The Good Exorcist (2018)
Director: Josh Stifter
Writer: Daniel Degnan, Josh Stifter
Starring: Daniel Degnan, Brittaney Ortiz, Avery Merrifield, Ali Meier, John Baran
With The Good Exorcist now available to view on Amazon Prime and TromaNow , I got a chance to catch up with co-writer and director Josh Stifter. I got to ask him a few questions including his influences for writing the film, working with Robert Rodriguez on the tv series Rebel Without a Crew, and his next future projects including his next feature Greywood’s Plot.
The Good Exorcist is your debut feature film which you co-wrote and directed. Can you tell us what we can expect?
I went into this movie knowing I was going to have almost no budget, very little time, and constant interruptions from the reality crew. So, I wanted to make something that would be fun to work on and hoped that this fun would show through in the final product. My concept was to go make a midnight movie, the kind you’d see on late-night cable in the 90’s. The type Joe Bob Briggs would introduce. I wanted to make something campy and fun, with some goofy characters and a little bit of heart too. What came out was The Good Exorcist – a movie about a priest that goes to a ranch to remove a demon and gets caught up in the antics of the eccentric family that owns the property.
The film was made as part of the Robert Rodriguez’s Rebel Without a Crew (2018 – ) tv series. How did you become involved with the series?
I actually had sent a cartoon that I made and apparently El Rey Network liked it and bought it from me. While in L.A. talking with them, I mentioned that Robert’s book was my Bible and they asked me to submit an idea for the Rebel series. I sent an outline for an idea, a mocked-up poster I did quickly one morning, and some character ideas. Apparently, they dug it because they asked me to send a script. Unfortunately, I didn’t have a full script but I told them I could get them one in two weeks. They okayed that and Daniel and I set to work, writing the whole movie in just under two weeks.
You were mentored by Robert Rodriguez’s as part of the series, what did you learn from the experience and did it effect how you approached the film?
It was awesome having Robert’s guidance, but the first thing I really learned was that no one else can make your movie for you. Robert could give advice but it all fell on me to actually execute it, just like any other filmmakers out there. Having the pressure of the reality show helped in some ways because it kept me on task; knowing that if I failed, everyone would be able to watch it. The best advice Robert ever gave was to trust my instincts and adapt to those. He told the other filmmakers and me, “Don’t blink”. Don’t let any moment pass you by. Stay keen and stay focused. And that’s what I tried to do…
…all while having a hell of a fun time with my friends!
Being involved in the show you had two weeks to complete the film with a modest budget of only $7,000. In addition, your progress was constantly monitored for the series. What was it like making the film under such pressure?
I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t stressful. One of the things people don’t think about with that $7,000 is that we weren’t in our hometown. I couldn’t easily call in favours or use locations for free or even sleep in my own bed. We were making an independent movie, but because of the reality show, we had to follow union rules. We had to rent our gear. We had to pay for our locations. I even paid my cast a little just so that they had gas money to make it to set and to buy lunch. Every little thing I did wrong felt like everyone was going to laugh at me. I had the constant pressure of wondering how they were going to edit me on the show… but a couple days in, when Daniel (my best friend/co-writer/lead actor) and I finally just decided to stop worrying about it and have fun, I think we realised we could do whatever we wanted and get away with it. We let go of any fear of failure and just let the project naturally become what it needed to be.
You wrote The Good Exorcist with Daniel Degnan. What were some of your influences when writing the film?
Daniel and I really wanted to let our personalities shine through in the writing and the story. Strangely, one of the biggest influences was Mystery Science Theater 3000 (1988-1999). It was obvious we weren’t going to be able to make something that looked like a Hollywood Blockbuster, so instead, we owned up to the ridiculousness and started just writing to make each other laugh. It became almost like making a “bad movie” but with the riff tracks written right into the actual movie.
We also wanted it to feel on point with El Mariachi (1992). While we didn’t want to make an action movie, we knew we wanted something that played to the low budget while still taking itself seriously. Analysing what Robert did on his first movie, we were really able to hone in on the jokes and the action that we thought would be doable with no money. A lot changed from script to screen, but we were able to retain the feel even with the limited resources.
What were some of your influences for the look and style of the film?
I’m a huge animation fan. I want my features to almost feel like living cartoons at times. I was always really influenced by filmmakers like Tim Burton and Wes Anderson who can make these ridiculous worlds that feel like an alternate universe but still feel completely lived in. I’m a big fan of interesting cinematography and even though I had to take on a lot of different jobs on this movie, I really liked the idea of being able to film Daniel in his cowboy priest getup in cool ways.
What were some of the biggest issues you faced during filming?
All of them. All of the issues. Ha ha ha. We didn’t have time, we didn’t have money, we didn’t have a crew. Really, all we had was the drive to get something done and a story we really wanted to tell. We battled with sound issues when another television show came in to film and started tearing down our set. The constant hammering and trucks backing up made life hell for us. Then I got bronchitis on the second week and was so sick I didn’t even want to finish the movie but Daniel pushed me to keep going. On Rebel Without A Crew, you can see many of the issues all of the filmmakers were up against. All these issues though never really outweighed our passion to get it done. And I think that persistence shows in the movie.
What were some of your favorite moments during filming?Oh, wow. There were so many.
In the movie, Stanley has a scene where he describes his dream. When I wrote it, I imagined us filming the dream and the visuals of seeing this silly idea play out would be hilarious. But when Avery started doing the monologue and I saw Daniel and Brittaney’s reactions, I couldn’t stop laughing. The whole thing was hysterical. In fact, I ruined multiple takes because I started laughing. I eventually had to take a pin and stick myself in the leg while he delivered the monologue to keep from laughing.
On RWAC you can see that we were all just having so much fun. Maybe too much fun. Every day was exciting and fresh and a blast. I’m putting together a comprehensive making of the film on my Patreon (patreon.com/flushstudios) right now called “on’t Blink: How I Made A Movie and in that Daniel and I plan to tell a lot of those stories. In fact, in the third episode (which is up now), we tell the story of when I called Daniel to email the cast and he was drunk at the airport. While it was stressful at the time, it led to a hilarious story.
The film is left open for a sequel. Are there any plans to continue the story?
God, I hope so! I’m working on a series of short animations similar to the So You’re Having an Exorcism cartoon in the film. I would love to have these done this year and start building a following for the characters.
I’m also in the process of writing two sequels, Father Gil and the Daughters of Lilith and Saint Gil Goes to Hell Again. I have no idea if these will ever happen, but I never thought I’d be on reality tv either, so you never know!
You also have a new film called Greywood’s Plot which is likely to be released this fall, can you tell me a little bit about that film?
Yeah! Greywood’s Plot just had a screening at another film festival, South Texas Underground, and I’m SO excited to get it out to people. It’s a bit more of a horror than The Good Exorcist, but it still has the same campy vibe. It’s a black and white movie about two friends that adventure out onto a stranger’s land in hopes of filming a Chupacabra. But not everything on the land is what it appears to be. It’s a very personal movie that takes some odd twists, but I think people are really going to enjoy it’s weird sensibility.
It sounds like it is going to be a very different film to The Good Exorcist.
We started making Greywood’s Plot before The Good Exorcist and failed miserably. We didn’t think we’d ever go back and finish it. But after working on The Good Exorcist, I realised I really had a story to tell in this weird little movie and I couldn’t keep myself from doing it. The funny thing has been that people say that it’s nice that I was able to get a crew and some money for this one after they see it, when in reality we made it for FAR less than $7,000 and less people on the “crew” … 98% of Greywood’s Plot was made by just Daniel, Keith Radichel, Nathan Strauss, and myself. And many of the scenes I literally filmed 100% by myself. No one else in the room. Those were some tough shoots.
Do you have any other projects which you are working on in film or animation?
Always. If you don’t have projects in the works, you’re doing it wrong. If you don’t have anything, start. Right now.
I’m working on my third feature called Scumbag, which you can follow along with on my patreon. I’m also doing the making of The Good Exorcist series, Don’t Blink, on there as well. On top of that, I have a comic in the works, a Simpsons parody series slowly coming together, a haunted house script called The House that Trembles in the Night in the works, a gross out script called Botfly that’s being pitched as I type, and more.
I’m also running my business Flush Studios full-time now, so if anyone is in need of film or animation, feel free to contact at joshstifter@flushstudios.com or check out joshstifter.com for more info!
If someone was looking to write and direct their own film what advice would you give them?
Go. Do it. Fail at it and then start again. Take a weekend and make something stupid. Take a day and just make something for youtube. Podcast! People make jokes and say, “Everyone has a podcast” but I’ve come up with more of the ideas and met more interesting people by doing the podcast than anything else. Flush Studios Podcast might not be the biggest podcast in the world, but it’s so important to me and that’s all that matters. Find what pushes you and teaches you and go do that thing.
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!
