{"id":39514,"date":"2023-04-17T00:41:30","date_gmt":"2023-04-17T04:41:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/?p=39514"},"modified":"2023-04-15T18:54:38","modified_gmt":"2023-04-15T22:54:38","slug":"interview-with-brightwood-director-dane-elcar","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/2023\/04\/17\/interview-with-brightwood-director-dane-elcar\/","title":{"rendered":"Interview with “Brightwood” Director Dane Elcar"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Recently, we reviewed the indie horror film “Brightwood,” a stirring mix of horror, science fiction, and relationship drama about a couple who go jogging and find themselves trapped on a trail to nowhere. “Brightwood” is a debut feature from director by filmmaker Dane Elcar, who based his film on a short he directed in 2018. The film has been on the festival route lately, winning Best Sci-Fi Feature at Another Hole in the Head, Best Editing (and runner up for Best Director, Actor and Supporting Actor) at HorrorHound, and will now screening as part of both Panic Fest and Salem Horror Festival later this month.<\/p>\n

Mr. Elcar took time out to talk to us about his first feature film, and what inspired such a bizarre genre film.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

What inspired you to make “Brightwood”?
\n<\/strong>Just the completely mad and irrational desire to make an independent feature film! Ha.<\/p>\n

I kid, sort of, but the drive to get a feature made was big. I suppose the idea of a couple trapped going around a pond had been brewing in the back of my mind for a long time. Max Worentydyke, my producer and lead actor and I had been developing another feature film, and it seemed like we were very close to getting the financing, but the pandemic really put the brakes on that, as it did with a lot of things.<\/p>\n

Not one to stay still for too long. I kept thinking about this couple trapped in the woods. I knew I could keep the story contained and that it could be filmed with limited resources. So I started writing the script around December 2020. The more time I spent with this couple the more it felt like the right story to focus all my energy on. And here we are!<\/p>\n

What influenced the creation of “Brightwood” for you?
\n<\/strong>I really wanted to make a horror film about relationships. You know, something truly terrifying! I had actually made a short film called The Pond <\/em>back in 2017 that was sort of the first concept of Brightwood<\/em>, but that short wasn\u2019t a couple, just one man, played by me, which in essence was an experiment to see if I could get the basic plot elements and single location to work.<\/p>\n

I wanted to keep the action going forward and make it entertaining and dark and fun. But it was always meant to be a couple. I really wanted to dissect a long term relationship. To see what would happen if I dropped them into that scenario. It allowed me to really explore the emotional cycles that can happen\u2013the kind of progression and then regression in and out of toxicity. Love and hate. Plus, the basic nature of time loop movies are always a bit funny to me, so given the subject matter, it also presented a lot of opportunity to infuse it with humor. In the end I do consider it a love story. Some might disagree.<\/p>\n

How long did the film take to make?
\n<\/strong>We shot for twelve out of sixteen days in May of 2021. Post production lasted about a year. I edited it. The music and sound design took some time. I worked with Joey Zampalla on the sound mix while my long time collaborator Jason Cook worked on this fantastic original score. He ended up giving me a nearly 83 min symphony to work with. I felt bad that I wasn\u2019t able to use it all! And then later Jeff Prosser was able to do a final upmix to 5.1 and it\u2019s beautiful!<\/p>\n

Where did you shoot “Brightwood”?
\n<\/strong>We shot in Rockaway, New Jersey at a place called Egbert Lake. Everyone in the community was very friendly and wanted to help support the film. Every time we said we\u2019re shooting a horror movie their eyes would light up. It\u2019s kind of incredible to think back on it, but people were actively fishing or riding bikes and hiking all around us as we filmed. Obviously, we needed the illusion that these two characters were completely alone so each day had its challenges of keeping folks out of the shot.<\/p>\n

Another issue was sound. I had to run after a few kids on ATVs now and then. But they all loved that we were making a movie in their neighborhood.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>How did you create the illusion of the infinite loop within this wooded trail?
\n<\/strong>I knew I needed to take the time to familiarize the audience with the location. The trail around the pond was a huge character in this movie. I had markers in the script like the no swimming sign, and the trash can, a gnarly tree, etc. The woods surrounding the pond would be sort of chaotic, but I wanted the audience to be very familiar with these trail markers, so they\u2019d know the characters are clearly walking in a circle around the pond. Once things go wacky, and they seem to be trapped, it\u2019s really the performances of Max Woertendyke and Dana Berger that sell it. The illusion isn\u2019t so much an illusion at all, once the characters start to suspect something is off, you\u2019re right there with them.<\/p>\n

What compelled you to cast Max Woertendyke and Dana Berger? They have great chemistry.
\n<\/strong>They do have great chemistry! Max and I have known and worked together for a long time now. We met working in a video store in Manhattan back in the early 00\u2019s. He\u2019s an amazing and meticulous actor and on top of that, one of the most passionate, hard working, and organized producers I know. For years now he\u2019s the person I\u2019ll send a first draft of a script to. And I usually send him utter shit, but he\u2019s willing to talk it through.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s the story? Let\u2019s dig in. So I had pitched Max the idea even before I wrote it and he was naturally the first person to come onboard. After a few meetings he suggested Dana Berger for Jen. They had worked together years before on a play and were good friends. And I knew that my actors were going to need not only good chemistry, but also a strong friendship to get through the hard shoot in the New Jersey woods. So Dana and I talked on the phone for a good hour or so and we really hit it off. I think there was an understanding that Dan and Jen are these kinda basic characters. I mean their names are Dan and Jen. Like a stereotypical American yuppie couple. That we could destroy.<\/p>\n

Dana is so smart and she is also very funny. And I needed that. There is some heavy stuff in this script, but I wanted them to find the humor in it. We worked for months reading the script over and over again. Their input was invaluable. Then I\u2019d go do a rewrite. This process really helped distill down the story and the language of the script. So that by the time we were on set, it was just go go go. We were ready.<\/p>\n