The well-received horror film Echoes of Fear is embarking on a wide theatrical release beginning in L.A on October 16 (all cities listed here). We spoke to writer-directors Brian and Lo Avenet-Bradley about the release and their conception of their unique genre feature.
Where do you guys hail from?
Lo Avent-Bradley: I grew up in Tours, France. We live in LA now.
Brian Avent-Bradley: I’m from East TN.
Is that where the movie was shot?
Lo: We moved to LA and eventually ended up in the house that’s in the movie
Brian: Most of the movie was shot in Los Angeles, with a few other locations further away.
When did you begin writing your own scripts?
Brian: I started writing scripts when I was 10, long hand, for little plays and short films which I did with my friends. Our first film was “House of Frankenstein” (Original title I know!) And I was Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde. We could not edit yet, so it all had to be edited “in camera.” Shot in order, one take only. I’m not sad to say that this has been lost to time. I think that was soon followed by ISLAND OF DOOM shot in Super 8 and who could forget SPACE INVASION! (Okay, okay… no one forgot it, because no one knew about it in order to forget it.)
Lo: I come up with story ideas, not scripts. After we started making films together, I started bringing up story concepts to Brian. I’m more inspired by the idea or the horror moment and that in turn often inspires Brian into coming up with a script.
Was horror always the genre you GRAVITATE towards?
Lo: I’ve been fascinated with real life horror and horror in video games. My first horror game was Resident Evil for Gamecube. And I was hooked.
Brian: My first memory was when I was 3 years old, and I pulled back the covers to find a skeleton in my bed. My second memory is my mom chewing out my dad for putting a skeleton in my bed. So I’ve always had a fascination with horror and the macabre and death. Then I grew up reading Edgar Allan Poe’s work, which was very influential— as well as the early films of George Romero, Wes Craven, Tobe Hooper, John Carpenter, Sam Raimi and also certain Hitchcock films.
Can you tell us about some of those scripts that – unlike Echoes of Fear – didn’t come to fruition?
Brian: This will be too painful! I have a storage bin of horror scripts in a bunch of different subgenres, many of which I still hope to be able to do. The only one that definitely cannot be made was a script I wrote back in 1998 called The Cave. It was a favorite that I kept putting off as I wanted to have a bigger budget. Finally, while posting Dark Remains in 2004, I decided that I was going to do it! I was going to shoot in real mines and caves and guerilla it! Then I started hearing about a movie called The Descent. Long story short, The Cave script was too similar to The Descent. So I knew I could never make it as it would be seen as a knockoff of The Descent. But I still love mines and caves and hope to find a new story to tell in that environment.
Now that Echoes of Fear has put you on the map, might some of those old screenplays been dusted off?
Brian: There are four scripts which I wrote while preparing and making our last two horror features, that I’d definitely like to do. All of them are in different horror subgenres. One of these, a very intense psychological horror film with a female lead, I’m hoping could be the next film we do.
Lo: And one of these scripts, INNARDS, we’ve actually adapted into an illustrated novella. It’s a very unique format. Each page has a corresponding illustration on the opposite page. Armando Norte, an amazing illustrator, did the original ink drawings. I’m doing the color and lighting and designed the layout of the book.
Brian: Lo came up with the whole design of the novella, and it’s an exciting way to turn that script into a readable story. We’re hoping to get the INNARDS novella out next year. In the ideal world, I’d really like to make all of those scripts into movies. And of course new ideas keep coming. Lo just had an amazing idea for a supernatural horror film that we’re jotting down notes on.
READ MORE: Our Review of the Horror Film Echoes of Fear
Clearly, the more intellectual horror films of the ‘80s left quite an impression on you. Can you talk about how they directly and indirectly influenced the script?
Brian: The horror films in the 80’s and late 70’s had a strong influence on me. These were the first horror films I really saw, and it was a great time for horror. As I said before, the early works of John Carpenter, Wes Craven, George Romero and Sam Raimi‘s Evil Dead 1 and 2 and Tobe Hooper‘s Texas Chainsaw Massacre 1 and 2 left a lasting impression. And also Alfred Hitchcock‘s The Birds, Frenzy and Psycho–which is reaching further back. But I would say the influence on the Echoes of Fear script was mainly indirect and subconscious. The seeds of the Echoes of Fear story really came from our real life experiences at the house—that was greatly amplified by two other true events we read about.
What are your respective strengths as writers, you think?
Lo: I contribute story ideas at the beginning, and once the first draft is done, I add specific moments or key locations or detailed items in the story, like the mouse and other spoilers I can’t mention. Brian does all the writing.
Brian: We both brainstorm on story. And I pitch Lo a lot of ideas and vice versa. I tend to write out the first treatment and go over that with her. Or if I’m on a roll, sometimes I’ll bang out a super rough draft that Lo will give feedback on. I think the back and forth is really helpful—fresh eyes and ideas and that leads to new things. It’s very collaborative, but I’m just the one who does all the typing.
And when it comes to directing – do you find one of you excels in an area more than the other?
Lo: Brian excels at building suspense and making scares. Privately we talk about the direction of the acting and keep one voice on set not to unsettle the actors. Same with the effects.
Brian: That’s a great question. It’s hard to say as we work as a very close unit, and we have an unspoken communication. We’ve always been a very close filmmaking team and wear a lot of hats. Because Lo is also the director of photography, I think that she really expands that with her directing, making script changes to create scenarios that she wants to shoot and light. We both work together on shots and how they all flow together to tell the story and build the tension, atmosphere and scares—and we both love high contrast, source motivated lighting and like our darks to be dark. So we’re really both on the same page. In the past, I primarily worked with the actors. But the boundaries started breaking down on our previous films, so when we started this one it made more sense to just get rid of these artificial boundaries and officially co-direct. And I think it definitely made for a much better film.
Is it harder or easier to work with family?
Lo: For us, it’s easier because we know each other so well and trust each other, we’re just 100% focused on the project with no distractions. We wish we could do more projects together.
Brian: I find it fantastic. We have an unspoken communication, and we’re in synch. We have each other’s backs. And creatively, it’s so powerful to be working with someone you’re so close to. We know what we like, and it’s a great gift to have another set of eyes and ears following all the elements of making an indie film.
Were there any hurdles along the way?
Lo: There are constant hurdles. From the moment we’re ready to go in pre-production, finding all the locations. We had a very small crew, so a lot of the burden was on us, juggling logistics. We came really close to not finding a key location, but luckily after asking friends and acquaintances, it happened. Our lead, Trista Robinson, got poison ivy, which we had to hide while she wore a sleeveless shirt- in some scenes, she ended up with a sweater. Everyday there was something. And when something happens, it has a ripple effect throughout, so it takes a lot of thinking to make sure the story flows with it. The house is extremely hard to shoot in as most of the ceilings are in the shots because of the dramatic angles and moving camera, and there are a lot of mirrors. But that’s what gives the house its character, so they’re good hurdles to have.
Brian: Filmmaking is always one hurdle after another. You prep everything out, organize everything, anticipate every problem– knowing full well when you start the film there will always be the unexpected. We’ve learned to be very adaptable and sometimes obstacles can turn out to be gifts.
Lo: This is another example of one big hurdle. We had a mouse, Twikie, in a very key role in the film that I trained. Unfortunately, mice do not live very long and Twikie died before we finished her 2nd unit shots.
Brian: The edit had a lot of black holes as I tried to find a matching mouse— because we had deliberately picked a cute mouse with a unique color pattern.
Lo: When we finally found our second mouse, I started training her and found she could do all sorts of tricks the first mouse couldn’t. So we started adding more shots of the mouse into the movie.
Brian: And we know from the festivals how popular the mouse is with the audience. So that’s a great example of a hurdle that made the film better.
It’s a very entertaining movie, but would you say it also has a message to it?
Lo: One of the messages is about self-confidence. The lead character is insecure, doesn’t trust herself, is being influenced by her boyfriend. By listening to her guts and following through, she learns to trust her instinct and feel confident about who she is.
Brian: I agree with Lo. I think it also has something to say about evil. But I can’t talk much about it before people have seen the film.
Do you think the horror genre is in a good place right now?
Lo: I think the horror genre has evolved more into the mainstream, and more people are open to it.
Brian: Overall, I think horror is always in a good place. It’s the genre that won’t die, no pun intended. There was a bad time was when the MPAA cracked down in the later 80’s and early 90’s that really hurt horror films, judging them by a different standard than other genres. But fortunately, that seems to have subsided. Mainstream horror right now is suffering a little bit from a glut of remakes and sequels, but I think indie horror is particularly strong and making up for it.