Sean Kelly on Movies Interviews Podcast – Details, episodes & analysis

While in Toronto to promote the release of Dream Eater, writer/director/stars Jay Drakulic, Mallory Drumm, and Alex Lee Williams joined us to talk about their Lovecraftian found footage horror film.

In this interview, they discuss the film’s influences — from The Blair Witch Project to Unsolved Mysteries — and share how the project was picked up for distribution by Eli Roth’s The Horror Section.

Dream Eater Interview Timecodes

00:00 Introduction
00:24 Where did the idea for Dream Eater come from?
01:46 Was Dream Eater Always Intended as a Found Footage Film?
03:46 How Dream Eater Was Influenced by Paranormal Activity and The Blair Witch Project
05:11 Alex Lee Williams on Why He and Mallory Drumm Acted in the Film
05:49 The Lovecraftian Inspiration for Dream Eater
06:57 Unresolved Mysteries and the Sleepwalker Killing
07:44 How Eli Roth Picked up the Distribution for Dream Eater
09:23 The Growing Influence of Social Media on Film Promotion
10:38 Conclusions

Affiliate Ad

Candlelight: Christmas Carols on Strings

The horror-comedy Scared Shitless arrives on VOD September 2, 2025, ahead of its U.S. release on October 3. During a special Fan Expo Canada screening, we spoke with writer/producer Brandon Cohen, director Vivieno Caldinelli, and Kids in the Hall’s Mark McKinney about bringing this outrageous film to life.

Scared Shitless Interview Timecodes

00:00 Titles

00:13 Introduction

00:54 Brandon Cohen on Writing the Original Short for Scared Shitless

01:37 Vivieno Caldinelli on Getting Hired to Direct Scared Shitless

03:10 Vivieno Caldinelli on Collaborating with Steven Kostanski

03:59 The Casting of Scared Shitless

04:42 Mark McKinney Invited to Join the Interview

04:56 Mark McKinney on the Character He Plays in Scared Shitless

05:31 The Influences on Scared Shitless

06:50 The Practical Effects of Scared Shitless

07:23 Will There Be a Sequel to Scared Shitless?

08:11 Concluding Notes

Affiliate Ad

The Jury Experience: Million-Dollar Murder or Web of Lies?

The dark fairy tale RITA is now available to stream on Shudder. We spoke to writer and director Jayro Bustamante about the film, which includes the real 2017 Guatemalan tragedy that inspired the narrative of the fantastical realism of this film.

Jayro Bustamante Interview Time Codes

00:00 Introduction
00:30 Jayro Bustamante on the 2017 Guatemalan Tragedy That Inspired RITA
03:30 The Balance of Fairy Tale Elements with the Dark Story of RITA
05:22 The Fantastical Cliques in RITA
06:36 Does Jayro Bustamante Hope RITA affects how girls are treated in Guatemala?
07:51 Conclusions

Affiliate Ad

Candlelight: The Best of Bollywood on Strings

In advance of the film’s Toronto premiere as part of the Blood in the Snow film festival, here is the interview we conducted with writer/director Jeffrey St. Jules (Bang Bang Baby) on his third feature THE SILENT PLANET, prior to the film’s World Premiere at the 2024 Fantasia Film Festival.

Jeffrey St. Jules Interview Time Codes

00:00 Introduction
00:19 Jeffrey St. Jules on the Inspiration Behind The Silent Planet
01:05 Jeffrey St. Jules on Casting Elias Koteas
01:47 The Ambiguous Backstory of The Silent Planet
02:59 Comparing The Silent Planet to Duncan Jones’ Moon
03:33 Jeffrey St. Jules on Briana Middleton’s Character of Niyya
04:51 The Dark Twists in the Films of Jeffrey St. Jules
05:19 Jeffrey St. Jules Changing Genres with Each of His Films
06:43 The Release Plan for The Silent Planet
07:13 Conclusions

Affiliate Ad

Candlelight: Christmas Classics

Meet Academy Award-winning animator Adam Elliot (Mary and Max, Harvie Krumpet) and learn about his latest stop-motion masterpiece Memoir of a Snail. Distributed in Canada by Mongrel Media, Memoir of a Snail is now playing. Don’t miss this exclusive interview with the talented animator!

Adam Elliot Interview Time Codes

00:00 Introduction 00:21 Memoir of a Snail Trailer

02:07 Adam Elliot on the 15-Year Gap Between Mary and Max and Memoir of a Snail

02:51 Adam Elliot on His Career Plan of a Trilogy of Trilogies

03:40 The Inspiration for the Story of Memoir of a Snail

04:50 Adam Elliot on His Use of Neurodiverse Protagonists

06:32 What Type of Audience is Adam Elliot Aiming for with Memoir of a Snail

07:53 What Adam Elliot Looks for When Casting

10:13 Adam Elliot on Guillermo del Toro’s Support of Stop Motion and Whether He Hopes Memoir of a Snail Would Return Him to the Oscars

11:41 Conclusions

Affiliate Ad

Candlelight: Christmas Special Featuring “The Nutcracker” & More

I spoke via Zoom to John Adams and Toby Poser of Adams Family Films to talk about their new creature horror film Hell Hole, available to stream on August 23, 2024, on Shudder.

Hell Hole Time Codes

00:00 Introduction

00:18 Clip from Hell Hole

02:12 Interview John Adams and Toby Poser on Hell Hole

02:22 The Genesis of Hell Hole

03:19 Shooting the Film in Serbia

03:48 Casting the Film

04:33 Workings with MastersFX on the creature effects of Hell Hole

06:42 The Influences of Hell Hole

07:56 The “Villain for Science” of Hell Hole

09:04 What Hell Hole Might Have Been Like with a Bigger Budget

09:52 The Conspicuous Absence of Zelda Adams from the Film

11:00 What’s Next from Adams Family Films

11:54 Conclusions

Affiliate Ad

Candlelight: Tribute to A.R. Rahman

We were on-site in Montreal for the World Premiere of the Satanic Cult professional wrestling horror film Dark Match at the ‪2024 Fantasia Film Festival. We hit the red carpet to interview writer/director Lowell Dean and cast members Sara Canning, Ayisha Issa, Michael Eklund, and professional wrestling superstar Chris Jericho!

Affiliate Ad

Candlelight: Christmas Special Featuring “The Nutcracker” & More

The ambient slasher film IN A VIOLENT NATURE, written and directed by Chis Nash, opens in theatres this Friday, May 31, 2024, distributed by IFC Films and Shudder. In a series of Zoom interviews in promotion of the film, I spoke with both producer Peter Kuplowsky and actor Ry Barrett about this much-buzzed-about film.

Make sure to support this independent Canadian horror film by getting tickets are one of the links below:

• https://www.inaviolentnature.com/

• https://www.cineplex.com/movie/in-a-violent-nature

Music Attribution

Big Horns Intro by Audionautix is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Artist: http://audionautix.com/ #InaViolentNature #canadianfilm #peterkuplowsky #rybarrett #chrisnash #shudder #ifcfilms

Affiliate Ad

Candlelight: Christmas Special Featuring “The Nutcracker” & More

To coincide with the film’s release onto VOD, we spoke via Zoom to Mike Cheslik, the co-writer and director of the slapstick silent film Hundreds of Beavers. We talk about the film’s successful festival and roadshow run, upcoming projects for him and his collaborator Ryland Brickson Cole Trews, and a mutual love for releasing films on physical media!

Hundreds of Beavers Synopsis

IN THIS SILENT SUPERNATURAL EPIC, A DRUNKEN APPLEJACK SALESMAN IS THRUST INTO THE FRIGID WILDERNESS. CAN HE GO FROM ZERO TO HERO, BECOME NORTH AMERICA’S GREATEST FUR TRAPPER, AND DEFEAT HUNDREDS OF BEAVERS?

• Fundraised and shot in Wisconsin and Michigan
• Completed over 4 years
• 12 weeks of shooting
• Filmed in subzero temperatures
• 1500+ effects shots

Hundreds of Beavers Interview Timecodes

00:00 Titles

00:24 Introduction by “Billy the Beaver”

00:49 Mike Cheslik on the idea for HUNDREDS OF BEAVERS

01:20 The Influence of Guy Maddin

02:04 How HUNDREDS OF BEAVERS differ from Mike Cheslik’s previous film LAKE MICHIGAN MONSTER

02:43 The Video Game aspect of HUNDREDS OF BEAVERS

03:24 How Many Beavers Were There, Actually?

03:51 How difficult was HUNDREDS OF BEAVERS to edit

04:45 The challenging compositions of HUNDREDS OF BEAVERS

05:33 About HUNDREDS OF BEAVERS’ performative roadshow

06:20 Mike Cheslik on what’s next for him

07:23 Mike Cheslik on the success of HUNDREDS OF BEAVERS

08:01 Mike Cheslik on a future Blu-ray release for HUNDREDS OF BEAVERS

08:37 Conclusions

Watch Hundreds of Beavers https://tv.apple.com/movie/hundreds-of-beavers/umc.cmc.3ow9glcz3h5xm4u5yosbmkoww?itsct=tv_box_badge&itscg=30200&at=11ldwn Powered by JustWatch Music Attributions

Big Horns Intro by Audionautix is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Artist: http://audionautix.com/

🎵 Music licensed from Lickd. The biggest mainstream and stock music platform for content creators

Pee Wee Hero 7 (Bumper) by David Tobin, https://t.lickd.co/bpmoYlel1v2 License ID: daedrP4jxkQ

Pee Wee Hero 10 (Sting) by David Tobin, https://t.lickd.co/9MoOvg82p4z License ID: Nx8NWP0xD3A

Try Lickd FREE for 14 days...

We spoke via Zoom with Caitlyn Sponheimer, the writer, director, producer, and co-star of the coming-of-age drama Wild Goat Surf, now playing in limited release, distributed by Vortex Media.

Wild Goat Surf Synopsis

Set in a rundown Penticton, Okanagan Valley RV park during the summer of 2003, Goat, a surfing-obsessed, thirteen-year-old skater girl, navigates the unbridled, unstructured, summer days of youth, dreaming about becoming a surfer like her deceased father. While her mother sublets their rental unauthorized and takes on two jobs during the bustling summer months, Goat is left to her own devices; coping with grief through rambunctious actions that soon go too far.

Caitlyn Sponheimer Interview Timecodes

00:00 Introduction

00:21 Caitlyn Sponheimer on how she got the idea for WILD GOAT SURF

01:14 Finding the right girl to play Goat in WILD GOAT SURF

02:50 The casting of Nate and his friendship with Goat

05:10 The relationship between Jane and Goat in WILD GOAT SURF

06:51 Caitlyn Sponheimer on whether she believes Jane is oblivious to Goat’s petty crimes

09:14 The importance of the RV in WILD GOAT SURF

10:45 Caitlyn Sponheimer on Jane’s big moment in WILD GOAT SURF

12:45 What Caitlyn Sponheimer hopes audiences take away from WILD GOAT SURF

13:54 Conclusions

Music Attribution

Big Horns Intro by Audionautix is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Artist: http://audionautix.com/

Affiliate Ad

Candlelight: Christmas Carols on Strings