Film Name: Straight on Till Morning
Directors: Craig Ouellette
Writers: Craig Ouellette and Neal McLaughlin, story by Neal McLaughlin
Starring: Kelsey Christian, Bonnie Jean Tyer, Maria Olsen, Bill Hengstenberg, Michael Gmur
Dani and Kaitlin are two dreamers falling for each other on a romantic road-trip. The future is theirs – until they cross paths with a twisted family who have something much, much darker in mind.?
Q. Your film Straight on Till Morning has been selected to play at the Dead And SudBuried Film
Festival. Can you tell us what we can expect from the film?
A. Straight On Till Morning is a Horror Romance with Lesbian Leads. It will wrap you up in a romance and take you on a nail biting, edge of your seat suspense ride to some really dark places.
Will love shine through or be swallowed by the darkness?
Q. You wrote co-wrote the script with Neal McLaughlin. What was the process of you together and
what were some of your influences for the film?
This script began many moons ago as a script Neal wrote about colliding True Romance (1993) and Hostel (2005) . Originally it was a straight film, but after a couple years working to get it made we realized that having the leads be two final girls, that we not only added suspense by not knowing who fit that fabulous horror movie trope, but more importantly it added a lot of interesting layers of subtext about women’s power and treatment in traditional society and in their relationships that was really intriguing to us, and hopefully the audience. As for influences, True Romance and Hostel are some. Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974), High Tension (2005), Misery (1990), Thelma & Louise (1991), Breakdown (1997), The Dark Knight (2008) and When Harry Met Sally… (1989). Try that mash up on for size!
What were some of your influences for the look and style of the film?
A. The goal was to have a movie that combined romance and horror. What does that look like? If it’s too pretty, it isn’t scary. If it’s too gritty it isn’t very romantic. I’m hoping we found a balance that feels right for the story and characters. Visual influence ranged from some of the above films to others like Aliens (1986), Apocalypse Now (1979) and The Thing (1982)
Q. Did you make any changes from the original script during filming?
A. Oh my god yes! lol. The script was solid (I think so anyway), but I write pretty specifically for me to direct. As such there are action and suspense sequences that were tightly figured out. Even so, on set, we would have to change things. Locations got switched, like from a Convenience store to a diner. Things had to be rewritten for locations. And we had a nice set of pickups almost a year after the original filming, which allowed us to rewrite scenes in post.
One of the big set pieces has a lot of different elements in it because of that wonderful gift of time. The song Dani Dupree (played by Kelsey Christian) sings when we meet her is a totally different song than was originally in the script. But due to scheduling, timing, locations and the time to edit, it became clear it would be better if it was another song. All part of the process!
Q. What were some of your favourite moments during filming?
A. I love when the actors and crew are so in the zone that it seems like magic is being captured by the camera. It’s a gift to watch that, and hopefully help facilitate that happening.
Q. Did you experience any issues during filming?
A. How much time do you have? There were definitely challenges, often stemming from less money than we would like, or less time. We had weather challenges which lead to a very very cold wet night on the last day of filming. We had one covid scare, and another time when two of the team got Covid.
We filmed in Missouri, but ended up having to drive the Grip, Electric and Camera gear out from California because of all sorts of reasons. Thankfully Lead Actress/Producer Bonnie Jean Tyer and Producer Annalea Fiachi were able to make that 3 day drive in a 16foot box truck. I slept on the floor of my Aunt’s laundry room because I wanted to put the money on the screen and not extra lodging.
Q. What makes Straight on Till Morning stand out as something different in the horror genre?
A. The queer romance at the heart of it is something that hopefully engages the viewers on an extra emotional level. We have a lot of original songs, many performed by lead actress Kelsey Christian. Her character is a musician, and her music plays into the story in interesting ways. And we still give you the goods: suspense, tension, terror, gore. It isn’t all sunshine!
Q. What do you hope people take away after watching the film?
A. I hope they love it. That it sticks with them long after viewing and they talk about it with their friends. That the film touches their hearts, minds and adrenal glands in equal measure.
Q. Do you have any other projects which you are currently working on?
A. I’m enjoying “Straight On Till Morning’s” festival run, and finding distribution for it. I have a couple
of other feature scripts pretty much ready to go, and scalable depending on budget. And I’d love to
do a short film or two. This movie took a LONG time to make, and doing something fun and fast
would feel good.
Q. If someone was looking to get into filmmaking what advice would you give them?
Making movies is hard. And it’s also fun, satisfying, magical and amazing.
Be passionate, but not precious with your films. Being precious is a limiting agreement, not an expansive one. There is no such thing as “perfect” in movies. It’s about whether something works and affects the viewer.
Being a director is not about being in control, it’s about creating an environment where magic can happen. (I read this once and it’s been very helpful to me).
Always be grateful to your cast, crew, investors — anyone who is giving you some of their limited time on this planet. It’s a gift to be able to make movies (as hard as it is sometimes), and I always try to remember to be grateful that I’m telling stories that matter to me, and hopefully to the viewers.
You can keep up with Craig and “Straight On Till Morning”
SOCIAL MEDIA:
@straightontillmorningmovie — Movie Instagram
@craigofilm — Craig’s Instagram, Youtube, Facebook
www.LoveIsScary.com — Official Movie Website
www.Craigofilm.com — Craig’s website
Published in various websites, Philip is a reviewer who is best known for his interviews and media coverage of independent projects including; films, books, theatre and live events. Always on the lookout for something different to cover!
