News

Writer/Director Preston DeFrancis and the Road to “Ruin Me”

Published

6 years ago

November 4, 2017

For Preston DeFrancis, the road to creating a fantastic horror film has been anything but conventional. Oh sure, he was in the grad program at USC studying direction when his co-writer Trysta A. Bissett was studying screenwriting. They wrote his thesis film together. They wrote two feature films and a TV pilot together. It just so happens that all four of those films were comedies or romantic comedies, however. With that kind of background, audiences might be surprised that their first filmed feature, Ruin Me, is not only a horror film, but also one of the best of its kind I’ve seen in years.

“The thing is, with romantic comedies, unless you have huge stars in them no one cares,” DeFrancis explains. “Trysta and I were both, independently, horror fans, and all of our friends kept telling us we should make a horror film. We never had an idea that clicked and really worked for us, though.”

Then, they visited one of the most famous extreme haunts in the country. I won’t name the event here, but needless to say, they were…underwhelmed.

“We had a cookout before we went and we were totally psyching ourselves out about it, coming up with scenarios,” he says. “Don’t get me wrong, the production values were great, the sets were great, but the ideas we were pitching beforehand were much scarier. It suddenly occurred to me that the reason was because there was always a sense of safety no matter how wild things were inside there.”

And with that, they were off to the races.

Ruin Me is a horror film with a classic feel. DeFrancis and Bissett took some of their favorite tropes and turned them on their head creating a film that is familiar but still able to catch its audience off guard. Not only is that a good thing, but necessary if you want your first film to stand apart and if we are to avoid the atrophy we’ve seen in our genre before.

Alex, played beautifully by the talented Marcienne Dwyer, reluctantly tags along with her boyfriend Nathan (Matt Dellapina) to a combo extreme haunt, escape room, and camping trip called “Slasher Sleep-Out”. She doesn’t want to be there. She doesn’t like her fellow campers, and she’s currently recovering from a serious drug problem.

Dwyer and Dellapina are surrounded by an impressive supporting cast of players including a stellar turn by John Odom as the living, breathing personification of every internet horror troll that you’ve ever seen comment online. His name is Pitch and he walks a razor wire between eager contestant and dangerous wildcard. Likewise, Chris Hill offers much needed comic relief as the bumbling Larry with brilliant comic timing.

And the ending?

Well, anyone who has read my work knows that I don’t do spoilers, but in DeFrancis’ own words, “We wanted to make sure our ending was 100% organic and necessary. We wanted to craft an ending that when you see it, you realize this movie couldn’t end any other way. We were collision course from the first moment of the film.”

Ruin Me has deservedly been picking up awards all over the country and was even the recipient of the iHorror Award for Excellence in Horror at the recent Nightmares Film Festival. The film also picked up the Nightmare Award for Best Horror feature at that same festival.

The film is currently winding up its festival tour and seeking the right distributor to bring Ruin Me to an even broader audience. Meanwhile DeFrancis and Bissett are already preparing to begin filming their next film which will take them back to Muskegon, MI which provided the beautiful settings for this film.

To keep up with the latest information on Ruin Me, you can follow them on Facebook and on Twitter @RuinMeMovie.

'Civil War' Review: Is It Worth Watching?

Click to comment

You must be logged in to post a comment Login

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Related Topics:Preston DeFrancis Ruin Me Waylon Jordan

Movies

Trailer for ‘The Exorcism’ Has Russell Crowe Possessed

Published

7 hours ago

April 25, 2024

Timothy Rawles

The latest exorcism movie is about to drop this summer. It’s aptly titled The Exorcism and it stars Academy Award winner turned B-movie savant Russell Crowe. The trailer dropped today and by the looks of it, we are getting a possession movie that takes place on a movie set.

Just like this year’s recent demon-in-media-space film Late Night With the Devil, The Exorcism happens during a production. Although the former takes place on a live network talk show, the latter is on an active sound stage. Hopefully, it won’t be entirely serious and we’ll get some meta chuckles out of it.

The film will open in theaters on June 7, but since Shudder also acquired it, it probably won’t be long after that until it finds a home on the streaming service.

Crowe plays, “Anthony Miller, a troubled actor who begins to unravel while shooting a supernatural horror film. His estranged daughter, Lee (Ryan Simpkins), wonders if he’s slipping back into his past addictions or if there’s something more sinister at play. The film also stars Sam Worthington, Chloe Bailey, Adam Goldberg and David Hyde Pierce.”

Crowe did see some success in last year’s The Pope’s Exorcist mostly because his character was so over-the-top and infused with such comical hubris it bordered on parody. We will see if that is the route actor-turned-director Joshua John Miller takes with The Exorcism.

'Civil War' Review: Is It Worth Watching?

News

Win a Stay at The Lizzie Borden House From Spirit Halloween

Published

9 hours ago

April 25, 2024

Timothy Rawles

Spirit Halloween has declared that this week marks the start of spooky season and to celebrate they are offering fans a chance to stay at the Lizzie Borden House with so many perks Lizzie herself would approve.

The Lizzie Borden House in Fall River, MA is claimed to be one of the most haunted houses in America. Of course one lucky winner and up to 12 of their friends will find out if the rumors are true if they win the grand prize: A private stay in the notorious house.

“We are delighted to work with Spirit Halloween to roll out the red carpet and offer the public a chance to win a one-of-a-kind experience at the infamous Lizzie Borden House, which also includes additional haunted experiences and merchandise,” said Lance Zaal, President & Founder of US Ghost Adventures.

Fans can enter to win by following Spirit Halloween‘s Instagram and leaving a comment on the contest post from now through April 28.

The prize also includes:

An exclusive guided house tour, including insider insight around the murder, the trial, and commonly reported hauntings

A late-night ghost tour, complete with professional ghost-hunting gear

A private breakfast in the Borden family dining room

A ghost hunting starter kit with two pieces of Ghost Daddy Ghost Hunting Gear and a lesson for two at US Ghost Adventures Ghost Hunting Course

The ultimate Lizzie Borden gift package, featuring an official hatchet, the Lizzie Borden board game, Lily the Haunted Doll, and America’s Most Haunted Volume II

Winner’s choice of a Ghost Tour experience in Salem or a True Crime experience in Boston for two

“Our Halfway to Halloween celebration provides fans an exhilarating taste of what’s to come this fall and empowers them to start planning for their favorite season as early as they please,” said Steven Silverstein, CEO of Spirit Halloween. “We have cultivated an incredible following of enthusiasts who embody the Halloween lifestyle, and we’re thrilled to bring the fun back to life.”

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Spirit Halloween (@spirithalloween)

Spirit Halloween is also preparing for their retail haunted houses. On Thursday, August 1 their flagship store in Egg Harbor Township, NJ. will officially open to start off the season. That event usually draws in hordes of people eager to see what new merch, animatronics, and exclusive IP goods will be trending this year.

'Civil War' Review: Is It Worth Watching?

Movies

’28 Years Later’ Trilogy Taking Shape With Serious Star Power

Published

10 hours ago

April 25, 2024

Timothy Rawles

Danny Boyle is revisiting his 28 Days Later universe with three new films. He will direct the first, 28 Years Later, with two more to follow. Deadline is reporting that sources say Jodie Comer, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, and Ralph Fiennes have been cast for the first entry, a sequel to the original. Details are being kept under wraps so we don’t know how or if the first original sequel 28 Weeks Later fits into the project.

**Jodie Comer, Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Ralph Fiennes**

Boyle will direct the first movie but it’s unclear which role he will take on in the subsequent films. What is known is Candyman (2021) director Nia DaCosta is scheduled to direct the second film in this trilogy and that the third will be filmed immediately afterward. Whether DaCosta will direct both is still unclear.

Alex Garland is writing the scripts. Garland is having a successful time at the box office right now. He wrote and directed the current action/thriller Civil War which was just knocked out of the theatrical top spot by Radio Silence’s Abigail.

There is no word yet on when, or where, 28 Years Later will start production.