One of the coolest things about the 2014 edition of Days of the Dead
Atlanta last month was the increasing presence of the underground. I got to screen some of my favorites at the
Son of Celluloid event, I hung out with standard bearers like Jason Hoover from
Jabb Pictures and Fred and Shelby Vogel of TOETAG, and I was fortunate enough
to meet some of the fresh, new talents who are poised to carry the indie horror
banner into the future. One of those
filmmakers ready to make their mark on the genre is Keith Voigt Jr.
His first DVD release is currently available from TOETAG’s website and
store. It features two excellent shorts,
ArME and Lust. ArME tells the story of
Daniel, a recently discharged Iraq veteran.
He returns from war a changed man, and reassimilating into society may
be more than he can handle as his mind and relationships spiral out of
control. Lust is a story of unrequited
love. Can Lily cope with her feelings,
or will her obsession consume both her and the object of her affestion? Both shorts feature some fantastic acting,
good gore effects, and thought provoking stories. The DVD comes packed with commentaries, a
bonus short, and plenty of other goodies for only 10 bucks. Hell, you’d spend more than that going to see
the newest derivative, vapid crap Hollywood has shat into your local
multiplex. What are you waiting
for? Follow that link at the bottom of
the post and get your own copy or pick one up when Keith and/or TOETAG invades
a horror convention near you. Nathan
says check it out.
In the meantime, I’ve invited Keith to drop some knowledge on the Cellmates
about his films, sex, gore, his directing process, and wielding automatic
weapons on city streets. Enjoy!
SOC: For the readers who aren’t familiar with you, please introduce
yourself.
KVJ: My name is Keith Voigt Jr. and I am independent filmmaker. My short films ArME and LUST were released by
TOETAG INC. and I love Chinese food!
SOC: What was it that first piqued your interest in making horror films?
KVJ: I had always loved horror films.
I remember as a child I would sneakily watch them in the middle of the
night. Stuff like Friday the 13th and
The Shining. As I got older my love for
the genre only grew. I started watching
more and more and seeking out pretty much any horror movie I could get my hands
on. When I started making little skits on tape in 8th grade naturally I started
making little horror films, mostly involving serial killers, and I have just
expanded from there.
SOC: When did you discover the world of underground, independent horror?
KVJ: Well as I kept watching these movies I started to seek out more
extreme stuff. Like at the video store I
would try to find the most extreme “R” rating or the craziest cover. If a film said “Unrated” it was like a holy
f**king grail. But I didn’t really find
out about the scene that I am in now until I was 16. A guy at a video store I used to frequent
told me about Cinema Wasteland and it sounded awesome so I went. I had a
blast. Then I met the TOETAG crew and
the rest is history.
SOC: The use of extreme sex and gore can be very controversial in horror
circles, and both ArME and Lust include some pretty graphic scenes. What do you think the role of this kind of
imagery is in telling a story, and is there an aspect of “shock for shock’s
sake” in your work?
KV J: I think sex is a natural thing and shouldn’t be shied away from. If I am making a realistic film (which most
of my movies are) then I want to use realistic sex. It has a huge role in my stories. The reason
the sex scene in ArME is so graphic is because I am telling my audience “LOOK,
she is sexy, these people are f**king, that’s her pussy, this should be
awesome…but our main character is so f**ked up he doesn’t care”. So it all has a definite meaning behind it
and message that it is sending. As far
as shock for shock’s sake, I would say that LUST has a little of that but not
ArME. I was a little younger when I made
LUST and I needed to get my foot in the door, so there was a little of that
“what’s the most f**ked up thing I can think of” attitude.
SOC: Do you ever have trouble finding
actors/actresses willing to do some of the more extreme things in your flicks?
KVJ: Luckily I have not had any trouble.
The people that I get to be naked really believe in what we are doing
and know that it’s all imperative to the story.
They are also comfortable with their bodies. If I can give any advice it’s just not to be
a f**king creep about it. Just be honest.
SOC: ArME and Lust are both very character driven. With films that hinge so much on the lead
performance, do you take a more active role in developing the character or rely
on the actors to come up with their interpretation?
KVJ: I work very hard with the lead actors to come up with the kind of
character I want. I do give them free
range to create certain parts of their characters and by the middle of
production they usually know what their character would do better than I
would. I am an actor’s director. Rather than focus all my attention on
lighting or other production aspects I like to spend a lot more time with the
actors making sure that we get the best performance possible. I mean, I do light and sometimes I am even
the cinematographer, but the performance comes first for me.
SOC: In Lust, the character of Lily can really be interpreted as both
monster and victim of herself. Which do
you see her as?
KVJ: I see her as a little of both, but more a victim. She has been so overcome with lust that she
can’t control what she is doing. I find
that sad. Some people are weak minded,
but for someone to do what she did she must have some deep rooted problems.
SOC: You said in the commentary on ArME that at least one military veteran
consulted on the film. Have you shown
the completed flick to any vets and what was their reaction?
KVJ: Yeah I have shown the film to a couple of veterans and have gotten
very positive feedback! I was worried
about that. I totally respect every
brave soldier out there. I just disagree
with the war. When I was in
pre-production on the film I talked to an Army Soldier and a Marine. They told me some horrific stuff, and I tried
to keep it as truthful and respectful as I could within the horror film
structure.
SOC: One of the special features on the DVD is a short called Sandwich, but
there’s no information about making it/when it was made/etc. Could you give us a little background on that
one?
KVJ: Sandwich was a crazy idea I got one day while hanging out with my
fiancée. It was made after LUST and
ArME. It was very fun to make and I was
excited to show it to the world. It can
also be seen for free on our youtube page.
As far as an explanation of the movie, I will never tell.
SOC: Both Lust and ArME have horrific stories that are firmly rooted in
reality and very personal, but Sandwich is pretty out there. Do you enjoy doing the more bizarre concepts
or do the other two represent more of your direction moving forward?
KVJ: I do enjoy the bizarre but I prefer the more real dramatic stuff. I would say ArME and LUST represent the
direction I am heading in, but you never know. Just like with Sandwich, I can throw my audience a curveball every now
and again.
SOC: ArME is a much more expressionistic film in terms of lighting and
editing whereas Lust is more naturalistic.
Was this just a representation of your growth as a filmmaker or was the
difference intentional based on the nature of the stories?
KVJ: I would say a little of both. With ArME I really wanted to show how
our lighting has improved so I wanted to do cool things with that, but at the
same time the structure of each film is completely different. LUST follows a much more narrative structure
with a clear point A and point B whereas ArME is sort of built up of micro
scenes. Instead of focusing on the scene
as a whole I focus on little moments, so it also changed a bit with the nature
of the stories.
SOC: What’s your favorite guerrilla
filmmaking “I can’t believe we just pulled that off” moment?
KVJ: Probably in ArME when we were on the streets with real illegal
automatic weapons. We had cases of guns lying around and it was very
intense. I was worried that we were
going to get arrested because we had no permits and we didn’t let anyone know,
so when we wrapped I was so excited that we actually got that. And when it was all edited together I was
even more excited. It’s a chilling
scene.
SOC: Do you see short films as smaller features or is the short an art form
all its own?
KVJ: I see it as an art form all on its own. You know what you need to move
the story along and they are usually fast paced. I love making shorts. There is
a real science to making short films.
SOC: How did you hook up with the
TOETAG crew, who are distributing ArME/Lust?
KVJ: As I was saying above I was a 16 year old kid at Cinema Wasteland. I
had heard of August Underground’s Mordum and I bought it there and met the
crew. When I watched it I knew that these guys were the real deal. I kept going
back to Wasteland and formed a friendship with them, which has only grown in
time. Fred Vogel told me to go to
college and make some movies, and I listened. When I got out of college he was
very proud of me and I showed him the movies. He loved the shorts so one day I
got the balls to ask him if he wanted to release them. He said yes. TOETAG supports every
independent filmmaker. I owe them the
world. We are all a family. I am glad that I did ask them to release my shorts
because I have opened the doors for other filmmakers to do the same and I can’t
wait to see what TOETAG puts out next.
SOC: Have you decided on your next
project yet?
KVJ: Yes I have. It’s a feature
called Haze Period, and it’s a new take on a drug movie with horror
elements. It reflects young contemporary
drug culture. We will have an Indiegogo campaign up soon to raise the final bit
of money we need to start shooting. It will be my best work yet.
SOC: Any last words?
KVJ: Thank you for having me and asking some brilliant questions. I hope
everyone had as much fun reading as I had writing.
ArME/Lust is available HERE.
It will also be available at HorrorHound Weekend (Cincinnati, OH March
21-23), Cinema Wasteland (Strongsville, OH April 4-6) and Days of the Dead
(Indianapolis, IN June 27-29).
