Saturday, June 05, 2010

Jason Horton Talks Indie Horror Filmmaking and Overcoming Challenges: An In-depth Interview

Director and writer Jason Horton completed his film studies at the University of New Orleans, while creating his own production company Zapruter Productions. His first feature was entitled Rise of the Undead released in 2005 and he followed up with the apocalyptic feature Edges of Darkness. Both of these films were in the horror genre, but Horton branched out this year to release the dramatic thriller Trap. Now, this director, producer, writer, promoter and most recently distributor takes some time off from this latest production Monsters in the Woods to talk about independent filmmaking and the hurdles of low budget film distribution. Have a listen as Horton talks candidly about being pressured to add creature effects into his latest reality based feature, Trap.

Michael Ross Allen: Hi Jason, how are you doing?

Jason Horton: I am great. How are you doing?

MRA: Really good. So, I have been hearing that your latest project, Trap, is on Createspace right now and on your website. Is that true?

JH: "Yes, I am on Createspace, Amazon, my site (Zapruter), and Netflix is reviewing the film right now."

MRA: And you are starting a new script already?

JH: "Yes, this latest has a budget and when you are doing movies with such a low budget it is hard to take that leap up to a bigger budget picture. People want to see a certain level of work, a track record, you know? It was not really until Edges of Darkness where the film made money."

MRA: That movie was a lot of fun. I enjoyed that movie. There is a lot going on in Edges of Darkness. The film has three intimate, little stories.

JH: "The cool thing about Edges and pretty much everything I work on - I like to tell genre related stories, not necessarily in horror, but action, or sci-fi. I like to tell intimate pieces."

MRA: I liked how the setting in the film brought the three stories together.

JH: "The whole zombie apocalypse thing, or isolation was one of the main themes running through it."

MRA: This is my favourite film by you thus far.

JH: "Yes - thanks. A lot of people have trouble appreciating something done at that level. Due to budget constraints the film needs to be small and tight."

MRA: I was really happy the film was not dubbed. I have seen far too many indie films that have been dubbed and this poor use of sound really takes me or the viewer out of the picture.

Now, with Trap you went in an entirely different direction, really. The film seems a little toned down action-wise. The film seems more focused, with fewer characters.

JH: "Trap was kind of my attempt to branch off creatively in to another direction. 90% of my scripts up to that point have been non-reality based e.g. some kind of creature, some kind of supernatural element. I really wanted to show that I could do something that takes place in the real world. The film still has some thriller elements, but for the most part it has a dramatic structure."

MRA: I see a real maturing in Trap within your writing.

JH: "Yes, I think so too and with Edges the film came together so quickly in production. It started as three separate anthologies and each of them was going to have a separate director. One of the directors dropped out three weeks before production began and I was forced to write the third story. So, I wrote one story three weeks before production and we put it together. The producer was going to cut it and I wanted to do some last minute writing on set to connect them a little better. It really came together."

MRA: In my opinion, the film looked polished and continuous. How has the reception been for Trap compared to Edges of Darkness?

JH: "Trap is a lot slower. The thing I knew going in to Trap is that I would have a third of the budget as Edges. Going in to the film I had a couple distributor contacts and there was some interest in the film, so I thought I would get distribution for it. But, I was really looking to put something different out. It is a non-horror flick.

Genre flicks are pretty easy to get interest in, like a zombie movie. There already is an audience. I think Horror-Movies.com ran a story on it and then three other major websites picked it up and I was not even out soliciting it."

MRA:I have also seen Trap out on a lot of the horror websites this week like Fangoria and Horror-Movies.com.



JH: "Yes, this time I am promoting it. I know that people are not going to start writing about my film right away, so I need to get the word out."

MRA: I can see that and Trap is not just a drama there are some crime thriller elements to the film.

JH: "That is true and that is how I am trying to sell the film, with that thriller edge."

MRA: So, if the right distributor made an offer would you change your distribution strategies?

JH: "Yes, if the right offer was there I would take a look and at this point in the game it is really too early to say how well distribution will go, but right now it is a slow start. It is really hard to get a film in to different outlets yourself without even talking about promotion. Just to get the film in to stores is difficult."

MRA: Distribution and promotion seem like a lot of work seeing as you wrote and directed the film also.

JH: "Yes, that is so true like with Netflix the film is going to go through there, but it could be another sixty days before the film is on the site. When you go through a distributor you do not make much money from them. I am still trying to reach out to distributors like Anthem Pictures. They were going to take it and there just was not enough money left over for promotion. Because Trap is not a horror flick the film is not a guaranteed built-in moneymaker."

MRA: Since you are having trouble distributing Trap does that pressure you in to directing horror films in the future?

JH: 'Honestly, yes. It is not a total sell-out thing. Most of my previous scripts were in horror, or sci-fi. I simply love movies!

I wrote a semi-follow up to Trap, but technically it is not a sequel. The script involves some of the characters from Trap and I really, really want to make this movie. It is super personal to me and I really like the script."

MRA: But, in the interim you might be producing horror type films, correct?

JH: "That is basically true. Right now, I am doing Monsters in the Woods, so this is the one we are going to shoot in August."

MRA: I have been talking with producer Neil Green (Black Eve); is this the film that you will be making with him?

JH: "I have been talking with Neil, but I have not heard about him for about a month, so nothing is for sure. I do have some money together for this latest film, from a producer - a real low amount. We have to shoot in August, so I have to hurry up an finish what I am doing now before talking to Neil."

MRA: So Monsters in the Closet will be shooting in August?

JH: "Yes, and we are looking at shooting one scene in the end of June. This will be the opening scene from the movie, but basically the effects are more complicated than stuff I have done in the past."



MRA: Will there be any recurring actors from Edges of Darkness or Trap?

JH: "I am most likely going to bring back Annemarie Pazmino, again. I may use Ashton Blanchard again. I would love to use Alonzo F. Jones again."

MRA: Alonzo was great in Edges of Darkness and Trap. I love that guy.

JH: "Unfortunately, he is not looking to pursue acting anymore due to a family situation. The thing about Alonzo is you cannot buy charisma, especially on a low-budget movie. He has so much charisma. You know what I mean? He has movie star quality, but right now he is more writing and directing, right now."

MRA: Can you explain the synopsis for Monsters in the Woods?

JH: "It is about a micro-budget film crew that goes out in to the woods and they have to enter monsters in to their movie because they could not sell it - this is a true story.

Recently, I was talking to a producer about Trap and he told me he could not sell it unless I added in some monsters. He said: "well if you could add in some more monster scenes then maybe I could distribute it."

MRA: (Laughter).

JH: "He was like: "hear me out." He had this whole plan on how to add monsters in to Trap. He wanted to turn it in to a creature feature."

MRA: (Laughter) You cannot compromise though!

JH: "There was a split second there that I was actually considering this. It was so far out that this might work out and then, of course, I came to my senses. When I think about it now that is a pretty cool movie idea. So, I wrote the script for Monsters in the Woods based on that."

MRA: Where do you see yourself in the long-term future?

JH: "I really want to get out of micro-budget filmmaking! I have talked with some other directors who have started here and some of them have told me that they have done eight indie films or twelve.

It has been about five years now that I have been making my own films. With Edges of Darkness I have finally started to make money and I do not have to rely solely on a second income."

MRA: I think if you build something you need to stick with it to build momentum. That is what I have found with writing, and school.

JH: "I really believe persistence pays off and it does not matter what budget you have. It is hard with micro-budget. Everything is a favour. Everyone who is working with you is not getting paid what they should."

MRA: Independent filmmaking sounds like a tough business.

Thanks Jason for talking about indie filmmaking and your latest films Edges of Darkness, Trap, and Monsters in the Woods. I look forward to hearing more about Monsters and I hope we get a chance to talk again some time.

JH: "Thanks Mike and thanks for supporting each of my films. I will definitely keep in touch about Trap, Monsters in the Woods and future projects. Have a good weekend."

The release of Trap posted earlier this week:

Trap DVD Release

An Edges of Darkness Review:

Edges of Darkness Reviewed

A Trap review:

Trap Reviewed

The Trap homepage:

The Trap Official Homepage (Buy a Copy of the DVD)

Trap on Facebook:

Trap on Facebook

Advertise Here - Contact me Michael Allen at 28DLA

Both Jason Horton's Trap and Edges of Darkness are available - support indie filmmaking:



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1 comments:

Unknown said...

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