Almost Linear

Today, I talk with a brilliant DIY film / music video director that specializes in underground horror. We’ll talk about what it’s like for him to make things that are rooted in older technology and classic horror. We’ll also go into his process of coming up with stories, character creation, and how he roots these tales in Philly culture.

J: I know we’ve talked quite a bit over email but I’m curious to hear you go into it more, what’s the kind of stuff you like to make?

B: So, I make low budget punk serial killer films, for the most part, they are stylized. After the shot on video films that came out in the late 80s early 90s, this underground trend that happened when home VHS cameras became popular. A lot of just outsiders or independents would decide to just make their movies on tape, because it was like the first time that really anybody could afford a camera. Where you don’t need film anymore. It may not look super professional compared to some stuff, but you can shoot something. It allowed a lot more people to make their own independent art. That’s the kind of stuff I really like to watch because these were people that were outside of Hollywood, and New York, and studios in general, making stuff and there were no real rules. You don’t have producers telling you what you can and can’t do. These films didn’t really fit the mold of mainstream cinema. Stylistically, I try to make movies that are like that. I film on old analog equipment; we use VHS cameras that are 30 years old or sometimes older. I also base my stories on a lot of true crime, and things from my life as well. They’re fictional stories, but a lot of my stuff comes rooted in true crime.

In my first movie, Blood Sick Psychosis, I took the story of this serial killer from the 70’s, Richard Chase, who was known as the vampire of Sacramento. He was on tons of acid and thought he needed to drink blood to stay alive. I took that concept of the crimes he was committing and I set it in the Philly punk scene. I had him be best friends with this character that I based on Ricky Casso, who was a heavy metal acid dealer in the 80s that murdered one of his best friends. And I tried to give them sort of a Columbine killers relationship, how they were good friends that went on a rampage together. But fully acid baked, in this case. 

J: Sounds like you’ve been working hard.

B: I had a busy January, for sure. I shot a music video and two feature films, all back to back in January. Coven of the Black Cube is my newest movie that I’m working on, it’s shot but I’m editing it now. It’s a lesbian romance drama, but it’s also a witchcraft film about this coven that helps unhappy wives murder their husbands. And that’s actually based on true crimes from South Philly in the 1930s. They were called the Philadelphia poison ring. It wasn’t really witches, it was a group of Italian cousins that were arsenic dealers.

J: Arsenic dealers, wow.

B: Yeah. So, nobody knew what was happening, you know, there was seemingly an epidemic of husbands dying without any known cause, and people suspected witchcraft back then, so I just sort of let that make it a story about witchcraft. That’s coming soon, that’s what I’m working on now.

J: I don’t have too much experience in terms of rooting my stories in real places, definitely not writing characters that are based on real people. Could you tell me more about that?

B: Even though these murderers were real people, there’s not a lot of videos of these people talking for the most part, or even interviews. So, I really don’t know anything about their personalities, what they were actually like in real life. I mostly know about the crimes they committed, so for the most part, the actual dialogue and personalities of the characters in my films are entirely made up; some of them are based on people I know, some of them are based on my own personality. I try to write my own personal experiences into my films so it’s a lot of, “well, what if I was x, y, or z?” So I give these people sort of my character traits.

J: To zoom out a bit, what’s the experience of writing dialogue for that kind of stuff like for you?

B: I try to just write dialogue that feels real, that feels like realistic conversations that maybe I’ve had in my life. I also like dialogue that, for one, is dramatic. I like a lot of like relationship drama, and I like dialogue that will move the story along as well. There are also certain scenes, especially in my first movie, where it’s just hangout dialogue, you know, just slice of life, day in the life material before things get crazy. Dialogue is my favorite part to write.

J: Same. Hundred percent.

B: Because that’s what teaches your audience about your characters, you know? It’s how you get to know who these people are, and on a deeper level, it’s almost me talking to the audience. You know what I mean? Like, I love it. I just want… I always just wanted it to feel natural.

J: Is there anything you want to say about either like outlining or your writing process? Anything other screenwriters could kind of internalize.

B: It’s tough, I don’t know that I have actual advice to give on writing. I just know that for me what works is finding the right idea to start from, which is the hardest part. It just involves a lot of listening to what your mind wants to do. Finding that first spark is the hardest thing, and I don’t know how to tell anyone how to do that. But I feel like once you have that spark, just follow that until it’s finished, and that spark will speak to you in different ways than it does to other people, other writers. Everyone comes up with their ideas in different ways, but as long as you listen to yourself and you’re writing about things that you find interesting, things that you love. If I ever start writing something and I feel like I’m just like working on it to get through it, I usually just scrap it, because if you’re not excited about it, like why are you doing it, you know? if you’re not excited for it and you’re the one writing it, you’re doing something wrong. But as long as you’re doing something that you’re really connecting with and you really love, it’ll be good.

For more on Bruce and his upcoming projects, follow his Instagram @bloodsickproductions. In July, Bruce will be starting a monthly film series at Philamoca, Blood Sick Underground Cinema, where he’ll host low budget / indie directors for film premieres.