Exclusive: Director Richard L. Stringham Talks Close Calls
David Gelmini
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With the trailer having just arrived on YouTube, we decided to talk to director Richard L. Stringham about his new film Close Calls. As he explains, he feels that he’s created something truly original and unique.
Volumes of Blood’s P.J. Starks served as associate producer, and the film stars Jordan Phipps, Greg Fallon, Carmen Patterson, and Janis Duley.
Dread Central: You wrote and directed Close Calls, so is it a passion project for you?
Richard L. Stringham: Close Calls was most certainly a passion project, but it was a stressful one, to say the least. The film took three months to shoot and ten months for post. Honestly, it wasn’t the script I initially wanted to make for my first feature, but at the time it was the only script I had where I was able to visualize it as a low-budget film. Most of the stress came from the film starting out as something small, then evolving into something way bigger than I ever imagined. But the fact that the project grew and developed into something more ambitious is where the passion came in.
DC: You mentioned that you also self-funded the film and assembled a crew to force it into existence?
RLS: The film was entirely self-funded just because I knew no one would give me money for an art project. My only background was in screenwriting, so nobody in the film community even knew who the hell I was. I had saved up since working as a heating and air conditioning contractor for years, so putting my own money into a feature and having complete creative control over it was something I dreamed of since I was a boy. As far as the crew I hired, we had a lot of spirited, young people involved as well as a few select people who were no strangers to the film industry.
DC: And your art department worked on Jeff Nichols’ acclaimed drama Mud with Matthew McConaughey, right?
RLS: Yes, a few of them did towards the tail-end of the shoot. During filming, I had to fire my original production designer. But it turned out to be a fortuitous thing for the project because I was able to get ahold of some key art department heads who had worked with other Arkansas filmmakers such as Jeff Nichols and Billy Bob Thornton. I wished I was able to have them for the entire shoot. These guys stormed in like pros and constructed five of the most elaborate sets in the state of Arkansas in just fifteen days. To make a long story short, they saved my film’s ass, and I owe them jobs for the rest of their careers.
DC: The press release for Close Calls promised that it wouldn’t be another ’70s/’80s throwback film, before saying in brackets that it will be exactly that. Can you elaborate on this?
RLS: Well, that’s basically my pretentious way of saying, “We’re gonna show you a retro film, but we’re gonna show you a retro film that tips its hat in a subtle way without being too derivative.” Some films have a tendency to lay all their influences right out on the table, but I feel like my team and I took a delicate approach to paying homage while keeping our original “voices” intact.
For instance, my composer Rocky Gray (formerly of Evanescence) had just completed scoring a film called The Barn, and I immediately fell in love with it. Rocky and I discussed our love for classic horror, but we pretty much decided on the front-end that we were both going to do something fresh and original… and at the same time still keep a “throwback” mentality. I guess that’s the paradox of art. Every artist sets out to do something innovative, but they can’t help but show their respective spectators who their heroes and influences are. In the case of Close Calls, if someone picks up on something by which I may have been inspired, then at the end of the day that leaves me fulfilled, just knowing I connected with someone who grew up on the same films I did.
DC: And you’re using a vibrant color palette reminiscent of classic Italian thrillers?
RLS: Absolutely. Creating the tone and the color of the film was one of my favorite aspects of the whole project. I’ve always been inspired by Italian filmmakers like Fulci, Bava, and Argento because their cinematic worlds were always so vivid and dream-like.
Growing up, there was that surreal, nightmarish quality Italian horror films had that always just stuck with me. I wanted to infuse that same evocative atmosphere into Close Calls. In the film you’ll get to see crash lighting, color gels, and subtle light gags throughout. And our colorist, Omar Godinez, really brought this look to life for us in post. Omar worked on films like Richard Linklater’s Slacker and the remake of I Spit on Your Grave, and we were damn lucky to get him. All I had to tell him was look at films like Suspiria and Inferno, and he pretty much took the ball and ran with it.
DC: Jordan Phipps and Janis Duley star as the two respective leads, Morgan and her grandmother. Can you talk about how you found both actress and their performances in the film?
RLS: Janis Duley as “Gramma” was a delight to have on set. She was the sweetest woman in the world, but she played one of the grossest grandmas in horror history. Her performance was rock-solid, and she was just a local talent recommended to me by one of my associate producers. After our original Gramma dropped out of the film, Janis showed up and managed to turn Gramma into a completely different character who I never could’ve envisioned in the script.
And then of course … there’s Jordan Phipps. Jordan Phipps plays our lead, “Morgan,” in the film, and she’s just phenomenal. I discovered her doing theater in Little Rock and found out she was a natural-born performer. Although she had done a couple of local shorts, Close Calls was her first feature film, and I feel like she showed out the same way Jamie Lee did in Halloween. She screams like a champ, delivers dialogue like a pro, and she’s not afraid of the red stuff. I couldn’t be happier with her performance in the movie. Such a wonderful talent. She’s another scream queen to be on the lookout for, and she is most certainly the face of Close Calls.
Synopsis:
“Experience the terror in Morgan’s head. Pray she doesn’t pick up the phone… and end up dead.”
Close Calls features a troubled young girl (Morgan) who is forced to stay home and tend to her crazy grandma after being grounded by her father. But when daddy leaves for a dinner date, Morgan’s paranoia heightens as she starts receiving a series of disturbing phone calls while dealing with grandma. Between all the phone calls, the drugs she has taken, and surprise visits from some unexpected guests, Morgan now believes everyone around her is out to kill her. And to make matters worse… she keeps forgetting to give granny her meds.
This upcoming horror film from S & Drive Cinema was produced, written, and directed by S & Drive’s founder, Richard Stringham, who started the indie production company in Sherwood, Arkansas. Vowing to make a retro horror piece that tipped its hat to genre heroes like Bava, Argento, Romero, Craven, Kubrick, and Lynch, Stringham self-funded the project and assembled a local team of Arkansans to force Close Calls into existence, which included a few talented art department members from Jeff Nichols’ rural drama Mud.
The film, which is currently swimming around in the festival pool, features an original synth-driven score by Grammy winner Rocky Gray (formerly of Evanescence, composer for The Barn) and special makeup effects by visual FX artist Les Galusha (Contracted). It stars a talented actor by the name of Greg Fallon (LBJ, “11.22.63”) as Barry Cone and also introduces us to a lovely leading lady named Jordan Phipps, who plays the tough young heroine, Morgan. Phipps is an up-and-coming scream queen in the making. After seeing just her face in the ad campaigns and her strong performance in the Close Calls trailer, several producers have contacted her for roles in other upcoming genre films.
Producer/writer/director Richard Stringham promises to horror fans that Close Calls will not just be another ’70s/’80s throwback film (which it is), but a slow-burn film that hopefully delivers an alternative, stylish take on old-fashioned visual storytelling. Not only does Close Calls utilize synthwave music, practical FX, and soundstage sets to establish its retro tone and provide viewers with that nostalgic feel, but it also features a vibrant color palette (reminiscent of classic Italian thrillers) that was enriched by talented colorist Omar Godinez (Richard Linklater’s Slacker, I Spit on Your Grave).
Recently Close Calls has screened at several festivals, including Hollywood Dreamz International, Arizona Underground, and Hot Springs Horror Film Fest; and it will soon be holding its Big Apple premiere at the New York City International Horror Film Festival on October 26, 2017.
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