Biff Juggernaut Production's Elias steps into the closet to talk about himself and about his film, LovecraCKed! The Movie. Taking nine aspiring and very independent directors, combining them with a loose theme of Lovecraftian shenanigans, and looping it together with a slightly unpolished reporter just trying to do a story can be quite a challenge.
What turned you on to the horror scene?
When I was a teenager I got a job at a movie theater where I became friends with an extremely talented fellow by the name of Chad Bernhard who is also the frontman for the band, THINGS OUTSIDE THE SKIN, and a frequent collaborator on BiFF JUGGERNAUT productions. He also was and continues to be a raving horror nut, and he introduced me to the likes of Carpenter, Raimi, Jackson, and Romero to name a few. It didn't take long before I was completely suckered in.
Which horror films are your favorites and why?
"Dead Alive", "Dawn of the Dead" ('78), "The Fly" ('86), "The Thing" ('82), "The Haunting" ('63), "Audition", "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" ('74), "Twitch of the Death Nerve"... Those are a few that come to mind.
Dead Alive” is just a wonderfully entertaining film that never seems to grow old for me. The orchestration of that flick is just flawless and often mind boggling. It’s really amazing what Jackson did with such a low budget. No one else can make films on such a large scale with such a low budget so effectively, and he’s incredibly versatile, a true master of his medium who’s always expanding.
Romero's “Dawn of the Dead” is my favorite of that series so far. Such a great setup with such strong characters and underlying social commentary. Cronenberg's “Fly” chronicles a kind of social and human disintegration, the pursuit of knowledge to find only destruction, despair and madness.
The setting and setup of Carpenter's "The Thing" make for great conflict and suspense, and this combined with a great ensemble cast and some of the coolest special fx ever put to film make for an extremely memorable experience. Robert Wise's orginal "Haunting" for me is all about atmosphere and doing more with less.
The only films I think have ever come close to capturing the eerie otherworldly suspense generated by that flick are "The Woman in Black" and "The Mothman Prophecies" and "The Exorcism of Emily Rose" - all great flicks in my opinion. Miike's Audition lured me in and left me with a lasting feeling of dread after viewing it, and few films have ever done that.
The “Texas Chainsaw Massacre” - need I say more? For me, it still remains one of the most effective and chilling horror films ever made. Love the atmosphere of that film... the sounds, the claustrophobic, deathlike feeling of that house... extremely creepy.
I like how they build slowly up to Leatherface and then you have that unforgettable intro... and the run through the woods... that whole f**ked up family slowly revealed to us... Yes I am a big fan of that flick! I can't say the remake retained many of the qualities that made the original so strong, it really fell short by a lot, to say the least. Perhaps the prequel will be a step up, but I'm not holding my breath.
I've nothing against remakes, but it’s a shame when they get churned out without any real finesse or vision. But then that's just the studios trying to cash in, so its nothing one shouldn't expect in the end. I'll keep looking out for the few that always set themselves apart. Lastly, "Twitch of the Death Nerve" from the master Mario Bava. The prototype for the modern slasher film wrapped in the inky black cloak of Giallo. Brutal deaths, masterful cinematography, mystery, suspense, and a wicked ending. Also love Bava's little seen, posthumously completed "Rabid Dogs".
Speaking of directors, which directors influence you the most?
I'd say David Cronenberg, Peter Jackson, Kim Ki-Duk, Takashi Miike and Shinya Tsukamoto, Michael Haeneke, the boys of "Monty Python" and the boys of "South Park". It's hard to say exactly how they influence, but they all have had their impact, and continue to do so.
Certainly the sense of humor of "Monty Python" and "South Park" is very much akin to my own, and I take great inspiration in the style and scope of their satire. With the other filmmakers it's similar. I find fascination with the subjects they cover and how they each tell the story and communicate their ideas to the audience. Seeing all these various visions realized and feeling their effect on me as a viewer and a creative expressive person myself provides me with inspiration and helps fuel and drive my own ideas, thoughts, creations. They all help to set the stage for the next generation and they have set the bar high.
What is it like to conceive, produce, and promote an independent film?
Firstly let me just say that it's one of the most incredibly euphoric, miserable rewarding, mind-numbing, inspiring, physically exhausting, energizing and exciting things I can think of. Perhaps it's a little like having a baby and then raising it (at least I imagine so;), though on a generally smaller scale of time. It's exhausting, painful and unbelievably fulfilling. You live with this developing film in your head for months and months, writing it out and getting others points of view. You settle on a draft of the script and try to prepare adequately for the production through rigorous task of pre-production planning, and then finally free yourself from this and make a go for it with Production.
On set, on location with what little crew you have, trying to let the script/story guide you and not the other way around. Every inch is often a battle of stamina, will and mind over little finance. You learn to compromise when you have to, and try to know when it's the right time to do so, and when it's not. You have to hook into your actors and crew and let the thoughts and ideas flow between everyone, and then get everyone (yourself included) on the same path to the same vision.
You finally wrap and enter the realm of postproduction where films are ruined and reinvented... and you sort it out with feedback from others not so entrenched in the process. You enter the promotional state and realize with a shock (if it's your first time) that you have entered a realm from which your primitive creative-minded brain desperately wants to escape from.
Nevertheless, you chain unwilling brain to the task at hand and set forth to spread the word of your film through every outlet available to you again and again and again... Then finally when you've given it your best, you let the flick go and float on its own, and then you start the next project.
How did you get your start in the film business?
I started out acting and writing when I was a teenager and expanded into filmmaking when I was 19. I moved to NY a couple times: first to pursue acting and later to study film at the School of Visual Arts, where I graduated in 2000. That's the boring answer.
I got started ultimately because of a strong desire to express myself and in turn bring about reactions from others. To make people think, laugh, cry, shriek, gasp, giggle, and feel queezy! To fill brains with all sorts of buzzing and zapping sensations! Thanks for listening - and for watching, too! Thanks to Zombos Closet of Horror Blog for the forum and for all their support of independent horror! (ZC Note: thank you, it's our pleasure, and that of our readers.)
What is it about Lovecraft's work that inspired you to do LovecraCKed?
I've admired Lovecraft's stories for many years. I'd planned to do a feature adaptation of one of them a few years back, but that fell through. The running doc/spoof narrative of "LovecraCked! The Movie" was inspired by the fact that hardly anyone I ever spoke to about Lovecraft ever knew who he was unless they were a genre fan. The average person usually had never heard of him.
Considering this and all the influence he's had on modern day horror film and fiction, it seemed like a subject ripe for parody. Later, after most of the doc/spoof was shot, I decided to expand the whole project into a feature length anthology, and open it up to other filmmakers.
Nine directors were involved, each directing their segment of LovecraCKed. What were the challenges you faced, both as writer and overall director for your film, when working with such diverse talent?
The 9 segments/shorts were all created independently of one another by different filmmakers. I was not involved directly in these productions. My main task was the selection and organization of the films for the anthology, and in a few instances, some editing as well. The big challenge was to find the films and filmmakers and assemble an anthology that worked as well as possible.
What production challenges did you face in bringing LovecraCKed to completion?
Really just putting together the whole project and seeing it through to completion. I spent an unhealthy amount of time hunched over my keyboard typing madly and sleepily! Obtaining the necessary releases, and making a lot of format conversions also took some time.
There were many little details to deal with, none of which are likely very interesting, but extremely time consuming and brain-mashing nonetheless. Promoting the film has also been a lot of work - probably as much as putting it all together… and I’m still promoting as we speak! I’ve become a movie whore, I tell you!!!
What future projects are you working on?
Well promoting this one is taking up most of my time right now, but I have plans to participate in another anthology project, which is being put together by one of the other filmmakers, Justin Powers. I also have an extra incomplete segment that I shot for “LovecraCked! The Movie” as a backup, which is crying out to be included in an extended edition of the flick. I’d like to get rolling on a new feature soon as well, it’s just a matter of what fits best financially, creatively, etc.
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