I was given word of the movie SCREEN just recently and I noticed right away that people needed to find out about this movie. The fact is even more apparent, after having watched the movie last night (review up shortly).
Synopsis: A group of horror fans are found scared to death in front of a drive-in movie screen. Whatever they saw, also bled into their screens on their mobile devices. We go back 24 hours to follow two of the characters from this group.
Lola & Carrie go on a road trip to attend this halloween screening event. It’s being held at an old disused drive-in movie theatre. They also research the past reports about the drive- in. It’s haunted!
People died in front of the screen in the 70’s. This event is the 40th anniversary of the deaths. Despite this fact, nothing will stop Carrie from attending. Lola gets freaked as she finds out more about the drive-in’s past. Carrie has personal reasons for attending this anniversary screening.
The director statement below firmly sets the tone for what to expect from SCREEN:
I’m a fan of 70’s low budget horror movies, and I think a lot of horror fans feel the same about horrors from that time. I wanted to capture the spirit of those 70’s horror films, but at the same time I wanted a very contemporary story that had a modern theme. The concept of SCREEN came to me pretty fast, after I saw a picture of a drive-in speaker.
I heard screams from the speaker, and that was the spark. Setting the film at an old drive- in in the states would automatically give me that retro feel, but most of the characters never have their face away from their own mobile screens we all have today. So although SCREEN has a retro feel, it’s firmly set in the present. SCREEN’s dominate our lives.
I also thought the story could create the potential to show the film at some drive-in screenings. Either as underground promotional screenings, or small events. That was my plan when I first raised a larger budget for SCREEN, but when I lost the budget from a private investor, my only goal was to get the film made.
My background is in acting, so I know what environment has to be created to get natural performances from actors. The key for me is not to over direct people. I shot most of the film on the Canon 5D. I threw away the first drafts on my script and decided to improvise within a solid structure. I wanted to get the feel that this was like a real character driven indie story, but within the horror genre.
I wanted a realistic natural feel to the film, but I didn’t want to do a “Found Footage” movie. I didn’t want to be restricted by the one POV. However, I did mix the film style with iPhone footage. Especially at the party scenes at the drive-in. This completely suits the theme of the story. Also, it wouldn’t be realistic to leave out phone footage in 2013.
I think SCREEN can do well with a young horror market. Simply because it speaks to our culture today that live their lives in front of computers, ipads, phones, games, and mobiles. It’s a micro budget film with no names, but hopefully the original concept and great performances can get the attention of some horror fans over time.
David Paul Baker
Writer, Director, Producer
SCREEN
SCREEN TRAILER from David Baker on Vimeo.
SCREEN is ready to be watched right now on vimeo and can be rented for $2.99, or bought outright for only $3.99 (highly suggested).
Check out more photos below!
