An Interview with Kim Garland [Women in Horror Month 2018]

Kim Garland is a film writer and director with a love for horror. Her latest short Body Image is poignant and very real. She is a talented woman who will make serious waves in the future.

Kim, please tell us what attracts you to horror, why you work under its umbrella?
I’ve been a fan of horror since I was a kid. At first, I was attracted to the scares, the spectacle, and the taboo content.

As I got older, I started to see more of the subtext and how in the right hands horror can be an incredible way to tell a story metaphorically. Horror offers a world of myths and magic and monsters that pairs so well with revealing themes and universal truths in a compelling way.

When I started making work of my own, my writing leaned toward darker subject matter and once I started directing it was clear horror was a great match for my creative interests and my personal style.

Your work, particularly with Body Image, is involved and a little bit in your face, tackling strong issues, from a female viewpoint. Do you believe showing the audience is sometimes necessary to reach, to connect with them, to make a point?
Graphic imagery is very powerful and can deeply affect an audience. It’s how and when you use it that determines how much impact it will have.

I tried to use gore in “Body Image” to show the character’s emotional state and how her eating disorder is ravaging her psyche.

The film is meant to create a visceral experience and the graphic images allowed me to pull the audience deeper into the character’s point of view.

What would you say to a starting horror female filmmaker that you wish had been told to you early on in your career?
I’d say to embrace multiple sub-genres — horror is such a rich world and you can explore a lifetime of stories through the incredibly varied lens of horror.

Also to find like-minded filmmakers to work with and play with as soon as possible. Start your own coven.

How important is the Women in Horror Month movement to you?
I think it’s great. It’s fun and informative and gets people to watch and read more varied horror – what’s not to love!

In honor of celebrating Women in Horror Month, who do you believe viewers should keep an eye on in terms of the creative ladies in horror?
I’m looking forward to Jovanka Vuckovic’s Riot Girls and Jenn Wexler’s The Ranger coming out soon. And whatever’s next on the docket for Jill Sixx Gevargizian, Gigi Saul Guerrero, and Izzy Lee, you can count me in.

What do you have coming soon that you can talk to us about?
I’m developing two new projects, a feature film and a TV series. The feature is a ghost story titled Intangible and is about a team of extreme paranormal investigators. The series is called Final Death and is set in the world of the undead that I introduced in my Resurrection Trilogy of short films.

You can also learn more about my latest projects, screenings, and events at my website www.kgarland.com