Film Name: He Sees You When You’re Sleeping
Director: Charlie Steeds
Writers: David Lenik
Starring: Caroline Williams (Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2), David Lenik, Peyton Michelle Edwards, Lauren-Marie Taylor (Friday the 13th Part 2) Cedric Gegel, Tom Malloy.
In a new Exclusive Interview on Blazing Minds ahead of Horror-on-Sea I got a chance to ask Director Charlie Steeds a few questions about his film ‘He Sees You When You’re Sleeping‘
He Sees You When You’re Sleeping will play at Horror-on-Sea on Sunday 12th January at 8:00pm
Q. Your film has been selected to play at the Horror-on-Sea Film Festival. Can you tell us what we can expect from the film?
A. I’m thrilled! Yes it’s a film that blends 80’s slashers with the type of camp drama you’d see in 80’s TV soaps. Our main character Chester returns to his run down family mansion many years after he witnessed the murder of his parents at the hands of a killer dressed as Santa. Now his dysfunctional family are hoping to drive Chester crazy again in order to claim his inheritance, but what they don’t realise is Santa is killing once again… It’s a similar vibe to the quirky horror comedies I love watching from the 70’s and 80’s, we had great fun making it in New York.
Q. He Sees You When You’re Sleeping was written by David Lenik. What attracted you to the script?
A. David wrote the script as a passion project, without knowing if it would ever get made. I read it and just loved the humour and the bitchiness, the camp elements of it all, and I thought it could be really fun to make. If anyone else had got their hands on this script, I’d have been jealous, and so a couple of years later when I had a gap in my filmmaking schedule I felt it was time to get it moving, with the help of producer Tom Malloy.
Q. What were some of your influences for the look and style of the film?
A. I looked specifically to 70’s horror like Black Christmas, but also to episodes of Tales From the Crypt, which have the more cartoonish elements. I’m a big fan of forgotten made-for-TV movies from the 70’s and 80’s and I drew some influence from there also.
Q. What were some of your favourite moments during filming?
A. This cast were just incredible. We had such a tight schedule and they were thrown into these big ensemble scenes with so little time, but they all brought an amazing energy and made David’s dialogue, campiness and melodrama come to life. That fast pace was quite exhilarating, but it wouldn’t have worked without a cast who were 100% on the ball, we worked our asses off.
Q. Did you experience any issues during filming?
A. Absolutely. Time is always a major issue, and with Caroline Williams falling ill at the start of the shoot, we fell behind right away. We had much more action, gore and Santa-terror planned for this movie, but as the shoot got tighter and tighter I had to prioritise the story beats and the dialogue. However, there are always compromises on low budget films, but we’re all pretty happy with what we’ve ended up with.
Q. What makes this stand out as something different in the horror genre?
A. The quirky script really makes this different I think. Plus I think it’s worth seeing for Caroline Williams’ performance alone, I’m a huge fan of her and I knew I had to have her for this character. As we started shooting, I learned that Terrifier 3 was going to be a Christmas movie… my first thought was that it would make any other Christmas horror in 2024 totally obsolete, how can you compete with Art the Clown?! But our film is so different, it’s light, it’s not a gore fest, so I think there’s something fun here to offer horror fans who enjoy Christmas horror, or even just anyone who wants a Christmas movie that’s unlike the norm.
Q. What do you hope people take away after watching the film?
A. I just hope they enjoy spending Christmas with Chester and his mad family! Between Lauren-Marie, Caroline and the rest of the cast, there’s some very kooky characters, there’s something I find charming about the whole thing, the 80’s costumes and hair and the drama the family experience throughout the movie. We all have family arguments at Christmas, but these ones end in death by pickaxe!
Q. Do you have any other projects which you are currently working on?
A. Not one, not two, but three films about a giant killer snake! They’re actually very different from each other but linked by this monster reptile that goes from film to film (which is a practical FX creature) keep look out in 2025.
Q. If someone was looking to direct their own film what advice would you give them?
A. Directing wise, know your script inside-out and prep everything as much as you can. Enjoy yourself on set and stay flexible, work with whatever you have on the day. Generally though, for aspiring filmmakers, find the best location you currently are able to use, write a film around it, shoot it in no less than twelve days, don’t spend/waste too much money. And have fun! It’s just a film at the end of the day, they can be a pain in the ass to make but you have to love it!
You can find out more about projects from Director Charlie Steeds on the Dark Temple Website – Twitter (X) & YouTube
He Sees You When You’re Sleeping will play at Horror-on-Sea on Sunday 12th January at 8:00pm
You can find out more about the festival and purchase tickets 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!
