| title: |
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NIGHTMARE MAN |
| directed by: |
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Rolfe Kanefsky |
| screenwriter: |
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Rolfe Kanefsky |
| location: |
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North Hollywood, California, USA |
| official website: |
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www.nightmaremanmovie.com |
| synopsis: |
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Ellen
Morris believes that someone or
something is trying to get her.
Her husband & psychotherapists
believe she's a paranoid schizophrenic.
On the way to the institution,
their car breaks down. When her
husband goes to get gas, Ellen
gets attacked by her mysterious
assailant, 'The Nightmare Man'.
Starring: Tiffany Shepis, Blythe
Metz, & Richard Moll.(Possible
Q & A after the film) |
| runtime: |
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90 min. |
| screening: |
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Film Program 9 [ refer to schedule ] |
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| [an error occurred while processing this directive] |
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Dark Romance Review |
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As
perhaps the most prolific
and accomplished writer/director
at Shriekfest 2006, Rolfe
Kanefsky offered a polished,
entertaining feature that
delivers on the intention
to take viewers through
his successive homages to
the horror styles of the
70's, 80's and 90's.
With an unabashed nod to
the classic Zuni Doll segment
of Karen Black's "Trilogy
of Terror," the director
weaves shock, titilation
and suspense into this late-nite
delight.
Kanefsky loves a good dose
of tongue-in-cheek parody,
so those who prefer their
horror straight-up and serious
are likely to be dazed and
confused if not outright
disappointed, but those
who get the joke are certain
to enjoy the ride.
Tiffany Shepis, Blythe Metz
and Hanna Putnam are the
lovelies in harm's way. |
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| How long did your project take to create, from conception to final completion? |
| It took seven days to write. A year later we were in production. 15 days of production. 9 months later the film was officially completed. |
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| Where did your inspiration come from? |
| I had written another script that begins with a movie within the movie. The scene that I wrote for the movie within the movie seemed like an interesting story. On the phone one day, I told my composer/friend Christopher Farrell that scene and he said he wanted to see THAT movie. Time goes by. I'm in New York waiting to start post-production on another movie, JACQUELINE HYDE, but all the footage wasn't digitized yet. I had a free week, was bored, and thought about that movie within the movie scene. I started the script and finished it by the end of the week so I could begin editing my other film. People read it and liked it. So, I decided it should be my next film...and it was. |
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| Is Horror or Sci-Fi your primary creative interest? |
| I love most genres. Actually, comedy is really my forte. But I am a big horror fan and watch every horror movie out there. NIGHTMARE MAN is my first "straight" horror film. At least, as straight as I could make it. There is still some offbeat humor when you don't expect it.
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| Can you describe a typical day in the process of creating your film? |
| Writing a screenplay is simple. You get up, start writing, eat something, write some more, write some more and then some more. Go to bed and repeat. As for making the movie, every day involves dealing with and overcoming all disasters that arise. Shooting for eight hours and then trying to figure out how to stay on schedule and budget. (It's usually a 12 hour day but NIGHTMARE MAN was filmed during the summer and almost the entire film takes place at night so there was only 7-8 hours of darkness that we could film in. Those short days made it very difficult.) |
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| Who do you consider to be the greatest horror writer? |
| I'm a big fan of Edgar Allan Poe and have a fun script based on five of his tales that I really hope to make into a feature someday soon. |
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| Can you recall the first horror film that left a lasting impression on you? |
| I was ten years old and saw the 1979 version of INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS in the theater. Gave me nightmares for weeks. But at five, I watched ABBOTT AND COSTELLO MEET FRANKENSTEIN on T.V. and that has continued to influence my work ever since. On video, EVIL DEAD made a big impact as well. |
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| Who do you consider to be the greatest 'Master of Horror'? |
| With HALLOWEEN, THE FOG, THE THING, and THEY LIVE, I have to go with John Carpenter. I guess Alfred Hitchcock is the "Master of Suspense" but PSYCHO, THE BIRDS, and FRENZY can't be ignored. |
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| How many participants comprised your crew? |
| I usually work with a twenty to thirty person crew. On NIGHTMARE MAN, my D.P.- Paul Deng, my producer parents- Victor and Alice Kanefsky, my producer Esther Goodstein and my composer, Christopher Farrell were the key players.
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| How many castmembers? |
| NIGHTMARE MAN has a small cast of seven main characters. All did an amazing job. I'd worked with half of them before. |
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| How did you find your cast? |
| I sometimes use a casting director. Jerry Whitworth and Mark Sikes have been my favorites. I recently starting using nowcasting.com and found some wonderful actors through it. And then there are the surprises. I met actress Hanna Putnam in a bar while we were casting and invited her to audition. She turned out to be great and got the role. Tiffany Shepis and I go way back. I've worked with Tiffany six times so far. When you meet someone you click with, you do your best to stick with them. |
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| Did you re-edit your film after the first cut? |
| Well, editing is a process of constant re-editing. But the first time we screened the film, we were very happy with the cut. It has not changed since.
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| Did you shoot on film or with digital cameras? |
| NIGHTMARE MAN was shot on HD as was my last flick, JACQUELINE HYDE. THE HAZING and THERE'S NOTHING OUT THERE was Super 16. TOMORROW BY MIDNIGHT and PRETTY COOL was 35mm. If you have the money, I still prefer 35mm but with a good D.P. my choice is HD over 16mm or Super 16. |
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| If you could choose any famous actors to work with on future projects, who would they be? |
| Well, Tiffany Shepis will always be on my list. After her, I always just look for the best person for the role. I like actors who are commited and professional. Brad Dourif, Carol Kane, Jeff Fahey, Dee Wallace Stone, and Richard Moll were all pleasures to work with. They leave the egos at home and come to work. That's a director's dream. |
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