What at first seems like a relaxing and relatively calm bachelorette party turns into a bloody fight for survival for two sisters and their friends in the new movie Killer Kate! With the horror comedy in theaters and on VOD and Digital HD beginning October 26th from Freestyle Digital Media, Daily Dead had the pleasure of catching up with director/co-writer Elliot Feld to discuss collaborating with his family and friends for his new movie (including his wife, Alexandra, who plays the lead role), the film's cinematic influences, coming up with the story for Killer Kate! after initially preparing to direct a vampire movie, and much more!
Congratulations on Killer Kate! When did you and co-writer Daniel Moya come up with the idea for this film?
Elliot Feld: Thank you! We couldn’t be more excited for the release. The whole thing started last summer. At the time, we had been developing a fun vampire script called The Woods. It was budgeted and scheduled, but after a year of development and three different screenwriters, we realized making that specific movie wasn’t a reality. It was too expensive, so we needed to land on another concept. Once we settled on the Airbnb-style horror, Daniel and I got to work. We started on the screenplay in early October of 2017. We met at Bob’s Big Boy almost every day to hash out our notes and assign scenes to be written for the following day. It took about two weeks for the first draft, and we continued to write up until the first day of production.
What was your shooting schedule for Killer Kate!, and where did filming take place?
Elliot Feld: Believe it or not, we filmed Killer Kate! in about 12 days. We knew the turnaround was tight, but it was the only way we could make it work within our budget. We had ten days of principal photography and two days of pick-ups, with a couple extra half-days of drone photography. The entire first week was filmed at a house in Simi Valley. For the second week, we filmed at a different location every day in and around Los Angeles.
Your cast and crew on this movie are filled with a lot of family and friends, including your wife, Alexandra, who plays the lead role of Kate. What was it like collaborating with Alexandra and the rest of your team to bring this story to life?
Elliot Feld: I’ve been working with my brother, David, for about ten years. I remember when I first moved to LA in 2007, I would PA for him on these big commercial jobs. The sets were massive, with ten trucks, and cranes and pursuit vehicles and the best catering you could imagine. I was always so wide-eyed, and I fell in love with Hollywood. Eventually, I started climbing the ladder, and by 2013 I was producing and directing full time. That fall, I married my wife and we started working together pretty consistently. Our chemistry is fantastic, and I love working with both of them. Directing Alex was a breeze, and we can get a lot done without saying much. Most of the time, I can simply give her a look or a hand signal and she’s in tune. Her sister was our costume designer. Her parents and her brother handled art department, and my dad was our accountant and executive producer. It was a serious family affair!
In addition to making this movie with your real-life family, the film itself is primarily about families and friends and the ties that bind (for better or worse). How important was it for you to hone in on the theme of family—even when all hell is breaking loose?
Elliot Feld: Wow, what a great question! This movie really revolves around Kate and Angie. Their relationship and especially their struggle were always the most important aspects of the story to me. We knew that Alex was going to play Kate, so we just needed find the perfect Angie. Once Danielle got through her first audition, I knew we had to cast her. She brought this great humanity to the role, and she played so well with Alex. I wanted the relationships to be authentic, and not all horror movies do that, you know? A lot of times we get caricatures, and we don’t get real people. With Kate, Angie, Sara, and Mel, I like to think we got authentic, relatable characters.
The Briskman family was a different story, because I wanted them to contrast with our heroes. I allowed the criminals to be sillier, and I totally leaned on Grant Lyon, who plays Jimmy, for humor, since he’s such a good stand-up comic. Tiffany Shepis was a huge help to me as well. She’s a pro, having worked with some of the biggest names in the genre, and she brought an awesome energy to the set. She and Grant really anchored that family.
Looking back at your time on set, is there a favorite or funny moment that stands out?
Elliot Feld: There is a sequence in the film when Kate and Angie try to escape, but they are attacked by Terry, played brilliantly by Brandon Bales by the way. When we initially filmed the scene, I only had time to grab the bare essentials. I’m talking very basic coverage, and once I looked at the first edit, I could tell the scene was lacking. I go into every project with a long list of super cool shots, but usually that list is thrown out, and I end up shooting standard coverage for the sake of time. I had about five additional shots that I wanted to grab and missed, including this cool bat POV. After getting through our second cut, we planned two days of re-shoots and I had the chance to dive back into that Terry sequence. We grabbed a bunch of inserts and fun coverage that change the complexion of the entire film. That scene is truly the moment where the film takes off.
What was the most challenging (or rewarding) scene to shoot?
Elliot Feld: Easy. The highway scene with all four women in the car. We were filming on a highway about an hour north of Los Angeles, and the wind was out of control. It was one of those days when the flags and silks were fighting us every step of the way. I remember I was going to our mixer after every take, asking him, “Are we good? Did we get it? How’s the noise?” I have yet to mention the hair! Alex and Abbie have nice long hair, and the wind would pick it up at random. It was a struggle, and we used the entire 12 hours to film that single scene. On one hand, it was nice to focus on one scene for a whole day. It actually turned out great, and it’s some of our best sound, so go figure! As a fun aside, we don’t have one line of ADR in the entire film. All dialogue, including that scene, is production sound.
What do you hope viewers take away from this film?
Elliot Feld: Have fun. That’s what movies are all about. I know a lot of people will watch this film and take away subtext and underlying themes, but I am a believer in cinema as escapism first. That’s partially why I love the horror/action genre so much. Is there a better feeling than going to a movie and losing yourself for two hours? The best horrors have layers, and the best filmmakers say something, and I think we did both with Killer Kate!, but first and foremost, I want viewers to enjoy all 80 minutes. For younger filmmakers, I hope they’re inspired to go out and make more content. Keep surging ahead, because we are the next generation. I’m only 31 years old, and I feel like I’m just getting started.
With Killer Kate! coming out in theaters and on VOD and Digital HD on October 26th from Freestyle Digital Media, what other projects do you have coming up that you can talk about, and where can our readers keep up with your work online?
Elliot Feld: I discussed the vampire film earlier, which is still in the works. It’s called The Woods and it’s very much in the vein of films like The Road and I Am Legend. It’s a one woman show for 80% of the film. I like working with female leads, which is something James Cameron did for most of his career. Think about Rose, Ripley, and Sarah Conner. They’re badass! I really admire his style of filmmaking, and I hope to produce films like True Lies and Terminator 2 one day. My heart is in the action and horror genres. You can follow us on all the social networks @feldfilms, or our website, www.FeldFilms.com.
Red band trailer:
Raised on a steady diet of R.L. Stine’s Goosebumps books and Are You Afraid of the Dark?, Derek has been fascinated with fear since he first saw ForeverWare being used on an episode of Eerie, Indiana.
When he’s not writing about horror as the Senior News Reporter for Daily Dead, Derek can be found daydreaming about the Santa Carla Boardwalk from The Lost Boys or reading Stephen King and Brian Keene novels.
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