PopHorror Let's Get Scared
I recently had the opportunity to interview the masterminds behind the new horror thriller, Stalker (read our review – HERE). Tyler Savage, Dash Hawkins, and J.P. Castel work together brilliantly and it was very interesting to learn about their history, their thought process on filmmaking, the inspiration behind Stalker, their love for twists, and more!
PH – Hi everyone, how is 2021 treating you so far?
Tyler – Well 2020 taught us to count our blessings, so I’m just gonna say no complaints!
Dash – My eyes are slowly adjusting to the light at the end of the 2020 tunnel. 2021 has been gentle with me so far. And I with it. I’m certainly excited that Stalker is out in the world!
JP – 2021 has been a great year so far. We’ve released two films in the last month and it’s looking like Los Angeles is starting to open up again with a lot of independent productions going into pre-production. I think the pandemic really showed us all how valuable physical interactions are and personally it has been great to grab a beer with a few friends again.
PH – That’s awesome. Tyler, from your bio, it looks like you’ve had always had a passion for filmmaking. At what point in your life, did you know you wanted to make this your career?
Tyler – My love or obsession with film and storytelling started at five or six. By the time I was in fifth grade or so I knew that I wanted to spend my life telling stories in some way.
PH – Wow, that’s young! Dash, you’ve worked in television and film, which do you like doing more?
Dash – Cop out answer: I love ‘em both. People’s attention spans seem more suited toward shorter, episodic storytelling these days. But there’s something powerful about the complete, self-contained nature of features.
PH – Haha, perfect answer. JP, you’ve done a lot of awesome things in your career so far. What inspired you to work in filmmaking?
JP – I’ve always been a photography nut, but early on I wanted to be a politician, but through multiple debates, I found that I was always making short films or pulling up movie scenes to state my case “You can’t handle the truth.” Through that process, I learned the power of media and how you can tackle large allegorical lessons through the mask of personal melodrama. I truly believe that the only real way to change the status quo is through media. Also, the movie business is full of many challenges and I’m a total problem solver at heart.
PH – That makes sense. I remember reviewing one of your previous features, Inheritance. It was great. Much like Stalker, both are horror stories, is this a genre you guys enjoy, and if so what’s your favorite horror film?
JP – Well all horror thrillers stem from one place in my mind; “The Shining” The mastery of tension is unrivaled and it is a film that has inspired every director that I’ve worked with. I think a lot of indie producers get their start in horror because it is fun and cheaper to produce. I really like making films that make you think and also have a good time as it entertainment after all. I think Horror can do both beautifully. Not to say that I wouldn’t like to have a few more helicopters on screen.
Tyler – Thank you! Really appreciate that, and glad you enjoyed the watch. I do love horror, but I think I just gravitate to genre films in general because there’s a certain freedom or boldness of expression that you’re afforded. Favorite horror film is tough but The Shining, Rosemary’s Baby, and Misery usually make my top 10 lists. And Scream is way up there.
Dash – I love horror! Scream was a really formative movie-going experience for me, I saw it alone in a packed theater and it’s so deliciously ‘90s post-modern. Yeah, Scream.
PH – Great choices! Dash, I know you’ve produced and written, but have you ever considered directing?
Dash – Only very recently. Directing is a difficult task. Filmmaking is such a collaborative enterprise, and the director has the responsibility of managing all the (often oversized) personalities – she has to be at once detail-oriented and big picture focused. It’s intimidating! But I’m working on something now – a short film about alien encounters with a time travel element. Luckily, I talked Tyler into producing it, so I’ll be able to ask him for advice and mental health tips.
PH – That makes sense. You and Tyler Savage have now worked on a few things together, how did you two meet?
Dash – Tyler and I are like brothers. We’ve known each other since we were in elementary school and our moms have been best friends and drinking buddies for 30+ years.
PH – That’s awesome. JP, how did you get involved with Stalker?
JP – I produced Tyler’s last film entitled Inheritance, and I was really blown away by the tense emotion that he was able to craft in every scene. When he approached me with Stalker I knew he would direct the hell out of it. I’ve also worked with Dash a lot developing different scripts and ideas, and when I heard they had teamed up for this script I was sold. Tyler & Dash have very complementary writing styles and process and I can’t wait to get us all more money for the next one!
PH – Tyler, can you tell the readers what Stalker is about in your own words?
Tyler – Stalker is about the ways we lie to ourselves and each other. It’s about the gap between the way we represent ourselves and our true selves.
PH – What was the inspiration behind the film?
Tyler – It started with a germ of an idea about a creepy rideshare driver, and then it turned into a conversation with Dash about the perils of modern life and how we blindly trust technology in a way that makes us inherently vulnerable.
Dash – Technology is incredible – and terrifying. It renders us at once more secure and connected, yet also more vulnerable and isolated. I mean, the idea of getting into a perfect stranger’s car is kind of inherently scary, isn’t it? We’ve all had a driver who’s just kinda…off. And often they’re giving you a ride to your home!
PH – Definitely! I really enjoyed the acting and characters. How did the casting process come about?
Tyler – We really wrote the two male leads for Vincent and Michael. They’re good friends, and I wanted to find a micro-budget project to work on with them. We found Christine and a few other cast members through a traditional casting process with our casting director Kelly Knox, but I also cast several other friends in supporting roles since I knew their strengths.
PH – Do you have any favorite scenes?
Tyler – I think the bar scene with Roger and Andy is one of my favorites because it showcases an unsettling but almost humorous tension I love. Striking that tonal balance is what it’s all about for me as a director, and I was really happy with how those moments played.
Dash – I love the police station scene. So often in these kinds of films, you’re watching and yelling at the screen, ‘Why the hell don’t they just go to the cops!’ So we send Andy to the cops and they offer him zero assistance or sympathy. I also love the mobile phone store ‘Sim swap’ scene. The sim swap scam is 100% real and so simple it’s frightening. There’s a great episode of the podcast Reply All, ‘The Snapchat Thief’, which was part of our research. And Alex Dobrenko, who plays the mobile store employee does such a great job in that scene of explaining the logistics while being hilarious.
JP – We did a lot of the driving scenes on a soundstage and it was a lot of fun to shoot and technically produce as we had several rear-style projectors throwing images all around to reflect on the car. Tyler and I shot a lot of the driving plates that we used in my old car and we had too much fun doing it. Also, shooting at Echo Park Lake was definitely a milestone as I used to work with Robert Evans at Paramount and am a huge Chinatown fan.
PH – That’s awesome! I love all the passion that went into this project! This film has some pretty great twists. I love twists. Do you enjoy writing them?
Tyler – Yeah, it’s always fun when you can find a way to really surprise people. It’s important that it feels earned and organic, though, since there are plenty of films out there that have twists for the sake of having twists but without any thematic or emotional underpinning.
Dash – Absolutely. Writing genre stuff requires certain pro forma elements – there are requisite boxes you kind of have to check in order for the thing to be satisfying. Tyler and I enjoy playing those notes – and when you have somebody like Michael Joplin, who’s just electric like you can’t take your eyes off of him, it empowers you to do something tricky with your other hand. All the better if the twist resonates with the overall theme of the thing.
PH – What about you JP? When you read the script did any of the twists surprise you?
JP – I always say I’ve read it all, but man the ending of this film is great. Without giving any spoilers, Tyler, Dash, and I spent a lot of time working on the motions to showcase the real villain of the film. It is the twist that makes you leave the theater thinking “man I really gotta watch out” those are the best. The thoughts that stay with you and only return late at night in those dark corners of your bedroom.
PH – Yesss! JP, what was your favorite part about working on this film, and what do you think makes it stand out from others?
JP – I love all the amazing shooting locations around LA which really make the film feel local. Still can’t believe we were able to pull it off with Film LA inside our budget. I think this is a film we can all relate to. Most of us take a chance and run off to the nearest urban attraction, following a dream, love, purpose, taking our bite out of life; meeting a thousand faces in the process. Stalker really explores how a city can also bite back and how you can’t trust everyone you meet. Also, the scary thing about this movie is how accurate and easy it is to get information online. During some of the research we did on what tools Roger could use, I myself went down a deep rabbit hole into the world of Backtrack/Kali/Darknet and was blown away at how not private my life was.
PH – Yikes! That’s scary! Do you guys have anything else you’d like to talk about? Any upcoming films beyond this? I know that Dash has a YA Sci-Fi Thriller novel coming out soon called F1RST JENN, which is awesome. I love YA series!
Dash – Me too! It’s my first novel and I’m really excited about it. It’s high concept and a bit of a tricky pitch, but here’s the hook – What would you do if you discovered you were a clone of the most influential person in history? That’s what fourteen-year-old Jenn Li grapples with in F1RST JENN: The Minerva Enterprise. Reference-wise, it’s kind of a mash-up of The Truman Show and Westworld.
Tyler – Appreciate you guys taking the time and giving us a chance to share more about the film. In terms of what’s next, I have a couple of things in the works, including another thriller I’m working on with Dash that’s set in NY. Whatever comes, hope to be back on set asap!
JP – Can’t talk too much about a few things that are cooking, but I’d say we are definitely going to see a lot more of Tyler and Dash work very soon!
