Film Name: Post
Director: Lisa Geurts
Writer: Lisa Geurts
Starring: Jessamy Corob Cook, Isabel Gray, Juliette Smith
An influencer receives a mysterious fan letter.
In a new exclusive interview on Blazing Minds, I got the chance to ask Writer-Director Lisa Geurts a few questions about her film Post, which will have its UK Premiere at The Horror-on-Sea Film Festival on Sunday, 18th January at 17:30hrs.
Q. Your film Post has been selected to play at the Horror-on-Sea Film Festival. Can you tell us what we can expect?
A. You can expect an all-female genre-fused short film that combines classic horror tension with bizarre comedic satire elements.
Q. What were your inspirations when writing the script?
A. In this day and age, it is hard to avoid being a user of social media and sometimes it is easy to find little obsessions with celebrities or social media influencers. I started thinking about both sides to that coin. If you are an influencer or a celebrity with a social media presence, you are putting yourself out there and you don’t know how that connects with people. Sometimes I noticed people connect to people online in an unhealthy way and I also started thinking whether maybe even I do that, as ultimately you don’t know these people and you have no idea what their day to day looks like or what they are like. The film doesn’t really blame the influencer for that, but it does make you wonder what makes it that someone feels overly connected to someone they only see online.
Q. Did you have any of the cast in mind for the characters when writing the script?
A. I actually wrote the script with a really flexible mindset towards casting. I knew I wanted strong actors that could bring their own interpretation to the roles and the lines, so in the auditions I really tried to encourage them finding their own way with it and I ended up picking actors that brought the most unique perspective.
Q. What were some of your influences for the look and style of the film?
A. Everyone that has worked with me on a horror film likely is aware that I love the movie Midsommar (2019) and for this film I really looked at that film’s use of daylight in horror, which is something you don’t often see. I also looked at other films that use a lot of bright and neon colours such as Bodies Bodies Bodies (2022) and I also looked at Jennifer’s Body (2009) to see how they captured femininity in horror and it. Both films also use comedic elements and satire to drive their story forward, so that was really helpful to me when developing the look of the film.
The character of Pearl in the movie with the same time was a huge influence in the development of the character Anna to the point that I had the actors who auditioned for Anna read a monologue from Pearl (2022).
In general. I wanted the film to begin with a very bright and polished look as we begin the film inside the influencer’s world. I also wanted the Anna (the fan) character to be very bright but in kind of a wrong way as she is trying to mirror the influencer’s world. There is a scene I love where Anna stands in the door opening and we chose to very vibrant colours for her while we lit and graded it a lot darker inside the house. The film then turns darker as we go, but still with hints of the vibrant colours we see throughout the film.
A quick shout out to the film’s DOP Matthias Djan who I developed the look with as well as who brought some amazing ideas to the table and executed our light and shot plan beautifully on the day.
Q. Did you make any changes from the original script during filming?
A. We didn’t make many changes during filming as we were all quite well prepared and knew what we needed to shoot. I gave the actors autonomy to play with the lines if they felt that was more natural to them. We did cut bits and bops in the edit as there were a lot more scenes and dialogue as during the editing process we realised that the film becomes the most interesting when Anna enters the film.
Q. What were some of your favourite moments during filming?
I just love working with good people and I think you are doing great if filmmaking feels like adult summer camp, except you also don’t really sleep and work really hard!
There wasn’t one moment, but I just remember a lot of laughs and kindness and collaboration between us all.
Q. Did you experience any issues during filming?
A. It was actually fairly smooth sailing. The majority of the crew had worked with me on my previous short The Yellow Balloon (2023), so we already knew how everyone worked and that we made for a pretty awesome team. We of course experienced the usual things such as time pressures to get everything done, having to make quick fixes to props etc., but the cast and crew for Post was amazing, so I only wish we had more days to shoot!
Q. What makes Post stand out as something different in the horror genre?
A. I hope it stands out due to its unique tone that blends over the top ideas with genuine horror as well as seeing some really awesome characters you don’t always get to see in the genre.
Q. What do you hope people take away after watching the film?
A. I hope people take away that people online don’t owe you anything more than what they choose to put out there but likewise also to be careful with what you share online and who you communicate with. I do think we are continuously learning about social media and it is constantly evolving, so it can be really tough to be mindful of how you use it, so perhaps the film also shows it can be hard to know what the right thing is.
Q. Do you have any other projects which you are currently working on?
A. I just wrapped two projects as a director and one as a producer, all three I edited as well and are due to have their festival run in 2026. I am also planning to direct another horror film in 2026, so keep your eyes peeled on my socials for more on all of those projects.
Q. If someone was looking to write and direct their own film what advice would you give them
My biggest advice is to just get something made, whether you have enough money to hire a proper crew or whether you make something on your phone. While you should want to make something of a high standard, don’t get bogged down if it isn’t as perfect as you had hoped and have it stop yourself from putting something out in the world.
I also think I doubted myself for a long time and was very scared to put myself out there because I was scared to be judged or that people would hate my work, but have realised that is absolutely not the way to think, about anything really. Even the films that I love, there’ll be people that despise them and being scared of judgment is really only holding yourself back. Putting yourself out there is really brave, so just remember that and with every film you become more skilled at your craft and you gain momentum and people that will enjoy your work.
You can find out mor about Writer-Director Lisa Geurts, along with the cast and crew using the social media handles below:
Writer-Director @lisageurtsfilmmaker
Actors
Isabel Gray – @theisabelgray
Juliette Smith – @juliettecsmith
DOP @matthiasdjan
Producer @christinejanumala
First AD & Editor @dylangeurts
Colourist @tomvdesselcolorist
Unit Production Manager @meg_elys
Gaffer @charlesloganclare
Sound Recordist @dominic.ross.77
Sound Designer @ranielfreriks
Production Designer @stephanievdwoude
Art Director @joepatten99
MUA and SFX @saulemua
First AC/Focus Puller @infarinhas
2nd AC & BTS Photography @ainisgrinius
Script Supervisor @alexxandra.ciudin
Sparks @lewisj_manning
Production Assistant @nicola.b_film
Post will have its UK Premiere at The Horror-on-Sea Film Festival on Sunday 18th January at 17:30hrs.
You can find out more about Post and purchase tickets for the film 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!
