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Patrick Rea is probably one of my
favorite independent directors at the moment and while all of his
films may not be home runs, he's created a veritable gallery of
short horror and darkly comedic films that have stormed the
worldwide web and spawned a following of folks just waiting his
newest yarn that always ensure surprise twists and turns, sharp
storytelling, and top notch performances. Ambitious and enthusiastic
about his art, director Patrick Rea first started sending us his
short films after we began reviewing the shorts we discovered on the
net and since then has remained a contact for Cinema Crazed. In the
midst of directing his new feature length horror film called "Nailbiter,"
a film that's remained under wraps and mysterious to most online
entities, Patrick Rea took the time out from his hectic shooting
schedule in scorching heat to indulge us in an in-depth interview to
learn where Patrick Rea honed his skills and how he went from film
school student, to Fangoria filmmaker, to co-founder of SenoReality
Pictures. If you haven't seen any of Patrick Rea's short film we
suggest looking for them as they present a keen eye for detail and
dark tones while always ensuring a surprise or two that will leave
you wanting more.
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Patrick Rea
Director, Writer,
Producer
Director of: Get
Off My Porch, Now
That You're Dead, Nailbiter |
Firstly, for those unaware,
what are you all about?
I’m an indie filmmaker based out of the Kansas City
area. I’ve been primarily focused on making films that
are within the horror/sci-fi, most of which are short
films. In 2002, Ryan Jones and I formed our production
company SenoReality Pictures. We’ve since made films
that have screened and film festivals all over the
world. We won a Regional Heartland Emmy in 2008 for our
short film “Woman’s Intuition.” In 2004 we began
production on our first feature “The Empty Acre” which
we shot on an ultra-low budget and in 2007 it received
distribution through Cinema Epoch. Since 2006 we’ve been
making short films in collaboration with Free State
Studios, which is a television studio / production
company in Lawrence, Kansas.
When did you start
directing films, and what inspired you to begin
directing?
I started really making films when I was 17 in high
school. My high school in Schuyler, Nebraska had a
channel that broadcasted from the school to everyone who
had cable in town. That was a fantastic opportunity for
me to learn and once I started getting reactions from
people in town, it was clear that there was only one
thing I wanted to do. As far as being inspired to
direct, it all started as a kid when I was introduced to
“Raiders of the Lost Ark” and “Star Wars” at a very
early age. It wasn’t until I started sneaking around
watching “Friday the 13th” and “A Nightmare on Elm
Street” that my primary interest became horror films. |
Did you attend film school?
I attended film school at the University of Kansas. It was a
great experience and though a lot of people will say that film
school isn’t needed to make films, I’m still working with the
guys I went to school with eight years later. Film School was
very important in forming the friendships and professional
relationships that have been pivotal to making my films.
Is it tough getting a short film off the ground?
It’s tough getting any film off the ground. The issue with short
films is that a lot of people are not sure what your plan is
with the film once it’s finished. A lot of the general public
are not as familiar with shorts as they are full-length
features. However, there is less risk involved with making a
short and sometimes convincing someone to invest in a short is
appealing because they get to make a movie without sinking
millions of dollars into it. Plus, today there are a lot of
venues for short films that weren’t available 15 years ago. I’ve
found that with each short film there are different challenges
that can be frustrating, but make the process all the more
rewarding.
What is the normal budget for
one of your short films?
Most of our short films are shot between $5,000 and $10,000.
That’s to cover 4 days to 5 days of shooting. Since we are
shooting the films in the Kansas City area, we are able to keep
our budgets fairly low. A lot of that comes from the enthusiasm
of everyone in the area who are willing to help be a part of the
projects.
Where do you draw your influences from when you
approach a horror short?
Well, I do draw a lot of my influences from the
Tales from the Crypt TV show and some of the short
stories I used to read by Stephen King. I would love
to do a Stephen King story someday. I would say that
the Twilight Zone has also been an influence on me.
I’m also a huge fan of “Creepshow” which to me is
the best anthology horror film.
Where do you fish for your ideas for your newest
film? What's the creative process there?
Well, it’s strange, because a lot of ideas will come
to me at strange times. So, I always carry a pen
with me and scribble ideas down. As soon as I’m
home, I’ll write them down on the computer to make
sure the idea isn’t lost. A lot of ideas come while
I’m driving or listening to music. The scenarios
will just come to me. I do think that a lot of it
comes from constantly subjecting myself to all
different kinds of films as well. Once I come up
with an idea I try to hammer out the script. Once
that’s complete, I polish the script and decide
whether to forge ahead into pre-production.
Pre-production is where I get very meticulous. From
the completed script, I storyboard every shot myself
before we head into production. For me, creating the
storyboards gets a lot of the kinks out before we
shoot. |
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What was the experience like in
working on the Fangoria Blood Drive Contest?
I was thrilled that some of our early work was selected for the
DVD. In many ways it was a kick in the butt and made me think we
were on the right track. I had just gotten out of film school
and being included on the DVD was a big thrill. I had been
reading Fangoria since I was a kid, so it was a real dream come
true. I think we’ve come a long ways from those early days. Both
of the films included on the DVD were made while we were
students at KU, so they are a little rough around the edges to
say the least.
Is directing a horror short more difficult than directing a
drama or documentary?
I would say that it is more difficult to be taken as serious
as a drama. I think that horror tends to be looked down upon,
which isn’t fair. There can be a lot of drama in horror, so one
cannot exist without the other. I do believe that documentaries
would be more challenging because of all the hours of footage
that you have to search through to form the story, while making
a horror short allows you to clearly layout the story.
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Have you ever considered merging your horror
shorts in to one compilation?
I would love to compile the recent films together.
Of course the main reason for my hesitation is that
some shorts were shot using better equipment and
there is definitely a learning curve to the
production value. We have one anthology out on DVD
from Elite Entertainment titled “Heartland Horrors”.
Some of the shorts on the anthology are pretty fun,
but again there is a huge learning curve because
some of the shorts were made in 2004 and some in
2007. Each short film is a learning experience, so
sometimes it’s hard to put them all together without
seeing that one is superior to the next. I would
love to make a single film like “Creepshow” that has
stories that intertwine and are shot over the same
period, in order to maintain production quality.
Has your fan base grown since you began releasing
your horror shorts?
It has, and I’m extremely thankful. We seem to have
developed a little bit of a following with the
shorts and some people have looked up some of our
older stuff, and seen how far we’ve come over a
short time. We’ve received a ton of press recently
and continue to get support from Fangoria and sites
like Dread Central.com. With our recent short films,
we’ve also had a lot more views online. We’ve also
developed a lot of great relationships with other
filmmakers and horror fans through screening our
films at film festivals and conventions like Cinema
Wasteland or the Weekend of Horrors. |
What
directors have influenced your work since you've started?
Well, being born in 1980, I would be lying if I didn’t say
Steven Spielberg or even George Lucas, but over the years my
influences have mainly come from directors like John Carpenter,
Sam Raimi and David Lynch.
Director Patrick Rea and His
Gallery of Nailbiters Part Two >>
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