Thing On The Doorstep Movie Showcase & Interview with Producer Will Severin

Synopsis

"It is true that I have just sent six bullets through the head of my best friend, and yet I hope to show by this statement that I am not his murderer."

Daniel Upton's relationship with his friend Edward Derby is abruptly changed after Edward becomes romantically involved with Asenath Waite, a hypnotist with an odd reputation. As Edward's behavior becomes more erratic and events unexplainable, Daniel investigates. Is it madness...or something far more terrifying?

Here at The Evil Eye we were lucky enough to interview Producer/Composer of 'Thing on The Doorstep' Will Severin about the project,  check out our interview below.

Firstly we would just like to say we have seen the trailer and we are really looking forward to seeing the finished piece.

Thanks very much. This is really the work of a collective of three people. We're a pretty tight knit group and have professional backgrounds in film and theatre. The three of us wore multiple hats during the making of the film. Tom Gliserman is the director, director of photography and editor, Mary Jane Hansen wrote the screenplay, played the role of Asenath Waite, did hair, make-up, etc, while I produced the film, sound designed it and served as composer. We recently finished post on the film and are planning on making the festival rounds this fall.

"Either there was truth in what he was saying, or he was just crazy. And if he was, then he was dragging me with him." - Daniel Upton

H.P Lovecraft is a very unusual some may say obscure writer, what was the inspiration for choosing this story by H.P. Lovecraft?

Well, of course we're Lovecraft fans and this story seemed like the perfect story to adapt. It's self contained, not really a part of the mythos he developed, and it really does have three acts. Even the way he opens the story draws you in. It's a great set up.

Did you consider using any of the other stories found in issues of Weird Tales?

We did at some point look at Pickman's Model.

Can we expect a different take on the story from the original?

It's a fairly faithful adaptation. Obviously when you're adapting a short story to feature length, subplots and additional supporting characters come into play, but the story in essence is pretty close. I think Mary did a great job of capturing Lovecraft's literary style, while still making it work in a modern setting. We felt that it was important to preserve the language.

"They do whatever he asks of them. It's the way it has been since the beginning of time."
- Asenath Waite

Is this story a story of mental illness rather than of horror?

I would put the film in the psychological horror genre. We set out to make an atmospheric horror film that focused on the building dread and the psychological affects it has on the relationships between our characters. Our characters are living in a world where the supernatural is real, but they choose to deny it even though it's staring them in the face. There's a few jumps and some blood for good measure, but it's slow burn. A case could be made for a diagnosis of mental illness on the part of one or more characters, but Lovecraft presents the horror as reality and we wanted to preserve that.

After watching the trailer it looks extremely modern in its composition, was that a choice you made, to make it look more modern rather than in the period in which it was written?

We decided early on to tell the story in a contemporary setting. We thought it might make the film more accessible and certainly much more cost effective. Tom wanted to ground this film in reality (as much as you can with Lovecraft) and and take the audience on a journey down the rabbit hole where our protagonist accepts that the horror is real. He gave the film a truly unique look, a lot of shadows and interesting color palettes.

"I find myself in strange far off places, like you found me. I don't know where I am, hundreds of miles off..."
- Edward Derby

So tell us about yourselves, have you always been interested in the horror genre?

I think Tom and Mary are into it, but I'm more the fanboy. I've always been a horror film geek. I grew up reading Famous Monsters and Fangoria.

What are your future aspirations within the film industry?

Well, we definitely want to keep making more films together. We're in pre-production on our next film now. It's a different take on the slasher genre. We'll share more with you in the future.

"You must have heard about the Innsmouth blood. There's a legitimate reason why people are afraid to go out there." - Edward Derby

Finally, when can we expect to see the finished film?

We hope to have this released sometime next year. We'll keep you in the loop!

Thanks again for you time and we look forward to seeing the finished piece.

You can follow 'Thing On The Doorstep' for more news and information at the following links:-

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