Mark Netter's directorial debut is an ambitious and well-done nightmare that succeeds in creating an entertaining, and emotionally involved found footage story. "Nightmare_Code" is Netter's starting point in developing his on modern horror stories, but I doubt it will be his last. I kind of feel this is what he should have been up to prior to "Nightmare_Code" because it was such a creative concept that developed into a really thrilling story that traveled into realms of horror between man, machine and madness.
You can read
my review of "Nightmare_Code" and if you haven't already I suggest you give this found footage a chance. There is a nice affectation to the story's style that hints at a H.P. Lovecraft, but with a very noticeable Clive Barker flare that adds some depth to the concept of evil possessing man's inventions. Meanwhile check out this interview with the witty and impressive director of "Nightmare_Code".
A SOUTHERN LIFE:
How did this come together, Mark?
MARK NETTER: It’s been a long and wild ride,
starting with a lunch in January 2012 where Executive Producer Craig
Allen and I came up with the idea of making a surveillance footage
movie about sentient computer code, where I’d direct and his
videogame company, Spark Unlimited, would put up the funding.
I ran home and called a friend of mine
across the country in NYC, M.J. Rotondi, convincing him to co-write
the script with me. We delivered it 40 days after the lunch, got
notes from Craig and writer friends, did a second draft and started
casting.
In June and July 2012 we shot NIGHTMARE
CODE over 7 weekends. It was like a secret club the actors and crew
would return to every week. We finished editing in March 2013 and
then had to raise more money, then creating the 600+ visual effects
in the movie from November 2013 through August 2014.
Last October we premiered at The 14th
Annual Shriekfest Horror & Science Fiction Film Festival in Los
Angeles, chosen for inclusion by the wonderful Denise Gossett,
festival creator and actor. She championed our movie and the
festival judges awarded NIGHTMARE CODE “Best Thriller Feature
Film.” Then this past January we won the top prize at The 2015
Philip K. Dick Science Fiction Film Festival in NYC, and were picked
up for distribution by Indie Rights.
As of this month you can buy or rent
NIGHTMARE CODE on iTunes, Google Play, Vimeo, Vudu, Steam, Xbox, VHX
and YouTube Movies. We’re coming out on DVD November 24th,
which will include the freewheeling and informative commentary track
with myself and our leading man & woman, Andrew J. West (THE
WALKING DEAD) and Mei Melançon (X-MEN: THE LAST STAND). We are
doing influencer screenings as well.
The secret to it all coming together is
the strength of the initial concept and the tremendous collaborations
across the board to constantly improve on that vision in bringing it
to life, without ever losing the core ideas that excited us so much.
A SOUTHERN LIFE: Was the story at all influenced by
your experiences in video game design? Come across any ROPER-like
software?
MARK NETTER: From producing videogames I learned how
programmers talk and behave, what their typical work tasks are like,
and what kind of pressures they often face. The way I learned how to
use spreadsheets for complex asset requirements was perfect training
for creating the 600+ line Google Sheet that described and
categorized all of the VFX for Psychic Bunny, our post house.
And I’ve been in a tech start-up
similar to the one creating ROPER, the behavior recognition software
and out-of-control artificial intelligence at the heart of NIGHTMARE
CODE – I know what it’s like to be in a troubled start-up!
When we wrote and shot the movie, there
were no behavior recognition companies that the public knew about
yet, but now there’s a number of them doing ROPER-like facial
tracking and behavior recognition, where they purport to tell what a
person is thinking and feeling. Our idea is what happens when a
program like that takes on a life of its own, and that day could be
not far off as well.
A SOUTHERN LIFE: Is this you trying to warn us
against what’s ahead… or already here?
MARK NETTER: We built NIGHTMARE CODE to start a
conversation about technology and whether it’s not only outstripped
human control, it’s turned around and started controlling us. And
we appear happy to give up huge amounts of human choice to our
machines.
A SOUTHERN LIFE: How did you initially describe to
the film to your cast?
MARK NETTER: We thought we had written a
surveillance footage horror film, so that plus the technology angle
was what got the actors reading the script. Once they did, for
example with Mei and Andy, I met with each of them individually to
feel each other out and share ideas about their character. Like many
of the actors, they had perceptive takes on their characters that
taught me more about what Roto and I had written and helped us hone
the moments.
A SOUTHERN LIFE: The movie has been getting a lot of
press over the last couple of months, has that helped in terms of
distribution and sales?
MARK NETTER: We already have North American digital
and DVD distribution, but we love having the quotes to put on our
poster and help us sell internationally and to license (hopefully) to
cable TV.
As a 100% independent feature film
without a big studio advertising budget, both the reviews and
interviews are how we reach viewers who love suspenseful, shocking
and thought-provoking films and might want to see ours, so we thank
you so much for this opportunity to get our story out!
A SOUTHERN LIFE: Do you take notice of reviews- or do
you consider the audience’s opinion more valid?
MARK NETTER: The reviews have been very gratifying,
letting us know that all the thought and effort we put into the
NIGHTMARE CODE is working for the majority of our audience, and we
get the same response at our screenings and in social media. With
regular audiences you’re just getting the raw response, and I
respect that as an avid audience for feature films as well.
But I do love reading a well-written,
thoughtful critic’s review, even when they may question or disagree
about some aspect of the movie, as long as it feels like we sparked
some movie-imagination excitement of the type that inspired us to
start back in January 2012. If a film-knowledgeable reviewer is
engaged enough to write a thoughtful review of NIGHTMARE CODE, it can
be very illuminating and exciting for us.
