Originally from Los Angeles, Tim Aslin and Shane Cibella have been directing, writing, and producing together for over a decade, culminating in the creation of their production company Silent Thunder Films. Recently releasing their short “5.7 Seconds” which is set to debut at LAFF this year.
Do you have a background working in the horror genre?
TIM ASLIN
5.7 Seconds serves as my first official foray into the horror genre, but as a lifetime lover of horror, I’ve dreamed of making horror films since a very young age. I’ve spent countless hours combing over horror films and went so far as to start a podcast centered around the horror genre with over 200 episodes called Dismembering Horror.
SHANE CIBELLA
I’ve worked as an actor on some horror films, which were a blast to shoot. “Frathouse Massacre” and “Wicked Business” were both filmed in Ohio before I moved to LA permanently. ‘5.7 Seconds’ marks my debut as a writer and director in this genre.
What is horror to you, and what do you think makes a work of art in the horror genre?
TA
Horror has always been an exploration of humanity for me. A window into our deepest fears and fantasies, that speaks to what makes us tick as a society and as individuals. Any horror film that can force you to look at your own mortality, feel the primal components of living, and potentially dying in the world, tends to stand as a work of art in horror for me.
SC
Horror to me is tapping into that primal fear that we have as humans across all cultures. No one can really escape it, and it can be inserted into any genre and work.
Who or what inspired your love for the art of filmmaking?
TA
I’ve simply always been compelled to tell stories, it’s part of who I am, and as a massive consumer of film, I naturally gravitated toward that medium to express the stories I wanted to tell. Art was always central in my upbringing, whether through drawing, photography, or film, I found visual canvases to be where I best expressed myself.
SC
When you watch a film and everything clicks—the writing, acting, directing, music, and camera work—you get fully immersed into the story.
Where did you get your inspiration for “5.7 Seconds”?
TA
Over the past number of years, I couldn’t help but notice a trend in the stories that the women in my life were repeatedly telling. Stories of how they live in a world that often perpetrates violence or the threat of violence against them. Not having had that experience myself, I wanted to dive into what they had been experiencing, the daily considerations, anxieties, and preparations they had to take simply to just walk out into the world. I felt that if I could capture those feelings then maybe more people would be able to relate.
What inspired your penning of “5.7 Seconds”?
TA
Having just finished directing my third short film, all scripts written by other writers, I wanted to finally direct a film that I had conceived of myself, in the genre that I most love. I had also been watching a lot of old Twilight Zone episodes, so that gave me a fair amount of inspiration to sit down and start writing.
SC
Tim approached me with the initial draft, and I was immediately drawn to the powerful themes and the opportunity to bring a unique blend of action and emotional depth to the story. There are also some personal reasons for wanting to bring this to life.
Why did you pick a car of all places to act as the ultimate boiling point for these characters?
TA
Choosing the car as the setting was incredibly important and purposeful for me. So often in media, the parked car, especially in classic film, is depicted as a refuge for young romance to blossom. I wanted to turn that completely on its head. If the car usually represents freedom and opportunity, I wanted to make it a trap and a cage, rife with claustrophobia and danger. The goal being to show that the world we live in demands context, and the lens through which that context is viewed matters. I wanted to subvert the meaning of a young woman and a young man together in a parked car.
SC
That was a main staple in Tim’s original draft. It was exciting and challenging to make it interesting throughout, without being able to cut outside until the last act.
Are you Working in any other genres or have aspirations to?
TA
The Horror genre is where I’ve always wanted to be, and with no shortage of terrifying ideas, it’s where I plan to stay.
SC
The vengeance thriller genre, which will have many components of horror as retribution is attained.
Who are some of the directors or writers that you look up to and who do you want to bring attention to in your field or others?
TA
Sam Raimi’s Evil Dead films were probably my first major inspiration. And of course, the greats like Carpenter, Romero, Hitchcock… But there are amazing new horror icons like Ari Aster, Julia Ducournau, Panos Cosmatos, Mimi Cave, Robert Eggars, Prano Bailey-Bond, Brandon Cronenberg, Rose Glass, and Jordan Peele just to name a few.
SC
The last two I’ve watched this week are Quentin Tarantino and Sergio Leone. I have an affinity for writers who direct the story they create. There are so many good filmmakers; go to your local film festival in your favorite genre block and enjoy.
What are you currently working on that you can tell us about?
TA
I have completed two new feature horror scripts that I hope to get out into the world soon. One is a Psychological Horror revolving around a 20-year High School Reunion loosely based on the town I grew up in, and the other is a disturbingly dark Family Horror Thriller set out in the flat lands of Middle America.
SC
I’m currently working on a feature film vengeance thriller series. Part 1 is fully developed and follows a determined CEO, burdened by guilt, who wages a violent crusade of vengeance against the corrupt board members responsible for contaminating her family’s water supply, leading to the deaths of her
husband and daughter.
What advice do you have for aspiring filmmakers or creators?
TA
Write your ideas down immediately and get out there to make them in whatever form you can. Each attempt and each idea is valid, it’s in the doing and making that you will find your way. Forget about perfection, don’t be afraid to ask for help, and get it made.
SC
Find the idea that inspires you the most, and focus on that one. A lot of people in this industry just talk about what they are doing; finish the thing, then talk about it.