Shudder V/H/S series isn't the only horror anthology film series returning with the arrival of All Hallows' Eve: Hell. The film is the fourth installment in the franchise released with the 2013 release of the same name, which was written and directed entirely by Damien Leone. In addition to launching the anthology franchise, the first All Hallows' Eve also introduced the public to the malevolent Art the Clown, with Leone continuing the character in the hit Terrifying franchise, whose third film has just been released and has been performing strongly at the box office.
All Hallows' Eve: Hell is a slight departure from the formula of the previous films, introducing viewers to an unnamed female character who is involved in a horrific car accident and wakes up in a nightmarish dimension that, although it appears to be a hospital, could be something much worse. Unlike other anthology films in which the frame narrative operates in interconnected shorts, Hell instead, it treats its envelope as a terrifying isolated tale before transitioning into several other stories, some of which include a man trying to master lucid dreaming to conquer recurring nightmares and a rebellious young woman inadvertently unleashing an ancient evil.
Having debuted in the franchise as producer of a segment in All Hallows' Eve: Tricksterthe film sees Steve Barton stepping up and taking the reins as the lead producer for the entire Hell. The film continues Barton's rise on the film side, having worked as co-founder and former editor-in-chief of Fear Central before becoming an associate producer in Terrifying 2anthology producer Watch if you dare and Trickster.
Shortly after the film's release, Screen speech interviewed Steve Barton to discuss All Hallows' Eve: Hellhow a subtle joke led to him being the sequel's lead producer, why he chose to have the film be a collection of pre-existing independent horror shorts rather than producing new ones, the joy of highlighting up-and-coming filmmakers with a franchise as All Hallows' Eveand why neither Leone nor Art the Clown were able to return for the film.
Barton has had a very interesting journey to become All Hallows' Eve: HellLead producer
The film also allowed him to do "One of the things I miss" About Fear Central
Screen Rant: I'm very happy to talk to you about All Hallows' Eve: Hell. I watched it this morning and was quite moved from start to finish. I love the way this weaves between the stories in the frame narrative, which is really what I'd love to start with. Where did the idea for the framed narrative come from? Because I always found it curious how anthologies come about like this.
Steve Barton: Well, for me to really answer that question, I have to tell you exactly what All Hallows Eve: Hell and All Hallows Eve: Trickster are. Over a year ago, a wonderful friend and constituent of mine, Jesse Baget of Ruthless Pictures, came to me and asked if I knew anyone who could help him fill out the runtime for All Hallows' Eve: Trickster. I told him I knew some cool pre-existing shorts. They delivered, and he released All Hallows' Eve: Trickster, and I jokingly said to him, "If you let me pick all the shorts, that would be a kick ass--, right?"
He called me about six months later and said, "Did you mean what you said?" I'm like, "Man, I don't remember what I said Tuesday, yeah, I meant it." And he said, "Well, do you want to do this?" So I thought about it and thought, "Let me get back to you so I can find an angle that interests me." Because with the success of things like Terrifier and things like that, I still have an email inbox full of people who want to work with me in one way or another, and I'm trying to be very selective in what I do. Some of them are completely honest with you, like, "We just want to use your name." And I'm like, "No, man, that's my name. That's the most personal thing I have."
So I thought about it and I called Jesse back and I was like, "Listen, why don't we do this?" Independent filmmakers always start with horror shorts. And the problem with horror shorts, when you're making an independent film and you have a short film, is that they have a very limited life expectancy. You attend the festival and maybe appear on one or two websites, and then your film goes and dies on Vimeo or YouTube. You have to hope someone comes across this. And the problem with figuring this out is that because making movies has become so easy, nowadays you can literally make a movie on your MacBook. That doesn't mean you should, but you can, and there's a lot of white noise out there.
So I started thinking, “What would happen if we took these shorts that have already been filmed, that aren’t doing anything, and collected them and put them in an anthology, being exactly what they are?” Like a program of short films that anyone could have at home, because there's a whole part globally, especially in the United States, that whole central region of America, where these film festivals don't happen. And what would be cool about doing this is giving these young filmmakers who have these amazing projects a new platform to reach a wider audience. That angle really excited me, because one of the things I missed about doing Dread Central was being able to help the independent filmmaker, like I always did, and the prospect of being able to release these films and give them a second life with a bunch of other films. that would complement them in terms of quality and everything, that was exciting to me.
So as far as the denouement goes - this is my long way to answer that question, sorry [chuckles] — one of the things I consciously wanted to do was not overshadow the short films. So we have an artist who works on Unreal Five, we took a basic idea and he gave us ways to connect the shorts. And that's really what it is, man, it's a chance to give these filmmakers a second life and hopefully, like with the original All Hallows' Eve, the right people will see this and be able to make a feature-length version based on their product. .
And that's another thing that I was very adamant about, and Jesse echoed this, that it was important that whoever is contributing your short has full control of its IP. I don't want them to give this to anyone. They created it, they deserve it. The reason for this is that I have seen so many things over the years where a feature film is made based on a short that the same director made, that they can't even include the short on the DVD, because of rights issues. I think it's stupid. So this seemed like a good way to speed up the process and make it good for everyone.
Barton classified "900-something" Shorts to find those that fit in the film
"...I watched every one of them..."
Obviously, it might be difficult to pick one above all, but I'd love to know if there was any short in particular that, when you saw it, you said, "Oh, I have to get this one now. Right now."
Steve Barton: I think I had that reaction to all of them, but for different reasons. Some of them told a good visual story, others told a good psychological story. It was a process, man, when I put out a call for shorts. You never know what you're going to get, and I got about 900 responses and I watched every single one of them, because when I say I'm going to do something, I put my heart into it, and I do it. I owe this to the filmmakers who sent their shorts to be watched, and I chose some of them. The thing about short films is that because it's important for me to watch, I've been able to group them in terms of quality, in terms of genre if necessary. Like, there's a werewolf right now on Tubi that I'm really proud of.
So there's a bunch of different ways to do this, and the advantage of doing this was just being able to look at all of them and figure out where they belong. And short films are really a mixed bag. You have people who tell a good story but maybe they don't have a good budget, or maybe you have a budget that sounds great but you don't have a good story, so you have to figure out what belongs in what was like playing Tetris. Because if you take a short film that looks like it cost $20 million and put it in the same collection as a short film that obviously has a much smaller budget, you're not doing anyone any favors. That was another reason I decided to make engagement as intrusive as possible.
Barton analyzed an acclaimed Shudder film for insight into runtimes
"...for me, telling a story only takes as long as it takes to tell it."
So how did you reduce what the run time would be? Because another thing is that anthologies can last two hours, they can last an hour and a half.
Steve Barton: Well, believe it or not, COVID has taught me a lot of things. Not only was it an absolute nightmare to live through, it also changed the medium a lot, and suddenly we were watching hour-long movies. A good example is Jed Shepherd's Host that he did, which only lasted an hour. So for me, telling a story only takes as long as it takes to tell it.
A lot of times, independent filmmakers, when they apply to festivals, a lot of film festivals don't want a short that's longer than 11 minutes. So there are other shorts out there that are great, that are like 15 to 20 minutes or so, and you have to pay the same attention to them. This doesn't really matter in the home video field, especially with anthologies, because we live in an ADD society. So people will watch a segment, pause it, and then go back and watch the rest.
You know, it's interesting. The overall goal was to find the best entertainment possible and present it in a way that the viewer would simply have fun and get to watch some cool stuff. I do this because I'm selfish. I like watching cool things, so I wanted to give that experience to the viewers.
All Hallows' EveThe future comes down to fan response
"...so I'll keep doing this as long as I can."
So, it's been a year since the last All Hallows' Eveand it looks like now you'll be able to release them every year. Will you keep the ball rolling in future editions?
Steve Barton: It depends. It's great to see the fairy tale happen, to see these filmmakers having the chance to see their work made by a wider audience. And if enough people watch it, and enough people like it, even just watching it on Tubi, if enough people watch it, and there's proof that there's a demand for it, then I'll keep doing it for as long as I can. You don't know where the next Carpenter, Romero, whoever is coming from, but chances are very good that it will come from the indie horror community, because it always has. So I feel like doing that is important, and I consider curating these shorts in all the anthologies I've worked on one of the most important things I've done, because if my name is going to be used for something, I want it to be used to help the independent filmmaker. . I laid that foundation. I just want people to participate in this.
Barton"I won't argue"Against a Future Art The Clown Cameo
"Your future is so bright..."
I also wanted to ask very quickly. You mentioned this before, we know you were part of the Terrifying franchise, and Damien came from All Hallows' Eve. Did you talk to him when you went into this about trying to maybe get Art into it?
Steve Barton: Damien is so busy doing what he does that it would have been impossible, and I'm so happy for them. I released the first film, I executive produced the second and I'm thrilled with the success they had with the third, with or without me, but it has a lot going on. His future is so bright I can't wait to see what he does. That being said, hey, you want to do a little cameo here and there, I'd be open to that, I'm not going to argue. But I think what's happening with the genre right now is that we're in the best position we've been in in a long, long time, and I just hope that you guys continue, and I'm going to promote that in any way that I can.
On All Hallows' Eve: Hell
From an executive producer of Terrifier 2 comes All Hallows Eve: Inferno, a new installment in the franchise that introduced the world to Damien Leone's Art the Clown and the short film "Terrifier." When a woman survives a horrific accident that leaves her paralyzed, her nightmare is far from over. Transported to a hellish hospital, she becomes the victim of a sadistic doctor's torturous experiments, forcing her into a haunted dimension full of monsters and chaos. Featuring the work of several acclaimed horror film writers and directors, All Hallows' Eve: Inferno delivers bone-crunching suspense, harrowing gore, and enough scares to haunt your dreams for all eternity. Featuring Heather Langenkamp (A Nightmare On Elm Street) and Larry Cedar (Constantine, Battlestar Galactica), All Hallows' Eve: Inferno is perfect to add to your Halloween binge. It's time to fear, Halloween is here.
Source: Screen Rant Plus