Mike Streeter
Welcome to Mike Streeter, a young horror movie director, for another juicy interview with Horror Galore. We will be talking about his last production, INSIDES, which is about to be done.
Q: Let's start with the movie… INSIDES: what’s the title about? want to tell us a little more about the movie? i mean about the story…
Actually, the original title was "Scars," because in the film two women discover they both have similar scars on their body that they can't remember getting. However, we found out there were already a lot films with the title "Scars," and so I came up with "Insides" which is kind of a classier way of saying "guts" and also the film deals with an entity that lives inside a human host. It seemed appropriate. As far as the story goes, I don't want to reveal too much, but it revolves around a woman who fears that she has a kind of parasite inside of her and there are some really cool, bloody make-up FX to go along with that! It’s very surreal and creepy.
Q: Insides is in post-production at the moment, when do you think it will be ready? Our audience want to know how you realized the movie… i guess you shoot in digital, what do you think about the classic war, digital vs film?
I'm just finishing up the editing process. It’s very close to being done. We'll be sending it out to all the horror festivals in the next week or so, which we are very excited about. Hopefully your readers will be able to catch it at a festival later in the year, and once its done with the festival run, we'll put it up on our website.
The idea came to me last summer. I really wanted to do something with practical make-up FX. I had already done two horror shorts, but they were very light on the gore. I wouldn't say I'm a gore-hound or anything, but it seemed like a lot of fun to work with an FX team. I met a really talented couple, Jeff Collenberg and Eden Mederos of BloodGuts&More, and really wanted to work with them. I also had a really creepy tunnel location I had wanted to use for something. So, I came up with a story that would be scary and bloody and revolved around the tunnel.
We shot the film on the Canon 5D MkIII, and it looks amazing. I know it’s not the top of the line, but we used some really great lenses and had a very talented cinematographer. I have no problem shooting digital. Every day we're getting better looking digital films, and we're becoming more accustomed to its look. Ultimately, if you tell a good story, and are creative, it doesn’t matter what you use to shoot it.
Q: I saw the trailer and Sandy, the starring role, looks really good acting, how did you find her? how do you choose your actors?
I am very proud of the performances in the film. I wrote the role of Selina with Morgan Poferl in mind. She's a talented actress who I have worked with before. She also happens to be my producer and my girlfriend. Haha. She's the one talking in the trailer.
As for Sandy, we put out a casting call and got a lot of responses. After several very good auditions, we found Karen Wilmer. She really understood the character right away, and had a great attitude. She was a lot of fun to work with, which I think is really important. I want everyone to be having a good time on set. We're making a movie. It’s hard work. If you're not enjoying it, why do it?
Q: You grew up watching horror movies, i guess… how did you decide to produce horror movies yourself?
I've been a huge movie geek since I was a kid. I love films of all genres, but horror has always been my favorite. Being scared is so much fun. When I decided I wanted to make my own movies, I knew they’d be horror films. The only thing more fun than being scared, is scaring other people! I love watching a horror flick and being able to tell someone passionate about the genre directed it. Recently, The Guest and It Follows are wonderful examples of this. I hope to make horror movies that fans like me will appreciate.
Q: Last 10/20 years the marked filled up by asian horror movies. Which country you think is producing best horror movies at the moment?
Hmm... I think there are great horror films coming out from all over the world. The Korean film scene has had some great stuff with Park Chan-wook's Vengeance triology, and Kim Jee-woon’s I Saw the Devil. Australia has been doing some interesting stuff as well, especially with The Babadook. I’m just happy horror is alive and well all over!
Q: Want to tell to our audience a little bit about your personal life story? this site have a section about real horror stories… did you ever experienced something really creepy in your life?
I don't really have any personal horror stories. I've been lucky to keep all that on the screen. I'm a bit of a skeptic when it comes to ghost stories, but they still creep me out for some reason. Haha. But if I ever see one, I'll let you know.
Q: You are working with your girlfriend, many people thinks it’s always a problem working with friends or such, how did you decide to work with her?
I'm a director and she's an actress. It just seemed like the sensible thing to do. We are helping each other achieve our goals. We are both very laid back people and passionate about film. We've honestly never had any trouble working together. She's a wonderful producer, as well. I never have to worry because I know she's got my back.
Q: Certainly our users want to know about your horror tastes… what’s your favorite horror movie and, if possible, your favorite director?
Rosemary's Baby. It’s absolutely my favorite. I can watch it over and over. I think it’s perfect. It’s scary and funny and beautiful and haunting. A perfect balance of art and entertainment, and proof that horror can still be classy.
Other favorites would be Black Christmas, A Nightmare on Elm Street, The Shining, Alien, Maniac!, The Beyond, Deep Red, Candyman, Possession, Night of the Creeps, Friday the 13th Part 2, The Descent... the list goes on and on! I have an obsession with slasher movies of the 70s and 80s. I also highly recommend the Marble Hornets web series.
If I had to pick a favorite director, I'd say John Carpenter. My favorites being Halloween, The Thing, Assault on Precinct 13 and especially Prince of Darkness. That one doesn’t get enough love. His style is so distinct and he's always in control. He’s truly a master.
I could talk about horror movies forever, so I'll stop myself there! Haha.
Q: Do you think horror movies are definitely your aim? how do you see your future?
Absolutely. I'd love to follow in the footsteps of guys like John Carpenter and George Romero, and more recently with Rob Zombie and Eli Roth, and make a career of horror.
The next step will be making my first feature. I am working on a script right now. Too early for details, but I think it’s going to be a good one. I hope to be in production by next year.
Q: Share a dream with us. about your work or anything else.
I guess my dream would be for everyone to be able to do what they love. I love movies, and I love making movies. So, for me, that's the dream.
Many thanks to Mike Streeter for this interview
here is a few links about hime and his movie:
