Remission is an exorcism of sorts. My father passed away from lung cancer in 2003, which left me feeling angry and helpless. The idea for the film emerged from the bleak time following that, when it seemed that everyone I knew either had cancer, or had a family member dealing with the disease. The fear that my partner of 14 years, actor Michael Fitzpatrick (for whom I wrote “Sam”), would somehow be stricken ill started to creep into my thoughts daily. I wanted to expel this dread, so I decided to put my worst fears up on the screen for all to see. Enjoy!
I also
wanted to explore film in an entirely different way than my previous short, The
Back Room. That
2008 film was a romantic comedy, I played the lead character, the script was
dialogue-heavy and set entirely inside, and the finished film had a lot of
music. For Remission, I wanted to make a horror short that both avoided the trappings of
the genre and explored filmmaking in different ways: I stayed behind the camera
(I am an uncredited voice on the phone), the script was almost entirely visual
with very little dialogue and moved outdoors, and, unlike most horror films,
has no ambient “scary” music. I was also excited to play with different shots,
as I wanted the film to move visually – peering around corners and sneaking
above action at the main character, “Sam” – so I built by hand a working dolly
track and crane (out of plumbing supplies, plywood, and PVC pipe). It was
really, really fun.
I have
always been a huge fan of horror films, particularly the early work of David
Cronenberg, Wes Craven’s A Nightmare on Elm St., and Roman Polanski’s masterpiece
Rosemary’s Baby, beautifully
shot by the late, great William Fraker. I had the chance to meet Fraker at Palm
Springs International Shortfest in 2008, and chatting with him is still one of
the most inspiring events of my professional life. I hope a little bit of him
has rubbed off on my work.
Thank you for watching Remission. I hope it scares the pants off of you.
-- Greg
Ivan Smith, June 20, 2010