Short Film -Night Mære (2017)
Director: Craig Fisher
Writer: Craig Fisher
Stars: Antonio Rastelli, Derek Palmer, Dan Bailey
A thrilling recreation of the effects of sleep paralysis, through the eyes of Isaac.
Date and Venue:12th January 2019 at 22:30pm
Park Inn by Radisson Palace Southend, Church Rd, Southend-on-Sea SS1 2AL, UK
Short Film – The Midnight Jester (2019)
Director: Craig Fisher
Writer: Craig Fisher
Jenny is heading home after work when her night takes a terrifying turn with the arrival of a stranger, dressed as a jester!
Venue:12th January 2019 at 22:30pm
Park Inn by Radisson Palace Southend, Church Rd, Southend-on-Sea SS1 2AL, UK
You’ve been Bad (2019)
Director: Craig Fisher
Writer: Craig Fisher
He’s been waiting for dad all night, but what’s come home is not what Jack expected…
Date and Venue: 20th January 2019 at 12:30pm
Park Inn by Radisson Palace Southend, Church Rd, Southend-on-Sea SS1 2AL, UK
Night Mære, The Midnight Jester and You’ve been Bad are three short horror films from writer-director Craig Fisher, which have been selected to play at the Horror-on-Sea Film Festival. I got a chance to ask writer-director Craig Fisher a few questions about what we can expect from the film.
Q. You have three short films which have been
selected to play at Horror-on-sea. What can we expect from the films?
With three of my shorts playing at the Festival (how exciting!!) I think it’s a great little starter pack that showcases my voice as a Filmmaker. They are all a good representation of my aesthetic, what and who influences me as well as my capabilities and achievements, with all three films being zero budget. I really had to think outside the box and try to create stylistic films without the freedom that a nice budget would allow me.
Q. How did you come up with the original concepts
for the film?
Night Mære – This short is influenced by my own experiences with sleep paralysis. I’ve suffered with it since I was a little boy. Luckily, I don’t see any apparitions, I just ‘wake’ with the inability to move. Of course, I’ve researched sleep paralysis over the years and I knew all about the typical Mære’s (the names of the apparitions such as The Tall Man, the Hag or The Demon sat on your chest) people see, so I knew they had to be a part of the story. A lot of people have messaged me to say that what happens in the short, is 99% the same experiences they deal with – which I can only imagine is pure terrifying.
You’ve Been Bad – Based on a Creepypasta, this short is my homage to The Gate (1987), which is one of my favourite films. If you’ve seen the film, then you’ll definitely recognise the title of my short. Being an homage to this film, I knew I really wanted to create a vintage 80’s style for the film and try to take the audience back to when family Horror films were good and creepy.
The Midnight Jester – Very loosely based on another Creepypasta, this short is my homage to ‘Stalk and Slash Films’, where there’s an unknown evil presence that appears from nowhere and won’t give up in its pursuit of the victim. The short actually developed from my wanting to write a story that included a Jolly Jim Doll, as we have one in my family (belonged to my Father when he was a little boy). So, I had to come up with a character that would puppeteer the doll, and a Jester just exploded in my head, and he wanted to come out and play.
Q. What were your inspirations for the look and style of the films?
For all three I would definitely say 80’s VHS Horror – my childhood era. Growing up on these films, it’s hard not to want to create similar styles and looks, but with 4K modern vibes lol I’m also very much enamoured by Giallo and really wanted to create that pulpy, beautiful colour palette. I played around with it in Night Mære and pushed the envelope more in You’ve Been Bad.
Q. What were some of your favourite moments during filming?
I don’t mean to sound cliched, but the whole experience of filming! Ever since I was a little boy, I knew I wanted to be involved in the films I was obsessed with. So I feel very lucky to be able to Write and Direct Horror, and to have such incredible Producers, Crew and Cast (all giving their all for just expenses!) – without the whole team, I’d be at home day dreaming about making Horror, but instead I am doing what I love, and slowly, being recognised for my achievements.
Q. Did you adapt or change any of the original scripts during filming?
I didn’t really adapt or change anything during filming. However, The Midnight Jester was originally set in a train station. The lead actress was going to be alone, on a platform at night, waiting for a train, when The Jester appears to stalk her. I know a lot of people have experienced being alone, at night, waiting for that delayed train, so I wanted to play on that, and create a terrifying experience people could relate to, but with lack of funding, we couldn’t secure the location. But silver linings, we ended up securing a beautiful church and graveyard, which completely changed the intention of the film, but adds an incredibly stunning, spooky and gothic background, which really elevated the Horror.
Q. Did you come across any difficulties or issues during filming?
For all three films, the biggest challenge was timescale. With Night Mære, we filmed at my friend’s house (James Plumb – Silent Night Bloody Night: Homecoming (2013) and Little Monster (2018)). James was incredibly kind to offer us his house for the day, which meant he kicked out his wife and children for the day lol Bless them. But of course, they needed to come home at some point, so we had to be done and packed up by the end of the day, without the freedom to go over schedule if we wanted. So, that meant cutting some scenes, but it was thinking on the spot, and having to change things around, that really gives you the experiences of creativity.
Similar with The Midnight Jester and You’ve Been Bad; I filmed both shorts back to back. One on a Saturday, and one on a Sunday (I must be mad!) – So, with You’ve Been Bad we could only have the kid on set for a certain length of time, which was hard, as he was the star of the film! And we had a few SFX issues which took up a bit of time, so we had to be quick thinking again, to ensure we got all the shots we needed. And with The Midnight Jester, we were fighting against the sun! We filmed in the summer, which meant only 7 hours of darkness, and most of the film was exterior. So, we basically had seven hours to make the film! The sun was literally coming up as we called Wrap! That experience was pretty stressful, but everyone turnt it out!
Q. Do you have any other projects which you are currently working on?
I currently have a script ready and raring to go! It’s an 80’s LGBTQ+ Christmas Horror. All of my zero budget films have been micro-shorts, but this script is about 20 mins, which is impossible to make on a zero budget, especially as I’m trying to Level Up on my film making style. I’m looking for investment / funding. Possibly going to crowd fund in the new year. It is frustrating when you have a solid script, cast and crew ready to go, but no money!
Q. If someone was looking to direct their own horror film, what advice would you give them?
It may sound silly, but my main advice is to just get out there and make one! Grab your mates, grab your phone, and go scare some people! I spent a lot of time after Uni, in a shitty job, constantly saying I wanted to be a Filmmaker, but never doing anything about it! Then I finally made my first short five years ago, and now I’m seven shorts deep into my portfolio.
Go research Horror competitions, like the 90 Second Horror Challenge, or the 15 Second Horror Film Challenge – and make something to submit. Search on Facebook and Twitter for local Film Networking Pages – they are bloody great for finding people to help out on your film. And remember, be it jump scare or slow burn atmosphere – keep it scary kids!
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!
