First and foremost, we want to create an original and visually captivating short that utilizes modern filmmaking techniques to put a new spin on the silent-era aesthetic that sparked the horror genre. We love these timeless classics and our goal is to share their iconic imagery with a new generation of viewers.
Despite the challenges inherent to this task, we already have a massive leg up-- as we have literally already shot half of the film. Last October, we put together a crew and filmed the entirety of the “silent movie” component (the fictional Scroll of Morlok within the film itself), which will be seen projected onscreen in the finished product. As such, we now only need to film the “real-time” elements of the script, which will all take place within the confines of a modern-day movie theater.
Reaching our goal would truly be instrumental to making this project a reality. The full allotted sum would nearly cover the entire projected cost of the film, including both the production and post-production processes. Then, upon completing The Scroll of Morlok, we would ideally utilize it as as a proof of concept for a feature film to expand on the basic concept of the script. In doing so, we’d be taking a cue from the success of David Sandberg’s 2016 smash Lights Out, which originated as a viral horror short before being picked up by Warner Brothers as a theatrical release. In fact, we’ve already finished writing an outline for this larger project and would aim to complete the full script by the time the short is out to festivals.
Consider this not just as a kickass short film, but as a proof of concept for a feature which expands on the basic concept of The Scroll of Morlok. So in donating to this film, you could be supporting the next big horror franchise and its 12 successively worse sequels!
THE STORY
The story follows Kelly, a young film projectionist working at an indie movie theater. One day, she’s tasked by her boss with testing out a print of a long lost silent horror classic— “The Scroll of Morlok”. Unenthused, Kelly begins projecting the film, unfurling the story of a waifish HEROINE who, along with her FIANCÉ, stumbles upon a horrific murder at a country estate. Soon, a strange smudge appears on the print and prompts Kelly to approach the screen, only to find that the mark has mysteriously disappeared. A shadow passes through the light of the projector, giving Kelly the sense that she may not be alone.
With creeping dread, she realizes that what she does in the theater is mimicking exactly what’s happening in the old film. When the movie’s Heroine and her Fiancé notice a pair of bloody footprints belonging to the mysterious killer; Kelly notices the very same footprints in the theater, leading over to a billowing curtain. Then, both in the cinematic world and in ours, a ghoulish monster emerges— MORLOK, a wraith-like phantom out of time, his rotted flesh caked over with stage make-up. Terrified, Kelly realizes she has inadvertently freed the fiendish supernatural villain from his celluloid prison!
Newly aware of the supernatural link between the film and her world, Kelly begins to take her cues from the actions onscreen and enlists the help of the old film’s heroine to try and escape. Will her efforts be enough to break free of the curse that has befallen her, or will she find herself trapped forever in a cinematic nightmare?
THE STYLE
We share a deep love for the impressionistic style and wildly creative craftsmanship on display in movies like Nosferatu and The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari. As such, we aim to interpolate their surreal, iconic imagery through a bold new prism of contemporary filmmaking techniques, so as to reach a new audience that might otherwise be unaware of this past chapter in film history.
Indeed, despite massive advances in technology, recent horror films have seldom been able to replicate the otherworldly quality conjured up by those Weimar-era classics. As we see it, this inimitably haunting “feel” is partially due to a subconscious awareness on the part of the viewer that everyone involved in the making of these films is now dead. It was this morbid realization that set the idea for this short in motion: a silent film that is literally haunted by its ghoulish leading man. To realize our vision, we hope to boil down the most “alien” elements of a 1920s silent film— the crackling silence, unnaturally stilted movements, the high contrast black and white cinematography— and repurpose them to jarringly terrifying effect in our modern world.
Because the silent short was designed to be “period appropriate”, we didn’t make things as intense as they are in modern horror movies. But, of course, all that will change in the real world component. Because when Morlok emerges from the theater’s screen, he morphs into a rotted and truly horrifying version of himself, as he too has degraded and deteriorated like his filmic version. And along with him, the style of the movie will transform into something slick and sinister, akin to contemporary horror smashes like The Conjuring, Insidious, the Babadook.
So there you have it-- we're just two up-and-coming filmmakers trying to make a splash, and we hope that through your kind generosity, we can share our dream (or nightmare?) with the world.
