Sally

     For one of my recent directing projects I chose to do a short inspired by a scene in the film Wait Until Dark from the 1960s. The film stars Audrey Hepburn who plays a blind woman who must defend herself from intruders, one of which is played by Alan Arkin. The film is based on a play by Frederick Knott (who also wrote Dial M for Murder) so it's got a strong dose of suspense, which I love. One of my favorite scenes in the film is in the beginning when Audrey Hepburn arrives home and walks past the body of a dead girl, and doesn't even know it, I just had to nod to this fantastic scene by re-creating it in my own way.

Here it is: 

The Hand That Bends The Spoon

My latest short! I just finished this film last week for my film final. I am mostly happy with the way it came out. Of course there are a few things that did not work exactly as I wanted, but I think, on the whole, I accomplished a lot this time around. Special thanks to Britney Arcadio, my best friend, who originally came up with plot, and for starring in the movie. Thanks also to Brent Perkins for acting along side her, and thank you Marshall Murr for being a great production assistant. PS, forgive the crappy lighting in the last few shots, we were racing daylight and had technical difficulties on top of that. Anyway, Enjoy!

Buried

I just saw this film a few days ago with my friends, and I can't get over how good it was.

Here is Director, Rodrigo Cortés
speaking about the film:

Halloween Movie Countdown: "The Others"

If you're looking for a thriller that is suspenseful, beautiful, eerie, and has a shocking surprise ending, The Others is just the right flick.

Nicole Kidman, Fionnula Flanagan and both children in the film (Alakina Mann and James Bently) give some truly great performances in a story that is intriguing the entire time.

Something I really enjoy about this movie is that it is made so well. The story itself is brilliant, but the technical aspects of the film are stunning. The lighting is spooky and beautiful and director Alejandro Amenadar makes some smart choices with the camera.

The art direction is also perfect for such a creepy film. Just seeing an old spooky house (that does not use electricity), a hidden graveyard, and rooms that are rich in elegance, but also rich in 'the unknown' makes this an ultimate classic for Halloween.

The Others is a classic haunting/ghost story with quite the twist, great atmosphere, and some very good acting as well. We ended up watching this on Halloween two years ago, many of my party guests had not seen it before... they were in for quite a surprise...

Here's the trailer:

Horror v.s. Suspense

Image Source

       When I realized that I wanted to make suspenseful and scary films, I wasn't inspired by horror films as much as thrillers. This is not to say that I don't like horror films or that they are uninspiring. They are entertaining and carry on that "cult classic" persona that us haunters cannot ignore. However, when it comes to film making, horror has overtime become known for having the cliché bad acting, predictable plot line, and overall cheesy elements that don't tend to scare us as much anymore. Many horror films even resort to strictly showing gore to scare us rather than building up suspense. Although not all horror films are like this, quite a few are. 

       Being the scary movie fan that I am and on a journey to create some scary films of my own, I find myself being critical, but fair when it comes to films that are supposed to scare us. To be honest, I like horror films- they are fun to watch with friends and entertaining for their often cliché factors- but I like thrillers more. I am more inspired by thrillers for their writing which is more mysterious and less predictable, their acting which is often better, and the overall style of the film which is generally produced better, and usually has the old-fashion Hitchcock rule: the less you see, the more you fear. 

        On the whole, I watch and enjoy both genres, but tend to find more inspiration from thrillers and films that use suspense more than gore. Anyway I have basically stated all of this to warn all that I plan to blog about all kinds of scary movies, just a heads up. If you catch me writing about thrillers more than horror films, just don't be too surprised.

Demand It!

       The film "Paranormal Activity" looks down-right scary. My type of film! When I first saw the trailer, I was almost jealous because it looked just like the sort of film I have always dreamed of making... it looks that good. Anyway the only way it can have a nation-wide release is if people demand it here. View the trailer here.