By Geno McGahee
In 1999, THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT was released and it launched a sub-genre that we are feeling 15 years later. The “found footage” has become as popular as the zombie film. Jeff Hollins has brought his own touch to the sub-genre with a great monster movie called SHALLOW CREEK CULT. It is about as fun as a movie can get.
I first became aware of Hollins after watching a short film that was part of an anthology film. When I heard that he had a feature film, I was eager to see it and SHALLOW CREEK CULT did not disappoint. As much as I felt that the found footage was too overdone and I had tired of it, Hollins proved that if it’s done right, it can still prove memorable and unique.
Hollins’s monster movie SHALLOW CREEK CULT is being released on Halloween from CINEMA EPOCH on DVD in a four pack called THE SCARED STIFF COLLECTION – Volume 1. It is a must have for any horror fan and is worth the cost alone. Scared Stiff had the opportunity to catch up with Hollins for this exclusive interview…
GM: What got you into film and who are your inspirations?
My dad had a super 8 camera when we were kids and I started playing around with it and my brothers and I shot a Bruce Lee ‘Game Of Death’ type of film. It was pretty cool and from that point on I was hooked. I also had my own comic book publication when I was in my 20s so that helped with my story boards and coming up with various camera angels. My inspirations are Sergio Leone, Steven Spielberg, Charlie Chaplin, Rod Serling and Quentin Tarantino.
GM: Could you tell the readers what SHALLOW CREEK CULT is about?
It’s about 2 brothers who go to Shallow Creek, Louisiana to honor their deceased grandfather’s last request to spread his ashes over the Shallow Creek campsite pond, because it is a place he has fond memories of. While there they witness a strange cannibalistic cult eating the remains of a woman and once noticed by the cult they are immediately chased.They find an abandoned house filled with surveillance and take on the relentless cult attacks.
GM: SHALLOW CREEK CULT is an incredibly fun and energy-filled horror film. How was the filming experience of it and what inspired you to create it?
I’m a fan of horror films and the found footage style. I loved The Blair Witch Project and Paranormal Activity. The simplicity and rawness of them. I wanted to do a found footage film that would look and feel different with different types of characters and a different type of ending. I wanted audiences to feel as if they were stuck in that room with the 2 Carmichael brothers. We only had a 2 man crew, me and my brother Gorio, who also were the actors. Even the creatures you see are us. The only time there was anyone else on the set was those earlier shots of the different people giving their testimonials about the shallow creek cult and the one scene when the guard lets them in the campsite.
GM: What is the most difficult part of the film process and what is the easiest?
I think the writing is the hardest part. I do my story boards as I write so I won’t forget what my visual ideas were as I was writing. So when I finish the script, I finish the story boards simultaneously and after that comes the easy part…Filming it all. Easy to me anyway.
GM: How long did it take to film?
We filmed on our days off, which is mostly on Sundays. We would get another day in that week when we were able to. So, I think it was something like 5 Sundays and maybe 2 additional days. It was easy because of the long takes. We just had to know our lines.
GM: How did you decide on the design of the monsters?
That’s just what I was seeing in my head as I was writing the script. These black robed, hobbling people who didn’t appear to be normal. I didn’t want to hold on them for any long periods of time. I think it’s scarier when you can’t get a good look at the monsters at least in the early stages of the film.
GM: Do you see yourself focusing on horror films mostly as you progress in your film career?
No, I’ve got so many ideas for so many genres. I really want to do a sci fi movie though. But I’ve also written scripts about everyday people that are character studies. I want to do comedies as well.
GM: What do you think of the current horror scene? What films have you liked?
Some of them have become a bit too stylish to the point where they are cleverly done separate scenes but not scary to me. Getting back to Blair Witch and The Paranormal movies, those movies scared me more with ‘Nothing’. They never showed any creatures or monsters. It was all psychological and to me that’s more frightening than, say, a doll turning its head slowly or something popping up in front of the camera. As a filmmaker you don’t tend to be fooled by that type of stuff. You see a lot of space on the right side of the shot so you just know something’s going to pop up there. I like to ‘zig’ when people think I’m going to ‘zag’. I enjoyed the prequel to ‘The Thing’. It was very similar to the scariness of the John Carpenter version, which scared the hell out of me.
GM: What film do you have in store for the fans next?
It really depends. If the acceptance for Shallow Creek Cult is really good, then maybe I’ll do a sequel. I’ve started writing on one, but it won’t be a found footage film. But as I mentioned I really want to do a sci fi film and I’ve written 2 that I’m considering.
GM: Do you have any advice for other filmmakers that are planning to make their first film?
Be yourself. Do what you want to do in your films. That is what made all of the directors I mentioned earlier stand out. Spielberg just had a way of doing things that was his own. He had his inspirations, but he did things his own way, as did Sergio Leone. He changed the westerns and made them grittier. I can’t even watch an Audey Murphy western anymore, because he’s too neat after riding in the desert for 3 or 4 days. Leone did it as he saw it. Chaplin, Jerry Lewis, Hitchcock, Bruce Lee. They followed their own ideas as to how it should be done and they are the best.
GM: Do you have anything to say in closing?
Just have fun and follow your own ideas and I think people appreciate that more than copycats.
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