It’s all fun and games until somebody dials with the Ouija board. Yes, as a special Halloween treat director Ama Lee and horror icon, Michael Varrati teamed up to throw together a quick and dirty short film on the fly. It’s certainly quick, it’s awfully bloody if not dirty, and it’s a campy little bon bon of horror happiness.
It all starts when three bored teenagers decide to stay in on Halloween night and play board games. More like bored games, but I digress. So the three petulant teens pull out plenty of paraphernalia and, in doing so, they inadvertently conjure more than they bargained for.
The film stars Parker Love Bowling (THE BC BUTCHER), Samantha Acampora (THE SINS OF DRACULA), and Briana Caitlin (MR. BLACK), and Travis Lowe (WHERE ARE YOU?). It was produced by Hayley Michelle (Blumhouse) and edited by acclaimed artist Dan Litzinger.
This short won’t change your life, it won’t give you a new perspective, that is not its job. Its sole purpose is to entertain and it does it wonderfully. In fact, this date was never supposed to happen if it weren’t for a chanceDirector Ama Lea (RED RED, ABCS OF DEATH 2.5) realized equipment she had for another project would be in her possession for a few days longer than expected. Being industrious and not wanting to waste the opportunity to create some art on the fly, Lea put the word out to members of the horror community to see if anyone wanted to “get back to basics” and do just a fun, down and dirty short.
“What do you do when you get a pile of gear dumped in your lap for free for a weekend? You can’t say no to that. Usually filmmakers have to do Kickstarter just to have the money just get what we had. So, even though I was crazy booked up with projects, I hit up my pal, Michael Varrati, who came up with the concept of what Mystery Phone was about. We treated it like a 48 hour film fest and enlisted our friends to help.” says Ama Lea
In a few short hours, Ama Lea was able to put together a whole cast and crew consisting of indie horror veterans and enthusiasts who were definitely down to cause a little blood shed. Screenwriter Michael Varrati (TALES OF POE, FLESH FOR THE INFERNO), as mentioned, was tapped to write the script.
“Ama had equipment and a location, but no story. We had worked together on a previous project, and I originally was just going to help her hash out an idea. But when it occurred to us it could be about a game night gone wrong, I became obsessed with the notion of a haunted novelty game…and then I had to write it. I love movies like Witchboard and Ouija, and I dig the idea that these board games can lead to certain doom. But, I love kitsch and camp, so I really like the thought that something far more family friendly can cause chaos. I remembered when I was a kid, my cousin Shelley had this board game with a little pink plastic phone…and the object was to call boys and find the one that liked you. I wanted our short to be about that. I mean, what’s scarier than calling boys?”
Fitting with Ama Lea’s plan to do a fast and furious shoot, principle photography was completed in a single day.
“I passed the script off the Ama on a Thursday, and then I left to go to Palm Springs for a film festival where a project of mine was screening, and by the time I got back three days later, she was all done!” Varrati says.
The film was released as a surprise and treat for horror fans on Halloween night, 2016. Now it is here for you. ENJOY!
Mystery Phone from Ama Lea on Vimeo
