Screening Times: Apr 24th, 7:45pm (AMC Village VII), Sat Apr 26th, 11:59pm (New School, Tischman Auditorium), Apr 28th, 6:45pm (AMC Village VII), May 1st, 8:00pm (AMC Village VII), May 3rd, 10:30pm (AMC Village VII)
Austere and clastrophobic as opposed to the torture porn passing as horror these days, Justin Meeks and Duane Graves' low budget horror thriller,
The Wild Man of Navidad owes some debt to vintage 70s horror films and classic monster movies. Apparently based on the "real life" journals of Texas rancher Dale S. Rogers, it stars the Mr. Meeks and was co-produced by Kim Henkel of the original
Texas Chainsaw Massacre.
Filmmaker: Where were you and how did you hear that you had been accepted to Tribeca? How did you react?
Meeks: I was literally in the middle of shooting an additional scene for
The Wild Man of the Navidad when we got the call from Tribeca. I believe I might have knocked over some lights and I know the camera fell from the tri-pod from all the excitement exuded by Duane and myself. However, the motivation to finish the additional scene was heightened and with a little dusting, the camera was ready to go.
Filmmaker: What about 70s horror films appeal to you and what ones in particular did you revisit when prepping
Navidad?
Meeks: The horror films of the 70's created an atmosphere that you just don't see anymore. They toyed with the human psyche, and often guided the viewer down a road in which one's imagination played out the scene in it's entirety. Leaving the scene open to imagination and utilizing the principle, "less is more", really adds mystery, and heightens the films viewing
experience. Our main goal and vision was to re-tell Dale's story in an honest homage to vintage horror. We watch a ton of old movies anyway, but several movies that we researched for
Wild Man were,
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre,
The Town That Dreaded Sundown and
The Legend of Boggy Creek. All of these movies are story-driven tales that utilize atmosphere and mystery in a very effective, linear way. The narrative/documentary style of the first two was very effective and inspiring from a story telling point of view.
Filmmaker: How were you able to raise money for the project?
Meeks: We continued to work during the week and chose to shoot our film on the weekends. This stretched the production time over a 6 month period, but gave us the lattitude to pay as we shot. Also, we had just completed a series of educational French language video's, which gave us a nice chunk of cash to put towards our project.
Filmmaker: How is the work divided when co-directing a film?
Meeks: Co-directing is an interesting concept, and doesn't always work for everyone, but seems to work very well for us. Duane and I have been working on short films together since 2000. We formed a production company in 2001, Greeks Productions Inc., and have been dedicated to our projects ever since. We spend a considerable amount of time during the pre-production phase so, when the actual production starts we are both on the same station, and don't have conflicting visions. We seem to keep each other's ego's in check, while at the same time ideas flow freely between us. Sometimes, I may have a way that coincides with Duane or visa versa, but we always seem to work it out for the best.
Filmmaker: So much contemporary horror seems to be little more than juvenile torture porn - what separates The Wild Man of the Navidad from the pack?
Meeks: A few years ago, we were offered an opportunity to produce a Texas slasher film. This is when we started researching Texas folklore, in search for that perfect story. When we came across the legend of the Wild Man of the Navidad (river), we knew we had the makings of a great story. We wrote a short proposal, and sent it to the company that wanted to back this project. They loved it, but wanted to change it to have excessive blood, nudity, and lots of torture. This was so far from what the story of the Wild Man was about, so we decided to make the movie ourselves, on our own dime.
The Wild Man of the Navidad has a linear plot line, and utilizes mystery and atmosphere to reveal true events.
Filmmaker: What were the biggest challenges when constructing the film in post-production?
Meeks: There were challenges during the entire movie, but our motto was to "push on despite everything". We decided to cast real people and not actors in our film in hopes of constructing some realism, and giving the film that documentary feel. So, when it came time to edit their performances, it was often like putting a jig-saw puzzle together.
Filmmaker: Do you plan on continuing to work in the horror genre or do you see it as a stepping stone to other types of work?
Meeks: Currently I have two scripts I am writing. One is acomedy, and the other is a mystery/thriller. Our work in the past has been an arrangement of documentary,comedy and psychological thrillers. However, I have no problem with well done horror. I would prefer not to be stuck in one genre, though. Duane and I are considering co-writing a western as well. So, we have several options, it's just a matter of committing to one.
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posted by Brandon Harris @ 4/24/2008 12:04:00 PM
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