When the leaves fall it means the temperatures are right behind. Two negatives in my mind when comes to describing October. Other than that, this is my favorite month out of the year. Two words:
HORROR MOVIES
I love the horror genre. Being scared while watching a movie is so intense that it can last for days when I default back to being a little boy who is suddenly afraid of the dark again. The acting in movies is always something that ranks high for me, but with this genre it doesn’t really matter. All they have to do is make me believe that they are scared. If you’ve kept my attention, you’ve done your job.
Due to my love of horror movies, I decided to write one. It started a few years ago when my wife took me on a hayrack on the Shady Lanes Ranch in Council Bluffs, Iowa. As we sat in the hay and were on a trail that was in the woods I suddenly became inspired to write. I saw it as a challenge, but being fun at the same time. Before creating an outline I made sure I had the basics down as to what kind of horror script I wanted to write. I decided on a slasher since I was a huge fan of “Friday the 13th”, “Scream”, and “Halloween” . I also wanted to add in a bit of religion because of my love of the film “The Exorcist” . I knew the first ten minutes had to be intense and that the victims had to be young people. I knew I wanted to focus more on the scare rather than the gore and like most horror films it needed nudity. After that the outline fell into place and the script, “Pine Acres” was born. Now, with the help of my co-producer Chad Bishoff, I’m ready to make it. I wrote a short film to go along with the feature, a prequel titled “Legend of Pine Acres” , to help raise money. I was nervous going in with only my knowledge of watching horror films as experience. But I can look at the feature, and the short, and be proud of how it all came together.
I was able to take my love of the Halloween season and use it as inspiration. So now when I’m watching horror movies, going to pumpkin patches, going to haunted houses, or doing all the other things I like to do in October I can add working on my horror script to the list.
PROJECET UPDATE:
TWO WEEKS! In two weeks, October, 24th, I’m throwing a Halloween costume party in Omaha at the Pizza Shoppe Collective . (60th and Maple) The party will also be a fundraiser for “Legend of Pine Acres” . Funds raised will go toward getting the short film screened and also to pay for marketing material. So if you are in town, be sure to stop by!
