‘Blood Was Everywhere’ Production Diary: Part 2
This is the second part of my stream-of-consciousness diary as I film a behind-the-scenes documentary on the making of Blood Was Everywhere. The independent slasher is currently lensing in Massachusetts under the direction of Jason Torrey. Read my first blog here. Keep up to date with the latest happenings on the film via Facebook.
After returning to our normal lives for a week, the cast and crew of Blood Was Everywhere was more than ready to resume production last weekend. We had an excellent location in the town of Princeton, MA. The house was a historical landmark built circa 1800 which not only provided a nice home to use for interior locations but also had a pool in which the cast and crew could cool off. We knew in advance that it would be an exciting weekend because we were filming a few death scenes, but I don’t think anyone was prepared for the drama that would ensue.
Everyone was energized and excited when filming began on Friday morning. After a few exteriors, it was time to shoot the first death scene of the week. Without giving too much away, one character is killed while another watches. But before dying, the character vomits a concoction comprised mostly of chicken noodle soup with a hint of vegetable lasagna. After the death, a excellent take was filmed in which the blood slowly pools out from beneath the body and eventually meets the puke on the floor.
As the final shots of the day were being set up, someone noticed the dark, foreboding clouds quickly making their way above us. We managed to get all of the the equipment covered before the storm hit. You can see a bit of rain through a window in the final shot of the day, but it’s nothing too noticeable. As the ongoing joke on set goes, “We’ll fix it in post!”
That night, I slept over at the house with a few members of the cast/crew. It reminded me of when I was kid, with everyone sleeping in the living room while we cracked immature jokes in the middle of the night.
The best part, though, was that I was able to see some of the footage that was shot that day. Obvious bias aside, it looks awesome! Regardless of what anyone thinks of the movie itself - which, by the way, is shaping up to be excellent - it is undeniably well-shot. The film has a unique look to it with slightly muted colors that gives it an auteuristic vibe. This is far from your run-of-the-mill low budget horror flick. I also watched some of the behind-the-scenes footage that I shot, and I’m happy to say that I caught some good moments. Even better, the director and producers were happy with my work as well.
Much of Saturday was spent in the location’s basement. The killer kicks a character down the stairs before brutally stabbing him. Actor John Westcott is a trained ninja (seriously), so a few tumbles down the stairs was no problem for him. I’ll spill some movie magic for the stabbing scene: Westcott jerry-rigged himself a layer of underarmor, to which the special effects guys taped condoms filled with fake blood. Although it looked hilarious out of context, it was all hidden under the actor’s shirt. The killer then stabbed at it with a retractable knife while more blood was pumped in. Westcott let out these guttural screams that sounded something like that of a baby seal being clubbed. It was truly disturbing.
Up until this point, the most difficult part of the shoot was that it took eleven takes to get a shot of the killer screwing in a lightbulb, but Sunday proved to be full of difficulties right off the bat. The property owner, who previously seemed happy to have us, suddenly wanted us off his land before 5 pm unless he was paid more money. This quickly put a damper on everyone’s mood as the crew struggled to re-arrange the shooting schedule so as to only shoot what was essential for the location.
Despite the emotions running high, everyone banded together, and I think all of the necessary shots were completed by the end of the day. We got to show the aftermath of another kill. There was also a funny moment when an actress referred to the killer as “The Killer” in her dialogue.
Unfortunately the weekend still ended on a rough note when inner turmoil resulted in someone leaving the project, but you know what they say: what doesn’t kill you only makes you stronger. With two weeks off, everyone has the time to recharge their batteries. Blood Was Everywhere is bigger than any one person, and I think every member of our family knows that we are involved with something special.
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