LOVE IS DEAD, a short film written and directed by horror journalist/film critic Jerry Smith (Icons of Fright, Blumhouse.com, Fangoria, Delirium Magazine and Shock Till You Drop) is gearing up to tackle the final 16 days of its IndieGoGo campaign. To celebrate the last leg of the crowdfunding campaign for the film that is set to star popular adult film star Aaron “Small Hands” Thompson (Burning Angel), AMERICAN MARY/THE EDITOR/HARVEST LAKE star Tristan Risk and INSIDIOUS/CONTRACTED/DEMENTIA’
A labor of love, LOVE IS DEAD tells the story of Peter, a man who attends weekly meetings at a support group for men who have all lost loved ones for one reason or another. When it gets to Peter’s turn, he reluctantly joins in and eventually recollects an emotionally brutal chain of events that led to the death of someone very close to him. Described by Smith as an “Emotional Horror” film, LOVE IS DEAD takes its inspiration from roughly around 95% of events that have happened to Smith, a reason he feels he needs to make the film. “I’ve lived through this awful awful situation, and have always been enthralled by the ugly fact that our words can be just as dangerous as any knife or gun.”
HorrorBuzz had the chance to discuss the project with Smith via email. We were curious about the direction he was taking with the film and why it is called an “emotional” horror film. Below is the interview.
Q. As a filmmaker, why did you choose to do Love Is Dead?
I was about halfway through writing my first feature, THE FOUNTAIN SHARK, which is something I’ve wanted to do, story-wise for quite some time. While writing that script, I was hit with a really heavy and intense battle with insomnia. Days would go by without a single second of sleep and I found myself staring at the ceiling, thinking about a lot of things from my life. I’m a pretty easy going and happy person in nature, but there was a time in my life, a few years ago, where I was secretly struggling with alcohol and other substances and it led to an extremely devastating night. It was during that bout with insomnia when I was lost in remembering those times that made me decide to tackle THE FOUNTAIN SHARK second, and make LOVE IS DEAD first.
Q. You describe the film as an emotional horror film. Why did you choose to go this route as opposed to telling the story as a drama?
I write about horror films for different sites like Blumhouse.com, Shock Till You Drop, Fangoria Magazine and Delirium Magazine, all while also acting as the Editor in Chief of Icons of Fright, so the horror genre is a huge part of my life. I’ve always been completely enthralled with the power of words and how in many situations, what we say can cause more damage and destruction and sometimes death, more than any butcher knife or gun. The Emotional Horror thing is my way of letting people know that the majority of the horror is in how brutally hard the dialogue is and how it’s a film about killing people we love with our words. I’d be lying if I said there isn’t any bloodshed going down in it though….
Q. The information describes the movie as 95% accurate to what happened to you. Can you tell us a little bit of what went down?
Yeah definitely. It kind of goes back to the first question of why I chose to do LOVE IS DEAD. During that previously mentioned dark period of my life, I was in the worst place, emotionally and personality-wise. Without realizing it, I just wasn’t myself anymore, I was a complete monster, and I tore down and verbally beat down someone I loved very much, leading to a specific night in which there was a knock at my door and the paramedics were there. I made someone I loved very much feel so small, that she attempted suicide and had to be rushed to the hospital, have charcoal poured down her throat, and had to stay in a mental health facility for some time. It was 100% because of the way I tore her down, and it’s been a demon and weight on my shoulders ever since, I’ll never forgive myself for that, and it has been something that has eaten away at me for years now. I finally reached the point in which I felt that I HAD to tell the story to cope and in a lot of ways release the anger and hatred I’ve held towards myself. 95% of the dialogue and events in the film really happened, but it’s been changed just a bit to make it pack a more powerful punch.
Q. How is making a film like this? Is it catharsis to reenact? A warning for others?
Truthfully, it’s really difficult. I have such a great cast, I mean I couldn’t think of any actors I’d want to have in the film as the male and female leads more than Aaron Thompson and Tristan Risk. I’m so very lucky to have them want to do the film, and if the Indiegogo campaign succeeds, we’re going to be making a brutal yet statement-filled film. It’s very much an apology in the form of a film, and having been around friends, family and even my own mother being victims of abuse, I feel very happy to tell this story. It’s not a happy go lucky story and it’s quite dark, but I do believe that there’s a scene in the film where there’s a realization of the damage done and someone has to live with that. If anyone who is struggling with themselves can perhaps find something in LOVE IS DEAD that makes them think “WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME?”, then I consider it a success.
Q. What are your influences in filmmaking?
I eat and breathe horror, but a lot of my favorite filmmakers are outside of the genre. John Cassavetes is a big deal to me, his films really left their mark on me as a teenager. John Cassavetes and John Carpenter are where it’s at for me, but there are also more recent filmmakers whose films really inspire me. Both Nicholas McCarthy (AT THE DEVIL’S DOOR, THE PACT) and Mickey Keating (DARLING, POD) are two masters of horror in the making as far as I’m concerned.
The film is around $1,900 shy of its goal, and has 16 days to raise the money to make this beast of a film. Featuring a massive amount of perks that come with pledging certain tiers, Smith and co. have assembled signed photos by Risk and Thompson, a Risk-signed copy of the BURLESQUE coffee table book and also at least a few handfuls of Burning Angel mechandise from Thompson.
Indiegogo link: https://www.indiegogo.
