In the world of horror cinema, most of the big names find
something they are good at and stick with it.
John Carpenter is known for directing, Robert Englund is known for
acting. Richard Band is known for
composing. Sometimes, however,
individuals come along who branch out and find that they are actually
exceptionally good at many different areas of film making and they become known
for all of them. Lon Chaney managed the
task until his death in 1930. Tom Savini
continues to this day to act, direct, work on special effects, and do stunt
work. In independent film, this is a
much more common occurrence due to the need to keep budgets to a minimum.
Even though carrying out multiple tasks is not uncommon for
those in the independent film business, Eric Widing may still give reason to be
very impressed given all that he has accomplished. Widing has worked as an editor, producer, actor,
cinematographer, director, writer, assistant director, as well as working in
the sound department, editorial department, animation department, as a composer,
and even as a set decorator. With this
kind of resume, you know you are in for some interesting stories when you take
the time to talk to Eric Widing. My
interview with Widing did not disappoint.
Ira Gansler: Looking
at IMDB, you seem to be an extremely multi-talented person in the indie film
industry. You’ve got credits under
actor, director, writer, editor, cinematographer, sound department, composer,
and even set director. With all that
going on, how would you say you primarily see yourself heading, or define
yourself, in your film career?
Eric Widing: Well,
ultimately directing is my big thing.
The problem is, as far as coming up with ideas, I only come up with one idea
I really like and a lot of ideas that get pushed to the side. My goal as director is maybe 10 to 15
features in my whole career. As far as
editing goes, though, I’ll pretty much edit anything. I think the most prolific thing that I’ll do
to keep busy and keep making money is editing, such as what I did with Haunted House on Sorority Row. I think that is going to be my future. Directing is my main focus but editing is
going to likely be my most prolific.
IG: Most of your work
has been with horror at this point. Do
you feel a certain attachment to the horror genre?
EW: You know I
do. Honestly, growing up horror was
something I wasn’t really allowed to see, but I was always very curious about
from a young age. In the early ‘90s I
would go into the horror section of the video store and look at the cases. I remember Candyman, Hellraiser, and
Child’s Play particularly caught my
attention. So as a kid, I would usually
imagine what horror movies were like. It
wasn’t until I was a teenager that I started reading Stephen King and catching
up with Friday the 13th, Halloween, and all the stuff I had
missed out on. That was the point where
I first tried to catch up on horror movies.
It’s always been something I’ve enjoyed. All of my favorite movies, even if they are
not horror movies, have horror elements.
One of my favorites of the last decade is No Country for Old Men, which is generally a thriller, but has a
lot of horror elements. That is my
favorite type of movie. A thriller or
drama that has a lot of horrific elements to it is really what draws me the
most.
IG: With the draw
being there before you were even allowed to experience it, what is your
earliest horror movie memory?
EW: As a kid, I
remember sneak watching Child’s Play
at a friend’s house. One I was allowed
to watch as a kid was Alien, which
was really cool. When I was a kid, I
would watch by checking out the TV guide and making sure I was able to sneak
watch if something was coming on. I
vaguely remember watching Nightmare on
Elm Street. I think the earliest
movie I really had a reaction to as a kid was Child’s Play. I thought
Chucky was a pretty cool villain and it was a lot of fun.
IG: So at this point,
you are probably best known for your movie, Hellhounds,
which you have stated was inspired by the Robert Johnson song Hellhound on My Trail. When you look at the lyrics of that song, you
can see some places that seem to line up, but there is definitely a vague
connection to how they go together from an outsider’s perspective. How did you go about creating such a unique
movie from this song?
EW: Well, that’s kind
of a long story. I’ll try to keep it
simple. I came up with Hellhounds when I was graduating college
and I was having a lot of trouble finding jobs.
I was uncertain about stuff. I
was also unsure of where my life was going to go so I became attached to a lot
of old blues songs such as Hellhounds on
My Trail. I like the concept of that
song. Mostly, a lot of the stuff that Hellhounds is inspired by is really the
back story of the song. The back story
is that Robert Johnson has supposedly sold his soul for great music ability,
whereas in Hellhounds what he sold
his soul for is kind of vague. I just
like the idea of a guy being on the run from evil whether it is metaphorical or
physical.
IG: That being the
story of where the idea came from, what was your inspiration for creating such
a visually unique movie? Because I think
that is one of the things that really stands out for the fans of Hellhounds is the amazing visuals.
EW: A lot of the
visuals came from this experimental film maker named Stan Brakhage. He’s done a lot of stuff and has been very
influential in the music video industry.
A lot of classic MTV videos were influenced by his editing
techniques. One of his most famous works
is called Dog Star Man. It has a lot of really crazy negative visual,
negative filters, a lot of various colors, and a lot of quick cutting. Originally I was going to take a more traditional
visual approach to Hellhounds. One point in the middle of filming, I got
kind of burnt out on that and wanted to try something new. So, I watched Dog Star Man again on YouTube.
It had been several years since I had seen it. I really liked the primal experience of it
and how you can really get lost in the visuals.
So Stan Brakhage is a big influence on the colors and stuff. I also like David Lynch a lot, his use of
dreams and dream atmospheres. So a lot
of that was also influential on the visuals and atmospheres of Hellhounds. Also, some black metal videos with the images
of demons in dark rooms and that sort of thing.
Just the look and feel of black metal videos is an influence as well.
IG: Something I found
very interesting and unusual as I was doing my research for this interview is
that, according to IMDB, you are a freelance videographer and journalist for REN
TV in Russia, which to me sounds pretty damn cool. What’s involved in that and how did you get
connected with a Russian television program?
EW: It’s kind of a
funny story. REN TV is kind of like
Russia’s version of ABC or NBC. They’re
a big network. They do a lot of
interviews internationally, especially with people who had a scientific
experience. I interviewed a UFOologist,
along with a nuclear physicist, and I actually interviewed the hockey player
Sergei Brobrowski. I recently
interviewed a professor in West Virginia.
So they are very science based for the most part. I actually got in touch with them through Craigslist. They were looking for a freelance
videographer in Dayton. At first, I
thought it was some kind of scam. I was
thinking, “What is Russia doing out here?”
Then once I talked to them and they explained what was going on, I
thought that was a pretty cool gig.
Yeah, it’s pretty interesting to go just a couple of hours outside my
house and film something that is going to air on Russian TV. I’ve never seen any of the original or
completed work that I’ve done for them. I
know the interview with Sergei Brobrowski was for a news report. The interview with the UFOologist was for a
documentary they were doing on UFOs.
IG: What would your
dream project be?
EW: That’s an easy
one. I have this script I’ve been
working on for about fifteen years. It’s
current title is Live for the Kill,
but that could potentially change. That
is my ultimate dream project. I thought
about it initially as a kid and then I made it make more sense. Then as a teenager, I added more to it. It’s just stuck with me ever since. It’s never gone away. I’ve felt a lot of attachment to it. It’s also one that to do it the way I
envision would require somewhat of a budget, like a real filmmaker’s
budget. That would easily be my dream
project. If someone gave me a million
dollars to make anything, it would definitely be Live for the Kill.
IG: Anyone who looks
into your work or follows you on Facebook knows that you are a huge heavy metal
fan and have actually directed several heavy metal music videos. So is this a part of your career that you are
trying to pursue more?
EW: You know, when I
first graduated school, I thought I would have a lot more luck shooting heavy
metal videos. It’s mostly been for
friends because a lot of the metal bands I’ve encountered either don’t have a
lot of money for videos, because their focus is on music, understandably
so. I thought I was going to get a lot
more into that when I graduated school, but it’s something I really enjoy
doing. I’m a lot more willing to play
ball with metal bands to get a video out for them because I feel most in my
element when I direct videos like that.
I feel like I can get more creative and use more of a style seen in Hellhounds when I do metal videos. It’s something I’d like to continue, I just
haven’t really pursued music videos in a couple of years. I would like to do it in the future, though,
if the opportunity arises.
IG: Anything big, or
anything currently in the works for your fans to look forward to at the moment?
EW: Well, I am
working on another script. I have a lot
of ideas going in my head. I’m
potentially going to take a film I wrote called Depravity and write it from the villain’s perspective. Depravity
is another sort of pet project of mine that I am willing to take another
direction with. So, that’s something
that will most likely happen in the next few years. My next project before that will likely be
something simpler. I’m still working on
what exactly I want that to be.
IG: Final question
for you. This is kind of the big, broad
one, but I like to get the perspective of different people in the horror
industry on this. How do you define
horror?
EW: That’s a good
question. Horror to me is anything that
makes you feel horrified. Horror
explores dark elements. It doesn’t have
to be scary, per say, as long as it portrays dark, horrific elements in some
way whether that’s psychological or focusing on blood and gore. Anything that makes you feel a sense of dread
and focuses on causing fear and making you feel uncomfortable based on tapping
into your ultimate fear that you would never even want to think about, makes
you question certain aspects of your life, or question certain habits that you
have so you don’t meet the same fate as the character from the movie. Generally, horror causes a sense of dread and
explores fears.
