![\"\"](\"http:\/\/i.imgur.com\/Uhh4zXi.jpg\")
Hello, Ms. Gusack, how are things?<\/strong>\nThings are great! Thanks for asking.<\/p>\n
Where did the idea for “In Memorium” stem from?<\/strong> Was the semi-documentary style planned or a result of a low budget?<\/strong> Was there any trepidation creating “In Memorium” as a film within a film, after its predecessors already basically covered almost everything in the genre?<\/strong> Do you feel had it been done in a pure film style, the same dread and atmosphere would have been retained and still resonated with audiences?<\/strong> Do you find your film being compared to similar popular genre pieces like “My Little Eye”, or “Blair Witch Project”? And, is that a flattering prospect?<\/strong> I’ve been viewing the copy you sent to us with my friends, and the feedback consisted of two constant comments: It was well done, and it was very scary. Why do you think “In Memorium” can reach down and scare people when many modern films just can’t accomplish that?<\/strong> I can only speak to what scares me personally, but I think some modern horror films focus more on plot stingers and moment-to-moment scares, rather than developing a primal or personal theme that evolves throughout the story. As a result, sometimes it\u2019s harder to buy into those worlds, especially when those films become copies of each other.<\/p>\n Really scary, effective movies, for me, often involve some lack of control and\/or parasitism, whether physical or psychological: The Exorcist (invasion of soul), Alien (invasion of body), Poltergeist (invasion of home and family) The Shining (confinement), Frailty (trust\/faith), etc.<\/p>\n For me, \u201cIn Memorium\u201d carries the creepiness of sickness\/decay. I think, to some extent, we\u2019re all afraid of dying, because we have no control over it. It\u2019s pretty terrifying to think about.<\/p>\n You seem to have a history with the horror genre judging by your bio.<\/strong> Do you find it’s easier to create a horror film more than it is creating a drama or a comedy, or is it all basically an arduous process?<\/strong> How long did it take to film?<\/strong> Did neighbors or anyone seem to have a problem with the film being shot in your home?<\/strong> How long did the script take to write?<\/strong> You seem to rely on old factory devices like creaks, shadows, and bumps as opposed to attempting CGI or computer animation (which I thank you for), was this a result of the low budget or was it planned?<\/strong> I found “In Memorium” was really similar to the original “The Haunting” in which we’re told what’s hiding in this house, but never see what it is that’s terrorizing these people. Was this premeditated?<\/strong> This is kind of a cheesy question, but I have to ask:<\/strong> Did you consider adding a score for “In Memorium”, or did you want to retain its realism without it?<\/strong> How long have you been in the film industry, and what was your early career like?<\/strong> Are you a horror fan?<\/strong> What facet of the horror film genre would you most like to attempt in the future?<\/strong> What are some of your favorite horror films and or literature?<\/strong> If you could work with anyone from Hollywood, who would it be?<\/strong> Do you believe in ghosts and all that jazz?<\/strong> Does Casper scare you?<\/strong> Beat you to it. Thanks for the words.<\/strong> I read on your website that you’re seeking DVD distribution. How has that been for you?<\/strong> What projects do you currently have lined up, if you’re willing to share?<\/strong> Many thanks for the interview, Ms. Gusack.<\/strong> So, there you have it. Our many endless thanks go out to director Amanda Gusack who, even though still hasn\u2019t seen the original \u201cThe Haunting\u201d, is still a very good sport, and a kind person for providing us with the interview. If you want to check out \u201cIn Memorium\u201d will be screening at the upcoming Shriek Fest, and if you\u2019re around that area we suggest attending. But if you can\u2019t, just take our word for it, \u201cIn Memorium\u201d is an excellent horror film.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" 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 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[285,302,359,370,477,501,1008,1087],"class_list":["post-1086","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-interviews","tag-directing","tag-drama","tag-filmmaking","tag-found-footage","tag-horror","tag-indie-film","tag-supernatural","tag-thriller"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1086","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1086"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1086\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1086"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1086"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1086"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nThe idea for \u2018In Memorium\u2019 came from a drive to the doctor\u2019s office. I thought, \u2018What if I find out I\u2019m dying?\u2019 and it kind of evolved from there. I kind of get all my ideas from some paranoid tangent, which is nicely settling in the moment. The other half of the idea came when I decided to write a script to shoot entirely within my house. I pulled the \u2018dying\u2019 idea from the back of my brain and thought it would fit really well.<\/p>\n
\nIt was planned as a result of a low budget. Basically we knew the following: We had to shoot on video. We had one location. We couldn\u2019t shoot outside b\/c we couldn\u2019t control the visuals beyond our property line. Music was expensive, and we need a story that would work better with unknown actors. Rather than let these things be limitations, I wanted to find a story that would only work with these things; Let the limitations frame, and pretty much design, the story.<\/p>\n
\nNot really, because it was designed to be different from its predecessors, and because Blair Witch carved out such a huge dent in the \u2019reality\/horror\u2019 subgenre, that it made this type of story \u2018receivable\u2019 to an audience. I think it helped us much more than it could have hurt us.<\/p>\n
\nI don\u2019t think so. This story was written to be bare in every capacity. I really believe horror works best when it reminds us of moments of perfect vulnerability; Fears that seep from the primal mind in the dark and the silence. With this film, I really wanted create the sensory experiences of those moments as much as possible, so less was definitely more.<\/p>\n
\nPeople have mentioned both of those movies, and it\u2019s very flattering. “Blair Witch” was really influential and inspiring. It served as a model for what could terrify people with absolute minimalism–video, no music, etc.<\/p>\n
\nThank you for the compliments! That makes me so happy.<\/p>\n
\nI love horror and thriller. Not straight gore, although I\u2019m not against it. It\u2019s just not as fascinating to me as the psychological fears that resonate from the characters to the audience. With horror, you have the opportunity to create a huge need in a character, above and beyond normal life, but directly relating to it. You can make the stakes so high that the characters must either change or die.<\/p>\n
\nSince this is the first feature I directed, I can really only answer that in terms of writing. Each genre has its own pace and tone, which pretty much designates what kind of detail you can put into a movie. For me, horror is drama with fantasy layered in. In writing it, I approach the same way as drama, with respect to overall structure and character development, and then play with color, mood, tempo, style to specify the tone.<\/p>\n
\n18 days.
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n
\nOur next door neighbor thought we were shooting porn. Everyone else was fine with it.<\/p>\n
\nAbout 2 months for the first draft, with a week here and there to address our awesome producers\u2019 notes.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/i.imgur.com\/TVYIhzV.jpg\")
Did the actors adhere to the script you wrote, or were the cast given room to improvise?<\/strong>
\nBecause the continuity was so important with this story, there wasn\u2019t a huge amount of improvisation. During rehearsals, the actors asked me a lot of questions that resulted in dialogue changes and modifications here and there. We had such smart and sensitive performers whose input in rehearsals was crucial. While we were shooting, there were a few changes and omissions, but nothing terribly major.<\/p>\n
\nBoth. For me, noticeable CGI really detracts from horror, because it reminds you that you\u2019re in a movie, and therefore that you\u2019re safe. We had some effects in this film\u2014simple mattes and overlaps, but they were designed to be totally seamless.<\/p>\n
\nThis is really bad\u2014I\u2019ve never seen the original \u201cThe Haunting.\u201d It\u2019s on my list with a lot of other films that I\u2019m very bad for not having watched yet. I still have college nightmares of watching \u2018Citizen Kane\u2019 on hard seats that I told the teachers gave us bedsores. However, that is an astronomical compliment. A few people have recommended \u201cThe Haunting\u201d to me as one of the scariest movies they\u2019ve seen.<\/p>\n
\nDid anything weird or unusual occur during filming? If not, then can you make something up for our readers to enjoy?<\/strong>
\nThe whole time we were filming I joked to the actors and crew that we needed some kind of curse. I know my house, and I feel very safe in it, so I wasn\u2019t too concerned that it would happen. However, one night when we were creating a \u2018burn print\u2019 of a female form (with dirt and water), the house caught on fire inside a wall outlet. Coincidence? Probably. But it was weird, and we were all spooked.<\/p>\n
\nI considered it after an early cut, which was 10 minutes longer than our picture lock. We\u2019d gotten some really perceptive notes that certain moments could move faster, and in addition to cutting, some music might help. After listening to a bunch of scores, and not finding anything that would work, I decided to focus strictly on the pace problem.\u00a0 We found a sound designer to create kind of an internal score\u2014atmospheric \u2018music\u2019 using the tones of the house, which is so delicious because there\u2019s no indication of when bad things are going to happen.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/i.imgur.com\/UyHsZ8J.jpg\")
What has been the general reaction to your film? I personally loved it.<\/strong>
\nThanks! So far, we\u2019ve had awesome compliments. No one\u2019s spat in my face or kicked me. I\u2019m really thrilled with the response so far. I love to hear that it keeps people awake at night.<\/p>\n
\nI started writing in college and spent four years writing two scripts, both of which were pretty bad. But I learned an incredible amount writing them. I\u2019m 31 now, and have been writing pretty consistently from the time I started, almost selling something here and there, but never quite breaking in. I shot a short in \u201999, and decided to write \u201cIn Memorium\u201d after I spent a year away from the business in\u2019 03. Now I\u2019m all revved up again, and I\u2019ve had the joy of actually directing one of my scripts. So I\u2019m pretty psyched to move forward on the next project.<\/p>\n
\nI love horror that really utilizes symbolism and character at its core. I think \u201cA Nightmare on Elm Street\u201d is such brilliant concept and terrifying film, because it turns normal adolescence and parent\/child complexities into source of death for the children. It also confines the characters to an untouchable, internal world. They can\u2019t reach out or call for help. They can\u2019t be saved, because they\u2019re submerged in their own subconscious.<\/p>\n
\nIt depends. I\u2019m still freaked out by the idea of possession to the point that I won\u2019t even write about it. Which means, eventually I\u2019ll have to.<\/p>\n
\nOf course Stephen King. The Ring, Poltergeist, Frailty, Something Wicked this Way Comes. I\u2019ve finally read some of Ray Bradbury\u2019s prose, which is so stunning. It clings to the mind. You can\u2019t peel it off after reading it.<\/p>\n
\nIf I could just sit down for an hour with any of these people, I\u2019d be in Hollywood Heaven: Wes Craven, James Cameron, Gore Verbinski, The Wachowski Brothers, Chris Nolan, Kathryn Bigelow, Bryan Singer, Ridley Scott, Hilary Seitz, Bill Pope, Hans Zimmer, John Williams, Kate Bush ( though not in Hollywood). Actors: Kate Blanchett, Benicio Del Toro, Hugh Jackman, Jennifer Connelly\u2026 The list goes on for days.<\/p>\n
\nI definitely believe in jazz. I believe in ghosts. I pretty much believe in anything and everything, depending on the time of day and what I\u2019m thinking about.<\/p>\n
\nCasper scares the crap out of me.
\nSince most people probably haven’t had the thrill of seeing “In Memorium”, can you sell the film to catch their interest?
\nI don\u2019t know if I can sum it up any better than your review. You might just have to link to it here.<\/p>\n
\nAre you entering this film in any new festivals?<\/strong>
\nNot as many now. We just got the word that we\u2019ll be playing in Shriekfest, which we\u2019re really psyched about, and we\u2019re still waiting to hear from a few more.<\/p>\n
\nIt takes time. There\u2019s so many indies out there waiting to be watched by execs, and you just have to be patient.
\nSince it’s sadly not on DVD yet, how can people get a hold of, or watch “In Memorium”?
\nCome see us at Shriekfest. The festival runs from September 22-October 1st in Los Angeles. You can find out more at the official website. They\u2019ll be posting the schedules soon, and we\u2019ll put the screening information on our website as soon as we have it.<\/p>\n
\nI\u2019ve just written a new thriller that I\u2019m really excited about. I can\u2019t say more yet, but I\u2019ll let you know when it\u2019s finished.<\/p>\n
\nMy pleasure! Thank you guys!!<\/p>\n