It became a tradition between my friend Henry and I that whenever we stayed at one-another's houses we would make a short film. After researching an in depth analysis of the Stanley Kubrick film 'The Shining', 'The 13th' was created and we fell into a very artistic form of film making. The film is almost fully without dialogue, this helped for the viewer to watch intently instead of perhaps doing something else and following the dialogue to know what was happening on screen.
The sketches that were thrown into the fire were drawn by me, I sometimes think I was overcome by an evil spirit to have come up with such haunting images. You can catch a glimpse of them before they're eaten by flames.
Speaking of flames, you can't imagine how difficult it was to get the candle flame to go out in a 'gust of air'. Who would've thought that the horror cliche was so hard to achieve on film? I tried blowing from a distance, I used a cushion - upgraded to a pillow, I used book but eventually it was a solid place mat that worked (after three goes).
The inclusion of Henry's old copy of Macbeth draws similarities with that of Shakespeare's ambition to please King James I by including superstitious and paranormal elements within his plays. The film makes a statement about the cruelty of mankind, and how monsters aren't always under the bed, or concealed in a wardrobe. They are in the shadows, and they look just like you and me ...
After a confession by our partner Joe that he didn't like the film, Henry responded with "It's too arty for Joe", but on some level I'd like to think it was because 'The 13th' is psychologically upsetting, especially when that weirdo has a laughing fit on the floor of the kitchen ...
Follow the link to watch 'The 13th':
https://vimeo.com/40348381
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