PopWrapped Says “Impossible Horror Sticks In Your Mind”

PopWrapped Says “Impossible Horror Sticks In Your Mind”

PopWrapped Impossible Horror Review says “Impossible Horror Sticks In Your Mind.”

Review by Matt Mitchell – Read original at PopWrapped

Have you ever lived in an apartment and heard a scream from somewhere nearby? I have. It makes you wonder if someone was just having a little too much fun partying or was someone just robbed, attacked, or murdered? That is the easiest way I can describe what Impossible Horror is about, yet it doesn’t begin to cover all the things you’ll watch. When Lily and Hannah hear a scream every night in their neighborhood, they start investigating where they are coming from. Finding strange objects and even stranger people, they try to piece together what is happening.

Impossible Horror Sticks In Your Mind.

Read More >

Exclusive Interview with April Etmanski – Actor, Colourist, Foley Artist

Exclusive Interview with April Etmanski – Actor, Colourist, Foley Artist

By Emily Milling

Meet April Etmanski, actor, colourist, foley artist and overall superstar for Impossible Horror which premieres at the Toronto After Dark Film Festival on October 16, 2017 at 9:30 p.m. She also happens to be one of my closest friends and a seriously awesome creative collaborator. April and I met in high school and acted in Fiddler on the Roof together in grade 11. We also made films together, including our pinnacle piece, an adapted version of Macbeth. Since then we’ve worked on different projects both together and apart, and we had the chance to work on Impossible Horror together over the last two years. April made a huge difference and was a constant cheerleader for the film, encouraging Justin and myself to keep working and get it done. Now, we’re planning a short film that will go into production in 2018.

So, what does it take to be an all-around talented film superstar? I had an interview with April Etmanski about her processes and ideas to find out.

E: April! How’s it going?

A: Very well, thanks.

E: Thanks for taking part in this interview!

A: No problem!

E: Some (me) might say that you’re one of the most crucial elements that brought Impossible Horror to life. You were part of the concept, the crowdfunding campaign, the pre-production, production, post-production and here you are in the final stretch as we start promoting the film talking about your experience. What was it about this project that compelled you to be involved and stick it out?

A: I found everything to be very exciting! I had very little experience with film productions before this. Working in the post world, I never really got to be involved in pre-production or shooting on-set. Making a movie with my friends seemed like such a fun way to spend my off-hours. Also, getting the chance to be involved with the creative process was such a thrill. Whether lending a hand on set or being involved with post sound and colour, I enjoyed every minute of it.

E: And what does the film mean to you?

A: Impossible Horror is a project that I am immensely proud of. I always tried to be a positive influence during the process, offering help and bringing optimism wherever I could. I think the end product turned out so well and I know that is because everyone involved came together with their best work.

[bctt tweet=”Everyone involved came together with their best work. #ImpossibleHorror @apriletmanski” username=”canmakep”]

E: You were both an actor and a production assistant on set. What was your experience like with both? How did you balance them?

A: On the days where I was acting, I tried my best to also be a production assistant as well. Sometimes it’s helping set up a scene, sometimes it’s just offering an opinion. Being a PA often means being ready to help with anything at any moment, and also when to stay out of the way. 🙂

E: And how was it to work with a small team on this film?

A: I liked working with a small crew a lot because it allowed me to observe the process. Being behind the camera while the cinematographer (Aidan) did his thing was pretty cool. We were also all friends, so the crew got along very well.

E: Moving into post-production you were involved in both the visual and audio elements of the film. Can you talk a bit about the different things you did for the film in post?

A: I did the colour correction and performed as a foley artist.

E: How did you come up with the style for the colour of the film?

A: The director (Justin Decloux) shot the film exactly the way he wanted it to look. Most of the film has these amazing moody shadows over everything, with rich greens and yellows popping up all over. So the look was already set. My job became just enhancing the look so the shadows were really dark but the colours still popped. It was also really fun because this was the first horror movie I have ever coloured. So I got to experiment with making the gory scenes look especially gross by adding green and blue tones.

E: And what was the process like working with Justin on the finishing touches?

A: Great! Once the look was set he pretty much let me do the whole movie. Very few revisions.

[bctt tweet=”We needed to duplicate walking on a metal surface, so we ended up using muffin trays. #ImpossibleHorror” username=”canmakep”]

E: Can you talk about the process for the foley work you did? How did you come up with some of the sounds?

A: For most of the sounds I foleyed we just tried to duplicate what was happening onscreen. So for the forest scenes we brought a bunch of dried leaves into the house. If I had to foley a character stumbling and falling, I would just do that in front of the mic. However, sometimes we had to get creative. We needed to duplicate walking on a metal surface, so we ended up using muffin trays. We also had one patio stone and that really came in handy! A small handful of gravel on that stone gave just the right crunchy sound for a lot of the footsteps.

E: And your ability to walk in time with the action in the scene is like some hidden talent I’ve never seen before, have you done footsteps before? How do you step in time with the action so well?

A: I did foley for a few projects in college. There’s no secret to it. You just have to look at the action a few times and then do your best to match it. I guess I just love performing. I love dancing and things that involve movement. For Impossible Horror, I just went for it! It was so much fun.

E: Thematically this film deals with a lot of creative blocks. What’s your strategy for overcoming creative blocks? Did you face any while you worked on the film?

A: For me, I often have a hard time getting started. I procrastinate. But once I’m going, I can work for hours and get into the zone. I think it’s important to have a support system of people who encourage you to be creative. I think that helped with Impossible Horror. Our team was game every night.

E: Thanks, April! You’re a superstar!

A: Thanks! So are you!

Check out Impossible Horror at The Toronto After Dark Film Festival on October 16 at 9:30 p.m. in Toronto! 

Toronto Indie Film Impossible Horror To Have World Premiere At Toronto After Dark Film Festival

Toronto Indie Film Impossible Horror To Have World Premiere At Toronto After Dark Film Festival

TORONTO INDIE FILM IMPOSSIBLE HORROR TO HAVE WORLD PREMIERE AT TORONTO AFTER DARK FILM FESTIVAL

Two women search for the source of a sinister scream each night while challenging creative demons in this original horror story.

Toronto, October 3, 2017 – Independent filmmaker and Toronto resident Justin Decloux (Teddy Bomb, 2014) will be premiering his second feature film, Impossible Horror, at the Toronto After Dark Film Festival on October 16, 2017, 9:30 p.m. at the Scotiabank Theatre in downtown Toronto. The screening will include a Q&A with cast and crew of the film, which was produced and shot in Toronto.

In Impossible Horror, Lily (Haley Walker), an insomniac filmmaker who is facing a crippling creative block, begins to hear a sinister scream outside her window every night. Convinced that she must find a way to help the person that is screaming, Lily heads into the darkness of her neighborhood and meets Hannah (Creedance Wright), a veteran scream hunter, obsessed with putting a stop to the nightly occurrence. The women join forces to solve the bloodcurdling mystery and quickly discover that its true source may be an otherworldly threat that is driving its victims into madness – and Lily and Hannah are next.

Original and inventive, Decloux explores the pain and frustrations of creative blocks in this horror allegory. Through Lily and Hannah’s pursuit of answers and inspiration in a world where creative resources are scarce, this story invites us to imagine the monsters we conjure ourselves, coming to life.

“The need to create gnaws at me, forces me to put pen to paper – I wanted to make a film about that struggle,” says Decloux. “But what if the passion was stoked by something external, something unknowable, something that could drive you insane? Something you had to catch.”

Impossible Horror is Justin Decloux’s second feature film as a Writer/Director and the first under his production company CANMAKE Productions which produces independent genre films in Toronto, co-founded by Producer/Composer Emily Milling.

“To have the opportunity to work on a story that reflects my own experiences as a creative person told through the lens of female characters, legitimizes my creative ambitions,” says Emily Milling, Producer. “My goal for this film was not just to help tell a great and original story, but also to empower other creative women with on-screen examples of ingenuity and problem solving uninhibited by any need to have the characters rely on male intervention, and I think we achieved that.”

Impossible Horror was Written by Justin Decloux and Nate Wilson, Directed by Justin Decloux and Produced by Emily Milling and Nate Wilson. Cast includes Haley Walker, Creedance Wright, April Etmanski, Alex Chung, Adelina Pipher and Aleks Vujosevic. Director of Photography is Aidan Tanner, Editor is Justin Decloux and Composer is Emily Milling. Produced through CANMAKE Productions. Executive Producers Lindsey Boehme and Brooklyn Boehme.

###

Contact:

Emily Milling/Justin Decloux

Media Contact

647-394-6411

[email protected]/[email protected]

 

About CANMAKE Productions

CANMAKE Productions is an independent film production company in Toronto, Ontario. Focusing on genre narrative films, the company tells stories that are original, unique and character driven.

Download PDF

Download Image