I’ve got a horror shot film for you to watch today titled The Baby Next Door, and in it, the cries of a baby drive a man going through a breakup into drug-fueled madness.
This short film is shared in collaboration with the FilmQuest Film Festival, where we are trying to expose some of the indie genre films and shorts that filmmakers are creating.
We included an interview with the filmmaker who created the short, Alec Gibbons. I hope you enjoy the short and the interview. I will warn you, this one get pretty dark.
Without spoilers, tell us what your film is about, its characters, and its themes. Is it a proof of concept, or a standalone story?
The cries of a baby drive a man going through a breakup into drug-fueled madness. As ruthless ambition, repressed memory, and reckless substance abuse collide, with catastrophic consequences, in this frenetic, high-octane fusion of Jay McInnerny and Edgar Allan Poe; a manic, macabre and mordantly witty modern-gothic spin on the Yuppie Nightmare narrative, it balances savage social satire with a sulfurous study of self-damnation and the corrosive power of guilt.
What was the inspiration for your film? How did you come up with the idea?
As a director I wanted to show that the scariest monster may well be human. That only when the darkest moments of an individual’s life are revealed can you truly know that fact and the man behind the mask.
Tell us about yourself. What is your background? How long have you been a filmmaker?
I’m a filmmaker from the Rustbelt now out in L.A. I’m a movie junkie, an avid screenwriter and I love genre films. I want more than anything to be a feature filmmaker. I’m a young guy on his second short film, looking towards a few proofs, features and a short in the near future.
What inspires you to work within genre cinema and tell these kind of stories?
Genre is where film and all its pieces — camera work, sound design, cutting, music, special effects and etcetera — can really shine. A great piece of sound design can overwhelm an audience, a wild special effects shot can send them screaming, great camera work can hypnotize them and throwing actors in the mix can make an audience care about someone in a scenario they will probably never live.
What was your favorite part of the filmmaking process for this project?
I really like to collaborate and I give everyone involved on the project a lot of leeway to create. I think working with the actors and the crew in various stages was the most fruitful part.
What are you most proud of with this film?
I’ve been to many screenings and seen audiences stunned into silence. I’ve seen people have to leave the theatre. A lot of people came up to me and told me how frightening and intense the ending was and how the film kept them guessing. This meant more than any award, distribution opportunity or otherwise.
What is a favorite story or moment from the making of the film you’d like to share?
Before a big fight moment, an actor ate an all meat burrito in two minutes flat, jumped down and did a couple dozen pushups and then aced the scene.
What was your most challenging moment or experience you had while making your film?
Definitely locations. We lost our location for the most part after already arriving there and had to make the best of it on the day and then fight and claw for our money back to shoot at another office space.
If it did, how did your film change or differ from its original concept during pre-production, production, and/or post-production? How has this changed how you’ll approach future projects as a result?
Every film changes through those processes so long as the director is willing to let the actors and crew contribute and be creative in their own right. I storyboard and shot list everything but much of it ends there as everyone involves contributes. There were plenty of great moments the actors came up with in the moment.
Who were some of your collaborators and actors on the film? How did you start working with each other?
I met Ricardo (co-writer/co-producer) through the genre fest where he had the original iteration of this script. A good chunk of the original crew were also involved in my first short, One Bad Night (https://vimeo.com/alecgibbons/onebadnight)
What is the best advice you’ve ever received as a filmmaker and what would you like to say to new filmmakers?
Trust your intuitions and your gut. More than often that is the way to go. And also be very open to collaboration if you want to make a great project.
What are your plans for your career and what do you hope this film does for it? What kind of stories would you like to tell moving forward?
I would like to move into feature films ASAP and will run through walls like the Kool Aid man to do it. I’d like to continue to tell intense, wild, manic stories in both the thriller and comedy space.
What is your next project and when can we expect to see it?
I’m currently finishing up a sci-fi feature called “An Inconsequential Choice” with Ricardo Bravo from this project. We have a few producers interested and its an even more wild, intense, wild-eyed story than this one.
Where can we find more of your work and where can interested parties contact you? Do you have a website or YouTube/Vimeo channel? Social media handles?
Instagram: @alec.gibbons; Website: alecgibbons.com; Vimeo: https://vimeo.com/alecgibbons
Bonus Question #1: What is your all-time favorite film?
Goodfellas
Bonus Question #2: What is the film that most inspired you to become a filmmaker and/or had the most influence on your work?
Apocalypse Now
