Frequent co-host and contributing writer here at Death to the Movies, Tom Jones, is launching The CineFiles Project tomorrow and we’re excited to give you a little sneak peek into what you can expect. Below you will find an introduction to The CineFiles Project from Tom, as well as an example of what The Cinefiles Project is all about.

The CineFiles are a collection of YOUR stories. It is a place where you can tell everyone how film became a part of your life and why you love it. Take the time to visit our site and be a part of the launch. The Project will begin on June 18, 2010, so please take the opportunity to share your story and send it to mystory@thecinefiles.com. We look forward to hearing your story.

-Tom

MY STORY by Tom Jones

My love for film began at the early age of 5 years old. My mother (a rabid Michael Jackson fan at the time) had just acquired a VHS copy of Thriller. I remember the first time she watched it and I was in the room, I was both intrigued and frightened by the mood of the opening scene. Then the full moon is revealed, Michael Jackson’s eyes turn yellow and the fangs are showing, I swiftly bolt behind the easy chair and cover my ears so as to not here the screams as MJ undergoes his transformation into the werewolf. Still curious and intrigued by this new movie I began, without my mother’s knowledge, watching it on my own and viewing a little bit more each time before running behind the chair. Once I finally made it to the end of the tape I went to remove it from the VCR when something else began playing. This particular copy of Thriller had the Making Of segment at the end of the tape. I watched in amazement at what went into making the video. Watching them put the makeup on MJ and the various zombies and hearing John Landis and Rick Baker talk about how much fun it was to make Thriller was a life changing experience. I decided at that moment that my future as an astronaut would have to wait because I was going to make movies when I grew up.

This experience caused me to see films in a completely different light. Rather than just sitting and watching a film I began to try and figure out how the filmmakers made the movie. I spent the next couple years watching countless horror films wherever I could get my hands on them. Older cousins came in very handy for watching the slasher films of the 80’s and due to a tape accidentally being left out and queued to just the right spot I experienced a bloody “chestburster” from a rented copy of Alien at the age of young age of 6. That was awesome!

In 1988 a new type of film sparked my interest when my family went to see Who Framed Roger Rabbit. I had not been this mystified by a film since Thriller. How did the filmmakers have cartoons interacting with real people? I began having my parent record anything on TV about the movie. One night the Disney channel aired a making of the movie documentary and my parents let me stay up late to watch it with them. Immediately upon finishing with both my parents sleeping on the couch I rewound the show and watched it again. This was the time my parents took notice of my passion and began to help with broadening my horizons a bit when it came to my choice of genres and showing me many classic films. The Academy Awards was like the Super Bowl in our house and movies were watched daily. By the age of 9 I had become a regular film buddy with my parents.

Sadly I did not become a filmmaker. My desire to work in the industry turned from special effects to writing then to directing. I have been fortunate to spend some time around the filmmaking process but have since found another job path that fits me quite well. Horror is near and dear to my heart because of the role it played in my life, but thanks to nourishing parents my horizons were broadened and I learned to appreciate all film for the beautiful art that it is.

I write this article not just to share my experience but also to start a discussion. So often we get to hear from filmmakers and actors their experience with film and how it became a part of their lives. However, there are more of us out there who truly love film and will rarely, if ever, get to share our stories with anyone outside our small circles of film loving friends. So this is your opportunity. We started The CineFiles Project because whenever we as humans are passionate about something we seek out others who are passionate about the same things. We enjoy hearing other people’s origins stories about how they came to be involved in the thing we enjoy so much.

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Every year a select few films are released that evoke very strong reactions from their audiences. There is often no middle ground with these films. These films elicit one of two reactions “love it” or “hate it”. I wish more of these films were released. These films cause discussion, discussion causes people to think, when people are forced to think this causes the film to be memorable. Memorable films, loved and hated, are what filmmaking is all about. Directors set out to make films that people will talk about and ultimately remember.

Director Vincenzo Natali has effectively done this twice now. He first caused many to talk about one of his early films Cube. It is difficult to find a sci-fi/horror fan that did not see that film. I remember having many discussions in this ancient thing called a chat room about Cube. It was either love or hate back in 1997 when that film was released. Fast forward to 2010 and Natali’s Splice is causing the same discussion among audiences.

I believe people are not comfortable with being uncomfortable. Splice makes you uncomfortable from the opening credits until the final fade to black. Splice is meant to disturb and in some cases horrify audiences. I went into this film fully expecting to see some disturbing images of violence and gore. I was pleasantly surprised to find that this was not the case. I found the characters and relationships in the film to be far more disturbing than most violence and gore that could have been put on the screen. We are introduced to a family dynamic in this film unlike any we have seen on the screen before, especially in a film marketed by a major studio like this one.

Adrien Brody and Sarah Polley are in excellent form here. Both of them succeed in portraying the feelings many new parents experience as they are learning to raise a child for the first time. Many of these experiences are extremely exaggerated of course. However, the basics are still there like the frustration of not understanding what your child wants/needs and the anguish of seeing your child in pain and not knowing how to help or what to do and also the frustration of dealing with maturing teenagers. This film introduces most American audiences to Delphine Chanéac who plays the character of Dren, the creation of the two scientists (Brody & Polley), with an eerie animal like performance. Chanéac’s movements as the childlike creature are quick and precise like the animals that have been spliced with her human DNA and yet she has this innocence about her that is so effectively childlike as if she really is experiencing everything for the first time. The fear and curiosity in her eyes is something few actors are capable of pulling off so effectively.

Splice, in it’s first two acts, is superb at building the tension and causing the audience to really get involved in the film and invest in the characters. The third act however, starts off strong, but an expected “change” takes place and the movie falls into some conventional horror movie pitfalls. I felt everything in the last 10 minutes of the film was too forced and out of sync with the rest of the film. Thankfully the ending did not ruin the film for me though. I thought as a whole it was well written, well acted, and well directed. This equals a win in my book. I commend everyone involved with making Splice for taking a bold new step into the world of sci-fi/horror and giving us something original to remember and discuss for years to come.

Jared (L) talks with writer/director Bryan Poyser (R)

After the SXSW screening of “Lovers of Hate” in Austin, TX we sat down with the writer/director/editor of the film, Bryan Poyser. Bryan also wrote and directed the festival favorite, “Dear Pillow”.

Death to the Movies: Thanks for talking with us, Bryan.

Bryan Poyser: It’s my pleasure.

DttM: I understand you grew up here in Austin, is that right?

BP: I didn’t grow up here, but I have been here since 1993. I went to school here at the University of Texas, and I really enjoyed it so I’ve stuck around since then.

DttM: Where are you from originally?

BP: I’ve lived in many different places from Connecticut to Washington to New York City.

DttM: Did you get your start in filmmaking here in Austin then?

BP: I was actually more interested in being an actor in high school. At my high school, they had a thing called “Senior projects” where you take your last year to do whatever you wanted. So I decided to make a movie. I ended up making this really terrible and ridiculous “Lost Boys” rip-off vampire movie. It was shot on VHS and it was so cheap and stupid, like the vampires were out during the day because we didn’t know how to light scenes at night. It was pretty terrible and embarrassing and I hope whatever VHS copies remain are so degraded that no one can ever see it. But the experience of doing that, of being creatively consumed, hanging out all day in the A.V. room editing tape-to-tape, was so fulfilling. It was the first time I came upon something that fulfilled me in all aspects, emotionally, creatively, spiritually, it was just so much fun. It made me not want to be lazy, I worked really hard on it. Even though it turned out bad it made me think that this is what I want to do and I want to get better at this. So that’s when I enrolled at UT to become a filmmaker.

DttM: “Lovers of Hate” is featured on Video on Demand, how do you feel something like that will help the exposure of independent film today?

BP: For me, the last two features I did didn’t make a dime and hardly anyone saw them. With this new film we were fortunate enough to make it into Sundance and South by Southwest, the two biggest festivals in the US, and the exposure that the film has gotten just through these festivals has probably given us the most press we’ll get for it. With companies like IFC, who picked up the film, they’re trying out this new model where the festivals are almost like the theatrical run for the movie and it’s like we should strike while the iron is hot. Meaning when people are talking about the movie, and people are doing interviews with me like this one, and people are aware of the existence of the film, that’s when we should make the film available to an audience that might not have it in their city. With “Dear Pillow” I was on the festival circuit for 1 1/2 years, it took another 1 1/2 years just to get it out on DVD, and then the company that distributed it folded a year later. And I got so much out of that movie, it got an Independent Spirit Award nomination, it opened so many doors for us, it helped people take notice of what we were doing, but it just took so long for it to become available to people. So it was like, as much as I want people to see our film in the theaters and as much as I love the experience of having the film play at festivals, why not take a chance, lets try this and see if this Video on Demand thing is gonna work.

DttM: What’s your criteria or what do you look for when you watch a movie?

BP: My only request to the filmmaker is to show me something new. Surprise me because I’ve watched a lot of movies, I’ve soaked up movies since I was a kid but after seeing so much you get used to the tropes and the formulas. That’s what Hollywood is good at, but I’m always waiting for it to get me to the point where I can’t help but question the plot’s next move.

Bryan Poyser (L) with some of the cast & crew at the SXSW premiere of “Lovers of Hate”

DttM: Were there any movies that specifically inspired you?

BP: Most filmmakers today always go back to the 70′s, I was lucky enough where growing up with my step-dad,  he showed me a lot of things like that. I was 14 and he would say things like “You’ve never seen Raging Bull? Taxi Driver? Midnight Cowboy?”. While these movies were quite advanced to what I was ready for at that age, again they surprised me. They jolted me to realize there is a more deep and psychologically rich cinema out there that I wasn’t getting from these extravaganzas and blockbusters at the cinema.

DttM: Have you seen any films here at SXSW that you particularly enjoyed?

BP: I haven’t seen too many unfortunately. I’ve seen “Cold Weather” by Aaron Katz. It was interesting and showed some similarities to my own film that was interesting. It had some surprising genre elements of action and suspense and had a wet, soggy, and beautiful landscape surrounding it. It was a beautiful character piece and was again surprising to me where it switches from a relationship piece to almost a mystery, but I also have a lot of friends here showing films as well such as “Tiny Furniture”, “Happy Poet”,  and “Mars”. That’s the great thing about South by Southwest is that we bring movies from all around the world but we also use it to showcase what we have here in Texas as well.

DttM: What do you have next that you’re working on?

BP: Actually, I have a  script that I’ve been working on.

DttM: A vampire script?

BP: Yes, [laughs] well no, but it is a thriller actually and is set in an elevator. I wrote the script before “Lovers of Hate” and just finished a re-write so I’m gonna try looking for financing and if it doesn’t work out I’ll be sure to write something else.

DttM: Thanks so much Bryan, it was great talking with you.

BP: Thanks, you too.

Lovers of Hate is currently available on IFC’s VOD. Check out the trailer here

And the official website here

For our review on Lovers of Hate, click here