Film Name: The:Night:Watcher
Director: Adrian Viviani
Writer: Adrian Viviani
Starring: Charlie Parker, Michael Harrison, Adrian Viviani
In a CCTV suite, it is lurking; Watching in the Night.
In a new exclusive interview on Blazing Minds, I got a chance to ask Writer-Director Adrian Viviani a few questions about his film ‘The:Night:Watcher’, which has been selected to play at Horror-on-Sea on Sunday, 25th January at 15:00hrs.
Q. Your film The:Night:Watcher has been selected to play at the Horror-on-Sea Film Festival. Can you tell us what we can expect?
A. A ship in a bottle film with a dark and foreboding atmosphere; a lingering feeling that something isn’t quite right amongst the sickly glow of the PC screens.
Q. What were your inspirations when writing the script?
A. The film was based on a minute short I wrote prior, inspired around vanity and technology and its weaponisation by something malicious. To desire being seen and loved, flipped to being watched and hunted. The concept and use of technology was then applied to that of surveillance and power and expanded to give more opportunity for the characters to present themselves.
Q. Did you have any of the cast in mind for the characters when writing the script?
A. I had worked with Michael many times before and so I always had him in mind for the short. I met Charlie for the first time through this film and she fit the part very well. As for me, I was merely a placeholder if we unfortunately had nobody else wanting to be involved on screen. As that happened, I assumed the role.
Q. What were some of your influences for the look and style of the film?
A. The Haunting (1963) was a good inspiration for certain close ups and cuts as well as the minimalist
nature of the malicious entity.
The Matrix (1999) use of colour grading and its grimy atmosphere were also used to inspire the design of
the CCTV suite
Q. Did you make any changes from the original script during filming?
A. Many. Infact most of the elements in the film such as location and shots were changed merely to
use what we had access to. We were running on zero budget and many of the elements of the script
were written with that in mind. However even then from first draft to last draft, there is a significant
change in the atmosphere , characters and scope to adjust to the new location.
Q. What were some of your favourite moments during filming?
A. The moment we built the suite was genuinely a fantastic moment of pride for me. I was rather
worried that the location we had access to wouldnt meet the needs of the script. However when
everything was placed and ready to go, it looked exactly how i pictured it when writing the script.
From there i felt a weight was partially lifted.
Q. Did you experience any issues during filming?
A. due to a miscommunication, no one amongst us had brought a keyboard for the pc… this lead to
me popping on Facebook market place and spending the next 30 minutes driving, buying and
returning with a keyboard in hand so it wasn’t a continuity error.
Q. What makes The:Night:Watcher stand out as something different in the horror genre?
A. I feel the nature of the horror in this film is rather quiet, in the shadows rather than in your face. It
doesn’t have jump scares per say however the manner in which the horror manifests, I believe is
rather unique.
Q. What do you hope people take away after watching the film?
A. I hope they enjoy themselves whilst watching and see that horror doesn’t necessarily need big
scares or blood and guts. It can be made quietly and cheaply . That isnt to say one is superior to the
other. But i would like offer something a bit different , even if its not to everyones taste.
Q. Do you have any other projects which you are currently working on?
A. As of yet i have no plans currently, however Jake Bentley, my DP of the Threelancers messaged
me recently asking after some more, small scale, low budget shorts so maybe in the future you will
see more from us.
Q. If someone was looking to write and direct their own film what advice would you give them?
A. impose restrictions upon yourself when writing. Limit yourself in terms of ideas, budget and
setting. You are always more creative and clear when you have limited options and like cooking, its
much easier to add to a dish then is to remove from one.
You can find out more about other films from THETHREELANCERS and Writer-Director Adrian Viviani on the Website https://thethreelancers.com/ and Instagram @thethreelancersfilms – @adrian_viviani
The:Night:Watcher has been selected to play at Horror-on-Sea on Sunday 25th January at 15:00hrs.
You can find out more about The:Night:Watcher 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!
