Positively Horror recently got the chance to interview the great indie Filmmaker Nicholas Grant. Please enjoy the full interview below.
What was your introduction to horror, and at what age?
2.When I was young, my mom introduced me to a movie called "Silence of the Lambs" and introduced me to Hannibal Lecter. At first, when I saw that, all I saw when watching him was an old man in jail. A million things were racing through my head "Why was he in prison? Why was he locked up? This guy looks so old! He couldn't hurt a fly!" And then I realized, that wasn't the case following that escape scene in the movie. That taught me a lesson and I found out that was the point my mother was doing, that looks can be deceiving. In that moment, I learned horror isn't always about the jumpscares or what goes bump in the night, it can teach very real, very insightful life lessons through fear kinda like what the original Brother's Grimm books did to children when they read them. Ever since then, I became obsessed with the genre, watching tons of horror movies, tons of scary novels, several from my favorite authors like Stephen King and Dean Koontz.
At that moment, I began writing my own stories and "Scripts". When I saw the movie, "Lady in the Water", and I was introduced to the filmmaker, M. Night Shyamalan and I saw that this man not only wrote the movie, but he also directed and produced, it made me realize I didn't have to just limit myself to one role, I could be many and other influences like John Carpenter and Robert Rodriguez taught me the benefits of being a one man film crew.
You have been creating horror shorts that are available for free online for some time, including your vampire series 'Coven'. What do you feel are the benefits of releasing your content this way?
When doing my shorts like this, I didn't really know what people would think about my work, if they would like it or not. As I kept releasing my movies, like some filmmakers find out, some people like your work, others didn't; it's all subjective. Even some of the greatest filmmakers in the genre put out work that some of my friends either don't understand or say flat out sucks. I release them in this way because I'm still learning, testing the waters, seeing what works for me and what doesn't, what sticks, what grabs my audience and keeps them coming back.
Do you have plans to further explore your 'Coven' universe, and is there anything you can tell us about what may be to come?
I can't say too much about upcoming Coven projects, but I can say the series will continue and there will be twists and turns many will not see coming.
Your latest short 'Pick Up' is available to watch now on YouTube. What was the inspiration behind that piece?
I've heard many stories about people dealing with strange individuals and Uber drivers who would either take them somewhere they weren't originally heading or did things that made the passenger leave, fearing they were going to meet a terrifying demise. You can get the most out of horror when it's related to things that can ACTUALLY happen because if it's real, that makes the terror real and if the terror's real, that makes you think and then that makes you scared. Great material for horror.
As well as shorts, you have a feature out called 'He'll Hath no Fury'. Do you find that your process changes from short to feature length film?
It definitely changes especially when the story is bigger and there are more characters, details and situations you have to flesh out. With a short, you have a short amount of time to keep the audience engaged and get your point across in an entertaining, artistic or insightful way. With features, you have to try a little harder cause it is over an hour or two, you have to make sure what you put down on that page and put on that screen with make the audience wanna stay along for the ride.
Who are some of your favourite people working in the genre at the moment?
Right now, my favorite people would have to be local talent like Melissa Marie Brown, Joseph Pascone, Paula Ramirez, Bobby Peoples, Aurora Brown, Danielle Chambers, just to name a few. They bring alot of energy and fun whenever we film together.
And are there any other projects you're involved with that you'd like to talk about?
The Coven series will continue and I plan to end the year with one more feature film however, I can't say much about it, just know that one is coming!
Thank you to Nicholas for the interview. To check out his work, follow the link below:
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