Horror Hotel, Oh My!

Untitled5

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Horror Hotel web series is a composition of several shorts (shorts = short films) directed and shot by different talented individuals. I went into the theatre expecting so-so theatrics, played out cliche lines and so forth. I was completely surprised, because from the clips I saw you could tell so much detail, so much work went into the productions. The execution was right on the line in every webisode. The different features have a variation of style, cinematography, mood…etc and I learned that was because there were a mix of directors working on this project. I was not the only audience member captivated and engrossed with the on screen performances. Yes, the acting was not all Academy Award-winning, but it definitely was way above par. This is the collaboration of a group of people with the same love for film, talent for execution and determination to put on a widely liked production.

During the Q&A session between the executive producer, casting, writers, and directors it was brought to light just how much planning goes into an avenue such as this one. The first day of shooting began September 2012 and took at least two weekends per video for filming. There were six webseries shown. The majority of the setting were inside hotel rooms and these rooms were actually constructed in Al Hess’ and Debbie Hess’ basement. I should point out that the Hess’ are the creators of Horror Hotel; Al is the co-creator and writer, Debbie is the executive producer, in charge of casting and also co-creator and her son Rick Hess directed several of the shorts. Any doubt of their commitment can be shredded once I tell you that they not only build and construct the hotel set in their basement, but had to rewire lighting, A/C ducts…etc for a successful rendition of the set.

The episodes had overlapping characters at one point but each followed its own storyline.

Houdini’s Hand focused on two low level criminals bargaining for a trade. The object in question; Houdini’s hand cut off in a box. Things quickly become unexpected when the hand and its previous owner do not take the theft lying down.

Cast: Tony Folden, Montrel Miller, Mike Bend, and James Edward Thomas and directed by Brandon ‘2Mill’ Thaxton.

Guillotine had two associates turning against one other after they came into contact with a supposed charm belonging to Marie Antoinette. The object manages to turn the women, dare I say…cut throat! Dun dun dun. Cast: Stephanie Stevens, Ann Marie Gideon and James Edward Thomas and directed by Brandon ‘2Mill’ Thaxton.

A con man shared the screen with a tech geek in Tesla’s Tooth, where the prized golden tooth had the ability to channel the thoughts of others into the mind of whoever possesses it. Greed escalates the tense situation and mind reading is not only what is on the menu. Cast: Ted Parker, Neil Ramsay, Tony Folen, Darien Johnson and Matt Rogers.

Tilt takes a horror approach to the Stepford Wives tale. Tilt focuses on a robot and her owner who abuses her and the people around them. The robot female keeps on smiling through the punches, but turns devious when partaking in shady mob-like deals and trades. Tilt ends up tilting a little more toward Terminator and less from Stepford with a single command.

Invader centers on a small group of people who one could say watches too much “Law &  Order” and too much “Twilight Zone;” simply put, a whole bunch of people decide to take the law in their own hands when they believe alien activity carries on at the hotel. Cast: Susan Moss, Troy Halverson, James Edward Thomas, Jerry Irwin and Darien Johnson. It was directed by Kyle Kukshtel.

Bookworm had a very Alfred Hitchcock The Rear Window feel to it in that of all the shorts, this one had the least amount of camera movement which emphasized the characters and their devious mindsets. While hoping to do a painless rare-edition book negotiation, bodies are offered up and sinful actions are contemplated all in the name of paperbacks. Cast: Elle Trapkin and Hugh Higgins and directed by Rick Hess.

As far as future plans go, Debbie Hess comments that they are in pre-production for the second season and they would like the shorts to be longer, hitting around the 22 minute mark. Debbie describes the plan leading to growth of the webseries so they “will have the option to place them [shorts] in a different platform.” Of course there are many individuals on screen and behind screen that make any production come to life. Director Brandon ‘2Mill’ Thaxton shared his initial thoughts on taking on this project. Thaxton commented that, “this was  a new project[…] working with the minimum number of characters, but we met our challenge, conquered it and moved forward.”

Horror Hotel is the 2013 official selection of the Hot Springs Horror Film Festival. The film series  is also the 2013 official selection of the 2013 Atl Webfest Webseries Festival.

Stay connected with the cast, the crew and the Horror Hotel series by visiting its Facebook, Twitter, blog site and website. Here are the links to help you out:

https://www.facebook.com/HorrorHotelTheWebseries

https://twitter.com/horrorhotel123

http://www.horrorhotelwebseries.blogspot.com/

http://horrorhotelwebseries.com/index.html

Untitled9 Untitled10 Untitled7 Untitled6 Untitled8 Untitled11