Scream dreams

Local filmmakers get showcases in Grand Rapids' Thriller! Chiller! festival

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Wednesday, Oct. 19 — Not long ago, ChadrickO’Maelmona and writing partner Matt Snitgen were discussing future projects anddecided to try something new with vampires. “The recent over-saturation of thegenre seemed to have split into two categories: extreme romantics, like ‘Twilight’and also the intense horror like ‘30 Days of Night,’” O’Maelmona said. Theyfelt there was more exploring to do.

They created the ideaof treating vampires as “pure drug addicts,” complete with their dealers, risksof overdosing and crippled relationships, while keeping in mind these vampireshave to cope with their addictions while living for hundreds of years. “Add inour own wicked sense of dark humor,” O’Maelmona said, “and ‘Lost in Heaven’ wasborn.”

The film, fromHaslett-based Out of Cake Films (which O'Maelmona co-founded with MichaelSzmadzinski), screens Sunday as part of the Thriller! Chiller! festival inGrand Rapids. The annual event features horror films from all over America and11 other countries around the world in categories including sci-fi, action,suspense and horror. “Heaven” is a vampire comedy about a pair of friends on ahunt to expose the truth about the entire vampire race.

“We have no formaldegrees in filmmaking, but instead prefer a mix of DIY and trial and error,”O’Maelmona said. “It allows us to form our own unique style of filmmaking.”

The advice O’Maelmonahas for upcoming and interested filmmakers is to use your camera: “Have somefriends? Throw them in front of it and just start shooting.” O’Maelmona saysthat all you need is a desire and passion for filmmaking and “you'll figure therest out as you go and it'll be all the more rewarding.”

O’Maelmona recommendschecking out the work of Michael McCallum from Rebel Pictures because “thethings he's accomplished as a Lansing filmmaker are truly inspiring.”

Another local Thriller! Chiller! filmmaker is Joseph Parcell from Okemos, thedirector of “Curiosity.”

“Curiosity”started as a feature film bouncing around in Parcell’s mind for a while before heparticipated in the East Lansing Film Festival's 48/5 competition.

“(Wewere) given a prop, a line of dialogue, a location and a genre, and given 48hours to make a five-minute film,” Parcell said.  His team drew “thriller”for their genre, and he remembered his idea for “Curiosity.”

Theoriginal feature version was called "The Room,” and the main character wasoriginally a 10-year-old girl who was convinced there were monsters in hercloset and tried to persuade her father they were real.

“We hadtightened it all up to be five minutes, and were ready to turn it in for thecompetition, and we couldn't come up with the name,” Parcell said. In the silence, they sat wondering and thefilm's star, Erin Parcell, said "Curiosity." They immediately loved itbecause of the double meaning in the film.  They won second place in the48/5 competition, and later screened it at the Blue Water Film Festival in PortHurton.

The firstfilm Parcell ever made was a feature film — before he knew anything about filmmaking.“It's hard when you're doing a creative task to give yourself credit for doingit, because you compare it to other people's work or see all the flaws,” hesaid.

Parcell saidaspiring filmmakers should look for opportunities to get involved locally, attendscreenings to network and do their homework to get a head start in the filmindustry.

“They sayin the movie business it's all who you know, and that's true,” he said. “But itdoesn't necessarily mean you have to know Steven Spielberg.”

Thriller! Chiller!

Friday, Oct. 21 toSunday, Oct. 23

Grand Rapids

“Lost in Heaven”screens at 2 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 23 at Dirk Koning Micro Cinema, inside theWealthy Theatre, 1130 Wealthy SE

“Curiosity” screens at 2 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 23 aspart of the “Michigan Shorts Program II,” also , inside the Wealthy Theatre, 1130 Wealthy SE

Individual movie andevent tickets for Thriller! Chiller! are $5 each. Day passes are $15 forgeneral admission, or $10 for Grand Rapids Community Media Center and WestMichigan Film Video Alliance members; all-access festival passes are $30 forgeneral public, and $25 for members of Grand Rapids Community Media Center andWest Michigan Film Video Alliance. Tickets are available for purchase at theWealthy Theatre box office, or online at www.thrillerchiller.com.

www.facebook.com/thrillerchiller, or follow @thrillchill on Twitter

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