The document I began after playing the lead in Devils Night, a five minute horror film by Mikey Brand reads:
The morning after acting in Mikey Brand’s submission for the 48 Hour Horror Film Challenge….I’m left with red and swollen toes from wearing 8 inch (plus?) stilettos for hours on end, my right hand is bruised from beating a dingy basement door and one of my lower teeth is now left jagged and slightly chipped from swigging Cuban rum from the bottle…suffering for art can be a lot of fun! Ha!
Looking forward to the final product. Stayed tuned people, the raw footage is indeed that, raw.
Let me take it to the beginning.
Sometime in October I was asked by the Producer/Director Mike Arnott if I was interested in being a part of an upcoming Toronto horror film challenge. He had entered a submission the year prior and was interested in doing so again. Am I an actress? Nope. Did either of us care? Not at all. I was an in. I was now part of a team Mike assembled and we waited for the 48 Hour Horror Film Challenge to begin.
The competition required that all aspects of a five to seven minute horror film commence and be completed within 48 hours. Each team was given a challenge pack that included a prop and elements to be included in the film.
Our challenge pack:
Prop: Spider Hat
Line: “I’ll be right back.”
Locations: Abandoned Building, Dark Alley, Basement
After receiving the package on the night of the 8th, the team began writing the script – I didn’t partake in it at all. The following morning aka the day of the shoot, I reviewed the storyboard. I had a basic idea of what was needed to be said but we were going to wing it. I liked the idea of allowing the moment to take over. All I knew was that I could be as hard and angry as I wanted to be.
What I didn’t realize was how much aggro I was holding inside until we started filming.
Samina, I still can’t believe that in the moment, I threw my cigarette at you. I’m so glad it fell by your feet – a part of me fears you could have caught on fire.
Yes, that’s what happened when I just let go.
Apparently there’s a take where it looked as though I had controlled myself from kneeing her in the face.
I also kicked a plastic cauldron she was holding so hard I shattered it in the street.
I did say my character wasn’t exactly nice right?
It was an exorcism of sorts where poison inside of me fused with my factory town conditioning and resulted in everything I fought not to become over my lifetime to blow its way out of my being. I pretty much embodied a lot of what I was around in my pre-Toronto days of past.
We began to film after dark and I believe I made it home after 4:00 am. As far as the rest of the crew…..I have no idea. I was the only one sober by the time I left.
Of the sixteen teams that entered the contest ours was the only one that didn’t submit our film on time. We couldn’t win prizes but we were included in the screening at the theatre.
If there was a prize for most foul mouthed actor/actress, I would have won. Can’t say that didn’t both horrify and entertain me as I watched myself on the big screen. I can only imagine what is left in the scenes that didn’t make the cut.
Enjoy.
*Thanks to everyone involved in the production, especially Mike Arnott. I had a great time.
Read the next memoir, Behind The Scenes Of A Glenn Love Video I Was In, here.
Read the previous memoir, I’m Still Here, here.
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