I enjoy deconstructing original fairytales and presenting them in their original dark depictions while still keeping the beautiful, fantastical elements. I grew up soaking in mythology and folklore and wanted to provide the general public with a more faithful and mature portrayal.

THE WOODS

"He is Calling"

On the surface, "The Woods" is your typical Horror Fantasy film, just this time, with Faeries. But the characters represent real and raw experiences.

The main character Adelina depicts that lost, aching feeling that most young adults experience when they're faced with the prospect of moving out and facing the unknown. Especially when you're unsure of who you are and what type of person you want to be. She's a representation of the loss of childhood naivety and innocence. 

A common catalyst to that loss of innocence would be a person like Cedar, who represents a toxic person in any form of a relationship. Delve deeper, and he's a depiction of toxic masculinity. Cedar, like most abusers, presents an amicable front when first introduced. Things that might seem off, or rude, are written off as cultural differences, upbrining, or even just a mistaken interpretation. However, over time, as his character is revealed, he turns out to be manipulative and believes himself to be above others for something they cannot control. 

Adelina's mother, Lea, while she doesn't appear long in the film, still has an important impact throughout. She is a representation of a survivor. A woman who recognized she was in an abusive relationship with Cedar and found a way to get herself and her unborn child out of a dangerous situation. She is the strength of everyone who fought to have a better life. 

Carol and Peter are depictions of how people who can be kind and loving, can let their own fear drive others away. Adelina's grandparents suffered the disappearance and then loss of their daughter, Lea, and then they had to turn around and take care of their granddaughter like she was their own. They show that even people who suffer great loss can still provide another person with love and kindness, but sometimes, even those with the best intentions can still cause pain for the ones they love. 

I wanted to create characters that had meanings that ran deeper than the surface of the story. They are real people that I hope my audience can relate to or recognize in their own lives. 

Why This Project and Why Now?

I love mythology and I have always been fascinated with the original stories of Faeries, not the watered down Disney versions, but the ones that depict the Fae as powerful beings that are not to be trifled with. I thought it would be different and fun to make a film where I take the original tales and make them into a horror movie showing the Fae the way they were originally perceived.

Right now with the real horrors that we face, I think it will be nice to see a mythological horror. One that we can walk away from and say "At least that’s not real and that’s not something we have to deal with on top of everything else". But if you were to look deeper, you could see a bigger meaning behind the film. Loss of one's self-autonomy, being told who you must be and what you must do, is the worst form of horror that a person could face in any type of reality. 

The Look of "The Woods"

I want to create a film that's not like your typical horror movie. Much like Midsommar, the setting rejects the usual gothic tones of the Horror genre, and embraces a newer, more beautiful world that is still dark and horrific. To reflect this beautiful world full of horror, my color pallete will be warm natural colors that slowly become colder as the darkness of the characters and the world reveal themselves.

A large portion of selling this fantasy world will be the incorporation of the more widely known, pixie type faery. However, these Fae are less humanoid than their portrayals in Disney movies. I will be working with VFX Artists to create these tiny creatures that inhabit Fairyland.

They will look natural to a woodland environment, like they could blend in wiht the trees should they wish. Their are very leaflike, so when they fly, they look like a leaf, fluttering in the wind. The Fae's fingers will be shaped into claws and all the Fae will have jagged, pointed teeth and glowing yellow eyes. 

I have worked with some talented artist to create a haunting and alluring song that draws the main character into the woods. I have attatched the link to this song below: 

https://youtu.be/USYTN-fy6jU

Where Is the Project Now?

"The Woods" is currently in pre-production and will begin filming June 2 and wrap June 6. The full crew has been put together, a group of incredibly talented and enthusiastic people with a passion for filmmaking mythology. We are currently in the middle of locking down casting and we will begin rehearsing shortly. 

Filming during COVID is hard and requires a lot of pre-production planning and space to social distance. We have put in place numerous rules to ensure the safety of the cast and crew. This includes requiring everyone to double mask at all times, regularly wash their hands, and wear gloves when in a high contact position (i.e. our sfx/prosthetics artist, hair, and sound when they place mics on the actors). 

Set Life During Covid

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Extra safety measures means extra supplies and while it raises the cost of the production value, we wouldn't want to film "The Woods" at any other time. I believe, that during the course of this Pandemic, we all have a need for an escape or a fantasy world. While this world may be darker than most people would imagine a fantasy world to be, it still deals with magic and deep, powerful meanings. This is the type of content I have been craving during the pandemic and I want to provide it for others like me who want to see more films in this vein. 

   

 

 

 

 

 

As this project is the Director, Charlie Vancil's, thesis project, we will be working with an Advisor and our Producers in order to submit the film into Festivals such as Fantastic Fest, Big Apple Film Fesitval, and New Wave where we will hopefully win some awards and make connections with others in the industry.