Eight Corpus Christi filmmakers put together horror anthology, 'The Dead of Night'
For the past two years, eight Corpus Christi filmmakers have put their sweat, tears and blood into creating an eight-episode horror anthology series, "The Dead of Night."
Led by Jacob Grim and his production company, Narrative Film Productions, the series will premiere at Thursday, Sept. 12 at Alamo Drafthouse to a sold-out show. Each episode will then be released on YouTube every Friday, leading up to Halloween.
Each episode runs from 10 to 15 minutes.
"It was a two-year labor of love for all of us, but it's been a passion project of mine for 10," Grim said. "I've been wanting to get local filmmakers together to collaborate on a project like this for the longest time. To see it finally done is so rewarding."
Aside from Grim, the seven other filmmakers include Brady Bynum, Mitchell Cummings, Gerald Flores, Rene Guerrero, Jayda Rae Kolman, Emily Thyme and Jimmy Willden.
"For Jacob to gather all of us together and say this is possible was invigorating," Cummings said. "Sometimes in this industry, especially being freelancers, you can easily get an ego to prove your way. But when you have someone saying we should be a tribe and help each other build, it says a lot. It creates a space for people to be comfortable with each other, have fun and learn. That's the real essence and beauty of 'The Dead of the Night.'"
For more information, and to watch all the trailers, visit facebook.com/deadofnightseries.
'Amor the Great' by Rene Guerrero
"Amor the Great" is about a man on a journey to resurrect his fallen wife. In the middle of his trek, he is chased by these creatures called "golems" who are trying to preserve her remains. But the man is unaware there is a bigger force controlling them.
After watching the AMC series, "Better Call Saul," Guerrero said he was inspired to make his episode in the western genre.
"I was really inspired by that and I wanted to incorporate some native tribalisms I think are cool and relatable," Guerrero said.
He said he doesn't quite remember the moment he got into filmmaking, but he remembers entering a short film in CC7D — a local filmmaker competition — and making skits on YouTube in high school.
What to watch to prepare for episode: 2006's "Apocalypto." Guerrero joked, "I personally have never seen the film, but a lot of people tell me 'Amor the Great' reminds them of it."
Advice for filmmakers: "Plan everything out and make plans for plans. If any plan doesn't go through, have a backup for that plan. Be prepared for any plan to fall through."
'Hello' by Emily Thyme
A fan of mysteries, thrillers and horror, Thyme said she was inspired to create something spooky "but not over the top."
"'Hello' leaves a lot to the imagination," Thyme said. "There's not a lot of films today that pay homage to that (Alfred) Hitchcock and '(The) Twilight Zone' style. I wanted something reminiscent of that. It's a little bit romantic, but still horrific in a quiet and creepy kind of way."
Thyme's film tells the story of a troubled young man who is going through his regular routine and comes across some strange occurrences. Stuck in the monotony of his day-to-day, he then has to make sense of the new manifestations.
As a child, Thyme said watching featurettes on how her favorite films were made filled her with excitement because it showed her how the "magic was made." She said she knew that was something she always wanted to be a part of.
What to watch to prepare for episode: Any episode from "The Twilight Zone" TV series or 2017's "A Ghost Story."
Advice for filmmakers: "Just do it. Have confidence in your ideas, even if it may seem silly to you. If you have a vision, make it happen. Don't listen to anybody else's opinions to what you're doing. If it feels right to you, trust that feeling."
'Invasive Species' by Brady Bynum
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Bynum realized how many people were stuck in a room with a person for the entire day during lockdown. This sparked an idea in him.
"I thought it would be really cool if we had two characters, completely different from one another, and put them in a room together," Bynum said. "I wondered how bad it could get it if you didn't know the person or yourself at all. I love sci-fi films and I had never done anything horror-like before. I knew I could make a sci-fi film pretty scary."
"Invasive Species" is about two people who wake up in a confined room, suffering from severe amnesia. They don't know their identities, where they're from or how they got to where they are. They must try to uncover the truth while figuring out how to escape.
Bynum said he discovered subtle hints he left himself as a child about his love for filmmaking. He would make short films but never realized he could turn it into a true passion. He graduated from Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi with a degree in filmmaking.
What to watch to prepare for episode: The entire "Alien" franchise, but specifically 2012's "Prometheus."
Advice for filmmakers: "You don't need $5 billion and you don't need $5,000; you just need a group of like-minded individuals who have the same passion as you. I always tell everyone on set, 'If we're not having fun, then we're not making a movie.' I think you need to have fun with it and not worry about the small things."
'Mane St.' by Gerald Flores
When coming up with his episode, Flores said he accidentally took a different approach to creating it.
"A frame popped up in my head," Flores said. "I thought it would be really cool if a girl was sitting on a bench and police lights were just flashing around her, and then it goes into what happened. I liked the idea of that one frame I imagined and created a story from that. I started with the visual and then moved to the story."
"Mane St." tells the story of a girl and what she's gone through in a single night. Flores said the scariest thing to him are situations that can most likely happen in real life.
"Those things are the most terrifying to me," Flores said. "'Mane St.' is a scary story about what happened to her earlier that night, and everything gets unfolded."
What to watch to prepare for episode: 2008's "The Strangers."
Advice for filmmakers: "The thing most beneficial to filmmakers is the more you collaborate with people, the better you become. A lot of the times filmmakers start off on their own, but that hinders your film if you don't find others to help you."
'Porcelain' by Jimmy Willden
Not only is Willden a filmmaker, he's also the director of the Corpus Christi Songwriters Festival, a musician and a journalist at KIII/Channel 3.
With "Porcelain," Willden got the idea after a fellow filmmaker told him a strange story about how her mother started to collect porcelain dolls after she moved out.
"I found it creepy and funny at the same time," Willden said. "I turned that little story she told me into a short summary and sent it to her. When I was looking for something new to write, that popped up into my head and I figured I should make a movie about it. From a joke came the scariest thing I've ever done."
"Porcelain" is about a young woman who lives with her grandmother. The young woman has an illness where her bones are fragile. Because of that, her grandmother is very protective but dark and twisted things start to appear from the matriarch.
What to watch to prepare for episode: 2018's Netflix series "The Haunting of Hill House."
Advice for filmmakers: "Pick up a camera and do it. You can't sit around and wait for something to happen. Read all screenplays you can get your hands on, make a movie and don't be afraid."
'So Sorry' by Mitchell Cummings
Cummings initially went to school at Texas A&M University-Kingsville to major in architectural engineering so he could learn how to do set design. He tried to figure out how he could eventually end up on a movie set.
"About a year later, I went to film school and I got a bachelors of science in filmmaking," Cummings said. "My brother ended up starring in a film during the pandemic and the director said she needed a boom operator, so I offered to do it. I met a bunch of crew on the set and then ended up working on multiple sets gaining experience."
With his new knowledge, Cummings put his talent to work with his episode, "So Sorry." It deals with the parasitic nature of neglect and depression. Cummings said it is a psychological horror about the monsters lurking inside and around us we are never fully aware of.
"I got my inspiration from my family and friends," Cummings said. "Some are addicts, and sometimes it's kind of like watching vampirism. This film is very personal."
What to watch to prepare for episode: Anything H.P. Lovecraft-related or 1988's "Brain Damage."
Advice for filmmakers: "I've always been one that said, 'You need to read about it to learn about it.' But I don't think you necessarily have to experience it to know about it. I will say being physically in filmmaking will make you realize its not as clear-cut as it is in a textbook. Get in the physicality of it as soon as you can."
'Unmasked' by Jayda Rae Kolman
Kolman's "Unmasked" is a psychological thriller that is about a wealthy family whose sins are brought to attention.
"Pretty much everything that went on behind closed doors is now forcing the family to suffer their dire consequences," Kolman said.
Originally she had another idea for the episode months before writing the script, but something changed.
"I sat down in front of my computer to work on it, and suddenly this story hit me," Kolman said. "I sat down and it just poured out of me and came together perfectly."
What to watch to prepare for episode: Any "Criminal Minds" episodes.
Advice for filmmakers: "If you know it's supposed to be apart of your life, make sure you keep creating. Tell your stories."
'Welcome to the Family' by Jacob Grim
In 2020, Grim created a short film called "Stranded." It was a six-minute short that featured an unnamed villain. He liked that character so much he decided to feature him in a continuation, "Welcome to the Family."
"My episode is about a couple of friends who, on their way home from a concert, end up being abducted," Grim said. "They wake up in this weird compound ran by this cult of people. The whole thing is about them being forced through tests to decide who will be the next one to join their family."
Grim has always been interested in movies, especially the classic Universal horror films. Initially, he wanted to get into special effects and make monsters.
"When I got older, I learned more about directing and that changed the trajectory for me," Grim said. "I wanted to be the one who tells the monsters what to do rather than create them."
What to watch to prepare for episode: Anything Charles Manson-like.
Advice for filmmakers: "Start creating. People might say they can't afford equipment, but you can easily use your phone to shoot a great video. The only reason you can't create something is yourself standing in your way."
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John Oliva covers entertainment and community news in South Texas. Contact him at john.oliva@caller.com or Twitter @johnpoliva.
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This article originally appeared on Corpus Christi Caller Times: Eight Corpus Christi filmmakers create horror anthology web series
