Interview with Christopher Lawrence Chapman, Director of ‘Inoperable’

Christopher Lawrence Chapman is the director of the new psychological thriller Inoperable (you can read our review here) starring Danielle Harris. Find out more about him, what the film is about, and where he’s going next.

PopHorror – Thanks for talking with PopHorror, Christopher! What inspired you to become a director?

Christopher Lawrence Chapman – I guess just wanting to tell a story in a certain way. I am, by no means whatsoever, especially good at it, but I do like getting emotions out of actors to help drive a story along.

PopHorror – What was the first film you ever worked on?

Christopher Lawrence Chapman – I think technically it was a short I did called Morgan Picketts, which was a western with a whole bunch of action crammed into it. Galloping horses, shootouts, stunts, and a heroine taking back what was stolen from her.

PopHorror – Sounds fun! Your new film, Inoperable, is a horror/psychological thriller. Do you enjoy the genre?

Christopher Lawrence Chapman – I wasn’t a big fan of horror originally, but in recent years, I’ve grown to appreciate it. I think they can be fun and have really cool stories inside of them.

PopHorror – Glad to hear! Where did you get the idea for this film?

Christopher Lawrence Chapman – The story was loosely inspired by an experience I had years ago when I had to go to the emergency room at a hospital in Florida while a hurricane was heading toward the general area. It was a very eerie feeling, being in a hospital with a bad storm brewing outside, and my mind wandered and I imagined a situation where a psychotic killer was on the loose inside and the hurricane trapped the patients from being able to escape or from help being sent.

As for thematic ideas, we were going for a more thought-provoking story and a little more thriller/psychological, as opposed to a more mainstream horror film. I wanted to give the viewers more to latch onto, and a film where watching it a second time reveals more of the depth and underlying creepiness.

PopHorror – Oh, I love that’s where you got the idea from! You have a great cast including Danielle Harris. How did the casting process come about? How did you chose who would be involved in the film?

Christopher Lawrence Chapman – Thank you! That is nice to hear. As far as Danielle Harris, the short answer is that my co-producer, Jeff Miller, was the largest part of that and he is really dialed in to casting in horror films. We had some names we really liked, but once he began to think about Danielle, I was totally onboard. As for the parts of Ryan and Jen, we had both worked with Jeff Denton and Katie Keene on Clowntown and they were great to work with, but they also had believable looks for the roles they played. Of course, we had worked with Chris Hahn on Clowntown as well, but the other actors we chose were all really wonderful to work with.

PopHorror – Where was it filmed?

Christopher Lawrence Chapman – Inoperable was shot entirely in Dade City, Florida. The “hospital” was actually an unused/“abandoned” facility which was/is slated for demolition.

PopHorror – That’s cool! It gives the film an even more eerie feel. What is your favorite part/scene of the film?

Christopher Lawrence Chapman – That’s tough! I love some of the cool camera movements and my favorite was in the scene – which made the trailer – where Amy is running down the hallway and there is a doctor methodically walking toward her and the orderly is running down the same hallway to intercept. But I also really liked the interaction between Jen and Amy when Jen was at her mental breaking point, frazzled, and in total despair.

PopHorror – It’s definitely a unique film. Do you think it stands out from other films that are being released?

Christopher Lawrence Chapman – There is so much great stuff out there. I think it’s unique enough to give an audience something a little different to think about as opposed to other films. At least that was my intent. I hope it stands out, but again, there are so many great ideas out there now, I just hope I can be considered as creative enough to be included with those other filmmakers.

PopHorror – I think it definitely does. Any thoughts or messages about the film that you want to express with our readers?

Christopher Lawrence Chapman – I hope you and the readers like the story and get into it. There are some little hints scattered throughout that might come across as strange and out of place, but to the patient viewer, all will be revealed. We took some risks with the story being a little more complex, and if I had a concern, it would be that, to the more casual viewer or someone who isn’t dialed into the horror genre, they might not understand what is actually happening or appreciate the world we created inside of the hospital. It’s easy for me to like the story, of course, and I wished I had a much larger budget and more time to shoot, but overall, I think we told the story effectively and, for those who let their imaginations run wild, those viewers will be in for a cool journey.

PopHorror – I think it will definitely challenge people to focus on what is going on and perhaps watch it more than once. Do you have any upcoming projects that you’d like to talk about?

Christopher Lawrence Chapman – Yep! I don’t want to speak specifically for Jeff Miller, but he always has something cool in the hopper. But for me, I am a producer on another horror film with a seeming cliché story, but things are not always as they seem!