Covert Ops

Mrs. Svletfanzi looks worried about something... maybe getting caught shooting a horror movie in an old folks home?

One of the easiest ways to identify a low-budget film is to count the number of locations used in the movie.  That's why a lot of low-budget horror films are just "in a cabin in the woods" - they couldn't afford to shoot it "in various office buildings in Manhattan," and in a lot of ways this practical constraint has shaped the genre. Conversely, one of the easiest ways to add production value to a low-budget film is to bring the characters into new locations. Hookman has been plagued by that problem in the past, though we've been lucky enough to have a nice big house as the main location, and easy access to the woods.  In Hookman: Redemption, we're making everything better across the board, but it can be tricky to do...

The hospital in Jacob's Ladder.  Sort of what we were going for.  (super creepy & you should go watch it now)

When the opening scene called for a sparse, creepy, nightmarish hospital a la Jacob's Ladder, we sort of scratched our heads for a couple of minutes, then had the best/worst idea ever.  My grandmother lives in a nursing home for older folks in various stages of medical need.  Several floors look like they belong in a hospital wing.  My initial thought was, "Oh, well, it will just look like a really nice hospital that happens to have a bunch of old people."  But that turned out not to be the main concern.

The hospital we wanted to use. Kind of a different look. Also, they feed the old people to alligators.

So as not to spoil the scene, I can't divulge all the details as to why the cast was more than a little reluctant to try to film the scene, but some of the pertinent reasons were:

- we needed to "borrow" a wheelchair from an elderly woman

- certain costumes were extremely embarrassing/revealing

- Stella Maris is a Catholic institution that would frown upon just about every aspect of the scene
- the hospital wing is very busy

- we neither had permission nor intended to ask permission to shoot there

As such, we went inside in plainclothes, stole borrowed the wheelchair, and decided to find a less-populated area of the fine establishment. We ended up in an elevator, and quite by accident found a disused service hallway... PERFECT!

Svletfanzi still looks unsure about the situation

We got through the shooting with only some slight hiccups, such as when a couple who was at the hospital to visit their sick family member stepped into an elevator, only to find a bunch of kids filming a horror movie with a stolen rented wheelchair and a scantily-clad woman... oh well.

Making skin with a balloon and a hair dryer (duh, how do you make it?)

For our next trick, we needed to finish up the scene with some prosthetic and blood effects.  Naturally, we did that in the loading dock of my apartment building (for which we also had no permission).  It was hot and there were bugs and Hilary doesn't like screaming when people might actually hear her.  Also, when it comes to throwing fake blood around, we found out that Kelly officially has the worst aim ever (see the video below).

In the end, everything turned out GREAT!  Plus we WEREN'T caught & thrown out of Stella Maris!  And despite Kelly's best efforts, the blood ended up looking semi-okay, I guess.  Big respect to Hilary (a.k.a. Mrs. Svletfanzi) for putting up with probably the worst shoot conditions of any Hookman shoot ever.  You'll just have to wait until next winter to see the final scene in all its budget-defying glory, so stay tuned!

Taken shortly before Hilary murdered Kelly for having to get sprayed in the face with fake blood twice in one night