Review

Rapp Sheet — 9-3-10: C.M. Downs and Anthony Loscalzo bring new horror film to KC, home to their new production company

"Fetch" director C.M. Downs works with the stunt team to set up a fight-scene in the barn. Image: courtesy of the director

Everything can be said for making films in Kansas and Missouri. And if anything can be said for local filmmakers, it's that they like to take your breath away. There is a notable trend of high-production-value horror and thriller films' coming out of the region, as is the case with the recent Last Breath (Rapp Sheet 5-20-10) and the soon-to-be completed Nailbiter (Rapp Sheet 7-14-10). Also, there is  not only a reverence for our local landscape at work that blooms in these pieces, but an ability to, in the hands of a maestro, guide that natural ambiance into a seat-squirming discomfort for the audience.

Winter's Bone (Rapp Sheet 6-17-10), a Missouri-made feature which seems surely headed down an Oscar path, so exquisitely captured the deep, cicada-filled backwoods of the Ozarks. Horror films, in particular, can push chilling, dead-winter echoes through the senses like the loudest of sonic booms. The sound of crunching snow and harsh, frozen breath creates one of the most tense environments imaginable. Fortunately for filmmaker C.M. Downs, his cast and crew had a consistent climate this past year in which to imagine the unforgiving environment that surrounds his horror-thriller feature, Fetch.

Working in the cold: C.M. Downs (left) and director of photography Jeremy Osbern. Image: courtesy of the director

"One major decision made on this film was to shoot in the middle of winter," says Downs. "I knew this would give us a look that could not be created any other way. A great example is The Thing by John Carpenter. You cannot create or buy that cold 'look' and feel. The cold helps create that isolation feeling, a key element in horror."

Fetch concerns a group of zealous young people who get caught up in a twisted story of betrayal, obsession, sex, and death that challenges their very foundations. To reveal more of the plot too deeply is to reveal odd twists and turns that make this film so thematically interesting. The script was written by Trent Haaga, lensed by Jeremy Osbern, and stars Ashlynn Yennie, Shawn G. Smith, Kurt Hanover, Jason Curtis Miller, Sharon Wright, and Krystal Heib. Smith previously appeared in the 30 Days of Night: Blood Trails TV series, while Yennie will be familiar to those who have seen The Human Centipede. Hanover had a role in the the 2008 Dances With Films Best Film winner, Rigged.

The new film will see its Kansas City premiere event at the AMC Mainstreet 6 Theaters, on September 7, and the filmmakers are looking to make it a full event by including the cast (in from Los Angeles) and hosting a reception following the screening. At the Q&A, Downs will no doubt further describe some of the challenging endurance tests that made up the production.

"When somebody tells you that they want to shoot a movie, you kinda know up front that it's going to be a lot of work," Downs says. "It requires lots of people to be involved, and of course there will be meetings and more meetings and more meetings before you actually create the movie — but this is okay when they are good ideas. I got out of the 'Corporate World' because it seemed my life had turned into one ineffective boring meeting after another, nobody standing up and throwing out ideas that excited anyone in the room for fear of the 'Gray Corporate Blanket' of sameness being throw over them."

Characters Clyde Arbuckle (played by Jason Curtis Miller) and Sheriff Marcus Lewis (played by John Redmond) in a scene from "Fetch." Image: courtesy of the director

Theodore Loscalzo, who produced the film with Downs and has partnered with him in their new production company venture, DrippingDead Films, also broke routine to work with the director. "I have known C.M. Downs for many years," says Loscalzo, "and recognize the immense talent and practical intelligence that he has. We fought for several years to get a film financed out of LA, which turned into a huge nightmare of broken promises,  an ever-ballooning budget, and above-the-line players — and finally just petered out into no word or movement on the project. C.M. Downs came to me and said that he just wanted me to shoot a film instead of playing on the Hollywood merry-go-round, and I told him 'I'm in!'"

When Downs first read the original script by Trent Haaga two years ago, he found the subject matter repulsive. "But you know when you have a strong emotional response to something it means there was a story there," he says. "Still, I had a real question on how would I tell this story visually. With that said, something really stuck in my mind: it was the underlying concept of Fetch. A couple of years later, I re-read the script and decided we should really make this movie. I had thought about it for a long time, and from a filmmaking perspective, love-story/tragedy-horror is a very interesting way to tackle a horror movie. It takes real-world characters and thrusts them into difficult on-the-edge circumstances.  I found that very compelling and wondered if two of these genres could exist in the same film —  and what would happen if even a third genre was thrown into the mix."

The dead of winter, the coldest in 20 years in fact, in Potter, Kansas, is the perfect setting for chills of all kinds in "Fetch." Image: courtesy of the director

Also tossed in the mix was a host of obstacles, not the least of which was the bleak reality of shooting in the winter. Says Downs: "The first day of principal photography shooting on location in Potter, Kansas it was minus 13 degrees Fahrenheit, the coldest on Kansas record in 20 years. We had exteriors to shoot after morning interiors, trying to hit overhead sunlight. The generator had other plans. It was on a heating block all night to stay warm, but the oil froze during the 18-mile drive to the set, so no power that morning. During the shoot we had seven vehicles lose tires from the cold, and somebody has video of me changing the tire on one of the cars on the side of the road."

Adds Loscalzo: "I'm not sure how funny it is to have somebody who is driving your car call you and tell you that your rear tire passed them on the highway, but maybe years from now it will be."

The real question is, as Downs points out, being prepared for the challenges. "Two days into principal photography, Ashlynn Yennie had to be rushed to the ER and be flown back to LA because she came down with tonsillitis," he says. "Everybody on the production team were very on top of this. We had to be. We had no choice, as we just could not shut the production down. We got up next morning as normal and keep right on going."

The crew of "Fetch" get ready to shoot Starleen's entrance into the Griffens' house. Image: courtesy of the director

On that subject, both Downs and Loscalzo have only the highest praise for their dedicated cast and crew. "We really became a family because we were all stuck out there together," says Downs. "These were harsh weather conditions and dangerous. It was so cold everyone was watching out for each other. We all lived at the Super 8 Motel in Leavenworth for almost a couple weeks, occupying two floors during the first part of the shoot. We all got very close. It was great to be able to see cast and crew swimming after a long day's work. A lot of people don't realize what a 12-hour shooting day can do to the body."

Adds Downs: "Fetch feels like a unity session in a way. Everyone bonded. When the film wrapped, local cast and crew where holding Fetch parties for weeks on end. As the director of the film, this is something that is just so amazing and pleasing to me it's hard to put into words."

Along with a passion for his craft, Downs shares the same enthusiasm for maintaining an aggressive film scene in his hometown. "DrippingDead Films is moving into being a full-time production company with a home base in Kansas City," he says. "We are staking our future as filmmakers on being able to create success here, with Fetch as our first 'shot across the bow.' I'm not at all concerned with bringing productions in, as we are focused on starting and finishing productions here. So important to the success of our productions is that we have access to the best resources, and if that means building it ourselves, then that is what we will do."

"We have had a lot of response to the trailer of the film," he adds. "We launched it, and in the first week we had over 700,000 unique plays from around the world. It was pretty overwhelming. We made the front page of Hollywood.com next to Iron Man II and Sex In the City II for four days — seriously pretty awesome for a smaller production company based in Kansas City."

The film doesn't come without built-in controversy, due to some leaks about the film's plot that raised the ire of special interests groups. Comments Downs: "I heard that some religious organization wanted to picket us, but they were in Nebraska protesting the film. While this is interesting, the reality of it is that 'It's a movie.' It should not be taken as some personal offense to any particular sect or religion — it's just entertainment. It's no more real then Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ, or Santa Claus for that matter."

"I know we do some things differently than others," adds Loscalzo, "but isn't that what makes every artist and his or her work unique and recognizable?"

Alma Jean Richter is played by Sharon Wright in "Fetch." Image: courtesy of the director

The filmmakers have targeted several distribution companies and significant festivals and feel very optimistic that film will make a noise. They are looking forward to introducing Kansas City to their effort on Tuesday.

"I hope viewers go on a journey with all the characters in the film," says Downs. "Finding that one character for good or bad you can actually relate to. For me it's very simple — I want the audience to be entertained and have a good time watching the film. If this happens, that means we did our jobs as artists."

Adds Loscalzo: "We truly hope they enjoy the ride!"

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The Fetch premiere is an invitation-only event, but some passes will be made available as the date gets closer. In the meantime, you can follow the film from the director's perspective on Twitter via @CM_Downs and also visit the official Fetch Facebook page.

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