Necrosis: the slow decay of living tissue due to extreme cold.

In 2008, as six friends arrive at an isolated cabin to enjoy a long weekend in the snow, an epic snowstorm interrupts their vacation, trapping them on the mountain and resurrecting the haunting ghosts of the Donner Party. But, are they true 'entities' or is it simply 'cabin fever' that brings out their fears and darkness, causing friends to turn against each other as reality deteriorates around them.

The above plot synopsis is from the upcoming film Necrosis. The cast features such names as: Tiffany (80’s pop icon), James Kyson Lee(Heroes), Penny Drake(Zombie Strippers) George Stults(7th Heaven),  Robert Michael Ryan, Danielle De Luca, Mickey Jones, and Michael Berrymen. (The Hills Have Eyes)

I got the chance to get some questions answered by the director Mr. Jason Stephens. Be sure to check out the official website of Unknown Productions as well as the Necrosis Myspace page.


TERRORTUBE: You co-wrote the script for Necrosis with Robert Michael Ryan, did writing as a duo present any difficulties, does one of you claim to have done the lionshare of the work, how does that work out?
 
“Robert wrote way more than I did. I'll be the first to admit that.... with that said, we had to write it together. I have the experience, working on micro-budget projects, to be able to put the breaks on and take the production costs into consideration. I don't think many writers want to work that way. They have a vision and/or a story to tell and then it's up to the producers to go and find the money to realize that vision. We mapped the project out together. Then he'd say what about this.....and I'd say that costs too much, but if we did it this way.... There was a lot of that.
 
Robert and I started out as best friends in the 4th grade, drawing comic books together.... you can imagine how those were. I got into quite a bit of trouble in Catholic School. Robert has gone onto publish comic books and my talents with pencil and paper only went so far. I'm not terrible..... but I can't come close to what Robert can do.
 
So writing as a duo was fine. We really know each other well enough and can be honest and say when one of us thinks something stinks without the other getting offended. It's great to bounce things off of one another.”
 
TERROR: Can you tell me a little about Unknown Productions?

“There is actually a story to the name..... I started out making Saturday Night Live style sketch comedy videos when I was 12 (with Robert, my brother and quite a few others working on this project I might add).... with my Grandmother's video camera. Before each of them, I'd video a piece of paper or chalk board or whatever with 'Unknown Productions Presents' and then the title. Just a kid thing... but I figured these weren't 'known' productions..... When it came time to make my first feature in 1997, I incorporated.... film Tcompanies have all kinds of crazy names... so when my Corporate Attorney asked me, I reverted back to my youth. Walla, Unknown Productions Inc. was born.”
 
TERROR:  Looking at your past movies you've been involved with as a director, do you look back fondly?
 
“I have worked with the smallest of budgets... but I look back fondly and proud of all of my accomplishments. My first feature was shot for just about twelve grand, give or take. Now you really can't compete with studio films or even 'Sundance' indies with money like that. But I took a lot from those early films. I learned how to orchestrate actors and crew, audition, edit, prepare a film for distribution, etc. I look back and wish I could do a lot of it over again, mainly with the knowledge I have now, but I'm not afraid to look back. I realize that if I hadn't done everything else until this point there would be no way I could pull Necrosis off.”
 
TERROR:  Is Necrosis going to be of interest to fans of gore films?
 
“That depends. We definitely plan to have a few moments. But gore for just gore sake we don't have. This isn't SAW or Braindead, so it's not one shot after another of pure effects and gore.... and it's not a teenage horror film. It's 30 somethings trapped up on Donner Pass. There's a lot of ghost elements to it and a lot of psychological aspects to it as well. The dialogue is smart and crisp. There are the scenes that would make someone squeamish turn away..... And we really want people walking away thinking that'd be fucked.”
 
 TERROR: Where is the filming taking place?

“The majority of the filming takes place near Lake Tahoe. The cast gets snowed in to a cabin that is very isolated and runs on a generator..... so we found a cabin that’s isolated on 40 acres and really runs on a generator. Don't get me wrong this is a nice place.... but just to get to it you need a snowmobile or snow cat.... or you could walk in.
 
TERROR: Auditions for the film, were there any American Idol weirdo like moments?

“No, not really. We actually had a really hard time making our decisions. We had very talented and professional actors coming in. We did just about all of our auditions using a professional breakdown/casting service. We did it all ourselves, (Robert and I) we cut out wherever we could to keep the budget solely on the production elements. It's not a huge cast so it was semi-manageable. Anything bigger and I'd want a real casting director.”
 
 TERROR: Are you aiming to stick to any certain budget for Necrosis? Those HD cameras are some expensive stuff
 I notice.

“You really have to. We started out our pre-production planning using the latest Semi-pro HD cameras (which I own) that you can attach 35mm prime lenses to. But as we started gaining momentum and had a little more money to work with, it really came down to making a decision about the look. You can tell a good story in any medium, but Necrosis' location really is a character in the film and we wanted to show it off. I also wanted to create a specific look, that requires some ramping camera effects seen in a lot of the Asian horror films (The ring and Grudge, etc). So we talked it over with the financiers and all stepped up the production to get the look I was after. So, I put my cameras away for the time being and went with the bigger guns.
 
Another financial consideration we have is our actors contract. We are operating under a SAG indie contract and if you go to the next (SAG) level it financially changes the entire dynamics of your film. The project is 'small' enough to work within, without compromising too much. Don't get me wrong...... we have an awesome crew and have gotten deals and rates (and tons of free stuff). If I were to pay everyone working on this project what they are worth (or even what they probably got on their last project) I wouldn't be making this movie. Everyone has really pitched in and made some sacrifices, realizing that we all had to make a little less to make it work within the allotted amount.... actors and crew alike!”
 
TERROR:  Why should horror fans be excited about Necrosis? And what do you think might appeal to non-horror fans if anything about it?
 
“Horror fans will be able to watch this with the non-horror fans. It's horror in a ghostly-creepy kind of way. I let a bunch of non-horror movie-goers read the script to get their opinions. They all really enjoyed it. Necrosis has an interesting cast, great dialogue, character development, ghosts from America's past and enough of the red stuff to make you want seconds.” 

TERROR: What are some horror movies you hate and some that you love?

“I like to be scared with the suspense of impending doom, rather than just see what others think is scary or gory stuff. I also like to be entertained on more than one level...... and sometimes I like to watch a movie and just have fun. With that said I love movies like Nightmare on Elm Street, Halloween, Prince of Darkness, Flatliners, Dead Calm, The Hitcher (1986), Pet Semetary, Poltergeist, 28 Days, The Omen, and some of the fun horror movies like - Return of the Living Dead, Scream, Braindead, and the Evil Dead series.
 
If it's just a senseless body count then I'm not into it.”


- Wes Laurie