One of the more upcoming voices in the genre, writer/director Erica Summers has gone through a variety of film production roles in addition to her own work creating several genre features in her career. Now, in honor of Women in Horror Month, I talk with her about getting into the industry, her work as a writer/director and her upcoming film Obsidian.
Me: Hello and thank you for taking the time to do this. First off, when did you get into horror in general?
Erica Summers: I have always been very passionate about horror and I grew up with parents who were also very pro-horror. They started showing me horror films basically from the start of my life and were always good about pointing out how FX artists accomplished certain things to minimize my nightmares. This lead to a fascination with both the horror genre as well as constantly asking myself “how did they DO that?!” whenever I’d see something really fresh. It almost became like a magic show where I became enamored more with what was “behind the curtain” than what showed up on-screen. A downside to this is that scary movies have rarely inspired real fear in me. Instead, they’ve inspired a more creative and inquisitive side of me.
Me: Were you into genre films growing up? What films specifically got you into watching horror movies?
ES: I’ve always watched horror films. My mother worked at a movie store and always had a massive collection for me to choose from. I started off loving the Nightmare on Elm Street series a lot (I was particularly obsessed with Part III: Dream Warriors) and also episodic television like Tales from the Crypt. I have also always been a pretty avid reader so anything that had both a book AND a movie, particularly interested me when I was young (I.e. Pet Sematary, The Stand, IT, PIN by Andrew Neiderman, etc.)
Me: How did you come to be involved in the industry? Was there any specific aspect that appealed to you?
ES: I started writing/directing/producing no-budget short films around 16 because I was dead-set on becoming an actress and believed it to be the best way to build a reel to get me discovered. After I discovered that I was suited more for Directing than acting, I began to explore features (horror, of course to start, and then I dabbled in comedy and drama before committing fully to horror with my 4th feature, LOVERBOY. After that, I created another feature (Mister White) and then joined the ACTUAL film industry as a grip (part of the lighting department on larger shows and movies) on a film called JUNE by Gustavo Cooper. I have been in the industry as a grip (in fact, at one point, I was believed to be the only female grip in the state of Louisiana) for about 8+ years now and have recently used some of my earnings to fund my sixth feature that is now touring the festival circuit and also available on DVD and Bluray, called OBSIDIAN.
Me: Having worked on various aspects of film production, do you have any particular preference for working on any?
ES: I always want to work on horror movies, if it's an option. I will gladly work on just about anything that pays (so far only one exception, a political faith-based about abortion starring Tomi Lauren that I had to pass on) But if given the choice, I’d rather work on a movie that pays less but is a really fresh horror movie than to be paid more and work on anything else. It makes the long hours feel more worthwhile and my morale is usually sky-high once they start spraying blood on set.
Me: After working on dramas and comedy mostly, your first genre film was "Loverboy." What was the inspiration to finally become the writer and director for it?
ES: Well, I started with horror films. Two horror shorts: The Stalker and The Grum. Then I branched into features and my first feature was a bloody cannibal horror film (shot on $600) called “Sins of the Flesh.” Only after that did I heed the advice of others to try my hand at other genres before realizing it wasn’t for me. After that, I went back to my roots and wrote/Directed/Produced LOVERBOY and it inspired me to stick with the genre for good. But I have always written/directed/produced all 6 of my features and both of my shorts. I’m a little bit of a control freak. Not so much about the minute details, but instead for keeping the overall vision and message and look the way it is in my mind. I’ve tried to work with other producers but we have found ourselves butting heads too much because when I have my mindset on a specific vision, I can rarely be deterred from that path. The upside to that is that my movies really are my vision, flawed as they are.
Me: Was the experience working on that an inspiration to start working more heavily in the genre with your next film, “Mister White?” Where did the concept for the film come from?
ES: Yes, Working on Loverboy got me back to my passion: horror. And I vowed to try to become one of the first really notable females one day in the world of horror. I want my name to be on the list with Craven, Carpenter, Cronenberg, Romero, etc.
The concept of LOVERBOY came to me while I was on the set of Rag Doll, the dramatic film before LOVERBOY, also starring Jesse Laborn. I knew that I really enjoyed working with both him and Amber Watson in Rag Doll and knew I’d like to have them star in my next film. Since Jesse played such a kind, sweet character in Rag Doll, I wanted him to play something more threatening and almost sadistic the next time to show off the acting chops I knew he had. And likewise, Amber played a really horrible person in Rag Doll and she is the intelligent, loving heroine in LOVERBOY.
After Jesse moved I knew I was dying to work with Amber again so I gave her a character that's a little more of a mix of emotions in Mister White. Around her, we brought in an ensemble cast of mostly new faces with some of our past actors playing minor cameos. Mister White was both an amazing and exhausting experience. I was all of the major department heads (DP, G&E, Director, Producer, Special FX, sound, editor, etc) and trying to juggle that many schedules and dietary restrictions and locations and personalities and personal conflicts nearly broke me as a filmmaker. I did give some heavy consideration to leaving a film behind simply because that movie really tore me apart on many levels.
The concept for that one came from a story I’d read about Madame LaLaurie in New Orleans and the things she’d do to her slaves in the name of sadistic experimentation. Paired with my fear and curiosity of voodoo I was able to weave the two together and put enough originality in that it became a fresh monster tale. We did really well on the film festival circuit with Mister White. It seemed the hard work really paid off.
Me: That brings us to your latest project, "Obsidian." What can you tell us about the project?
ES: Well, Obsidian is VERY near and dear to my heart. The plot is: Haunted by his tragic past, Jack LeBlanc, a heavily-scarred introvert, volunteers for a Phase I clinical trial of a miraculous new tissue regeneration medication, dubbed "Obsidian." Soon, under the watchful surveillance of respected pharmacologist, Dr. James Walsh, Jack and the group of hopeful volunteers start to experience hellish side effects from the drug and soon find that the quest for vanity can be deadly.
Shot with 100% practical fx, I’m very proud of this one, especially for the meager budget we shot it on. The cast (Henry Frost, Olivia Peck, Frank R. Wilson, Hick Cheramie, etc) were all so fantastic both on-screen AND off. They, along with the rest of the cast and crew, made this film a real joy every day. They restored my faith in filmmaking and they make me very glad I did not quit after Mister White. It's a really fun, wholly-entertaining concept and we had a great time making it.
Me: Where did the inspiration for the film come from? Were there any unique stories about its conception?
ES: Obsidian is at its core a character-driven drama with a huge monster twist. It's inspired by my late friend, Nic Wilder, who was wheelchair-bound due to a diving accident. I visited him once after I’d moved out of town and the whole drive back I kept thinking “if there was a pill that could make him walk again, I’d sell everything I own to be able to afford it. But knowing my luck, this pill would have horrific side-effects” and thus, the concept for Obsidian was born. The premise of the film became just that and I added some really tortured characters to the ensemble to show that no matter how or why we are scared, we should not be so wrapped up in our own vanity that we go to extremes to try to achieve perfection. You’re beautiful just as you are. Scars and all.
Me: Is there anything from your childhood that helped to flesh out the characterizations?
ES: Absolutely. More so in the original draft than the final draft that we shot because there were some characters and backstories we cut for time based on people from my childhood. But one thing from my upbringing that really influenced this was that I’ve been surrounded by beautiful people with incredibly powerful cases of body dysmorphia. Watching how the dysmorphia rules their lives and ends up making them feel depressed and unlovable has been a challenge for me. Especially in romantic relationships. I typically love myself as-is. I know I have much room for growth and improvement but I'm very happy with who I am and who I’ve turned out to be so it's been very difficult to watch people I care about hate their bodies, feel like they’re worthless, and constantly be so hard on themselves. This movie is sort of my way of trying to shake them by the shoulders and say “I wish you’d look at how beautiful and whole you already are.”
Me: What was the set like while shooting the film? How did the cast and crew react to the type of film being made?
ES: Being on the set of Obsidian was SO fun. We all laughed a lot, had lots of silly lighthearted moments, and really bonded so tightly. We even still have a group chat where almost a year later we are all still talking almost daily and cheering each other on in new adventures and projects. I feel like I can say that most of my sets, the atmospheres have been REALLY fun and light and full of caring people who think making movies is one of the funnest things ever. I think that’s why everyone wants to come back and work on more of my films despite how frankly poorly I pay (and many of my first films did not pay anything at all. It was strictly on a volunteer basis, sort of like a local theater.) They all know that I am good for my word: if I say the movie is going to be made, it will be. They all know I will do my best to make them look good (because it really benefits everyone to do so) and they all seem to have genuinely good experiences on the set of my films.
Me: Do you recall having any odd or funny on-set stories about yourself or any of the other cast/crew members?
ES: There are so many. Every day was a new adventure for sure. One odd thing was that we had two major disappearances during principal photography on OBSIDIAN. One thing that disappeared was our main full-body monster costume. We had it for the first week of shooting and then we went to film at the cabin where much of the film takes place and it comes time for John Esperance (the actor/stuntman playing our main monster) cannot find it. We stopped filming and literally had the entire cast and crew there that night (about 16 people) searching the cabin for it to no avail.And this suit is HUGE. I have no idea where it went and no one had any incentive to steal it so its disappearance still baffles me to this day. Myself, Tom Proctor, and Frank R. Wilson even offered cash rewards for it and it never turned up.
The final weekend of shooting, one of our SD cards full of footage (roughly 3/4 of a full shooting day) also disappeared before being copied onto any of the hard drives. This wasn’t discovered for over a month when I went to rough edit some of the scenes and they were simply gone along with the original card. By then we could not get the actor from Florida back at the same time the cabin was available (for a reshoot) and then COVID hit and we had to settle for reshooting only one of the three scenes on the card (because it was absolutely vital to the plot) but we had to shoot it with not one, but two stand-ins because of issues with scheduling and locations. Then every time we went to shoot, one of the stand-ins would be exposed to covid by a co-worker and we’d have to hold off, have them retested, and wait for the results (before rapid tests were available). It took us over 3 months to finally get a usable sequence shot so that we could finish the film. I’d still love to know what happened to the suit and the card.
As for a funny story, there were too many to count. We had a hilarious cast and crew and every day there was something hilarious to enjoy.
Me: As well, you’ve also turned to writing with the novel Mantis. What was the inspiration to start writing this on?
ES: Mantis was actually supposed to be the next feature film I shot after Mister White before moving out of state. Halfway through the script, I realized I simply did not have the budget to be able to do the unique idea any justice on screen. It's something better suited for a large budget production, especially one with good CGI capabilities. However, I loved the story so much and the characters that it weighed on my mind for a year or two before I realized… movies may be constrained by budget and available talent, but novels aren’t. Mantis because a perfect candidate for novelization because I could describe everything just as it should be without having to stop and think “Now how am I going to do THAT with $XXXX.00?)
Mantis is a REALLY fun novel. It's got horror, comedy, and smut and I really think it has a life and a character of its own. It is a dream of mine to one day sell the script to a larger company and see someone talented really do it justice on the big screen.
It's available on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Mantis-tale-unlikely-hero-final/dp/1540611124/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=mantis+erica+summers&qid=1611258543&sr=8-1
Me: What else are you working on that you'd like to share with our readers?
ES: Right now, Obsidian is touring the worldwide festival circuit and we are hoping to secure a distribution deal after that for it. We are very proud of it. It already won a lot of awards including Best Feature, Best Gore, and Best Editing and we are only JUST starting to hear back from festivals. We have a lot of months to go.
I love screenwriting. I love it just as much (if not more sometimes) as making the original film. That said, I’m working on two new original scripts right now. One I aim to sell to a company or producer seeking projects once it is completed, and the second I plan to produce/direct myself again (and if all goes well, backing my new feature with money from the sale of the other script)
Me: Lastly, being that this is Women in Horror Month, what special message do you have for any women out there looking to join in the industry in any capacity as you are one yourself? Thank you again for your time!
ES: I would say women have a unique view of the world and fresh, unseen perspectives. We contain vast amounts of humanity which makes horror movies and novels much more fun and believable. We women are typically born with a surging need to nurture and create. So if you’re considering making a horror movie (or a book or play) then please do it. There is no better way to create, inspire, tell a story, send a message, or delve into a fantasy world than to make your own film. We need horror from women’s perspectives (cisgender or transgender, your female perspective deserves to be heard). It is my opinion that we could use more humanity and intelligence in our horror films and less brainless, weak-motived slashers. I’d love to encourage more women to nurture their creative side and let those entertaining stories out for the world to see. And more than anything in this industry, we need a woman’s name up there in the ranks with Craven, Carpenter, Cronenberg, Romero…
This interview ran as part of our Women in Horror Month celebrations. Click the banner below to check out all of our reviews and interviews about the occasion:
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