Trap of the Devil

After having the privilege of working alongside Jeremy Meade as a Creative Assistant and Director of Photography on several infomercial-style shoots and short films for Vineyard Community Church, I invited him to work with me on ground with which I was more familiar - horror. I also invited Jacqeline Williams, another director from the church, to star as the lead actress in "Trap of the Devil." Jeremy, being the lead pastors' son, asked his parents if we could film our short at the church and to my surprise, they agreed! Trusting our intentions, they had no concerns because "it's not the building that matters, but the people, and the Holy Spirit, who occupy it."

Originally, I was considering filming elsewhere, but I did not want to pass the opportunity to shoot at such a great location. There have been nights where I'd be at the church late after a long workday and would think to myself "this place is really creepy when the lights are shut off and it's dark outside." This is how "Trap of the Devil" began to manifest as an idea. Initially, it would simply be another horror film (with hauntings and fun scares), but I decided to add a more emotional, meaningful element. If someone experienced something paranormal here, why would they continue to explore this place and risk worse, scarier things happening? What would drive them? Should I just have a cliché horror ending where everyone dies? Or should there be hope? What lessons could people take from this, regardless of whether or not they are Christian? These are the questions that drove my writing process which ultimately led to the film before you.