{"id":24229,"date":"2017-02-14T06:02:44","date_gmt":"2017-02-14T11:02:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/?p=24229"},"modified":"2017-02-14T01:46:16","modified_gmt":"2017-02-14T06:46:16","slug":"an-interview-with-filmmaker-izzy-lee-wihm-2017","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/2017\/02\/14\/an-interview-with-filmmaker-izzy-lee-wihm-2017\/","title":{"rendered":"An Interview with Filmmaker Izzy Lee [WiHM 2017]"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Izzy Lee is a filmmaker, writer, and reviewer. Her films made through her production company Nihil Noctem Films are often nihilistic, funny, and caustically appropriate for our times.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Izzy, please tell us a bit about what drives you to create films and write.
\n<\/strong>Usually, it\u2019s my anger. If there\u2019s something going on that upsets me, I\u2019ll write something about it \u2014 and there\u2019s a lot to be upset about these days. That\u2019s the case with Legitimate, Picket, Postpartum, Rites of Vengeance, and Invisible Friend. Other times, I\u2019ll adapt something written by a friend like Chris Hallock, who wrote For A Good Time, Call\u2026 and A Favor, which is hilarious. In that case, I needed a break from my usual politically driven films, and it was the perfect opportunity to get in some breathing room with some horror comedy, played to perfection by my lead Shaun Callaghan.<\/p>\n

Why do you think you find yourself working in the horror genre?
\n<\/strong>The world is horror. You can\u2019t get away from it, no matter how hard you try. Even on vacation recently, I occasionally checked my email and especially on Facebook, every day was (and still is) \u201cWTF Day.\u201d<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve been drawn to horror as soon as I knew what it felt like to be afraid, so we\u2019re old buddies. There\u2019s both a comfort and an adrenaline rush in fear. It also serves as psychological boot camp.<\/p>\n

As a horror filmmaker, what inspires you?
\n<\/strong>Well, current events, as you might guess. I also find a lot of foreign horror films inspiring because they don\u2019t usually have to follow the Hollywood scare tropes or formulas.<\/p>\n

What are some of your big influences? Why do they resonate with you?
\n<\/strong>Cronenberg, Carpenter, David and Jen Lynch, AIP Corman\/Poe\/Price films, and Hammer Horror. They all resonate with me for different reasons. Carpenter is a fucking master at what he does. The Thing is a perfect film, probably my favorite of all time. Cronenberg is more clinical, but his early efforts in body horror scarred me; I don\u2019t really want to get into why, but The Brood is one of my favorite films because of how hard it hits home.<\/p>\n

The Lynch clan is phenomenal at what they do. Just watch Mulholland Dr.<\/em><\/a> and tell me that\u2019s not the quintessential depiction of the downfall of the American Dream. Jen\u2019s Surveillance and Chained are master classes in dread and suspense. Goddamn, that woman can direct.<\/p>\n

The AIP Corman\/Poe\/Price films and Hammer Horror films were and are comfort food to me. There\u2019s something so comforting about those lush velvet frocks, those Gothic castles, and well, Vincent Price, Peter Cushing, and Christopher Lee. I like to think of them all as horror grandpas.<\/p>\n

As a woman in a still male-dominated genre, what does the Women in Horror Month movement mean to you?
\n<\/strong>It\u2019s a spotlight that shines on a different and exciting perspective. The work I see other women creating is creative as hell and I love it. It\u2019s really invigorating the horror genre. I\u2019m happy to say that I have support from both genders. Horror fans are addicts; I know because I\u2019m one of them. We constantly search out new things to scare out and will champion the film\/filmmaker that delivers it, regardless of race, origin, gender, etc.<\/p>\n

That said, I do see my male counterparts having a far easier time getting work, whether that\u2019s in television, fiction, or film \u2014 say, given an opportunity to make a feature when they haven\u2019t directed ANYTHING, not even a short.\u00a0 And the fact that we have Women in Horror Month at all illustrates why we need it. I wish we didn\u2019t need it; maybe in my lifetime, we won\u2019t, but I\u2019m not holding my breath.<\/p>\n

Who are other female horror filmmakers and writers you believe need more spotlight and why?
\n<\/strong>Rose McGowan made an extraordinary short film called Dawn<\/em><\/a> a few years back, and I\u2019m dying for her to make a feature. Her film was loaded with the oppression of being female \u2014 in the \u201850s, no less \u2014 and how that oppression destroys us.<\/p>\n

My friend Jovanka Vuckovic is in the news lately because of her cool film The Bo\u201d in XX, the all-female horror film anthology. She\u2019s fierce as fuck, and I want her to go far. Likewise, Karyn Kusama has an awesome entry (Her Only Living Son) in XX; go watch The Invitation<\/em><\/a> on Netflix if you want to see how masterfully she can command an ensemble cast in one location. Prano Bailey-Bond out of the UK has been putting out the incredible shorts \u201cNasty\u201d and the upcoming Shortcut.<\/p>\n

Barbie Wilde (who played the Female Cenobite in the Hellraiser series) writes fantastic psychosexual stories, and I\u2019m psyched that we finally get to meet in a few weeks. Jill Sixx Gevargizian is stupidly talented and deserves a feature after making The Stylist with standout lead Najarra Townsend. I could go on and on. All of these women should be fucking household names.<\/p>\n

What would you say to a teen girl dreaming of making horror films, writing in the genre?
\n<\/strong>You have a hard road ahead of you, but I\u2019ll tell you the same thing Wes Craven told me: \u201cDon\u2019t give up.\u201d We need your point of view. And help other women \u2014 always.<\/p>\n

On a more personal level, do you believe living on the East Coast, near Salem and its history has influenced your art?\u00a0 If so, in what way?
\n<\/strong>Well, in the case of the book Wicked Witches, which I talk about below, yes. That\u2019s put out by the New England Horror Writers, and yes, it\u2019s all about witches. It\u2019s not always about the usual witches, either. Mine\u2019s about a warlock in Iceland.<\/p>\n

Additionally, I was able to get some very cool interior and exterior locations for Innsmouth because of how early the towns and cities here were settled. Halloween here is also heavy with the scent of fall leaves, crackling fires, and the weight of history.<\/p>\n

What do you hope the public take away from your work?
\n<\/strong>Whatever they want from it. I like to hear differing opinions.<\/p>\n

Please tell us about your upcoming work, what you have coming for fans of Innsmouth, Postpartum, and your writing that you can talk about.
\n<\/strong>I\u2019ve been published for the first time with my tale \u201cTilberian Holiday\u201d in the Wicked Witches short horror story anthology, and I have more fiction stories to submit to future works. Believe it or not, Innsmouth and Postpartum\u201d= are still playing the festival circuit. Innsmouth is on Shudder (available in the UK, Canada, and US), and I sell DVDs on my website \u2014 as well as signed copies of Wicked Witches, t-shirts, enamel pins, art, and more.<\/p>\n

Anyway, Chris is working on a feature version of Postpartum; we\u2019ve co-written another feature horror script; and there\u2019s a dark comedy feature script that Joe Lansdale fans will love that I\u2019m trying to get made. I\u2019ve also got two more short films hitting festivals soon \u2014 Rites of Vengeance and For A Good Time, Call\u2026 which is going to play the Chattanooga Film Festival in early April.<\/p>\n

Find out more about my films and screenings at www.nihilnoctem.com<\/a><\/u>.<\/p>\n

Thank you Izzy for this opportunity and for representing women in a tough field.
\n<\/strong>Thank you!<\/p>\n

Click here for more on Izzy Lee’s work.<\/strong><\/em><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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