Frank Sabatella, Writer/Director, Blood Night: The Legend of Mary Hatchet
Tell us a little bit about yourself… how did you get into filmmaking?
OK, a little about myself. I’m 31 years old and I grew up and lived on Long Island all my life, moved around a few towns here and there… I love NY and don’t think I could ever live anywhere else. I have always loved art and film and I’ve spent most of my life pursuing an artistic and creative career. Filmmaking seemed the natural progression for me after years of photography and photo illustration. Ever since I was young I had always written stories and I think filmmaking was always sort of in the back of my mind. After a few experimental films on my own and after college, I went to film school and began working consistently on sets ever since.
When did you realize you wanted to be a director?
It’s an interesting question, because I don’t know that I can pinpoint a precise moment when I decided I wanted to direct. When I was much younger, like 11, 12 years old, I would take my dad’s old VHS camera and me and my brother and our friends would make dumb little horror movies in our backyards and on our streets. We would write up these quick scenarios and just go out and shoot them and then watch them in our basement. It was just what we did in the summertime mostly because we were bored and it was fun for us. But at that age it doesn’t occur to you that you are a filmmaker or what you are doing is directing, it was just what we did. As I got older and started to really get into the filmmaking craft and the process, I sort of looked back and realized that I had always wanted to do this, that I had always been doing this. I had done some DP work throughout the years which I did enjoy very much, but I really preferred directing because as a director you have the most creative say in a project, you really get to bring your vision to life, and you do this by collaborating with all these other talented and great artists on the set. So it just became the most appealing to me to direct because I love telling stories, I love creating visual elements for the story and I really love working with other artists to bring a story to life.
Did you experiment with other mediums before moving into filmmaking?
I experimented in almost every medium out there from my childhood into my college years. I have painted, sculpted, drawn in charcoals and ink, airbrushed-you name it. But photography was always my greatest passion. Once I discovered it I began to work in other mediums less and less. Over the past 10 years or so, my photography became more photo illustration – I manipulate 99% of my photography in Photoshop to create more powerful and precise images. Filmmaking is really just an extension of photography in many ways, so I feel it was a natural progression for me.
Why is horror your genre of choice?
I have always been obsessed with horror movies. I grew up in the 80s, which is, in my opinion, the greatest decade of American horror. Horror movies were pretty much all I watched then – and I couldn’t get enough. There was just something so thrilling and mysterious about them. To me there was never a comparison between watching a horror movie and a regular movie. Horrors were just so exciting and terrifying – I thought the experience holding your breath, wondering where the killer was and who would die next was really exciting – particularly in a movie theater setting. Horror is what I know and it is what I love and I couldn’t imagine myself making a film that wasn’t a horror movie, or at least had some very dark and frightening elements in it.
Three favorite horror films and why:
Really hard to pick just 3 out of all the great films out there, but ill give you my 3 favorite vintage slashers (in random order):
Friday the 13th – In my opinion this is the granddaddy of all slasher films. Some will argue that Halloween is, or even Psycho is, but I’m a “Jason” man. I just love everything about Friday the 13th: the way they lay down the backstory, all of the red herrings, the camera work and direction, the characters, “Crazy Ralph”, the incredibly moody and distinct score by Harry Manfredini, Kevin Bacon, how frightening Betsy Palmer is in the end, and of course, the dramatic and frightening final scare. Some people who look back at this picture or who see it for the first time at present time write it off as “cheesy” – but in my opinion it is far from that. It has to be taken in context – it was so relevant to the time, and back then, it exploded onto the scene, and I admire the legacy it laid down. I truly love the first six Friday the 13ths, especially the first four, because it took four movies to really let the character of Jason unfold, and you don’t see stuff like that nowadays. The recent remake of Friday the 13th was such crap it’s absurd – they crammed the story of the first four originals into one movie and the result was garbage. It seemed like they didn’t believe the audience would enjoy the details unfolding, so they “dumbed” everything down. It really didn’t have the feel of the classics at all, which is unfortunate.
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre – This is a classic piece of drive in cinema. I love the raw gritty feel of the film – it was shot on 16mm film and just has this great grainy quality. The look of the entire picture is just…raw. The production design is amazing, the story line, the kill scenes and the overall theme are totally and excitingly disturbing. I don’t think anyone can argue that the final dinner scene with Sally tied to the chair is one of the greatest moments ever in horror cinema. It’s such a well-crafted picture shot on such a tiny budget and to me it exemplifies the heights that great indy horror movies can hit.
Sleepaway Camp – This film is just so much fun. The acting is atrocious, the clothing people are wearing is ridiculous (as it is 1982 and the guys are all wearing half shirts, daisy dukes and knee high socks), but there is just something so addicting about it. Great camera work, good suspense build-ups, and totally outrageous kill scenes. I love everything about this flick – and of course the completely insane ending, which probably goes down in history as one of the most shocking ever. I recommend everybody go rent this tonight, get wasted with a bunch of friends, and watch it. I promise you will have a great time.
Three favorite artists – any medium:
Again, really hard to pick three but here are the first that come to mind.
Edward Gorey, Timothy Cummings, Diane Arbus
Who / what inspires you?
That’s a really tough question, actually. I’m inspired by so many different things, different artists, different directors…even just the daily situations in my life inspire me in one way or another. Sometimes just walking around and watching people on the street and observing the scenarios around me can be really inspirational in terms of writing and getting visual ideas. I get a lot of visual and conceptual inspiration from my dreams too. I frequently have really vivid and strange dreams.
What inspired this particular film?
Blood Night was inspired by a few Long Island urban legends including “The Legend of Mary Hatchet” and all of the spooky stories surrounding the abandoned Kings Park Psych Center. The Mary Hatchet tale is a classic horror: a young girl murders her folks, then dies, and then comes back as a murderous ghost. It is classic “campfire terror.” Blood Night largely revolves around Mary’s story, though I’ve thrown in a lot of my own interpretations and ideas – which brings me to the Kings Park element of the story. My Mary Hatchet was locked away in Kings Park Asylum, where she was mistreated and abused – and that all further fueled her rage. There are so many haunting stories surrounding the Kings Park Psych Center – it’s really freaky.
How does this film compare to other horror films out there?
I do not know how it compares to other horror films out there, but I do know that it is probably one of the most fun slasher movies anybody will see or has seen in a while. It is not a slasher spoof; it is a legitimate throw back to the great American slasher films I grew up loving. It has a classic 80s vibe fused with a modern sensibility. I think people will really love the way we approached the death scenes – we kept them classic but updated the gore for today’s audiences, without losing the look and feel of the practical effects. The story is great, the characters are fun, Mary Hatchet is awesome…and I think it is going to kick some ass!
How long did it take to complete this film, from screenplay to final edit?
Just about two years from script to screen. A very tough two years.
Where was it shot?
It was mostly shot around NY. We shot on Long Island, in Brooklyn at the Cypress Hills Cemetery and at the Essex County Psych Center in New Jersey.
Tell us more about the stars of the film. What have they done previously and how does their contribution to this film bring your vision to life?
The two biggest stars are Bill Moseley and Danielle Harris. They are both genre legends. Bill is always the classic villain: most people will remember him as the delightfully psychotic “Chop Top” from Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 and more recently as “Otis Driftwood” in The Devil’s Rejects. Bill is an amazing and iconic actor and having him play the role of “Graveyard Gus” in Blood Night was simply incredible. It wasn’t just years of professionalism that he brought to the table, but also a “mood” with him behind the scenes. He is a really cool, funny guy – very laid back and into the process of filmmaking, especially horror movies. I think his attitude served as a bit of guidance for other people on the set, as he helped set an easygoing tone on a not-so-easygoing production. It was tremendously valuable.
Danielle is everybody’s favorite scream queen-including mine. She started her career at a young age, playing the part of “Jamie Loyd” in Halloween 4: the Return of Michael Meyers and since then, the genre has been in love with her. She has done countless films over the years, both inside and outside of the horror genre. She recently returned to the horror franchise she grew up in, starring in Rob Zombie’s Halloween and Halloween2. She is just an incredibly talented actress, very controlled and very deliberate in everything she does. Having her involved was just awesome in so many ways because the fans love to see her and she is very easy to work with. She brought more to the production then I can even explain here.
How does the soundtrack play into the film?
The soundtrack for this film was a difficult thing for me. There were so many great songs I wanted to use in it, but unfortunately music clearance turned out to be one of my biggest challenges in completing this picture. I had a soundtrack in mind from day one – The Ramones, Rob Zombie, and Marvin Gaye to name a few, but I ended up with none of those. The clearance and publishing fees were simply way beyond our budget, so I really had to let them all go and rethink everything. In the end I decided to go very indie and was able to find some really great stuff. One song that did make it into the completed feature from my original list was “Party Time” by 45 Grave. Horror fans will recognize it as the theme from Return of the Living Dead. It’s an awesome song and I’m glad I was able to keep in the film.
What is your favorite scene and why?
I can’t actually discuss my favorite scene because it would give away too much right now, but I can tell you that my favorite kill scene involves a girl’s spine and intestines being ripped out through her back. It’s a very cringe-worthy scene and it was a lot of fun to shoot.
When / where can we see the film?
It’s currently playing at six different film festivals: The Sacramento Horror Film Festival, The Eerie Horror Film Festival, The Sainte Maxime International Horror Film Festival, The Shocker Festival, The Freakshow Festival, and the NYC Horror Film Festival. There will also be a theatrical screening in NY in mid- to late October, but I do not have the details for that one yet. I recommend that anyone in the NY area interested in seeing Blood Night come to the NYC Horror Festival. It’s a great festival at the Tribeca Liberty Theatre – and you can get drinks at the bar and bring them into the theatre with you (which is how Blood Night should be seen!). The festival is in November and you can read more details about the screenings here: http://www.nychorrorfest.com/
Do you have any screenplays / films that are currently in the making?
I have two screenplays in the works and I plan to finish one of them by the end of January – we’ll hopefully start preproduction soon after.
Where can we find more information about the film/updates?
From there you can access our Facebook, Twitter, or MySpace pages and be updated via any social network of your choosing.
What is your daily motto?
I wrote this on my drafting table about two years ago and whenever I am in my office I read it. I don’t know if it qualifies as a motto but it is a note I wrote to myself one night and it keeps me focused:
“Don’t be afraid to make your vision bigger, better and stronger. Express honesty in your ideas. Don’t be afraid to show yourself, it is what makes you unique. Don’t sacrifice beauty and art just for the sake of horror. Make it meaningful and remember everything.”
I try to be grateful for what I have and focus on achieving better goals for myself, and I am constantly trying to improve myself in as many ways as I can. Self-improvement is something I try to be very conscious of daily.
