Talking Terror with Miguel Gallego
By: David Briggs
(Originally posted May 13, 2011 on Tri-City Film)
According to Miguel Gallego, there is no lack of great independent
short horror films. He would know. For the past four years he has sorted through stacks of submissions, searching for the next gem to include in his compilation AAAAAH!! Indie Horror
Hits. Gallego is currently putting together the third volume of the collection. Miguel met with me to discuss the trials and tribulations of distributing AAAAAH!!, share some thoughts on the horror genre, and talk about his own short film, The Crypt Club.
“I’m always looking for submissions,” explains Miguel. After all, AAAAAH!! Indie Horror Hits doesn’t come together without a lot of legwork. About half of the films that make it to the mastering stage are submitted unsolicited. Gallego actively seeks the other half by keeping a finger on the pulse of various horror film festivals.
short horror films. He would know. For the past four years he has sorted through stacks of submissions, searching for the next gem to include in his compilation AAAAAH!! Indie Horror
Hits. Gallego is currently putting together the third volume of the collection. Miguel met with me to discuss the trials and tribulations of distributing AAAAAH!!, share some thoughts on the horror genre, and talk about his own short film, The Crypt Club.
“I’m always looking for submissions,” explains Miguel. After all, AAAAAH!! Indie Horror Hits doesn’t come together without a lot of legwork. About half of the films that make it to the mastering stage are submitted unsolicited. Gallego actively seeks the other half by keeping a finger on the pulse of various horror film festivals.
Miguel began compiling AAAAAH!! Indie Horror Hits around 2006, with Volume 1 completed in 2008. The project stemmed from his desire to circulate these films to a wider audience. Touring his own short film, The Crypt Club, through the festival circuit, he wondered, “Where do short films go once they’ve completed the festival rounds?” The Crypt Club did air on CBC’s Canadian Reflections. However, many films fall into obscurity after debuting.
“I was talking with a couple of other filmmakers that I met at horror festivals and we liked each other’s work and thought, ‘Well, let’s put out a compilation disk.’ I came up with the title AAAAAH!! Indie Horror Hits primarily because it would put us at the front of store catalogues. Then I assembled the films, and oddly, the original two filmmakers that I was interested in backed out of the project. So I had to look for other films. Then instead of using just the three original films I decided to make it a two hour disc, so that each DVD would be feature length and I put in as many films that fit in two hours.”
“I was talking with a couple of other filmmakers that I met at horror festivals and we liked each other’s work and thought, ‘Well, let’s put out a compilation disk.’ I came up with the title AAAAAH!! Indie Horror Hits primarily because it would put us at the front of store catalogues. Then I assembled the films, and oddly, the original two filmmakers that I was interested in backed out of the project. So I had to look for other films. Then instead of using just the three original films I decided to make it a two hour disc, so that each DVD would be feature length and I put in as many films that fit in two hours.”
As a distributor, Miguel is optimistic. Most sales are made online, although he does attend conventions to market directly to horror fans. He is also in talks with different sub-distributors involved in video on demand to reach the hotel and airline industries. Seeking these niche markets provides new outlets that many filmmakers may not consider. “It’s interesting,” Miguel agrees, “but you have to take each distribution offer on a case by case basis. I look at it in terms of ‘Will it benefit my filmmakers?’”
In today’s media landscape, new possibilities to reach audiences continue to appear. However, Miguel cautions, “only an indie filmmaker can die of exposure.” When asked to elaborate, he mentions YouTube and similar sites. “If a filmmaker puts a trailer on Youtube, great, that’s marketing. But, if you post your whole film on YouTube, why would you expect anyone to ever pay for it if you’ve given it away?”
In today’s media landscape, new possibilities to reach audiences continue to appear. However, Miguel cautions, “only an indie filmmaker can die of exposure.” When asked to elaborate, he mentions YouTube and similar sites. “If a filmmaker puts a trailer on Youtube, great, that’s marketing. But, if you post your whole film on YouTube, why would you expect anyone to ever pay for it if you’ve given it away?”
“It’s just like the old carnival side show. Your trailer is the talker out front; you’re trying to get people into the tent. They pay admission to get into the tent, so you give them a sample out front—but you’ve got to get them into the tent. And if you put the show outside of the tent, you’ve got nothing in the tent. Hence no admissions and your next film is not going to be financed because you didn’t know how to sell a film.”
Miguel also believes that horror proves an excellent training ground for indie filmmakers because, when done effectively, horror can illuminate those dark shadows that constitute the human condition. “I’m attracted to horror both as a fan and as a filmmaker because it explores stuff that is primeval—but it’s really basic stuff because it’s all about metaphor. And not to dis' on any other genre, but horror really gets to the root
of what humans are afraid of and what we feel. I mean, as a species we’re not particularly adapted to survive in the jungle, so we’re constantly living in fear. And we’re also aware of our own mortality. So horror helps us to deal with emotions and feelings that no other genre can really touch. It’s very primal.”
Miguel also believes that horror proves an excellent training ground for indie filmmakers because, when done effectively, horror can illuminate those dark shadows that constitute the human condition. “I’m attracted to horror both as a fan and as a filmmaker because it explores stuff that is primeval—but it’s really basic stuff because it’s all about metaphor. And not to dis' on any other genre, but horror really gets to the root
of what humans are afraid of and what we feel. I mean, as a species we’re not particularly adapted to survive in the jungle, so we’re constantly living in fear. And we’re also aware of our own mortality. So horror helps us to deal with emotions and feelings that no other genre can really touch. It’s very primal.”
When asked if a particularly type of monster is favoured by the indie horror director he reassures my belief that zombies reign supreme. Serial killers and Hannibal Lecter types also remain popular. Despite
who or what threatens us on-screen, Gallego urges filmmakers to remember that horror is “theatre of the mind. There’s nothing you can show people that’s going to be as scary as what they can imagine.”
He refers to the many submissions that rely almost exclusively on gore gags to incite reaction. Perhaps this is inevitable, as “anybody with a handycam and a packet of ketchup thinks that they can be the
next Romero.” For Gallego, needless gore and violence should never take away from the story. Sometimes with gore, less can be more.
who or what threatens us on-screen, Gallego urges filmmakers to remember that horror is “theatre of the mind. There’s nothing you can show people that’s going to be as scary as what they can imagine.”
He refers to the many submissions that rely almost exclusively on gore gags to incite reaction. Perhaps this is inevitable, as “anybody with a handycam and a packet of ketchup thinks that they can be the
next Romero.” For Gallego, needless gore and violence should never take away from the story. Sometimes with gore, less can be more.
“The smarter filmmakers will limit what they show. Even Steven Spielberg will tell you that Jaws was a hit because they couldn’t get the shark to work. They had to show the shark less and, fortunately, they were working in a medium were just showing the water could indicate that the shark was there. People scared themselves.”
Miguel put this theory to practice in his own short The Crypt Club, available on AAAAAH!! Indie Horror Hits, Volume 1. The film establishes a creepy sense of dread while unwinding a story about a girl trying
to gain the acceptance of The Crypt Club, a group comprised of two other teenage girls. These girls arrive by vintage hearse at a creepy cemetery to begin the midnight initiation that involves desecrating a grave.
Miguel put this theory to practice in his own short The Crypt Club, available on AAAAAH!! Indie Horror Hits, Volume 1. The film establishes a creepy sense of dread while unwinding a story about a girl trying
to gain the acceptance of The Crypt Club, a group comprised of two other teenage girls. These girls arrive by vintage hearse at a creepy cemetery to begin the midnight initiation that involves desecrating a grave.
It was shot on “a secret location” and “the cemetery doesn’t exist,” he
says, so don’t bother to seek it out. Apparently, people do. This testifies to the quality of the set pieces, as the graveyard set does look authentic and very creepy. The film looks great, and is brought together by an excellent cast. Alison Pill, Jessica Greco, and Kerry Segal play the Crypt Club girls to wonderful result. Michèle Duquet plays The Gretch Angel, a legendary figure the girls ‘include’ in their initiation. The results are horrific.
With experience writing and directing his own films, and producing the AAAAAH!! compilations, I asked Miguel if he would offer some advice for new filmmakers. He emphasizes the importance of telling a great story. Without a strong story audiences will look elsewhere. “Figure out how to tell a story. Horror is a limited genre in some respects because either somebody survives or everybody dies, so which of the two endings are you going to pick? But within that you want to make the audience think, or feel, and fear and then come out the other end.” I hope that they survive the ride.
says, so don’t bother to seek it out. Apparently, people do. This testifies to the quality of the set pieces, as the graveyard set does look authentic and very creepy. The film looks great, and is brought together by an excellent cast. Alison Pill, Jessica Greco, and Kerry Segal play the Crypt Club girls to wonderful result. Michèle Duquet plays The Gretch Angel, a legendary figure the girls ‘include’ in their initiation. The results are horrific.
With experience writing and directing his own films, and producing the AAAAAH!! compilations, I asked Miguel if he would offer some advice for new filmmakers. He emphasizes the importance of telling a great story. Without a strong story audiences will look elsewhere. “Figure out how to tell a story. Horror is a limited genre in some respects because either somebody survives or everybody dies, so which of the two endings are you going to pick? But within that you want to make the audience think, or feel, and fear and then come out the other end.” I hope that they survive the ride.
