Film Name: A Stranger in the Woods
Director: József Gallai
Writers: Beáta Boldog, József Gallai
Starring: Bill Oberst Jr. Laura Ellen Wilson, Lynn Lowry, Shawn Michael Clankie, József Gallai
A young film student is about to make a documentary about an elderly man who has been hiding
from the world for many years. But as secrets from his past come to light, their strange relationship
takes a fateful turn. Starring cult-classic horror film legends Bill Oberst and Lynn Lowry.
In a new Exclusive Interview on Blazing Minds ahead of Horror-on-Sea I got a chance to ask Co-Writer/Director József Gallai a few questions about the film ‘A Stranger in the Woods‘
A Stranger in the Woods will play at Horror-on-Sea on Friday 17th January at 3.00pm
Q. Your film has been selected to play at the Horror-on-Sea Film Festival. Can you tell us what we
can expect?
A. We can speak about a very much character-driven found footage horror with an emphasis on the depressing atmosphere rather than jump scares. There are a few of those, though. We were very interested in the depth of Victor and Edith’s characters and their relationship with each other, which
acts as the driving force for the whole film.
Q. You co-wrote the script with Beáta Boldog. What were some of your influences when writing
the script and what was your process for writing together?
A. Beata is my wife, so working with her was quite easy. We talked a lot about the basic idea, the characters, of which there were a lot more at the beginning, Victor’s character was one of them, but then COVID came along, and we started working on the story again at the end of 2022. We had several single location horrors in mind as examples to follow, but as I said, we were thinking more of a character study, which is not short of horror elements of course.
Q. What were some of your influences for the look and style of the film?
A. As the story developed, I thought it would be a good idea to follow the found footage sub-genre. I have done a handful of found footage films so far, but I was curious to see if I could take a slightly different direction, show something that few people have done before and, based on the feedback, maybe I could. Stylistically, I was probably thinking of Willow Creek and the first part of Creep. With a minimal toolkit, those films had an awful lot to offer.
Q. Did you make any changes from the original script during filming?
A. All started as a traditional film, even changing the title (the original title was In the Shadow of the Night), but then it morphed into a more intimate psychological horror. Both Bill and Laura contributed a lot to the final shape, we worked closely together, Bill often sent me ideas, which I was very happy about.
Q. What were some of your favourite moments during filming?
A. I don’t have any particular favourites, I loved working on this film. We shot for seven days, the crew was seven people if I remember correctly, we tried out a lot of ideas, everybody gave their maximum.
Q. Did you experience any issues during filming?
A. The weather was against us – we were shooting in early to mid-October and it was almost summer weather, everyone was wearing T-shirts during the breaks. On the other hand, there were several agricultural areas near the location where several combine harvesters tried to cross us, but in the end, this didn’t cause any major disruption.
Q. What do you hope people take away after watching the film?
A. They will witness one of Bill Oberst Jr.’s best performances, as well as a tense, sometimes crazy, sometimes touching horror film. And hopefully the ending will surprise many.
Q. Do you have any other projects which you are currently working on?
A. I am working on two projects. At the end of November, we wrapped our mystery horror film The Black-Eyed Children, starring one of my country’s most talented actresses Kata Kuna as well as Bill Oberst Jr. and Simon Bamford. I hope it will be screened at film festivals early next year. The other is a small, almost experimental horror film called The Final Frame starring Robert LaSardo. We’ll film in February. We expect a lot from both movies and offer our viewers memorable journeys.
Q. If someone was looking to write and direct their own film what advice would you give them?
A. Follow a well-constructed plan and respect those you work with. Finish the film and stop lying to people. The independent film world is full of door-to-door salesmen who only care about you as long as you give them your money to be in their film. A brutally wrong approach. Don’t wait for someone to hand you a script or make you the star of their film. Practise, write, film with friends, gain experience.
You can find out more about A Stranger in the Woods on the following IMDB – Facebook – Instagram
A Stranger in the Woods will play at Horror-on-Sea on Friday 17th January at 3.00pm
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!
