PopHorror Let's Get Scared
Beginning his career in film straight out of college, Actor/Director Dave Campfield released his directorial debut, Dark Chamber (you can read our review of the film here), in 2006. Through his unexpected friendship with cult horror star Felissa Rose, Campfield managed to cast many familiar cult horror faces in his campy comedic horror series, Caesar and Otto. ( you can read our reviews of three of the films here, here and here). Being a two man act, this modern day Abbott and Costello would not have been the same without Campfield’s life long friend, Paul Chomicki. I recently had the pleasure of speaking with Dave about his career in film as well as an exciting upcoming project that is already making some noise in the festival circuit.
PopHorror: Hi, Dave! Thanks for taking the time to speak with me.
Dave Campfield: No problem!
PopHorror: To start, when did you first realize you wanted to pursue a career in film?
Dave Campfield: It was almost instantaneous in a time before everyone can be a celebrity on YouTube and social media. None of that existed. I was a 4 year-old. I was in a movie theater watching a re-release of Star Wars, and when I left the theater, I told my parents that I wanted to be an actor. I was 4! Like many millions of children, I wanted to be Luke Skywalker. Except, for me, that desire never went away. It became an obsession, and I began collecting everything relating to film, including soundtracks. I studied everything about filmmaking, both in front and behind the camera. And I just fell in love with storytelling. I began making films of my own when I was a child, and it grew into something I decided to pursue full-time!
PopHorror: That’s great to hear! Have you always been a fan of the horror genre?
Dave Campfield: You know, the first horror film I ever saw on television, which was Halloween, was still terrifying to me even though it was edited for TV. And my little mind couldn’t tell that this story is actually kind of ridiculous! (laughs) But I loved it. And not only did I love horror movies, but I loved horror in general. The haunted house was always my favorite attraction at the carnival. I was always attracted to the macabre.
PopHorror: Haunts and horror films do tend to go hand in hand, which is probably why, for many of us, Halloween is our favorite time of year. So, in your film series, Caesar and Otto, you star as Caesar and your partner in crime, Paul Chomicki, as Otto. How long have you known Paul?
Dave Campfield: Paul is someone I knew in high school. He was like me. He loved film and he loved acting, and we clicked on the basis of that. We first met when someone in high school was making a movie. He was in it, I was in it, and we met on set. Since then, we’ve become lifelong friends. And when I started making these comedy horror films, he was my go to guy. He was the one who I always had the best onscreen chemistry with.
PopHorror: That’s great! What inspired the Caesar and Otto series?
Dave Campfield: Before Paul moved out to California to pursue film, we would get together every week and shoot scenes on a camcorder. And one of the sketches involved these characters of Caesar and Otto. And something clicked! Something just felt right about these two characters. It was an experiment. We did plenty of sketches of characters that just didn’t quite click, but the Caesar and Otto sketches felt right. It was something we both enjoyed doing. So, we made an experimental cult feature film with a budget of $700. At that point, I had a working relationship with a company that asked if I had a comedy horror for them to release. I didn’t have what they were asking, but this gave me the idea to take the Caesar and Otto characters and put them into a horror film and go for a modern day Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein.
By this time, I was friends with Felissa Rose, and I pitched the idea over the phone of Caesar and Otto go to Sleepaway Camp. That was the starting point. The company I was working with loved the idea. They gave me a small budget, and I was game! We were going to shoot the whole thing for about $6,000, and we hit the ground running. So, the Caesar and Otto series became these small cult films. I’m not raking in the dough making any these films, but when you make movies and you’re passionate about it, you’re not doing it for the money. You’re doing it because you love it. You know, you hope it will ultimately lead to something to where you can sustain yourself, but they’re passion projects. Even a crazy, low-budget comedy can be a passion project.
PopHorror: Very true! I know that Felissa and her husband, Deron, both make multiple appearances in your films. How long have you known them?
Dave Campfield: Several years ago before diving into making feature films, I was working on a script for a thriller film, which would become Dark Chamber. While on set of a local commercial, I meet this actress. I got along with her and told her about the project that I’m working on. I find out later that this is Felissa Rose from Sleepaway Camp! (laughs) I had no idea. I didn’t know Sleepaway Camp as well as so many people do, so I didn’t recognize her, but we had a very copacetic professional relationship from the start. We respected each other’s work and I respected her as an actress.
So, this lead to me casting her in my first feature film, Under Surveillance, which was later released as Dark Chamber and will be re-release under the title Say You Love the Devil… just to make things confusing (laughs). So, we’ve had a friendship for many years. It’s always wonderful working with her, and she has been very helpful in making the films. Quite a few of the actors who were cast in the Caesar and Otto films were as a result of her, everyone from Joe Estevez to Brinke Stevens. And she told Deron what she was working on and he dug the idea, so he became involved as well. And I enjoyed working with him so much that I wanted to put him in every Caesar and Otto film that I made.
PopHorror: What was it like working with so many cult stars in the Caesar and Otto films?
Dave Campfield: I would say that in almost every circumstance, they were pretty much there for the first take of every scene. You could see their experience in their offscreen personalities. Vernon Wells was a pleasant surprise, suggested to me by Felissa. He was available and willing to do a cameo. I had originally scheduled him for three hours and we got it done in two. We only did two takes of that scene! It’s just so wonderful when you meet your heroes and they turn out to be every bit of what you’d hoped for! That’s the case with so many of these actors. To this day, I’m still in touch with Linnea Quigley, and I touch base with Brinke Stevens every now and then. These are people who just love the art of film, and you could say that we have that in common. It’s great to be with people who have a non-elitist attitude towards the profession.
PopHorror: That’s very cool to hear! With everything you’ve done so far, you’ve had a taste of pretty much every part of the filmmaking process, both on and off screen. What would you say is your favorite part?
Dave Campfield: My favorite part is any of it when it’s going right. (laughs) I love acting when it’s going right. I love writing when it’s going right. I love directing when it’s going right. My least favorite part is when things aren’t going right. (laughs) So, I love them equally when the pieces are falling into place as they should. Sometimes you have to do more takes than you would like to do because you know the audience will not accept anything less than truth. Acting isn’t an easy thing. It takes time to really finesse. I’m referring more to the dramatic films when I say that, but there has to be a level of authenticity, and it does take time.
PopHorror: Based on your experience, what would you say is the biggest challenge in the filmmaking process?
Dave Campfield: I would say the biggest challenge is working under limitations. Art does thrive off of limitations, but at the same time, you get judged very much on production quality. I feel like half of the audience’s reaction to a film has everything to do with production value. So, you’re going to have a difficult time convincing an audience that is used to multi-million dollar films to stay with yours. If the production value is not there, they will not give the story credit and they will not give the acting credit. If they see bad production value, audiences basically want to turn it off. So, trying my best to bring production value on such a low budget is my biggest challenge.
I feel like Caesar and Otto’s Paranormal Halloween would have been a well regarded comedy horror if there was more production value. As is, there are people who get it and roll with it. But there are many people who don’t give it a particular chance because it doesn’t look like those other films they are used to. If you make a low-budget film, it’s almost like the director has to give context. In the same way, if you watch a film from 1940, you will be looking at it differently from a film of today. In today’s world, you have to go far beyond your resources to talk to your average audience member, and I’m up for that challenge.
PopHorror: While there is something to be said for production value, it’s unfortunate that is what turns people away from giving lower budget indie films a fair chance. I feel like the indie scene opens up more opportunity for creativity and originality, but it doesn’t come without risk. Do you have any upcoming projects you would like to mention?
Dave Campfield: Yes, actually. Awaken the Reaper is a very personal horror film that I have gradually been working on for about 10 years. I write a draft, put it down, write another draft and put it down again. I’m at the point to where I feel like if I don’t do this film now, I never will. I don’t want to do a film with the budget of a Caesar and Otto film. I want something that appeals to more of a mainstream audience, so I’m trying to raise more money. The screenplay itself is getting quite a bit of recognition from festivals, including the New York Horror Film Festival.
Personally, whenever I watch a horror film nowadays, it never encapsulates my real fears. In quite a few horror films, you deal with some ambiguous monster and characters with lives that seem to be going pretty well. But in real life, the world that I know, I live in a neighborhood with people over 30 years-old who are unable to move up in their lives and living in a state of arrested development. This film will touch on archetypes of every suburbia that’s out there. I feel like every town has the same 10 personalities, and this film is going to capture all of them. I’m not afraid of Freddy Krueger. I’m afraid of my brother dying. I’m afraid of my parents dying. I’m afraid of going nowhere in my life. These anxieties rule us and prevent us from getting anywhere. I want this film to be truthful because the scariest kind of horror is the horror you believe.
PopHorror: That sounds incredible! I can’t wait to hear more about this project as it develops! Thank you, Dave, for speaking with me.
Dave Campfield: My pleasure!
With Awaken the Reaper just announced as a finalist in the New York City Horror Film Festival writing competition, this is sure to be one feature to keep tabs on throughout development. You can be sure to find upcoming news and announcements in regards to this haunting tale right here on PopHorror!
