Beyond the Living follows Brandon, a troubled man, who is having difficulty adjusting to a society that he views as shallow and stale. To escape, he spends the summer hiking throughout the southeast with his two best friends, Claire and Krishna. The days turn into weeks and Brandon’s mind sinks further into anxiety and fear as he experiences the deterioration of the veil between our world and the world of death. Through visions/hallucinations Brandon journeys deeper and deeper into this otherworld until it crashes into our own existence and the three hikers find themselves fighting for their lives.

Beyond the Living has one foot firmly planted in the horror genre, with its monsters and  scares, while the other foot stands in the world of art house cinema, with its existential journey and questions on mortality.

To help describe our vision for this movie imagine combining Gus Van Sants "Gerry" with Ken Russells "Altered States" mixed up with HP Lovecraft.  

The Power of You

We are trying to make an artsy creature feature with vfx for very little money. Currently we are budgeted at just under $40,000. We have $25,000 already so we are looking for another $15,000 to get us there. If we don’t raise the money, we will still be shooting the feature and all perks will still be delivered, but we will have to go back and make drastic cuts to the film that will effect the overall quality. We are already in preproduction and we will continue to move forward until shooting begins August 18th.

How The Hell Is This Gonna Get Made?

The majority of it is being shot in the woods of North Carolina where we will be using natural light with the aid of bounce and flags. We are only lighting the interiors and night scenes and already own or have access to most of the equipment. Our big costs are crew, talent, props, creatures/monsters, and vfx, but with aid of the amazing people listed below...it's doable.

Special Effects Supervisor - Damian Fisher 

began making monsters with Oscar nominated makeup artist Adrien Morot over twenty years ago. Since then he has worked for some of the most respected companies in Hollywood SFX including Optic Nerve, Captive Audience, and Stan Winston Studios. He is currently the Mold Department Supervisor at Legacy Effects where he has worked on several blockbuster films including Avatar, The Avengers, Avengers: Age of Ultron, Iron Man 1-3, Alice In Wonderland, The Amazing Spider Man, and Captain America The Winter Soldier. Damian is also the president of Dfisherhouse Productions which is one of Beyond The Living's producing companies.

Visual Effects Supervisor - Adam Simpson

has worked in visual effects as both a VFX editor and VFX supervisor for ten years, working on such varied projects as Through The Wormhole with Morgan Freeman, Soul Surfer, The Mentalist, and Two Broke Girls. He’s also the co-producer of an award-winning feature horror film named Midnight Son. Currently Adam is Senior Editor and VFX Supervisor at Engine Room Hollywood

Production Designer - Spencer Brennan

is an all around MacGuyver who can squeeze blood from a stone. He has worked on many independent movies including Harbinger Down, Zombie Apocalypse, and Dracano, designing and building many sets that have added incalculable production value. Always striving to make things better, his skills contribute details that don't go unnoticed.

Editor - Joe Mastromonaco

has been editing documentary television and film for over 10 years. He has edited hit shows such as Project Greenlight, Top Chef and Project Runway, and has earned two Emmy nominations. Since then Joe has gone on to cut two feature length documentaries and a number of shows for NatGeo. Currently, he works as the head of Supergiant Pictures which is one of Beyond The Living's producing companies.

Producer/Colorist - Shawn Pinner

has worked in the entertainment industry since 1993 and has been an online editor and colorist for the last 4 years. His credits include; Southern Uncovered with the Lee Bros, Top Chef Masters, The Next Great Artist, and Around the World in 80 plates. Besides being a colorist, Shawn has produced multiple shorts and webseries. He currently works for Trailblazer Studios.

Cinematographer - Lara Solanki

is lending her eye for lighting and composition. She is also a talented and accomplished photographer and has worked as a set photographer on too many productions to count. She will be bringing to the project a passion for surreal imagery and different perspectives. Her ten years as a photogographer is reflected in her work with its multi-levels of understanding and awareness. She believes in fetching water and chopping wood everyday. 

Photos by Lara Solanki

Writer/Director - William Hoppins

has been working in television for over 10 years. For the last four years he has been at Revelations Entertainment working as a Post Producer on such shows as Through the Wormhole with Morgan Freeman, Man vs The Universe, and Stem Cell Universe with Stephen Hawking. Before that he worked as the Director of Post Production for Magical Elves (Top Chef, The Real L Word, Project Runway, etc.). On the side he directs music videos and shorts. This is his first feature.

PERKS!