This year's SLAY has super freaky, super terrifying short films from all around the world. (Do you have your tickets?!) But we're particularly proud of the few talented directors that came from our neck of the woods, so we asked them a few questions about horror, inspiration, and what's really fucking scaring them these days.
Projector
Kailynn Heath (Seattle, WA)
What is your favorite horror movie?
My favorite horror movie is currently Hellraiser. It's not the scariest movie but I love the vibe of these BDSM, extradimensional gods just screwing with people's lives.
Without giving anything away, what inspired you to make Projector?
A lot of my favorite horror deals with unexplainable entities interacting with people, so taking that and shoving the entity into a projector sprung from that.
What is the scariest thing happening in real life?
Honestly the scariest thing to me is how there's still so little representation of queer/lgbtq people in film. Especially dumb movies. I want dumb action movies with queer people!
The Executioner
Doug Dean (Portland, OR)
What is your favorite horror movie?
Hereditary - such great acting and intense Another guilty pleasure is a contemporary meta kind of horror Behind The Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon which I think is amazing.
Without giving anything away, what inspired you to make The Executioner?
I love the idea of how familiarity and an existing deep relationship can hide dark things and that those can be as scary be scarier than strangers or the unknown.
What is the scariest thing happening in real life?
America.
Gary
Michael Rognlie (Bothell, WA)
What is your favorite horror movie?
I love this question because my answer is always changing whenever I get to discover new films...but I have to give it up to The Shining. The cinematography of John Alcott working with Kubrick's direction makes me want to make films. Some more recent horror films that are also inspiring are Hereditary, The Conjuring, and I really enjoyed the new film Malignant.
Without giving anything away, what inspired you to make Gary?
Gary was inspired by my time during the pandemic lockdown, which included bouts of paranoia, incessant online gadget shopping, and delving into the endless Netflix docu-series on cults and strange true crime stories that I indulged upon. Shout out to my buddy John Patrick Lee, who I co-wrote Gary with. He lives in Brooklyn NY, and it was an inspiration to have his ear, from the other side of the country.
What is the scariest thing happening in real life?
For me, I think the scariest thing is disinformation, and how seemingly half the world lives in an entirely different reality. That is why I think that film and music, and art in general are so important now more than ever. They remain one of the only uniting forces that we can use to bring people together.
Legs
Jonathan Wiggs (Seattle, WA)
What is your favorite horror movie?
Right now probably, Midsommar.
Without giving anything away, what inspired you to make Legs?
Let's just say I love a certain animated classic, problematic as it might be, and wanted to find a way to flip it on its head.
What is the scariest thing happening in real life?
That Ray Bradbury's novels no longer feel like science fiction.
Watch these films and many more spooky shorts at the 2nd Annual SLAY Film Festival!
You can stream SLAY starting on October 22nd, or you can watch at The Egyptian Halloween weekend!
Get Tickets Now!
