PopHorror Let's Get Scared
This last November, I had the opportunity to host the Indie Horror Director’s Panel at Days of the Dead Chicago. I was so inspired by all of the directors. I would be remiss if I didn’t say that Director Jason Zink absolutely stood out! The way he talked about his film, Straight Edge Kegger (2019), I just knew I had to see it as it! It has a kick ass premise that I had never heard of before, and I can give you a spoiler alert from my upcoming review that it did not disappoint! So, ladies and gents, I present to you, my interview with the ever so talented and dedicated Director Jason Zink!
PopHorror: When did your love of horror start?
Jason Zink: That’s a tough question to answer, but definitely an important one. I always leaned toward dark material and also things that shock. My earliest introduction, that I remember, is stumbling across Goosebumps at a school book fair. I was OBSESSED with those books when I was a kid. From there, I moved on to Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark. After I showed an interest in horror, my mom and dad both started to introduce me to what they knew. So while my dad was showing me Godzilla and introducing me to Svengoolie, my mom was showing me Psycho and Rear Window. Little did they know that they were creating an addict! Soon, I was picking up horror bootlegs at the local flea market.
PopHorror: That is awesome! Goosebumps and Scary Stories are crucial reading for any kid! I ask everyone I interview: what is your favorite horror film?
Jason Zink: I hate this question, and I’m sure that’s why you love to ask it. I want to give you a list of a hundred movies, because the answer changes daily, but the most common response that I give is Killer Klowns from Outer Space. It’s a weird one but the movie is fun, a solid example of the indie film spirit. And, I absolutely love the soundtrack. It’s killing me to not keep listing movies… so one more for the road. I could watch Sleepaway Camp 2: Unhappy Campers over and over again.
PopHorror: Sleepaway Camp 2 is one of my faves as well! Straight Edge Kegger is such a unique premise. How did you come up with the idea?
Jason Zink: The idea was always there, and I just couldn’t put my finger on it. On the tip of my tongue, as they say. I had been wanting to make a punk rock horror movie since I was a teenager but no premise ever grabbed me enough. Just when I was starting to develop a concept that dealt with neo-Nazis, Green Room came out. So, I had to go back to the drawing board. I realized that straight edgers were never really covered in the horror genre, and the light bulb went off. Beyond that, growing up I was obsessed with both punk and horror. I read Kevin Smith’s Tough Shit, and he talked about how he came up with the idea for Red State. He said that he wanted to create a genre mash-up that the viewer couldn’t ever get ahead of, and he wanted to tackle subject matter that hit home for him. It was that book that really got me motivated to start developing the idea.
PopHorror: Kevin Smith is very inspiring! How long did it take to write, shoot, and edit?
Jason Zink: The writing came quickly. I wrote the whole movie in about three weeks, but that also came after we had shot the proof-of-concept trailer and started talking about what worked and what didn’t. Plus, we started the Kickstarter campaign before the script was written, so it put pressure on me to hurry up and write. Principal photography only took 11 days, but then we filmed a handful of weekends for pick-ups and re-shoots. Editing was basically just finished at the tail end of our film festival circuit. The movie was locked only a few months after we finished shooting, but we kept changing things as we viewed the movie with audiences and kept refining what we had. From start to finish, the whole project took almost 4 years, but that includes a year of the proof-of-concept as well as a year and a half of the festival circuit and getting the package ready for distribution. So the actual writing, shooting and editing was probably just a bit over a year. With no money and such a small team, the answer is just a bit more complicated.
PopHorror: Your hard work really shows! What was the most challenging thing about making the film?
Jason Zink: Sadly, the most challenging part about making the movie is both the most common answer as well as the least interesting. We had no money. And, even worse than that is that the money we did have was on my credit cards. So, I’ve spent the last year and some change donating blood plasma twice a week to pay down the debt. I have even volunteered in clinical trials at a local university. I hate that money has to be my answer, but it’s the truth. The amazing experience that comes with making a feature length film with a group of excited, talented and like-minded individuals gets tainted, slightly, by the stress that money and debt carry with it.
PopHorror: Do you have a personal favorite scene in the movie?
Jason Zink: My favorite part of the whole movie is definitely the opening credits. There are lots of other little moments that I love watching, but the opening credits carry with them nostalgia for an amazing night of shooting. Never thought I would get to experience that in my life. Seeing the looks on my crews’ faces in the mosh pit is something I’ll always hold close to my heart.
PopHorror: That opener set the tone perfectly! Any fun behind-the-scene stories from filming?
Jason Zink: There are definitely quite a few gems, but the main one for me is just how we had to live together like it was summer camp. We bought a bunch of air mattresses and almost everybody just lived in our house for the 11 days of principal photography. I can only speak for myself, but I felt like I was in The Little Rascals. We had bought this trampoline and filled it with foam blocks as a makeshift crash pad for Evey [Reidy, who played Maybe], but we never wound up using it for that. I remember one night where we all got to unwind and have a few drinks. We all took turns jumping and flipping off the roof onto the trampoline for hours. Kids, don’t try that at home!
PopHorror: Where can fans find or purchase the film?
Jason Zink: As of right now, the only place to pick up the movie is through our distributor ScreamTeam Releasing’s website. The film is available for pre-sale currently in both DVD and VHS format. The pre-sale will be ending soon and the movie will start hitting mailboxes around the world. We’re getting lots of questions about VOD and digital aggregators, and I am pleased to announce it will be releasing on April 3, 2020!
Thanks to Jason Zink for taking the time to talk with us, and be sure to stay tuned to PopHorror for the upcoming review of Straight Edge Kegger!
