As a woman working as a filmmaker, Lou Simon is part of a small but distinguished club. She also operates in an even smaller subset: female horror filmmakers.
Simon's latest film, "HazMat," finds a group of "Candid Camera"-style pranksters caught in the web of a real slasher. The indie horror director talks making scary movies, making it as a female director and the secret to good horror.
Where did the idea come from for "HazMat"? What was your first inspiration to make it?
I had just had major surgery and was on bed rest for two weeks. I was watching a marathon of “Scare Tactics” to pass the time. Then, the premise came to me: “What if, one of these days, one of those victims think that it’s all for real and hurts one of the actors?”
Was there a specific mood or theme you were looking to evoke, and how do you feel the final film met those goals?
"HazMat" is not just a straightforward slasher. There is a supernatural angle to it as well. For that reason, mood was extremely important. We were very lucky to shoot at an abandoned building that needed very little production design. About the only thing we did was add additional hallways for our victims to run through. The rest of the props were left there, and the building was in such a bad condition that it made things relatively easy for us. When you walked in, you were scared. That’s the feeling that I was hoping to invoke in the audience, exactly what we felt. I think overall, we were pretty successful in meeting that goal.
Tell me about the appeal of making lower-budget horror.
I have loved everything that is scary, spooky and mysterious since I was very young. I would keep doing it even if I won the lottery tomorrow. However, horror is probably the only genre that you can do on a lower budget, with a cast of unknowns, that still has the potential of being seen by many people. Horror fans are devoted to it, and they can’t get enough of it. Other than comic books, I don’t think there’s any other genre that has so many conventions throughout the world. But if you make a comic-related film, you’d be competing with films that Hollywood makes for hundreds of millions of dollars.
So, do you attend a lot of conventions? How has your work been received there? Does the feedback you get there affect your filmmaking?
I have attended several conventions, and they’re extremely fun. You feel like you’re in good company as a horror fan. So far, we’ve received great reviews at the festivals and conventions. There’s nothing more rewarding than to have someone come up to you after the screening and tell you that they liked the film. I also take the opportunity to get feedback on what they didn’t like. That way, you know what works or doesn’t work, and you keep growing as a filmmaker. You learn more from your mistakes than you do from what you do right.
Let's talk a little about women in filmmaking. There aren't a lot of women filmmakers who "make it" to begin with, and among those who do, even fewer specialize in the horror genre. Can you talk about your relatively unique perspective and how that makes your movies different?
There are a lot of us women filmmakers out there in the indie world, and we are all trying to “make it” like our male counterparts. It’s in the studio system that there is a noticeable absence of women in all genres. However, the last few years, more than 50% of the audience of horror films has been female. I think that the studios, if they’re smart, will take notice and new opportunities will open up for us gals. In the end, the films that we like to watch and make are better films that have a broader audience, so it would make them more money. They’re not any less scary or less bloody; they’re just better developed in terms of real characters that you know and care about so when they get hacked to pieces, you at least know who it was.
What is the secret to making a good horror movie?
What makes a good horror movie varies depending on the fan. There are hardcore fans that only like a horror movie if it has an incredible amount of gore and new ways of dying that they’ve never seen before. There are others that want mood and creepiness. So you’re never going to please everyone. In my upcoming film “Agoraphobia,” I’m trying to please both sides of the spectrum. Since it’s a supernatural thriller, it’s not about how outrageously people die, it’s more about the mood and creepiness of the situation. However, I’ve added a couple of bloody scenes to satisfy the gore lovers as well.
Did the film go the way you thought it would in terms of story during the filmmaking process? How much did the story evolve during the writing process and into production?
The story was pretty much the same from the initial draft. It was originally written to be shot exclusively as a found-footage film since I wasn’t sure how much we would be able to raise to make it. However, once we raised enough money, I was able to rewrite it so that I could keep what worked as a POV shot and then shoot the rest like a normal film. This allowed me to have a hybrid of the two forms so that it doesn’t get too boring or make anyone motion-sick.
Which filmmakers inspire you most? Who do you pattern your work after?
In terms of inspiration, I would say that Wes Craven and John Carpenter are my favorites. In fact, I was reading a biography on Craven when I first decided to make a film, so I thought a lot about things he said in the book as I was going through those same dilemmas myself. But it will be a while before I can really make something that is comparable to their famous films. Those are big studio films, and I’m nowhere near that.
So, in terms of who I pattern my work after, I would say Oren Peli and Jason Blum. They’ve mastered the ability to make horror films that have marketable appeal but keep budgets low by limiting locations and casts. I’m following that recipe so that I can make the best film for the budget that I have.
Tell me about the best of your "contemporaries" so to speak...those who make the same kinds of films you do. Whose work is can't miss?
At film festivals this past year, I’ve seen some really good shorts by some fellow female filmmakers: Izzy Lee, Karen Lam and Lori Bowen. And if you like fantasy, you’ll love Tara Cardinal’s “The Legend of the Red Reaper.” It’s incredible what she was able to do. That’s why I’m so glad that I’m working with her on the next film.