A: As a kid I loved the Universal Studios’ monster movies so much that my doctor dad said that I had an acute case of ‘monster-itis’. Since then I’ve grown a bit taller.

I was supposed to follow my father into medicine, but a cinema studies course and a perpetual fascination with the movies changed the course of my life. I wound up graduating from the American Film Institute in Los Angeles.

Since joining the Directors Guild of Canada I’ve worked as an Assistant Director on many feature films, TV movies & series, documentaries, commercials, music videos, and short films. You might have seen some of them. Then again… I started Crypt Club Productions Inc. to make my calling card film, a short horror drama called “The Crypt Club” (www.thecryptclub.com). It did extremely well on the international festival circuit. That led to the creation of the short horror film compilation project “AAAAAH!! Indie Horror Hits” (www.aaaaah-films.com).

Now, in addition to “AAAAAH!! Indie Horror Hits”, I’m focusing on developing script ideas into a feature film. Probably something dark…

          A: I got my first job in the film business through a government sponsored apprentice placement program. You earned $100 a week for three months, and you had to find a company to take you on board as a free trainee. I landed an office P.A. (Production Assistant) position on a nature documentary series, “Lorne Greene’s New Wilderness”. I got them to kick in a monthly transit pass to supplement the token salary that the government paid out.

I ran films to the labs, answered phones, and translated documents - whatever was needed. Because the placement was only for 90 days I took full advantage and learned everything I could from the producers, writers, and film editors. My curiosity and organizing skills paid off. At the end of the term an opening came up and I became the Production Coordinator in charge of shipping and the company’s extensive film archive.

My first day on a professional film set was eye opening. For one establishing shot I had to run 50 yards ahead of Lorne Greene (star of “Bonanza” and the original “Battlestar Galactica”) chucking slices of bread to attract birds so they’d land in frame as he walked pensively along the shore. Ah, the glamour of it all…

I’ll never forget that my parents watched the show to see my name scroll up the screen. Because they didn’t know how to set their VCR they took a flash picture of the screen when my credit appeared. My dad could finally point to something I’d done.

          A: “The Crypt Club” is a dark, cautionary tale of three teenage girls who go into a deserted cemetery for a midnight initiation that will challenge each girl’s conscience – with horrific results.

As my Director of Photography, Walter Pacifico, told me while we were planning the film, “This is not a short film. It’s a short feature.” And he’s right. We worked on it like a feature film rather than as a short film. We aimed for atmosphere and acting over special effects and gore so the drama would play out in the viewer’s imagination. There’s nothing scarier than what you can imagine. Many horror films forget this.

“The Crypt Club” was physically challenging to make. It was all exterior night shooting in November. I’m eternally grateful to our generous suppliers and to the cast and largely volunteer crew that stuck through every hardship - including a blizzard and sub-zero temperatures – to complete the filming. The cast includes Alison Pill, who’s making quite a name for herself on stage and in films. She was nominated for a 2006 Tony Award, and has appeared in films like “Milk”, “Dan In Real Life”, “Pieces of April”, “Dear Wendy”, and “Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen”.

“The Crypt Club” screened at over 45 festivals worldwide, winning 18 awards. To date it has earned 18 awards and screened at more than 45 international film festivals on four continents. The film was broadcast in Canada from 2004-7 on CBC's national filmmaker showcase “Canadian Reflections”. It also aired in Buenos Aires, Argentina on the cable channel, Ciudad Abierta.

I’m proud to say that “The Crypt Club” is available on our debut compilation DVD “AAAAAH!! Indie Horror Hits, Volume 1” (www.aaaaah-films.com). A deluxe archival DVD edition of “The Crypt Club” will be coming out soon, with lots of behind the scenes goodies, alternate tracks, and more. To complete the picture there’s also the companion “The Crypt Club Chronicle” book in the works that goes into gruesome detail about how the film was made. There’s a sample chapter available on our web site (www.thecryptclub.com/pages/tcc_chronicle.html).

If you’re curious to see what the film looks like there’s a trailer available at www.thecryptclub.com. Have a look and then let me know what you think via e-mail at info@thecryptclub.com.

          A: A friend and I dared each other to come up with a story for a short calling card film. I used an urban legend that I hadn’t yet seen in a film: the Legend of Black Aggie. I wrote the script over many months while working on set. The legend’s original story usually ends with the discovery of the body, but I wanted to go further and deal with the aftermath; the consequences of the girls’ actions. It rounded out the story and helped increase the body count.

          A: Because I work in the business as an Assistant Director I’m pretty good on the prep and production side of things. But, at the time, the technical details of post-production were not my strong suit. I couldn’t find an editor willing to volunteer, so I learned to do it myself on a friend’s system.

The audio was by far my biggest challenge. That was a huge, steep (and expensive) learning curve. Screening the film in different festival theatres revealed deficiencies in our original mix. We had to clean up the dialogue tracks and re-mix them to put the dialogue front and centre. We also had to compress the soundtrack’s dynamic range so the quiet moments remained audible while the loud moments didn’t blow out the speakers. In the end I did three different ‘final’ mixes to get the sound right.

I’m glad and grateful that we kept at it until we got the audio right. It’s the most overlooked part of any indie production, but it makes a huge difference in how your film is perceived.

          A: Yes. In fact, there two days when I knew the film would be greater than the sum of its parts. The first was when my wife and I went to my composer’s place to hear a first pass of the music and effects tracks set to picture. Nicholas Longstaff did an incredible job creating a female choir and some subtle sound effects that multiplied the film’s effectiveness. We got goose bumps at all the right moments. That’s when I knew the film would work.

The second day was when we test screened the film at the Regent, a local movie theatre that doubles as a mix house. I saw “The Crypt Club” on a big screen for the first time and it looked amazing. That’s when I knew the film had punch. It looked and sounded like a real feature film. Whew!

          A: While I was on the festival circuit I talked with a lot of indie filmmakers with short horror films and found we all shared a common concern: “What do you do with your short horror film after its festival run?” Short horror films have a hard time getting picked up because they don’t typically fit a distributor’s catalogue as a high probability sale item. TV won’t usually buy short horror films, and neither will institutions (hospitals, airlines, schools, prisons, etc.).

I thought that it’s a real shame that so many fans will never see these great short indie horror films because they screen only at festivals – then disappear. So why not bring the best of the festivals to the fans? If K-Tel can create compilation albums from hit singles then I can do the same with short horror films. As a feature-length compilation DVD I can offer horror film fans real value. And it sure beats watching a tinny-sounding low-res version on YouTube.

I came up with the name, “AAAAAH!! Indie Horror Hits”, because a scream translates to every language. And, for practical mercenary reasons, it places the DVD at the top of alphabetical lists.

At one point I thought of having an on-screen host or mascot to introduce the films. But I decided against it so the focus stayed on the films. That’s the origin of the “All Killer – No Filler” tag line.

          A: It’s been a challenge. It took over two years of searching to get enough quality films for the first volume.

So far, the response has been pretty positive. Most filmmakers appreciate that I’m an indie filmmaker too. I’ve been down the same road, and I share the same concerns for my own work as they do for theirs.

That’s why we’re very big on the non-exclusive licensing deal, 50/50 profit participation, and filmmaker ownership. Our filmmakers keep 100% ownership of their films. And they’re free to make other deals or self-distribute if they like. It’s one more way to expand a film’s revenue stream.

I found that filmmakers respond best to a personal approach. I’ll search on-line for indie producers, film festival sites with film listings, horror film reviewer sites - just about anywhere I can think of to find horror titles. If I’m lucky there’s a synopsis and a trailer available on line. Sometimes I’ll get a referral from another filmmaker, a fan, or a festival director. I contact filmmakers one at a time and explain what I’m doing, what the benefits are to them, and I invite them to submit their films. Some filmmakers send their films in right away. With others it can take a few Q&A volleys for them to feel comfortable.

To provide filmmakers with as much information up front as possible I’ve added more answers to our web site’s FAQ page (www.aaaaah-films.com/pages/faq.html).

          A: Definitely. We’re working on AAAAAH!! Indie Horror Hits, Volume 2 as we speak. And after that volume 3, and volume 4, and…

          A: A lot of the actors I’d like to work with are, unfortunately, dead. Lon Chaney, Bela Lugosi, and Vincent Price aren’t returning any of my calls. There are many living actors I’d like to work with, but it would always depend on the script and the role. I haven’t written anything specifically for an actor since I tailored the role of Liesl in “The Crypt Club” for Alison Pill.

          A: We could be here a while. A couple of years ago I created a pair of filmmaker workshops: “Secrets of Successful Auditions” and “Indie Production Planning – Getting Your Day”. Both workshops were developed to help novice filmmakers find their footing in two of the tougher and less covered areas of filmmaking: selecting and working with actors, and the logistics of effective and efficient film production planning.

The difference between a filmmaker and a wannabe filmmaker is making a film. It’s as simple as that. It’s not a career for dilettantes or dabblers.

Unfortunately there’s no simple step-by-step guide to making a film because each film project is unique. If you truly want to make a film you’ll find a way to do it, despite of all the roadblocks and all the naysayers.

Know your audience and keep them foremost in your mind every step of the way. You’re making the film for them.

Be passionate about your project. Passion is contagious and will get people on board who want to create but have no outlet. Part of your passion is to learn as much as you can about the craft, the technology, and the business of filmmaking.

Many filmmakers will focus only on one or two facets of filmmaking. But all three (craft, technology, and business) are critical to your success. If you’re not good at one facet or another find someone who is, team up, and play to your strengths.

Remember that you are just a filmmaker. You are entitled to nothing. Fight for your project, but remain humble and grateful. You can’t make it on your own. Tyrants are often shot in the back by their own people.

Seek out knowledge. There is no shortage of filmmaking information available in books and for free on the Internet. I’ve found many film industry pros are more than happy to share their knowledge and experience if you ask them nicely. ‘Please’ and ‘Thank you’ go a long, long way to making you a better person and filmmaker.

          A: I used to dream of making big Hollywood epics. Love the action adventure genre, too. But these films take a boatload of cash and a studio deal to get going. Then Robert Rodriguez and the rise of digital film technology turned me on to the power of the indie filmmaker to be very hands on and make films that are bigger than the resources available. Creative problem solving is the key. So, I’m re-thinking how to make films and learning the technology to have more control over the sound and image. And thanks to the Internet, there are more marketing and distribution options available to us indie filmmaker types.

          A: Given how exhaustive your obscure film list is, that’s a really tough question. I’ve been influenced by so many films, horror and otherwise. If I had to cite two horror films that influenced “The Crypt Club” I’d have to say Tim Burton’s “Sleepy Hollow” (1999) and Robert Wise’s “The Haunting” (1963). “Sleepy Hollow” was visually rich and served as a point of reference between my Director of Photography, Walter Pacifico, and me.

Wise’s “The Haunting” was key because it creates a great eerie atmosphere and avoids graphic gore. All the frights stem from the audience’s imagination. We couldn’t afford CGI special effects, and we chose not to spend our precious time on set rigging blood gags. The gory stuff happens off-screen, but we showed the aftermath to let the audience’s imagination run.

Both films are worth another look. Just make sure to turn down the lights, turn off the phone, and immerse yourself in the creepiness.

          A: While I get AAAAAH!! Indie Horror Hits rolling on its own steam I’ll get back to writing. There are several feature film ideas that I’ve neglected too long. Don’t want to jinx them by saying too much at this stage. We’ll see how much production work there is this summer. Might get more writing done than I have in a couple of years…

          A: Well, I invite everyone – fans & filmmakers - to check out “AAAAAH!! Indie Horror Hits” www.aaaaah-films.com). If you’re a horror fan you owe it to yourself to check out the work of this next generation of truly independent horror filmmakers. If you’re an indie horror filmmaker we want to see your short films - before they become obscure.

On a personal note, I’m in the middle of restoring a 1949 Henney Packard hearse. I bought it in 2006 and I’ve been slowly taking it apart. It’s a 23-foot long beast. This summer I plan to start rebuilding it, just as slowly. I’m not sure when it’ll be on the road, but watch out!

          A: Okay. Here’s a film I haven’t seen on your on-line list. Years ago a friend showed me a VHS of “Tesis” (Thesis) by Spain's Alejandro Amenábar (“Open Your Eyes”, “The Others”). It follows a grad student working on her thesis about violence in the media. She discovers a snuff film tape in the university’s vaults, and the victim is a student who disappeared two years earlier. I recall it’s more of a thriller than a horror film, but pretty good – especially for a debut film. I’ve only found foreign region DVDs on-line.

On a final note, maybe you or your readers can help me source an obscure film?

I’d love to find a film that I only vaguely recall. I saw it only once on TV when I was a kid. It seems like a Hammer film, but I can’t be sure. It’s set in the late 1800s. The police are transporting a prisoner on a train. They handcuff him to the railing on the caboose platform. He takes a fire axe, chops off his hand and leaps from the train as it’s crossing a bridge. Later he shows up to get his revenge and he’s got an assortment of gruesome interchangeable attachments for the hook at the end of his arm. Wish I could source that film to see if it’s anywhere near as good as I remember it.

Thanks for keeping the search lamps burning on these obscure horror gems.