Monstrum

I was often asked during the production of MONSTRUM if it was in any way autobiographical, if I'd suffered as Andrew had. I'm glad to say I had not. Sure, there were some growing pains, but in the end my parents were supportive and raised me to be self-supporting and reliable. That being said, what I can relate to is how the pains and fears of our childhood never quite let us go. From bullying to rejection, there's plenty in my past that shaped my adulthood in ways I wish it hadn't. Personal demons I wish I'd let go of but, to be honest, never quite recognized for what they were. Never quite knew how to release their grip on me.

MONSTRUM is about those things. About the events and challenges that shape the way we act as adults without truly being aware of the cause. Andrew is not simply afraid of the dark. He is caught in a web of self-defeating reactions that he has no real control over. The abuse he suffered has stunted his ability to connect with the real world, and his creativity has spawned a world of monsters he's unable to escape. His journey is doomed from the outset, this brief dalliance with another human being just a precursor to a brutal reminder that he will never be free of his past.

The script suffered for a year under my care until that theme became apparent. With the help of Producer, Cynthia Graner, and advice from friends, colleagues, and an almost disastrous table-read (don't trust writer-directors with microphones!) a relatively dark twelve pages made their way into pre-production and the real work began. I had the great fortune to make my directing debut with a highly talented and professional cast and crew, and more-so with colleagues whom I trusted and communicated with almost effortlessly.

That's not to say there weren't challenges, given the ambitious nature of our shooting schedule, but those challenges were met quite calmly. Shot lists were savaged as we ran out of time at the North Hollywood Public Library, but the theme and flow of the scenes was preserved. Shots were added to our second day at Andrew's apartment, but the daily schedule didn't balloon into a crew's horror story. In the end our ability to communicate about what we wanted, how we wanted it, and where we wanted it saved us from so many headaches. MONSTRUM is truly a team effort, a team I'm proud to have been a part of, and one I can't wait to work with again.

Although the final film uses elements of introspective horror, emotional drama, and a touch or two of comedy, I really intended this to be a classical tragedy. It's a sign or portent, a malfunction of nature that exposes the chilling grasp of our past on our daily lives. Through Andrew I hope the audience will examine how and why they were shaped. How they might face the monsters under their beds.