Interview with Indie Horror Producer Matt Medisch of The October People

  

*Matt Medisch is the producer of such fare as The Invoking and the recently released The Device.  He is part of the development team for The October People, a Seattle-based production company focused on making indie horror - one of our favorite things here at Fascination with Fear.
I recently got a chance to chat with this lifelong horror fan who has turned his obsession into his career. 

First off, what made you want to get into movie production and why this genre?

I’m a lifelong fan of films and I was always drawn specifically to horror films.  I grew up on serial slashers like Friday the 13^th and Nightmare on Elm Street.  I was haunted for years by films like The Shining and The Changeling and shows like Unsolved Mysteries and the Time Life books on the paranormal just fascinated me.  I even loved to read King and Lovecraft so I guess when it was time to make our first film, horror just seemed like the natural first step.   As far as making movies in the first place I more so fell into it with the guys.  Me and Jeremy Berg (director of The Invoking and The Device) had known each other for years and collaborated off and on over writing.  One night we just decided that it was time to make a feature film, and let nothing stop us.  We soon brought the ideas to John and The October People came to life.

  How do you think THE DEVICE differs from other sci-fi fare? 

Unlike the DVD box art might suggest The Device was never meant to rely on big special effects.  It was a classic horror story that we knew could rely on the characters and most of the horror being implied or happening off screen.  I think that flies in the face of much larger sci-fi films that can often rely on complex visuals, set decoration or monster FX. Jeremy has a very classic approach to film making that blends modern ideas with classic elements that I love. That also means that it won’t cost us an arm and a leg to tell the story.  We can let the actors take the lead not the FX.  In some ways shooting independent films this small forces you to be creative and make a film you want to see with the tools that you have.  As a producer I do love the challenge.

  In my mind, what you don't see in a horror film is much more frightening than what is thrown out in front of you. THE DEVICE employs this tactic throughout most of its running time. Do you think that is more effective for the audience of a sci-fi film? 

I have come to learn that it’s very hard to say what an audience will or won’t like.  There is a huge audience segment out there for in your face FX driven Sci-fi and honestly the slow pace of films requiring the audience to use its imagination drives them crazy.  That being said we tend to make films for ourselves and we are long time Sci-fi and horror fans, film fans.  I believe pretty strongly in the fact that the horrors someone can imagine are always more powerful than what we can show you.  You could give me 10 times the budget to work with and I would still push for the type of filmmaking that includes the audience, makes them think, imagine and not just view.

           As in THE INVOKING, this film develops the characters right away, giving way to emotional upheavals and particularly in THE DEVICE, a whole lot of stress. Though trying to stay a "family unit", the baggage that everyone brings really dredges up a lot of bad memories and unforgiven mistakes. Was it difficult to merge the family drama with the impending doom of the alien aspect? 

I don’t feel like it was, for us it goes hand in hand.  With a well written character life happens before and after the inciting incident of a film.  It only makes sense that that life would continue to play out and effect the characters reactions and judgments to the wild forces and events of the film.  If you make your characters as real as possible, with history, baggage and issues then you can toss them into almost any situation no matter how unreal and they will react in a natural way.  The actors bring a lot of this to the forefront.  You can’t always shoot enough of the drama to explain the characters so often it’s done in small reactions, looks and unspoken moments.

    

The lack of action does set this movie apart from many others, though it is refreshing to have a different perspective in this sub-genre. What is not shown ends up being scarier than what we do see. Do you wish you'd have showed more, or are you satisfied with the end result?

In a film like The Device, a truly independent film with a very small budget, you do always wish you could do more.  At the core, fundamentally “what is not shown ends up being scarier” is something we do live by to a degree.  That being said in script there is a little bit “more” of everything.  We had huge time constraints on this shoot and the director was forced to cut pages and thin out some of the action elements.  Original ideas for the film did have a bit more alien interaction, more with The Device and more detail surrounding the unborn child story line.  These are things that you lose to restrictive budgets and shooting schedules but I was always impressed with how the team could flex around this and make the most of each of the scenes.  I’m a realist and I know as well as anyone the challenges we faced in getting this film done. Because of that I am happy with the end result and proud of this little Alien horror film.  Our cast was just fantastic and I will always enjoy watching them go to work on screen.

      The music was one of my favorite parts of the film. It was both chilling and subtle. Joseph Molner brought something extra in scoring this movie- the music became a character itself. What led to your collaboration? 

I’m a big fan of scores in films so as a producer I’m always willing to support the team in this area.  We had collaborated with Joseph on our first film The Invoking and when it came time for Jeremy’s second film he wanted to work with him again.  They understood each other and with a compressed production timeline that is invaluable.  Jeremy had already spent the time collaborating with Joseph so we could really let him run with the device score and he nailed it.  Jeremy was able to give minimal direction and still get what he wanted from the score.  They seem to be a great fit and we hope to work with him again.

    Production seemed bare-bones but really commanded a creepy feel. Was it just convenience that led you to that location? It had an eerie, early-X-Files feel to it.

Production was bare-bones and we got really lucky when it came to locations.  Often times you don’t have a lot of options but when you scout for a film like The Device you know you only get what’s there.  You have minimal time and budget for set decoration.  Using homes and locations with built in character helps.  I will also give a lot of credit to Jeremy here as the Cinematographer and Chris our Gaffer.  You give someone like that a place with character and he/she can bend it visually to support the feel you want.  I know everyone is glad for the X-Files comparison.    

        Ok, so what WAS The Device? Someone's old Magic 8 ball??

Wow where were you when we were prepping to film?  An old Magic 8 ball would have been a great idea!

This was so much harder that it seemed and hours were spent in a Seattle basement just days before the shoot making about 6 “Devices” for shooting.

Let’s just say this Producer, our Grip and a very nice experienced Painter/Employee at Michael’s helped make it a reality.

That’s the official story for insurance purposes anyway.  The real origin is strictly off the record.

       I was really impressed with THE INVOKING - it was a real slice of slow-burning horror that was both thought-provoking and creepy.  The atmosphere is what I loved best about the film, it's such a rare thing in horror these days.  Is that what The October People is striving for?  Because both THE INVOKING and THE DEVICE have it in droves.

Thank you, it’s great that so many people like yourself have seen and felt that.  For years we would talk about, “where did the atmosphere go in films” - especially in horror.  Did it come from film grain, the locations, the score?  We do strive for that, I know as a director it’s a huge element Jeremy wants his films to be rich in.  So yes we strive to have as much as possible.  It will always be an important element in our films, though admittedly it can be elusive at times.

      

FOUND was one of my favorites last year.  What led to your acquiring the film and getting it released?

The same thing that probably made this one of your favorite films of that year.  Found was special, low budget and as far away from Hollywood as you could ever imagine yet Scott and team made some indie horror movie magic!  We were lucky enough to play side by side with Found in the 2013 International Horror and Sci-fi film festival at the Phoenix film festival.  Found snatched the best horror feature award and rocked my world on the big screen.  It was here I met Scott, Leya and some of the key team behind the film.  They are a great group of filmmakers and we kept in close contact.  This was one of the classic stories of independent filmmakers sticking together and helping each other.  We acquired Found because I believed we could use our experience and connections in the business side of the game to help and save the guys from running the gauntlet of domestic films sales alone.  I personally just feel lucky and honored that we could help and continue to work together to this date.


 Okay, I'll admit - I'm a Bigfoot fan.  How is production on VALLEY OF THE SASQUATCH coming along?  What is the predicted release date - or when will it start at festivals?   
As am I!  I’m really excited for everyone to see Valley of the Sasquatch.  Valley went though it’s final stages of post-production late last year and is just starting it’s festival run.  We premiered at the Nevermore Film festival at the end of February and just got word we will be going to The Crimson Screen Horror Film Fest alongside Headless.  We will be releasing more festival announcements soon.  People interested can follow along on our Facebook page or at Valleyofthesasquatch.com

 What else do we have to look forward to from The October People?

It’s been a wild ride for us from when we decided to get together and make our first film, once called Sader Ridge, but we have a packed 2015 and hope to get the team behind the cameras again on a few projects soon.  Late last year we teamed up with GUT writer/director Elias for his next feature, currently entitled A.  It’s a toughly creepy, seductive, dark and disturbing story about obsession and loss.  We are also looking into a few ideas to reach back to the community of horror film makers and get involved with bringing more great indie film work to light.  More information on our projects will always show up on our webpage theoctoberpeople.net and via Facebook. 

The Device (2014) : Indie Sci-Fi Packs An Unsettling Punch

I love indie horror.  It's not that I don't enjoy mainstream films as well, because I do.  But give me a good indie film the likes of Absentia, The Pact, Lake Mungo, or The Invoking (from the same writer/director team as this film), and I'm really in my element.  Indie horror evokes a certain bare-bones feel that a big Hollywood production just can't emulate.  So when I was asked to take a look at the newest offering from The October People, The Device, I happily agreed.

Co-written by Jeremy Berg and John Portanova and blending elements of sci-fi, horror and let's face it, family drama, director Berg's The Device moves away from conventional films in several directions.  I'm not an especially big sci-fi fan, but when it's done right I enjoy the hell out of it and count Alien (1979), Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978), and 2009's Moon as three of my most favorite films, any genre.  I also really enjoyed the recent Dark Skies (2013) and am one of the biggest fans of The X-Files perhaps ever. So though I don't exclusively seek out science fiction, I do love sci-fi done well.

The Device teases us with the possibility of aliens, but doesn't base the film on the search for extraterrestrials like so many films before it.  It first wounds our emotions and forces us to care about the people involved in the story, instead of just throwing some little green men our way.  We come to have a vested interest in who may be getting hurt by what is going on, instead of trying to find out where they came from and what they want.  This change-up in format and technique is welcome and leads to a more personal film, despite the scares.

Abby (Angela DiMarco) and her fiance Calvin (David S. Hogan) are picking up Abby's sister Rebecca (Kate Alden) after the death of their mother.  The two women are set to release their mother's ashes at a family cabin by a lake.  The sisters haven't seen much of each other and it's obvious the duo has baggage, both from their own relationship and the one they shared with their mother. We learn Rebecca had been kidnapped and apparently assaulted by an ex-boyfriend when she was young while at the cabin, so the place understandably has bad memories for her. But Abby wants to try to help Rebecca push past those memories- to put them behind her.  Both sisters are trying to get back to a semblance of normalcy, and think this weekend of closure will help.

After dispersing the ashes into the lake, Rebecca heads off into the woods with Abby anxiously following after her. They find what looks to be a plane wreckage of some sort and Abby then discovers a sphere-like black orb and shows it to Rebecca, who immediately says they need to go back to the cabin and leave the wreckage alone. Something sharp on the sphere jags Abby, making her hand bleed. When she looks up, Rebecca passes out. Back at the cabin with Rebecca safely in bed, Calvin and Abby discuss the device, wondering what it is for and where it came from. Calvin's mind focuses on money, and he can't wait to see what it could be worth.

When Rebecca discovers that the device is in the cabin, she freaks out and starts saying they should not have brought it back with them and that she wants to go home.  Calvin and Abby privately discuss how they can help Rebecca face her demons and move on, as a family.  But that night Abby has a vivid yet eerie dream in which Rebecca warns her they must leave the cabin, disturbing her enough that the next morning they pack up and head home.

Settling into her sister's home becomes a problem when Rebecca discovers that Calvin has brought the strange device home from the cabin.  Arguments ensue about what the device is and how dangerous it may be, and as freaked out as Rebecca is you begin to wonder if she has seen something similar before, and we start thinking there is more to her "kidnapping" than meets the eye.  When Abby receives a call from their mother's sister Linda, it's a heated argument, with their aunt more than just a little pissed that they've been up at the cabin.  She is entirely pissed that Abby took Rebecca there and tells her to send her home on the first bus back to Louisville, which Abby blatantly ignores.

Abby continues to have disturbing dreams at night, with each one becoming more and more upsetting.  She feels certain an alien-like presence is in the room with her,  watching her...wanting something.  She becomes convinced that the device has something to do with it, and begs Calvin to get rid of it.  But Calvin is allowing himself to be completely obsessed with the orb and its powers.  His personality begins changing the more he handles it, and he even starts having conversations with it - or whomever is controlling it.  Rebecca, seeing what is going on around her escalating to dangerous proportions, finally comes forward and explains that it wasn't her boyfriend Chuck that abducted and assaulted her all those years ago....

As in Berg's last film, The Invoking, he has a great talent of evoking a really unsettling vibe just by showing dark woods, empty fields, strange lights, serene lakes.  The tall trees become sinister, a slight breeze foreboding. His characters have interesting back stories and face real-life problems that end up intermingling with whatever type of horror they are facing.  It's not a fast-paced film, and in fact may be too slow for action-hounds who like their sci-fi a little more Aliens than Moon.  But it will get under your skin if you let it.  Which let's face it, we want it to be an unnerving peek into a world we don't understand, just like all other sci-fi strains to do.

The actors in The Device are totally capable and come off as people you would be friends or neighbors with, in particular the two female leads.  They are quite convincing as sisters trying to reconnect and more importantly deal with a long ago trauma that led to their separation.  Their angst about this crossroad in their relationship is one of the best parts of the movie.

Special effects here are minimal, but seeing an alien shrouded in a misty fog enhances the age-old rule of what you can't see is scarier than what is right in front of you.  Sometimes just a quick glance out of the corner of their eye - did they just see something? - is more terrifying than witnessing something the eye is meant to see head on.  This movie is certainly more about relationships and facing truths than it is about alien abductions.  But the building tension of not knowing just what is "out there" leads perfectly into the discovery of what they really do need to be afraid of.  I'd be remiss if I didn't mention the eerie score by Joseph Molner.  It's absolute perfection in it's subtlety, and I'd love to get my hands on it.

The Device is yet another solid film from The October People, combining unnerving sci-fi elements with a  depth of characters you will actually care about when they face the dreadful circumstances thrown at them for not following their gut instincts and turning back, deciding instead to pry into worlds unknown, with a devastating outcome.