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Mike Joy: Could you tell our Horrornews fans what CONTACT is about?
Jeremiah Kipp: I am surprised more horror films don’t show bad drug experiences, because you can go down a mad rabbit hole and all of the trappings of reality can veer out of control. CONTACT follows the adventures of a young woman, perhaps a suburban girl who is taking a walk on the wild side, as she takes the plunge and scores an underground drug with her lover—which starts out as a sensual adventure but when she starts to slip, their evening takes a wild turn into gory, psychedelic madness and body horror.
Mike Joy: Who are the actors that we see in CONTACT?
Jeremiah Kipp: Our lead actress is the astonishing Zoë Daelman Chlanda, who starred in the films I’LL BURY YOU TOMORROW and THE BLOOD SHED, directed by Alan Rowe Kelly, and VINDICATION, directed by Bart Mastronardi (both directors appear in the film as well, which is my way of acknowledging them as inspirations). She responded immediately to the script, and showed a fierce commitment to the role and fearlessness about where the character goes. It was perhaps my favorite experience ever working with a performer; I hope to collaborate with her again in the very near future on more projects. Talented New York playwright and performer Robb Leigh Davis plays her lover, and he brought such sensitivity to the role—you could immediately see why she would be so daring as to take this drug with him, because Robb exudes a kind of strength and empathy, as well as a worldliness that felt so right for the part.
Mike Joy: How long did it take you to shoot CONTACT?
Jeremiah Kipp: Pre-production was about a month, including location scouting and rehearsals. I always try to work with the actors extensively beforehand, because when we’re shooting the movie, we’re racing against the clock. had exceptionally well-organized producers in Alan and Bart, so it took us two days to shoot the film and a few weeks of editing and sound design. I feel that sound is the least acknowledged aspect of low budget filmmaking, particularly in horror films where it is such a key storytelling tool. We were fortunate to work with Tom Burns at Really Horrible Music, who understood immediately the strange, subterranean vibe we were going for, and collaborating with him on our mix was like constructing a soundscape as if it were an action painting.
Mike Joy: Why did you choose to shoot in black and white?
Jeremiah Kipp: Black and white takes us out of reality, which we view in full color. We also shot in widescreen, because we wanted to give the movie an immediate, cinematic quality, and the 2:35 aspect ratio allows us a wider range of compositions. I had a close collaborator, a brother, in Dominick Sivilli, my director of photography and editor. We continually pushed and inspired one another, finding the strongest visual choices undeterred by our ridiculously low budget. The high contrast black and white keeps CONTACT in the realm of the bad dream, but it also has a romantic, ethereal quality that felt right for our two lovers…who says that nightmares cannot be beautiful?
Mike Joy: What directors inspire you to direct?
Jeremiah Kipp: Some of the inspirations for CONTACT are obviously David Lynch, whose movies to me are almost hyperreal in their ability to tap into our innermost fears, and David Cronenberg, whose body horror scenarios inspired some of the fleshy mutations in CONTACT. Dominick and I also love the work of Steven Spielberg and his visionary cinematographer Janusz Kaminski. But I also loved the paintings of guys like Edvard Munch and Francis Bacon, whose work dips into the surreal and the grotesque, and the domestic terror in the photography of Gregory Crewdson helped me visualize the opening and closing sequences with our heroine’s worried parents. I strangely find that tense suburban household the most unnerving part of CONTACT, as opposed to the drug trip where the power of your imagination can take you anywhere, for good or for bad.
Mike Joy: Are there any interesting stories from the filming of CONTACT?
Jeremiah Kipp: Robb was initially quite reticent about taking the role of the lover; he interviewed me as much as I interviewed him. Of the fifteen actors I met to discuss the role, he was the most cautious, asking me questions about the themes of the movie as well as the nudity during the drug sequence. I was open with him about how I work, and he agreed to trust me, and during rehearsals he saw the concentrated, immersive environment for the cast and crew to work in. We may have a lot of laughs, but the work comes first, and it’s important that I believe in the talent of the people around me and that they commit as intensely as I do. He assured me that if he took the role he “wouldn’t pull a Will Smith [on SIX DEGREES OF SEPARATION, where at the least minute he refused to kiss a male actor on the lips and pretty much wrecked the scene in that picture.]” And we had a wonderful time, in fact—he and Zoë had great chemistry and were very generous with one another.
Mike Joy: What's your opinion of nudity in film?
Jeremiah Kipp: I frankly wish there was much more nudity in movies, but only when it is supported by the context of the scene. Gratuitous nudity turns me off because it makes me feel like a voyeur. Zoë and Robb had to spend an exhaustive amount of time on the set naked during the drug trip scene, which places them in a vulnerable position as actors. It was important to me that they felt protected and safe, but also they clearly understood why this was being asked of them. We trusted each other, and as it turns out we had an enjoyable time shooting those scenes, even when they had to deal with the special F/X make-up applications, which is a slow and time consuming process. The truth is, when I sent the script to Zoë I never expected she would play the lead because of the nudity required. I said she could have whatever role she wanted, thinking she would choose the splashy role of the drug dealer; but she surprised me and said the lead role gave her the most colors to paint with—and once she agreed, we happily dove into the material never looked back.
Mike Joy: What was the most challenging part of making CONTACT?
Jeremiah Kipp: The struggles were entirely financial. I am used to working on short films with twenty times the budget we had here, and for this we had almost nothing. But this may have been a blessing in disguise, because it forced us to be more daring, more honest, more creative—and when you push your work in those directions, you’re on the right path.
Mike Joy: Where can our fans go to watch CONTACT?
Jeremiah Kipp: I posted the film online as part of the IndieRoar Online Short Film Festival, which is run by genre friendly entrepreneur Ian Reinhard. My intention was to expose the film to as large a community as possible. I recommend viewers check out all of the short horror films on the site here: http://www.indieroar.com/horror
For a direct link to CONTACT, go here:
Mike Joy: What's next for Jeremiah Kipp?
Jeremiah Kipp: I would prefer to remain somewhat coy on upcoming film work—although I just completed associate producer work, again working with cinematographer Dominick Sivilli, on a short film entitled NO REST FOR THE WICKED as part of executive producer Marv Blauvelt’s upcoming PSYCHO STREET anthology. I wrote the script for a monster movie feature that I would love to direct, as well as an adaptation of a Gothic short story as part of an anthology with genre filmmaker Bart Mastronardi, and I’m speaking with a talented genre screenwriter about a vampire movie—so we’ll see where the future takes us, as long as it is beautiful and strange.
- JOYHORROR
