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Horror Film Drives Cast & Crew to Brink of Insanity

By Jared Christensen

January 26, 2020

Fear: An unpleasant feeling triggered by the perception of danger, real or imagined.  

The long awaited independent production of The Tell Tale Heart short movie has officially wrapped its year long production. From it has come a stellar movie, a lot of great memories and plenty of scary stories of real-life hauntings of the cast and crew. All of this mayhem was seen through their harrowing experiences while making this horrifically intense film.

“I’ve worked with gore and monster effects before, but this time was very different,” said Mikkel Richardson (First Assistant Camera) “Chris Hanson(Special Effects) is a master.  I’d been excited to work with him leading up to the shoot. I saw that Chris could stand up to the hype. The detail in the gore and the grotesque distortions were unreal.  After the shot was done I had to step off set to collect myself and get some air.  I’d never worked with content in a scene that ACTUALLY made me scared.  When you put a talented performer in makeup like that and let them work, you don’t need the context of the film to feel disturbed” 

And Mikkel wasn’t the only one dealing with actual anxiety while filming the horror movie on set. McClain Lindquist the Writer, Directorand Producer of the Tell Tale Heart short movie had a handful of truly scary unforeseen movie-making moments as well. This first happened when his nightmare inducing images (born from his own terrifying childhood dreams) and the talented actors extremely intense acting literally forced him to step away from some of the more violent scenes of realistic carnage and devolving villainous madness. 
“I almost feel bad for unleashing the demon spawn of my own nightmare fueled dreams… almost.” Lindquist is quoted as saying about his monstrous incarnations of dread and fear.  “These horrific visions born or better yet ripped from the deepest darkest recesses of my Amazonian psyche are now thrust onto a unwitting world… like I said, I feel bad… almost.” 
Lindquist in turn spoke also lavishly about the genius art and creative creature creations of the incomparable special effects master Chris Hanson. 

“To witness first hand the visceral effect of Chris Hanson’s creepy artwork had on not only myself but a majority of the crew was awe inspiring,” Lindquist continued. “When James C. Morris(The Old Man) was walked on to the set, the mood in the studio instantly became altered. So much so you could have heard a pin drop. I was truly and completely terrified. The sound stage seemed to become strangled to the point I personally needed to get some fresh air. Which I felt was a valid and decent excuse to step away from the visual manifestation of my worst nightmares as a child.” 

The scary vibe was felt by many members of the crew “I was gasping and then holding my breath in certain scenes so that I wouldn’t make another sound,” said Janelle Corey (Wardrobe) while working on-set during the production of The Tell Tale Heart short movie. “I remember being so terrified that I spent most of my time offset working in the wardrobe tent because I was too big of a baby.”
The horror continued well after the film wrapped in post production “It may have been the late hour, a lack of sleep, a mild predisposition, or some combination thereof,” said Ryan Templeman the film’s Assistant Editor/Consultant  “But during one particular late night editing session, I had myself quite convinced, I was literally going insane.” 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ilFubeuJAFQ&

Anxiety: Intense, excessive, and persistent worry and fear. Fast heart rate, rapid breathing and sweating.  

Joe Olivas the Director of Photography was also greatly affected by the visceral images “I got physically sick to my stomach when I watched the Narrator cleaning up his crime in the bathroom scene.  It made me realize that after filming a scene like that I have the benefit of knowing that it is all just movie magic and the gore isn’t real.  (Sound Design) work strips away that buffer and adds a level of realism that convinces my ears that what my eyes see is real!”

Joe Olivas wasn’t alone in his nervousness. A crew member who wishes to remain anonymous (and is not one to get easily spooked) had a on set panic attack induced by true fear. The unnamed individual had to step outside during filming. Being so terrified that they eventually ended up leaving the studio and didn’t return to the set until the next day. This unfortunate incident was brought on by a highly intense moment of triggered anxiety. It is possible that the impetus was the scary movies overall themes of insanity, projection, and guilt. Or it could be the intended confusion of delving into the psychopathy of a delusional monomaniac murderer that brought them to a eventual breaking point? 

Even being far removed from the darkness, safely situated in another studio on the other side of town the reverberations of the horror movie could be measured “I was working on music late night,” said Joel Pack, the film’s talented composer “And (I) got to a point where I had to get the %*$& out of the studio because I was too creeped out!”
The horror/psychological-thriller short movie has truly exceeded everyone’s expectations and anyone who was involved in the making had a great “buzz” about them when I attended the lavish wrap party. The camaraderie and excitement was palatable. Everyone there seemed to genuinely know they had created something truly special, something that is much bigger than themselves and those fearless individuals that have seen any of the teasers or trailers can testify why.

Private screening

Tentatively set for spring of 2020 in Ogden, Utah.  

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The Tell Tale Heart will be at the Emerald City Comic Con on March 12-15th which will take place in Seattle, WA at the Washington State Convention Center.  We will debut the incredibly creative comic book adaptation at this prestigious event. There’s some potential that there will be a private screening of the movie and also a panel discussion with some of the creators, cast, and crew from the Tell Tale Heart at this event.

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Interview with The Tell Tale Heart’s Writer, Producer & Director McClain Lindquist

by Eric John

October 18, 2019

The Tell Tale Heart short film is a Modern retelling of Edgar Alan Poe’s classic story that was first published in 1843. Releasing sometime in 2020.

McClain Lindquist, of Ogden, Utah, recently completed filming the short film “The Tell Tale Heart” by Edgar Alan Poe. McClain is the Producer, Director, and Writer for The Tell Tale Heart.

McClain, this is your first movie. What is The Tell Tale Heart about? Why did you choose this story as your first movie?

“The Tell-Tale Heart is a famous story by Edgar Alan Poe… It was the first Psychological Thriller written in 1843. It’s a short story. In my opinion, maybe the greatest short story he ever wrote. It’s my favorite Poe Story. The first time I heard it was in the third grade. It was Halloween and the Librarian read The Tell-Tale Heart and I was blown away. It was the first time I realized what a metaphor was and I was taken by the horror, psychological thriller and detective noir elements. I instantly went home and my brother had a book of short stories by Edgar Alan Poe. I loved them…I was already into monster movies like the universal stuff…So in the third grade I went and searched out these movies, The Black Cat, The Pit and Pendulum, the Raven, and others. They were great and so I figured since The Tell Tale Heart, in my opinion it was his best story, that’s going to be his best movie, and boy was I wrong.”

McClain, what made you ultimately pursue film making?

“The reality is that it’s all tied back to my band, The BassMint Pros…we had been a band for a few years and didn’t have a music video, and so we were kind of forced into it. I was really opinionated and still am about movies…I was thrust upon being the filmmaker for our first three music videos. I wrote and directed them. Our first video was out in Death Valley. We went out for three days and knocked it out of the park and learned on the fly…I did a lot of pre-production and it really paid off. I approach each video with a new philosophy on how to shoot, style and technique…Music videos led to this.”

What were your biggest challenges? What were the roadblocks you faced?

“Well, initially finding anyone that would even want to work with me…”

Can you tell us why you chose James Morris, to play the old man?

“James C. Morris, actor extraordinaire, there’s only ten actors in the world that can do what he does like your Doug Jones’s and Andy Serkis’s of the world, he also one of them he was amazing. It was important to me to have someone of his caliber to play this role, as the old man. He was terrifying, he was warm, he was lively and he was… dead! (laughs) We saw a wide range of emotions from James. It was an honor to work with him.”

Why did you choose Sonny, what was it about Sonny?

“Because Sonny is an amazing actor. I knew almost instantly that he was “the guy”…I never looked at anyone’s credentials. I had no clue any of his acting background or previous experience. I went off of my gut feeling…my intuition told me this was “the guy”. Even though this is not what I envisioned the character to be. I just kind of knew from an instant that he was “the guy”(Narrator), and I was totally right.”

What is it about Mikah that made you choose her as the Police officer?

“Once again I trusted my gut intuition and it told me she is the one. I saw it on the first read, I knew almost instantly that Mikah was my girl. Police officers are tough male and female, and she had to take it there. It was really important for me to have her as OPD. This story takes place in Ogden. All my stories do. I love my hometown…It’s important to me that Ogden gets respect and seen in a different light. It was also really important to me that we use Eccles Art Center which is a gem of Ogden. It means so much to me personally as well…Anyways. Mikah’s character was supposed to be thirty years older than what she is, there were things that she did with her eyes in between dialogue, I saw it, I always knew it was there. I knew I had to now rewrite the script. The hero to me was Mikah. She was and is my hero.”

What is it about Teren that made you select him for the role of the detective?

“Teren Turner from Park City is a great actor, a very physical actor. There’s something in his eyes, it lies just beneath everything and he’s really good at having that come out at just the right moment. The little things that he did in between his dialogue were what ultimately sold me. His character was not written for his age and he did not have his size or his massive intensity. Teren brought all those things to the role. I didn’t write it that way. I am so grateful for his invaluable contributions. He showed me some stuff right from the first read and definitely took it up a notch in his callback. I also knew he was “the guy” right from jump…Teren was and is my guy, a decision I’m really pleased with because he is a great actor!”

Can you tell us what inspired some of your shots for the movie?

“Jacob’s Ladder was highly influential to this movie. Another one would be Evil Dead 2 and Cape Fear. I like how the original Hell Raiser was lit. The Tell Tale Heart short film is a noir piece. Even though it’s 100% a horror movie, its also a Psychological thriller because I wanted to be true to the original Poe story. I also wanted this to be THE definitive Tell Tale Heart movie, where fifty years from now an English teacher in tenth grade will pull out our film and they watch The Tell Tale Heart, this version, that would be so cool to me.”

Is there another movie in store for you?

“There’s probably another movie…people are already hitting us up…It’s overwhelming to be honest.”

McClain is passionate about his own art and that of others. Working alongside him on set, I saw his affinity to create visionary art.

McClain informed me off-script, that he will debut the film in his hometown of Ogden, Utah. For movie updates visit TellTaleMovie.com