Interview with “Dragon Mountain” Director Chris Raney

From High Octane Pictures, the studio that brought you Jurassic Games and The Veil, comes a fire-breathing, wind-riding fantasy adventure that’ll run ‘rings’ around the competition this August! Dragon Mountain!

In a fantasy world of dragons, magic and myths, four Dwarves are mining in the dangerous Dragon Mountain when a sudden, violent explosion causes a cave in, trapping the Dwarves inside. With oxygen getting low and supplies dwindling the group must work together to figure a way out before it’s too late. But the path to freedom may not be as simple as they hope when they cross paths with a hungry creature tracking them in the darkness.

Robert Morgan (Solo : A Star Wars Story), Brent Bateman (Birdman), John Hutton (“Power”), Gys de Villiers (Vehicle 19) and Serah Henesey (Bullet) star in an exciting, steampunk adventure from filmmaker Chris Raney.

-PH: Tell us the pitch you gave to your investors? What sold them?

-Chris: The film was financed through a combination of self-finance and crowd funding. For the kickstarter backers, the fantasy genre was the biggest draw. The studios seldom invest in fantasy films due to their budgets, and certainly not those without.

-PH: Always been a fan of the genre?

-Chris: Yes.

-PH: Was there anything that wasn’t on the page that your cast brought to the movie?

-Chris: They brought out the humanity in the characters that the script. Watching them bring the characters to life was by the far biggest joy of making the film.

-PH: Where do the scares come from here?

-Chris: After pushing too deep within the mountain, a mysterious creature is unearthed. It stalks our heroes throughout the film.

-PH: Is sound as important as vision?

-Chris: Absolutely. I believe it was one of the ways cinema can be pushed forward. A lot of emphasis has been placed on perfecting the visual craft. Tons of young talent wants to become a cinematographer. Rarely do you hear someone say they want to be a sound designer. I’m hoping to find Roger Deakins sound design.

-PH: Would you compare the storyline to anything we’ve seen in earlier films? Anything you can say is an intentional homage?

-Chris: The Descent.

-PH: Has it all gone according to plan for you? Anything you’ll do differently next time around?

-Chris: Where to begin. Being our first film, yes we learned an incredible amount of lessons. More time in pre-production would probably be the biggest thing I’m pushing for with our next film.

-PH: What’s ahead for you?

-Chris: We are currently in pre-production on our next film that takes place in the same world as Dragon Mountain.

Dragon Mountain was released August 7 on VOD and September 4 on DVD.

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