Film Name: Hi-Fear
Directors: Anthony Catanes, Tim Ritter, Todd Sheets, Brad Sykes
Writers: Anthony Catanese, Tim Ritter, Todd Sheets, Brad Sykes, Josephina Sykes
Starring: Geoff Allen, Sheila Brandon Allen, Raven Black, P.J. Brescia, Brandon E. Brooks
What’s your greatest fear? That’s the question posed to ambitious young illustrator Natalie, who is forced to create four of the most terrifying stories imaginable for the new comic book “Hi-Fear”. In “Losing it at the Devil’s Whorehouse”, some unlucky lads out for a night of fun run afoul of a den of sin that just might cost them their lives. A cop and a televangelist commit the perfect murder in “When Shadows Come Alive” only to find themselves stranded in the woods with a family of cannibals.” “The Streets are Watching” follows a homeless youth through an all-night urban odyssey as she tries to escape from a demon-possessed madman. Finally, “Day out of Days” concerns three isolated film crew members who find themselves at the center of an apocalyptic invasion. With each tale more twisted than the last, “Hi-Fear” is a frightening finale to the “Hi-8” trilogy.
In a new interview leading up to the Horror-on-Sea Film Festival I got a chance to ask writer-director Tim Ritter a few questions about what we can expect from the film Hi-Fear.
Hi-Fear will be showing at Horror-on-Sea at 12:30pm on Friday 13th January.
Q. Your film Hi-Fear has been selected to play at the Horror-on-Sea Film Festival. Can you tell us what we can expect from the film?
A. Hopefully a fun anthology that also taps into viewer fears- mixed with a rollercoaster of violence, twists, intrigue, and gore! There have been a lot of anthologies made recently but we think this one really hits all the high marks needed for an exciting and fun view.
Q. What were some of your influences when writing the script for your segment “When Shadows are Alive”?
A. I was definitely in the old E.C. Comics mode of influence: stories of betrayal, murder, and double twists. As always I was influenced by Wes Craven and this time, his HILLS HAVE EYES movie and a peppering of DELIVERANCE and JUST BEFORE DAWN. I found myself intrigued with characters in very moral and authoritative positions in life- in roles of influence to others- making mistakes, very costly, immoral, and later…deadly mistakes…that they have to deal with. Reaping what they sow…
Q. What were some of your influences for the look and style of the film?
A. We shot HD Video but then really went for a grindhouse look in post- grainy, dirty film with hairs and a battered 35mm film look, done by Professor Tread, an Emmy Award winning Producer/Editor. I think it kind of resembles some of the old damaged LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT prints that were circulating around for a long time, and I really love that look for a down and dirty project like this. Again, influences include the woods attack movies of the 70’s and 80’s like DELIVERANCE and JUST BEFORE DAWN, among many others like SOUTHERN COMFORT, RITUALS, etc. It’s just that type of movie!
Q. Did you make any changes from the original script during filming?
A. We had plenty of time to make the movie, so I was able to add some very cool miniature stunt sequences, including a character falling down a well with a view from the bottom. I also added some pretty extreme intestine ripping scenes that are always a fan favourite anymore, and Michelle Macabre [Special Makeup Effects]and I designed a new intro to the piece with a snake coming out of her mouth! She did the effects and played the part of the first victim, so this was really nice to be able to add when we found ourselves with more shooting time. This was inspired by some of the Joe Blasco effects in David Cronenberg’s RABID– simple but very effective shocks!
Q. What were some of your favourite moments during filming?
A. Well, as always, getting out there in the woods and running around shooting documentary style is always a blast! I think filming the aforementioned “falling down the well” sequence was my favourite sequence, since it involved a specially made prop made by Mason Roberts that we had to haul out into the middle of nowhere via truck. It was pretty exciting working around that and getting all the necessary angles, then matching it with studio work where we see a character fall down the well from the inside. I also loved directing the “Hillbilly Crazy” clan- and letting actors improvise and just be crazy at the end. That was an exciting, action-packed, and blood crazed moment- lending itself to an improv sequence where one of the killers plays “jump rope” with someone’s intestines! There was also a head bashing sequence that came out particularly brutal, and hats off to Michelle Macabre’s very cool makeup gore effects!
Q. Did you experience any issues during filming?
A. It was so cold during filming that I got hypothermia and nearly passed out, shooting all day! I’m used to quite the opposite having filmed so much in Florida, but in this case those low twenty degree days snuck up on me and really hit hard. It took me a couple of hours to recuperate in a heated car. Poor Trish Martin, my lead actress, had to lay on the frozen ground for hours and hours in a scene where she was trapped by a bear trap, and she was just shivering like crazy- teeth chattering, turning blue, and when we added the frozen karo syrup all over her, she was very uncomfortable! But she was such a trouper and never complained once. Definitely, the cold weather was a huge issue when filming outside- of course, the battery power on the cameras was also shortened greatly…
Q. What makes Hi-Fear stand out as something different in the horror genre?
A. It’s a movie made by horror fan moviemakers, for horror fans. Everyone who contributed, I think, is just a diehard fan of this stuff and absolutely loves what they are doing. It’s absolutely for the love of doing it, for the passion, for all of us. For each director and most of our casts, it’s horror fans making movies for horror fans, and there’s an obvious love and salute to CREEPSHOW and the works of George Romero– as well as all our favourite directors from yesteryear, such as John Carpenter, Wes Craven, Romero, Tobe Hooper, H,G. Lewis– you name the greats of horror from 70’s cinema, and chances are we pay homage to them here- or at least give you an Easter Egg salute to their influence! And for my segment, I definitely tried to return to my more crowd-pleasing antics of the past, which is what I myself always love the best as well.
Q. What do you hope people take away after watching the film?
A. I hope people have a good time watching the movie and have fun watching the cathartic gore sequences and of course, cherish the many twists and turns of each segment. I think that in my segment I was finally able to deliver some very cool moments of genuine suspense in the vein of PSYCHO II, so I’m really proud of my contribution as well as the entire movie. It’s an honor to have been asked to collaborate with everyone a third time in this series, and it’s always a pleasure working alongside Brad and Josephina Sykes as well as Todd Sheets and Anthony Catanes. I hope our enthusiasm for the horror genre and making movies translates to the screen in a very obvious way. And the idea was also about characters facing their FEAR, head on, their most fearful moments in life, even if they brought it on themselves, which was an idea Josephina Sykes brought to the project. So I hope viewers pick that up and enjoy the way the characters respond to their fears gone wild!
Q. Do you have any other projects which you are currently working on?
A. I recently did editing and music duties on Donald Farmer’s SHARK EXORCIST 2 and DEBBIE DOES DEMONS, and I also recently helped restore Vincent LaRusso’s crime mafia movie STREETS OF DARKNESS to Blu Ray, which was a long but exciting process. I’m also working on restoring a bunch of my old analog video movies for a Blu Ray box set that should be out in 2023, and recently teamed up with Susana Kapostasy, who made this great analog video slasher movie called NIGHT OF THE ZODIAC. We’re planning a couple of collaborations for 2023 and 2024, so we’ll see what happens!
I also directed one of the segments in Donald Farmer’s upcoming CATNADO movie…
Q. If someone was looking to write and direct their own film what advice would you give them?
A. With today’s technology- video and editing- pretty much in your pocket, with your 4K I-phone, or all the older equipment being available on ebay for so little, there’s really no excuse not to be able to get the gear and editing down in some way for practically nothing. The rest is up to you- go out there and write the best thing you can around locations you have and actors and friends and family that are willing to participate, and make the best movie that you can. It’s still in the writing, execution, and editing more than anything else. And there’s so many ways to get your movie seen these days, at least on a more even scale, than ever before, with streaming, pay streaming, boutique Blu Rays and DVD, selling copies yourself at conventions and shows, and even booking digital theatrical events. It all takes a ton of work and having a never give up spirit, but honestly, even with the oversaturation problem, it’s never been a better time than now to get out there, make something, and get it seen. Money is not an obstacle for the determined artist!
Hi-Fear will be showing at Horror-on-Sea at 12:30pm on Friday 13th January. You can purchase tickets and merchandise for the festival on the website here
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!
