Trailer For The 1951-Set Live-Action/Animated Noir Horror Short Film ANGEL CITY HORROR

Here’s nan trailer for a cool-looking live-action/animated noir scary short movie titled Angel City Horror, which is group successful Los Angeles 1951.

In nan story, “With nan thief from his partner Glenn O’Brien, seasoned detective George Hard stumbles connected to grounds that leads him to analyse nan disappearance of a intelligence diligent astatine nan city’s astir notorious insane asylum. After interrogating nan caput caregiver for answers Hard and O'Brian observe nan logic down nan missing patient.”

The movie was written and directed by Matthew McWilliams, and we person an question and reply pinch him that you tin publication below.

This trailer is shared successful collaboration pinch the FilmQuest Film Festival, wherever we are looking to expose immoderate of nan awesome indie genre films and shorts that filmmakers are creating. We besides included an question and reply pinch nan board below.

Without spoilers, show america what your movie is about, its characters, and its themes. Is it a impervious of concept, aliases a standalone story? 

Angel City Horror is simply a live-action animation noir scary movie group successful 1951 Los Angeles. It serves arsenic a impervious of conception for a overmuch larger world, encompassing an expansive backstory revolving astir nan main character, Detective George Hard.

This movie combines nan accepted themes of noir and scary into 1 visually hybrid genre film. The communicative itself is reasonably straightforward. Two hard-boiled detectives analyse a regular missing persons lawsuit astatine nan infamous St. Mary’s Asylum erstwhile they observe a sinister beingness lurking inside.

Detective George Hard, a WWII seasoned from nan Greatest generation, suffers from addiction, PTSD blackouts, and profound loss. He has seen evil up adjacent and looked it successful nan eye. What he witnessed successful nan warfare he carries pinch him, astatine slightest nan parts he tin remember.

Returning home, he leaves nan warfare down pinch dream for nan future, aiming to partake successful nan American dream. However, he quickly learns that was ne'er successful nan cards for him. The warfare seems to travel him everyplace he turns, and his effort astatine a normal life fails arsenic he faces hardship and heartache successful a metropolis plagued pinch corruption and infested pinch monsters.

Now moving for nan LAPD, he is connected nan cusp of a caller warfare starting betwixt eager governmental factions, nan corrupt LAPD, nan mob, and nan Fourth Reich. His haunted past will travel afloat circle, and he will beryllium forced to face his demons to prevention nan City of Los Angeles arsenic good arsenic himself.

What was nan inspiration for your film? How did you travel up pinch nan idea?

This movie was created unconventionally. At nan time, I was pitching communicative ideas to Crypt TV, who were specifically looking for communicative elements that catered to their contented branding. At nan halfway of this marque is nan monster, truthful that's wherever I started.

Thinking successful position of a bid and a perchance semipermanent narrative, I developed a elemental conception pinch a monster that could beryllium anyplace and successful immoderate clip period. I thought this attack would debar being hampered by budgetary limitations.

So, I conceptualized a monster and past began searching for affordable filming locations wherever I could sprout a bid of scary films based connected that monster. With my inheritance successful nan Art Department, I americium people attracted to degraded locations, vintage sets, and props.

So, I chose a small, dilapidated group that was visually absorbing and could supply accumulation value. The monster and nan location were my starting point. As I began writing, nan clip period, characters, tone, style, and genre people fell into place.

From that constituent on, I was penning a noir scary film. Once that was established, I knew what I wanted from my characters, their dialogue, and pinch endless humanities context, nan backstory conscionable kept delving farther down nan rabbit hole.

Tell america astir yourself. What is your background? How agelong person you been a filmmaker?

I grew up successful Minnesota and graduated from nan University of Arizona pinch a Bachelor of Media Arts. Afterwards, I bounced astir Wyoming and Montana earlier moving to Los Angeles successful 2009, wherever I started moving successful production.

After a fewer years, I transitioned to nan Art Department, wherever I was introduced to group building and group design, and I person been moving location ever since. As a filmmaker, my directorial debut began pinch my first characteristic film, "Chupacabra Territory." (A large acknowledgment to Christopher Maltauro for making that happen.) Since then, I person directed respective short films, including Mushtown, my award-winning short Bath Bomb, and "Candy," which is portion of nan Happy Horror Days anthology feature.

What inspires you to activity wrong genre cinema and show these benignant of stories?

I person ever been drawn to scary and genre films. They each trust connected circumstantial communicative and stylistic conventions. Noir, for instance, boasts iconic cinematic elements specified arsenic corruption and execution mysteries, themes we've each encountered successful immoderate shape aliases another.

The aforesaid tin beryllium said for horror. Both genres capitalize connected hostility and mystery, aspects profoundly rooted successful our taste history. Genre hybrid films for illustration Dark City and Sin City served arsenic important inspirations because they utilized nan noir genre to research various communicative and ocular styles.

Horror films, profoundly ingrained successful our humanities and primal DNA, connection nan imaginative licence to conceive thing your imagination tin conjure, bring it to life, and profoundly effect america connected a subconscious level. The scary genre presents limitless storytelling possibilities crossed each genres, making that imaginative state a important tie for me.

What was your favourite portion of nan filmmaking process for this project?

There were galore elements to this film, each presenting its ain group of challenges, truthful it's difficult to constrictive down 1 aspect. However, I was fortunate to combine a talented squad for this project, spanning each section from nan actors to camera, creation department, SFX, editors, composers, animators, wardrobe, and hairsbreadth and makeup.

Each individual contributed to nan movie successful bonzer ways. Collaborating pinch specified a skilled formed and unit was a humbling experience, and their corporate efforts played a pivotal domiciled successful shaping nan film's visually unsocial outcome. Working alongside everyone passim nan process was immensely rewarding.

What are you astir proud of pinch this film?

I americium astir proud of incorporating animated visuals into nan movie to grow nan story. It was my first effort astatine specified an eager concept, and it was rather a painstaking undertaking. I besides wasn’t judge really it would beryllium perceived, if it would travel together pinch nan unrecorded action, aliases if nan movie would extremity up successful a messiness of 2 ocular styles.

However, I consciousness that nan clip and decisions we made, mixed pinch nan talents and patience of my precocious Editor, Wes Sneeringer, came together to create a genuinely unsocial movie that stands connected its own. I was besides proud of really we utilized our location.

With thief from Production Designer Tim Bedwell, we constructed group walls, overmuch of which lived successful my mini backyard for weeks, doorway plugs, and a twenty-four-foot ventilation duct made retired of wood, tinfoil, and spray paint. This allowed america to toggle shape 1 mini group into an asylum from nan 1950s.

What is simply a favourite communicative aliases infinitesimal from nan making of nan movie you'd for illustration to share? 

I ever for illustration applicable FX, but they do travel pinch uncertainties that tin beryllium problematic. There's a segment that called for a six-foot tentacle to wrap astir 1 of nan actors. It was engineered pinch soul vertebrae and cables to usability and move, but because of its weight and length, it conscionable wasn’t capable to articulate nan measurement we needed it to.

We were moving connected a tight schedule, truthful we didn’t person nan clip to messiness pinch it. Practical SFX ever return longer than I schedule for. Thankfully, we had an identical backup tentacle made of foam that was a batch much elastic and maneuverable. After immoderate problem-solving, we decided to reverse nan action of nan segment and sprout it successful reverse, which thankfully achieved nan effect I wanted and is my favourite changeable successful nan film.If it did, really did your movie alteration aliases disagree from its original conception during pre-production, production, and/or post-production? How has this changed really you'll attack early projects arsenic a result?

Going into it, I knew nan movie location we were shooting astatine was incredibly small. It was fundamentally nan size of a chamber placed extracurricular nan workplace nether a dilapidated metallic shack. I was concerned that nan abstraction mightiness beryllium problematic, but it was our champion option. I besides wanted things to consciousness adjacent and claustrophobic, truthful we went for it. I catered my shots to it accordingly.

However, aft nan first earthy edit, it was evident that utilizing close-up shots and a mini location created a spatial issue. I knew I would request to someway finagle establishing shots to make this movie look bigger, nan location look bigger, and nan world arsenic well. Initially, my scheme was to bargain shots of downtown LA, but nan much I looked into it, that action wasn’t viable because it wasn’t going to adhd what nan movie needed, truthful I looked for different option.

The 2 issues I had were that nan backstory I created needed to beryllium touched on, and that nan movie needed an preamble to nan clip period, tone, and main character. I began discussions pinch friend and chap filmmaker, Jason Ragosta, a talented animator and filmmaker, to adhd animated comic sequences passim nan movie to reside these issues.

My thought was to usage animation to create nan visuals that were unattainable pinch my budgetary limitations. I wrote immoderate narration and began my research, gathering reference images and readying retired really and wherever these sequences fit. The Creepshow series, which was 1 of my inspirations, had done thing akin pinch comic animation to present each episode. I thought it was a awesome ocular tool.

I wanted to return that thought 1 measurement further and bring these images to life. Within each comic compartment successful nan panel, we created layers of articulated activity successful nan background, mid-ground, and foreground. This helped create a cinematic constituent to nan images and animated ocular activity pinch multi-directional depth.

In nan end, this helped maine battalion successful a batch of communicative into a short runtime, and I deliberation this summation brought much to nan movie than I could person imagined. Going forward, I americium continuing to incorporated animated visuals into early projects to assistance successful nan storytelling process.

Who were immoderate of your collaborators and actors connected nan film? How did you commencement moving pinch each other?

I person to springiness a large acknowledgment to my Producer, Josh Murphy, pinch MadWest Content, who was location from nan beginning. We were friends backmost successful movie schoolhouse and reconnected successful caller years successful Los Angeles. Without his help, this movie wouldn’t person happened.

As a imaginative Executive, his expertise was invaluable and he was location to push maine erstwhile I needed it. Similarly, astir of my movie formed and unit consists of friends and colleagues I person worked pinch complete nan years successful nan industry.

Sarah Nicklin, who plays nan Nurse, is simply a longtime friend who starred successful my first feature, “Chupacabra Territory,” arsenic good arsenic my shorts, “Bath Bomb” and “Candy.” She’s a phenomenal character and was cleanable for nan part. I ever emotion having her connected group because I cognize location are nary limits to what she tin do. I had worked pinch character Matthew Cook, who plays Detective George Hard, down nan scenes connected respective jobs.

He was primitively formed to prima successful my movie “Candy,” but aft a large wind came done dumping 4 inches of snowfall successful nan mountains, rendering him incapable of reaching nan set, we unluckily had to switch him. When I told him I wanted him to prima successful “Angel City Horror,” he jumped connected board. Patrick Joseph Rieger, who plays Detective Glenn O’Brien, is an aged precocious schoolhouse friend from Minnesota who I ran into astatine a pub erstwhile his Irish band, Whiskey Sunday, was playing crossed nan thoroughfare from wherever I lived.

He starred alongside Sarah “Candy,” which was changeable astatine his location successful Crestline. The shriek queen of horror, Sadie Katz, was a invited caller addition. She plays nan psychiatric patient. She was recommended by filmmaker and character Jessica Sonneborn and perfectly nailed each scene.

A fewer different group I would for illustration to mention are Wardrobe Designer Shon LeBlanc (who won champion costume) and Desiree Falcon, caput of hairsbreadth and makeup. We had antecedently worked together connected Disney’s TV show, Encore! I knew that successful bid to make this film, I would request nan champion successful some of these departments. The level of item and knowledge they brought was paramount to making Angel City Horror a believable play noir.

Tim Bedwell, whom I person worked alongside for years connected The Bachelor TV bid and who sewage maine into Art Department, built and designed nan sets to move our mini room into nan asylum, awarding nan movie Best Production Design. Wes Sneeringer, who edited my movie Candy, won respective Best Editing awards for his painstaking work. He besides connected maine pinch animator Jason Ragosta.

Together, they were an invaluable squad whose efforts made a immense effect connected this film, besides winning an grant for Best Animated Film. Composer Carlow Vivas has scored each of my films. He really went supra and beyond pinch Angel City Horror trying to find nan correct reside and pacing, fine-tuning nan score, and moving pinch maine done dozens of revisions.

Nick Reisinger and Alexys Paonessa were nan Special Effects team. I had known Nick for years arsenic he provided each nan typical effects connected my erstwhile films. It was my first clip moving pinch Alexys. She designed and built nan monster. Because of their work, Angel City Horror won nan grant for Best SFX.

What is nan champion proposal you've ever received arsenic a filmmaker and what would you for illustration to opportunity to caller filmmakers?

Don’t person your Director of Photography edit nan film. Just spell for it guns blazing. You study by doing. You study by failing. The much films you make, nan amended they will be. Listen to everybody and nobody.

What is your adjacent task and erstwhile tin we expect to spot it? 

I americium presently moving connected a collaboration task pinch filmmaker Tara Erickson connected nan 3rd installment of her award-winning zombie drama bid titled, A Real Killjoy: Pizzaz for Life. This post-apocalyptic zombie short movie explores loss, regret, and addiction done nan vein of our hopeless, sarcastic, and sexually questioning hero, Sam Jones. Drawing from my acquisition pinch Angel City Horror, I americium combining live-action pinch animation sequences, this clip pinch images inspired by Genndy Tartakovsky-style anime. We are successful nan fundraising process and are hoping to commencement accumulation by nan extremity of nan year.

Where tin we find much of your activity and wherever tin willing parties interaction you? Do you person a website aliases YouTube/Vimeo channel? Social media handles?

You tin check it retired here.

Bonus Question #1: What is your all-time favourite film?

The Thing

Bonus Question #2: What is nan movie that astir inspired you to go a filmmaker and/or had nan astir power connected your work?

Terminator 2