Interview with "In Memorium" Director Amanda Gusack

Many filmmakers send Cinema Crazed horror films, and working at Film Threat, I get to review many independent horror films that are either mediocre, or pure garbage, but most recently we were given the chance to view “In Memorium”, and we were optimistic that there are still directors out there who know how to get it right. “In Memorium” (Review) is one of the newest productions from director Amanda Gusack, an artist who seeks to grab audiences through story and psychological terror.

Gusask’s film is utterly simplistic, but so terrifying by relying on shadows and darkness to do the tricks that computers can not accomplish, “In Memorium” is a testament to how horror can still be accomplished without any computers of gimmicks, and we asked Ms. Gusack for an interview to shed some insight on her project, her history in and love for horror, and how a low budget resulted in one hell of a horror film.

If “In Memorium” (Trailer) is any indicator, Ms. Gusack has much more scares to share for us, and we’ll be waiting on edge for it. Warning though, there are some spoilers to the film’s surprise twist, so be cautious:

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Horrors of War (2006)

Directors Peter John Ross and John Whitney have a grasp on what horror is, and that’s a plus when you’re watching “Horrors of War”, a pretty intense piece of independent horror that will surely get your goat. If the bad-ass cover doesn’t sell you, I don’t know what will. The directors begin “Horrors of War” very much like “Saving Private Ryan” with a massive shoot-out between the Americans and Nazi soldiers, and then suddenly the American troop is attacked by a near invincible zombie. At that moment I found that “Horrors of War” wasn’t simply any horror film, and that’s why it won me over.

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Snakes on a Plane (2006)

snakes-on-a-plane-2006Samuel L. Jackson has just bought himself a heaping helpful of infamy and prestige shamelessly bragging about and spearheading one of the most ludicrous ad campaigns ever enlisted for such a ridiculous movie. I admit I was one of the many who thought the hype, jokes, spoofs, et al were all overblown for what could have been a mediocre big budget crap fest. But you know what? When all was said and done, I’d rather have a fun ridiculous original film, then another remake of a childhood classic. And that’s what invariably won me over on “Snakes on a Plane”.

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Evil Aliens (2005)

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About five minutes into Jake West’s “Evil Aliens”, I was already sinking low into my seat wondering what I was watching. It begins as a simple horror film. Two people are having sex. And they’re abducted. The man then experiences one hell of a violent anal probe that tops off the sick fuck fest known as “Evil Aliens”, and I was having fun. Led by an utterly vivacious news reporter (Emily Booth), a group of cameramen and reporters head out into the countryside to investigate a case of abduction, and alien pregnancy they suspect is bogus, that will essentially lead to one hell of a bloody skirmish that makes up most of “Evil Aliens”.

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Silent Hill (2006)

Rose_looks_around_for_SharoChristophe Gans’ depiction of the “Silent Hill” video game is really above dreck like “Doom” and “Resident Evil”. It’s a very popular series of games that are basically just a woman looking for her daughter in the ghost infested abandoned town, as she battles demons and tries to decrypt a mystery. Instead of adhering to the game and letting its formulas trap it down, it instead attempts to break out. It sticks true to the source material and also delves deep into focusing on an actual story and deep characterization in spite of its failings. Though there’s yet to be an actual video game adaptation that’s been fantastic, “Silent Hill” works because it dares to challenge its conventions of the video game world.

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In Memorium (2005)

inmemorium-posterDirector Amanda Gusack creates a film very much in the vein of “Blair Witch Project”, and from the get go there’s this sense of pure dread and impending doom that’s presented with a stark gray ambiance. The character Dennis is dying from terminal bone cancer that is eating away at his body. He and his wife (the gorgeous Johanna Watts) move into a new home they then rig with various cameras to film every one of his developments and movements to chronicle and possibly create as a documentary for his legacy and his wife to bank off of. But this documenting is interrupted with something ever more sinister.

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Monster House (2006)

MV5BMTQyNzM3MTYyMl5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTYwMjYyOTY2._V1_SX640_SY720_It’s amazing what great voice acting, engaging characters, and wonderful animation can do for a film, isn’t it? When all is said and done “Monster House” is enough of a horror film to please the open-minded horror fan, and enough of a children’s film to keep them utterly entertained. I admit to writing off “Monster House” upon its arrival, only because while the film is wonderful, the story isn’t exactly original (ahem—Robert Wise’s “The Haunting”, anyone?), but the combination of a strong script, and truly down to Earth characters make “Monster House” a short but very entertaining piece of horror fantasy that reaches down into really human themes of loneliness, death, and puberty. What many will enjoy about this film is that it’s very much in the spirit of classics like “The Monster Squad” and “The Goonies”, in which we have a small group of kids whom are also outcasts that have to take on a giant obstacle when no one will stand in and help them out.

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