One-on-One
With Phil Messerer:
The Independent Filmmaker of The Vampires Diaries
Independent Film Producer Phil Messerer may not actually believe in vampires,
but that didn’t stop him from making a film about the centuries old wonder.
In fact, his horror flick,
The Vampire Diaries: part 1 - Thicker Than Water
(Sugar Factory Films), has won a host of honors including an
Accolade
Award of Excellence, Viewers' Choice Best Horror at the Tribeca Cinemas
Independent Features Film Festival, as well as
Best Director at the
B-Movie Fest in N.Y., to name a few.
Although this is the Russian-born director’s first film, he said there’s more to
come – it’s a trilogy.
Thicker Than Water is a film about the Baxters, a
typical suburban family whose lifestyle changes quickly when they learn that
their daughter has been turned into ... wait for it … a vampire.
Messerer, 34, a freelance video editor by day, said he is extremely pleased with
the film’s many star performances including the lead, Devon Bailey, as the
16-year-old angelic, vegetarian cheerleader who becomes a vampire. He also is
proud of Eilis Cahill, who plays the cynical Goth twin sister, and Jo Jo
Hristova, as the old-world Bulgarian immigrant mom, as well as Michael Strelow,
as the gay neuro-scientist brother.
“The film is edgy and challenging, asking the ultimate question: ‘What would you
do for love?’ The mood ranges from dark comedy to heavy melodrama to unspeakable
terror. The vampire mythology is completely original as is the Goth metal
soundtrack. It is also the first part of a projected trilogy with infinite
growth potential,” says he film’s Web site.
Accolade’s Debbie L. Sklar recently interviewed Messerer about his film,
which took more than 3 years to make on a budget of $200,000, only to discover
that he’s not much of a believer in vampires, but he does have a few horror
movie favorites.
Q: Can you offer some lessons learned that may help other independent/emerging
filmmakers?
A: Communication: It’s amazing how much stuff I was able to get just by opening
my mouth and asking for it. I don’t know much about the business side of
filmmaking; I just picked up a camera and ran with it. People recognize and
applaud the endeavors of the insane and I found they were only too willing to
help out. Whether it was an ambulance or a drama class from the local high
school, I rarely had to ask twice.
Q: What is the story behind the film and why did you select a horror film,
especially since you’ve indicated that you want to become a serious filmmaker?
A: I didn’t set out to make a horror film. To tell you the truth, I’m not that
big a fan of the genre, I don’t find it challenging enough. For me, horror is a
tool, my film, a satire. Horror is an exaggeration of reality, which is really
the essence of satire. My film has elements of horror but it’s not confined by
the conventions of the genre. It’s a dark comedy, a satire of good old-fashioned
American values. It questions the integrity of our moral principles. I know that
sounds a little pretentious for a vampire flick, but I’m ambitious, what I can
say.
Q: Meaning?
A: The essence of the film is simple: You are a conservative Christian household
but your daughter needs human sacrifices to survive. Do you put family above
morality? An interesting question seeing as the two are rarely at odds. But in
my warped world, they are. The title,
‘Thicker Than Water,’ is two-fold –
literal and figurative. The other thing about horror is that it is its own worst
enemy. They want to scare us but they go out of their way to make it as
unrealistic as possible. What’s the first thing you tell yourself when you’re
really scared at the movies? ‘It’s not real!’ Hence the secret to true horror –
realism.
Q: You said that this is a first in a trilogy ... have you started work on part
2? If so, can you give us a little tease as to what we can expect?
A: Part 2 is still very much top secret. But I will say this: The mythology
behind the
Vampire Diaries is completely original. In many ways, it is
almost contrary to what we have been led to believe about the species. Book one
only hints at the world to come. We are introduced to it through the very
sheltered perspective of an innocent family. Once the layers begin to peel off,
the intricacies of this world should be pretty impressive. I do hope to make a
somewhat sexier sequel though.
Q: Yeah, there’s not much romance in your movie.
A: In
Thicker Than Water, I went out of my way to take all the romance
out of the genre. I shied away from it instinctively. That may be the allure of
the genre for many of its fans but for me it is also what has made it stale. The
image of Dracula biting the girl’s neck is so old that I wanted to go completely
the other way. I wanted the vampirism to feel almost like a sickness. I focused
on her need for blood and the kind of junky-like withdrawals she would endure. I
actually position the vampire in the film as the most morally righteous
character. She cannot control what she is-- it’s not her fault. And her morality
ends up interfering with her survival. So, there was no room for sexy. In Part
2, the vampire, Helen, may mature enough to come to terms with her nature and
use her sexuality as the weapon we all know it can be. And yes, there is the
danger of treading on familiar ground but I just consider it as an added
challenge. How to make it sexy and still feel fresh, that’s the next challenge.
Q:. What are your personal favorite all-time horror movies?
A: I’ll give you my top three.: The third scariest film I’ve ever seen is
The
Shining. Personally, I find ghost stories to be the scariest. A good ghost
story plays on the unknown; that which you cannot see. My second favorite horror
film is
Seven. In this film the gradual exposition of the monster is what
makes it so terrifying. And my all time favorite horror film? That’s easy:
The Passion of The Christ. Quite possibly, the goriest film I’ve ever seen.
Hands down, the greatest horror flick ever.
Q:. What was the best part of the movie making experience for you?
A: By far, it was the chance to work with actors. Sometimes, it felt surreal to
be taking something so fun so seriously. I think most directors have to pinch
themselves sometimes. I had en extremely talented cast with three female leads,
all from very different acting backgrounds and the collaboration with each was
exhilarating and educational.
Q: The most challenging?
A: The most challenging part of production was just keeping up moral. It took 3
years to shoot and the dedication required on the part of the cast was beyond
any reasonable expectation. I would cut everything we shot immediately one, to
see what else needed to be shot and two, to inspire them to keep going. Luckily,
what we were getting was gold and they somehow had enough faith in me to see it
through.
Q: What's the main message of this film and do you think the audience ‘gets it?’
A: The message is probably tolerance: People in glass houses – that sort of
thing. We are so quick to condemn that we sometimes lose sight of our own flaws.
There is a scene when the vampire daughter first comes home, still draped in her
body bag, having just killed the mortician and her brother decides it’s the
perfect time to come out of the closet. It was kind of a theater of the absurd
to me and I wanted to make a little statement; that being a vampire and being
gay were equal crimes in the mom’s eyes. Or something to that effect. I’m not
too concerned with whether the audience ‘gets it’ or not.
Q: How do you feel about all of the awards that this film has won?
A: I am very honored that the Indie community has accepted this film so warmly.
To date, we have screened at 14 festivals and received some fairly prestigious
awards. It’s all the more special considering how truly Indie our film is. There
were almost never more than 10 people on set including the cast. We were up
against some pretty huge productions and we were usually the only horror film.
Q: Do you believe in vampires personally?
A: No.
Q: What does it mean to you to be an
Accolade winner?
A:
The Accolade Competition is going to represent the film at the
American Film Market. I am honored that they have found our film worthy of such
esteem and commend all that they are doing for Independent filmmakers. We could
not do it without the support of organizations like
The Accolade and
people like Dr. Thomas Baker, Ph.D. to believe in us.
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The writer, Debbie L. Sklar is a 20+year journalism veteran residing in
Southern California, where she is a writer, columnist and editor for many local,
regional and national publications.
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