrative and the feelings of the characters, and the emotions we wanted to stir up in the audience. We also talked about BEOWULF, Mayor Daley of Chicago, VERTIGO, movies and music we liked, stuff that didn’t necessarily have to do with CRESTFALLEN but helped us to discover shared interests. I had a wonderful time, and am happy to be collaborating with him again on my new film THE DAYS GOD SLEPT. I should be delivering him a new cut of that picture in about two weeks.
Review Fix: What are your hopes for your recent batch of short films?
Kipp: Our producers on THE DAYS GOD SLEPT, Lauren Rayner and Joe Fiorillo, have mapped out an elaborate festival life. I haven’t submitted recent films to festivals (sometimes they have come to me, which is always nice) mainly because I was curious about giving them an online presence. I wanted people to have the opportunity to see the films regardless of where they are in the world. But THE DAYS GOD SLEPT is a return to the old way of getting a movie out there. I haven’t done a big festival push since THE CHRISTMAS PARTY in 2003, which opened a lot of doors for me. I also have two episodes in Scott W. Perry’s Web series IN FEAR OF.
Those episodes can be seen here:
PODOPHOBIA – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dzAW4CG3aG0&feature=plcp
and here:
APEHEPHOBIA – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FHtUF1UPSHk&feature=plcp
Review Fix: What are you working on right now?
Kipp: I’m wrapping up some film projects that are in post, and planning out a new feature film for 2013. I like to stay busy, and work begets work.
Review Fix: What do you think the future holds for you?
Kipp: I love making films, and look forward to creating more of them with larger budgets and more resources available. See you at the movies.
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