Interview with Elias - LovecraCked! The Movie
By: Marcus Ingelmo

Evil Dread: Hi Elias, how are you today, have you finished your Christmas shopping?
Elias: Pretty good, thanks. Bit tired from all the holiday business. Got to Xmas shopping a little later than usual this year, but otherwise no worries.

ED: Tell us a little about LovecraCked! The Movie, how did it come about and exactly what is it?
Elias: The idea started out first as a half hour mockumentary/spoof called "LovecraCked!". It's inspired of course by H.P. Lovecraft, and particularly the irony that despite his great influence on horror, he's still virtually unknown to most readers/viewers. The mock/spoof pokes fun at these circumstances, the man himself and inept journalism in general. Monty Python's Wicker Island sketch was a bit of inspiration for the idea as well I think.

We had just about wrapped shooting.. I knew there'd be only so much I could do with the film mainly due to its length. It'd likely end up as another calling card and receive a minimal audience. It dawned on me that as the mockumentary was already very segmented and eclectic as it was.. why not open the project to other films/filmmakers and make it a full-blown feature anthology? This would give us more distribution opportunities and a larger audience. I'd get some other filmmakers to contribute some Lovecraftian shorts and intersperse them between the segments of our already produced mock/doc. "LovecraCked!" would become "LovecraCked! The Movie".

So I spent the better part of the next year seeking out films/filmmakers to complete the anthology. Lots of hunching over the computer late at night, lots of emailing, lots of tearing my hair out, lots of great films/filmmakers and new friendships & connections made. Then I basically narrowed the submissions down, cut my original film and the others shorts together, created an opening title sequence and the longest closing credit roll an indie film could have (offset only by an equally long stream of bloopers)...and voila! What had started out as a strange, oddball short film was now an even stranger, odder, and distinctly crazier feature film!

ED: Had you seen all the 9 shorts that the film features before you decided to put LovecraCked! The Movie together, or did you pick out any of them after that you had started working on the film?
Elias: Yeah, as I mentioned above, the idea to put the anthology together was essentially an after thought - I hadn't seen any of the shorts that we ended up including until I was already mostly finished making the original "LovecraCked!" short.

ED: Obviously you like the work of H.P. Lovecraft - which would you say is the best Lovecraft inspired film that has been released to date and why is that?
Elias: That's a tough one. I haven't seen all the films yet, and there are always more on the way. If I had to pick I'd probably be predictable and say "Re-Animator". Sure it's not a direct adaptation, but Lovecraft's stories don't generally translate to film without a good deal of creative/artistic license.

It's funny how fans often clamor for the strictest most unwavering adaptations of the books and stories of their favorite authors, but it just doesn't usually work that way. Books don't necessarily make good films or the other way around for that matter. The mediums are different, and for an effective crossover from one medium to the other, much work often needs to be done.

With someone like Lovecraft, who's stories rely so much on narration, description and the unseen, it's especially challenging to make a successful conversion from book to screen. "Re-Animator" may not be everyone's style, but I think it does a good job of fleshing out a short story while updating the language a bit for our times. Sure it's a bit of a cheesy gore-fest at times, but why should that be a bad thing? Sometimes the worse thing one can do is take something too seriously. There's a sort of camp to Lovecraft (maybe the author knew it, or maybe sometimes he just took himself to seriously) it doesn't really matter. Gordon tapped into that camp quite a bit with "Re-Animator" and created a very memorable, darkly humorous and still tragic classic - with the help of some great performances, particularly from Jeffrey Combs and David Gale. With that film he did more to bring Lovecraft into the mainstream than most. I think Gordon deserves a lot of credit. Unfortunately the sequels don't hold up as well as the original, and I'm not exactly holding my breath for "House of Re-Animator", though, I'm sure I'll still watch it.

In the end, any interpretation is valid as far as I'm concerned. It all depends on what one's going for. For me there's just no point really trying to make a book into a movie. Books are books. Movies are movies, and movies based on books are just that: movies based on books.

ED: Also, what's your favorite Lovecraft story and what made you get into the work of the writer to begin with?
Elias: My favorite Lovecraft story right now is a three-way tie between "The Thing On The Doorstep", "The Outsider" and "The Case of Charles Dexter Ward". My friend and frequent collaborator Chad is the one who first got me into his stories back when I was a teenager. I've been a fan ever since. What I like most about Lovecraft is his emphasis on the unknown and the supernatural, the struggle for identity and loss of self, and just the sheer dread that he can instill when it's late at night and you're sitting alone reading. He really paints a vivid picture, but the most vivid images he creates are the ones he forces you to imagine for yourself.

ED: How has the response for LovecraCked! The Movie been so far and where have you had screenings for it? What kind of expectations did you have to begin with?
Elias: The response has been great! So far we've had a number of screenings in indie theaters, bars, clubs, etc., and audiences have seemed to really enjoy the flick. We've done pretty well amongst critics, too, but that is usually where the most clear divide seems to be - and then it's often really love it or hate it. Actually, in some ways it turned out to be a much more polarizing film than I ever would have thought. At the end of the day I'm just glad we're getting reactions. There's nothing worse than getting no reaction. I'd rather make a film that's reviled or loved than just quietly ignored. Fortunately we seem to have garnered a healthy does of love and hate so I feel pretty satisfied.

As far as any initial expectations I might've had - beats me. If anything, I just hoped people would be entertained.

ED: Was it a hard film to make and how long did it take from when you started out to the finished product?
Elias: It's always hard work, but it doesn't have to be unpleasant. This film presented challenges that were unique to the situation. I've spent just as much if not more time getting the other films/filmmakers together and packaging/promoting the whole project than I ever did shooting and cutting. All told, it started out with an idea sometime in 2002 and saw completion in the summer of 2006. Of course like many others we experienced our fair share of delays both circumstantial and budgetary. I also made a cross continental move in the middle of the whole process: cats, woman, computer and all! Right now I'm still promoting the flick and working on securing major distribution, so sometimes it does feel like there's always more to be done, but an end is in sight. Then of course I'll just start the whole process all over again!

ED: LovecraCked! The Movie is a mixed bag of horror and comedy, do you think it was hard mixing the two and what genre are you most into?
Elias: There's always a risk when you mix horror and comedy. With our flick I'd say the comedy and the horror basically off set each other, segment to segment. The toughest sales with some critics have been the more straight comedy bits. Others have said they like the change in pace the comedy provides from some of the darker more straight horror segments. In the end I think comedy is always going to be the hardest to win folks over with because people have such a wide variety of tastes, and it ultimately becomes extremely subjective. I think it's a lot easier to make people cry than it is to make them laugh.

As far as my favorite genre goes I'd have to say horror because it offers such a deviation from the norm and there's so much room for experimentation there. I don't think any other genre is quite as flexible and open to imagination. You can incorporate aspects of fantasy, sci-fi, drama, and even comedy within horror. Rules and reality can be bent and broken, stretched and distorted. The possibilities are endless. So horror is my number #1. Comedy's a close second though for many of the same reasons.

ED: How did you get Lloyd Kaufman to be in the movie and how was it to work with him? Are you a Troma fan?
Elias: Early on in production I was writing to Lloyd to get permission to use some Troma memorabilia and images in the background of some shots. He was very gracious and supportive, and even offered to play a part in the film as well. Far be it for me to turn down such a generous offer, so I wrote him into the script, and we went down to the Troma building and shot the scene. Lloyd was very patient and great to work with. He stayed later at the office to make sure we had what we needed, and improvised his part perfectly as only he could. It was a lot of fun, and folks seem to really enjoy the final result.

And, yes if it isn't already obvious, I am indeed a Troma fan! Gotta love the Lloyd! He is the unrivaled king of contemporary B-Cinema, constantly pushing the limits of taste and extremity. I am eagerly looking forward to "Poultrygeist".

ED: Who's your favorite actor and director, and what kind of films are you into? Give us some of your favorite ones.
Elias: Favorite actor is Gary Oldman, with Christian Bale probably as a close second right now. I'm into all kinds of films really, but I love my horror!

Some favorite films would be "Dead Alive" (aka "Braindead"), "Evil Dead" & "Evil Dead II", "The Fly" ('86), "The Thing" ('82), "Dawn of the Dead" ('78), "Audition", "Snake of June", "Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter, Spring", "Bad Guy", "3-Iron", "American Werewolf in London", "The Howling", "The Haunting" ('63), "The Woman in Black" and anything and everything from the "Monty Python" and the "South Park" boys.. The list could really go on and on, and I'm sure I've left out some great ones. So many great movies..

ED: When did you first get into filmmaking and what was it that made you wanna get into it?
Elias: I made my first film when I was about 19. Prior to that I had been mostly pursuing acting and script writing. What made me want to do it was the desire to expand and put some of the pages I'd been writing on the screen. Also, I still wanted greatly to act, and producing my own films and plays gave me some opportunities to perform that I might not otherwise have had. In the end, for me, it really all comes down to a desire to express, entertain, instigate, to put what's inside out.

ED: Do you think you'll be making any more Lovecraft inspired features in the future?
Elias: No plans to at the moment, but I'd certainly like to delve into some more Lovecraft again in the future. Be great to do a straight horror feature based on one of his stories, to bring to screen that fantastic sense of lingering dread that he evokes so well.

ED: Tell us a little about your short film THE VOICE INSIDE, it was truly disgusting if I may say so. How did it come about and how has the response been for that one?
Elias: It truly has disgusted many, but I think it's disgusted people for the most part in a good way - if that makes any sense. It certainly seems to entertain the hell out of folks when we screen it at any rate. People often come away with some really different takes on it, too, which is always interesting.

It started out as a short story I wrote, which I intended to adapt to film as a segment for an anthology feature some friends were putting together. The anthology never came to be unfortunately, but I finished "The Voice Inside" just the same. The driving inspiration behind it was to create a short film that was as brutal and humiliating as possible, and horrific both physically and psychologically. There was a little thematic inspiration from some earlier stories and scripts that I'd written, and I think a lot of personal frustrations drove me as well.

In some ways I think it was less clear to me at the time when we made the film - what was behind it. Now, when I watch it I see connections to a lot of earlier ideas, thoughts and feelings.

ED: Also tell us what exactly is BiFF JUGGERNAUT and what's up with the name?
Elias: BiFF JUGGERNAUT is BiFF JUGGERNAUT Productions, which is essentially me and anyone else I can draw into collaboration on my fiendish plans.. er.. productions. My friend Chad and I came up with the name late one night in Virginia Beach through a process of random selection. Basically we'd each pick the first word that popped into our heads, and combine the two to create the production company name. We tried this three times and "BiFF JUGGERNAUT" was our winner.

ED: Do you have any plans for the future, new movies, projects etc?
Elias: Well, there's always that lofty goal of world domination, but for now I'd just like to make more films - kinda tough to do both at the same time really. There are a number of stories and scripts I'd like to see made. Right now I have a horror short that's in post, which is planned for release as part of another anthology being put together by friend and "LovecraCked!" collaborator, Justin Powers.

In the feature realm, I've been working on scripts for a 3 or 4 part series of psychological horror films. I'd like to produce these next, but it really depends upon funding, so it's possible we could go in another direction if the money were there first. For now I'm just pushing to get the first of the afore mentioned scripts completed.

ED: Anything else that you would like to add and say to the readers before we wrap this up?
Elias: Thanks for reading everybody, and thanks to you and Evil Dread for the great opportunity. I wish you all the best of luck on all your respective endeavors.

ED: Thanks for answering the interview, it's much appreciated and best of luck with LovecraCked! The Movie, as well as with your future films to come!
Elias: Thanks, Marcus! 2007 is going to be the year of the Evil Dread and the Juggernaut.. the BiFF JUGGERNAUT that is!

---
You can find out more about BiFF JUGGERNAUT Productions at biffjuggernaut.com and for more info on LovecraCked! The Movie, visit the film's official website at biffjuggernaut.com/lovecrackedthemovie!