Film: Friend
Director: Kelly Smith
Writer: Kelly Smith
Starring: Nick Sidhu, Jason Carter, Johanna Taylor, Samuel Clemens
After being dumped by his girlfriend, a solitary software developer ‘friends’ a stranger on social media. But the stranger craves friendship to a pathological degree, leading to a nightmare of terrifying intimacy.
In a new exclusive interview for The Romford Horror Film Festival, I got a chance to ask writer/director Kelly Smith a few questions about what we can expect from his short thriller Friend.
Q. What inspired you to get into filmmaking originally?
A. I’ve been a rabid cinephile since childhood. The first film I ever saw in a cinema was Star Wars, on its original release in 1977, which was a transformative experience. After that, film making became a lifelong dream. I started out making short films with friends on a camcorder back in the Eighties, and I’ve been feeding the addiction ever since.
Q. Your short film Friend has been selected to play at The Romford Horror Film Festival, can you tell us what we can expect from the film?
A. You can expect a psychologically unsettling story with some outrageous black comedy and a particularly unpleasant gross-out scene!
Q. What were your influences when writing the script for the film?
A. When writing the script, I was trying to evoke a grounded but nightmarish reality that is simultaneously funny and disturbing. I sent the first draft to fellow filmmaker Chris Andrews (who mucked in as 1st AD on the film), and he described it as ‘Tales of the Unexpected written by Chris Morris’. I’ll take that!
Q. Did you have any actors or actresses in mind to portray any of the characters when writing the script for the film?
A. I wrote it with two actors in mind, both of whom had worked on my first feature, Don’t Let Him In (2011). I wanted Nick Sidhu to play Dan, the long-suffering protagonist, and Jason Carter to play Stuart, the unhinged ‘friend’ of the title. I was delighted when they both said yes. Then we were incredibly lucky when Johanna Taylor, who has appeared in such films as Kingsman: The Secret Service (2014), agreed to play Dan’s conflicted ex Kate.
Q. Did you make any changes from the original script during filming?
A. We didn’t make any major changes, just tweaked the odd line of dialogue. However, we ended up cutting some scenes in the edit. I was extremely fortunate to work with editor Mark Towns, who edited my first feature and is now horror royalty after cutting the likes of Saint Maud (2019) and Censor (2021), and we trimmed some areas to make the film as lean and propulsive as possible.
Q. What were your influences for the look and style of the film?
A. My ambition was to give the film a detached, clinical style in the vein of David Fincher’s films. The story concerns the pitfalls of social media, so The Social Network (2010) was an obvious reference, but psychological thrillers like Gone Girl (2014) and Mindhunter (TV Series 2017-2019) were equally influential. Not easy to pull off that style on a micro-budget, but we did our best! I should also mention that the music of Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross for Fincher’s films was also a touchstone for our composer Nick Dixon, and he did a superb job channelling that vibe.
Q. Did you experience any issues during filming?
A. Every day! We had a one-week shoot, which was spread over numerous locations, and sometimes we had to dash across the city to shoot in three spaces in a day. All a bit stressful! But the most unfortunate incident occurred during the climactic scene. No spoilers, but it involves a bed and some vomit (actually carrot and coriander soup). Despite covering the mattress with bin liner, it still managed to seep through, and our host had to chuck it!
Q. What were some of your favorite moments during filming?
A. As I’m a writer in addition to being a director, my biggest thrill when filming is seeing the characters coming to life. It’s truly exhilarating when the actors are ‘in the zone’ and you can feel their emotions as they play a particularly charged scene. There’s a confrontation between Dan and Stuart that occurs at the film’s midpoint, which was a challenging scene for both actors, and they both pulled it off magnificently. Shooting that scene was a high point.
Q. What makes Friend stand out as something different in the horror genre?
A. As mentioned earlier, I think the film has an unusual tone – a combination of grounded reality and nightmarish black comedy – and I hope audiences will find that fresh and unpredictable.
Q. What do you hope people take away after watching the film?
A. I hope they feel they’ve watched a compelling story with a twisted, satisfying pay-off. And perhaps the theme of the film, which explores the dark side of our dependence on social media, might leave them with some doubts about the way in which we’re increasingly maintaining relationships solely in a virtual space.
Q. Do you have any other projects which you are currently working on?
A. I have two projects currently in post-production: another short film, a ghost story in the classic tradition entitled The Fallen Woman, and my second feature, a dark comedy thriller very much in the vein of Friend. And I’m aiming to shoot another feature later this year. It’ll be in the horror genre, but we’re keeping further details under wraps for now.
Q. If someone was looking to write and direct their own film what advice would you give them?
A. Just get stuck in. The technology at your disposal is incredible now – the camera in your phone can shoot broadcast quality footage, and you have a worldwide audience via platforms like YouTube and Vimeo. If only all this existed when I started out! My one caveat is this: make sure you have a compelling story to tell. You can have the most stunning cinematography and the coolest VFX in the world, but without a decent story, what’s the point?
You can find out more about Kelly Smith on his website and follow him on Twitter
You can find out more about the Romford Film Festival and purchase tickets here: https://www.romfordfilmfestival.com/romford-horror-festival
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!
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