Interview with “e-Demon” Filmmaker Jeremy Wechter

Filmmaker Jeremy Wechter introduces audiences to a terrifying new movie monster this month in the e-DEMON!

-PH: Why movies? What was it about film that had you jumping through fiery hoops to be a part of it?

-Jeremy: Jumping through fiery hoops is a great metaphor for filmmaking because it can be a challenging and sometimes painful process. But it’s very gratifying now that e-DEMON is getting so many glowing reviews.

I love watching movies and I love being creative. To me moviemaking is combination of all art forms into one grand medium. Everything from writing, photography, graphic design, acting, choreography, composing, editing, costumes, sets, and more are combined to make an entertaining experience for the audience.

-PH: What were your favorite horror movies growing up?

-Jeremy: Watching Nightmare on Elm Street as a kid was really an intense experience. The premise alone is terrifying. The idea that this vengeful man can enter your dreams and defy the laws a physics to make you suffer. Amazing!

-PH: And did any of those influence e-DEMON?

-Jeremy: I think all creative folks are influenced in unconscious ways by the art they consume. I did my best to make e-DEMON unique. For instance, the fascinating and defining feature of this demon is it’s ability to possess multiple people at once, thousands at a time.

-PH: Did you find it relatively easy to make this film, considering it’s found-footage structure? Or is that a misconception?

-Jeremy: e-DEMON was a very challenging movie to make. Unlike old school found-footage movies, this webcam movie couldn’t cut away whenever I wanted, since it’s all happening in real-time with a bunch of windows opened at any given time.

Each location in every window of the video-chat was shot totally separately. Therefore, we had to shoot the movie from beginning to end in every single location then move on to the next location and start all over again.

-PH: How many cameras, and what types, were used here?

-Jeremy:We used two Contour cameras in every location. One which stood in as the desktop computer webcam and one that stood in as the headset camera.

-PH: Anything you tried to pull off but didn’t?

-Jeremy: If you look back at the original script, you’ll see we were able to make everything happen one way or another.

-PH: Do you feel it’s a little unfair that the big award shows don’t recognize independent films more?

-Jeremy: It would be nice if smaller movies were recognized more often, but the campaigns to sway voters are expensive.

-PH: Even the major press shies away from indie films. Has it become less about what the readers might want to read about and more about who will keep them in business?

-Jeremy: I’ve been told by a reporter that the press is not interested in finding a small story and making it big. They want to find an already growing story and ride on it’s coattails.

-PH: Tell readers why they need to seek out your film! What will they get from it?

-Jeremy: In the e-DEMON screenings that I’ve been in, the audience is engaged for the entire creepy, rollercoaster ride from the humorous moments to the quiet dread of suspense to the visceral shock as the e-DEMON possesses more and more people.

Also e-DEMON is filled with details including a fully developed mythology involving the Salem Witch Trials, and specific rules to how it uses technology to speed up the possession process.
And the performances are strong. We care about the complex characters and they’re relationship dynamics and empathize as they are caught in this mysterious and dangerous situation.

-PH: And why should we be scared of the e-DEMON!?

-Jeremy: The e-DEMON has the unique amazing ability to utilize the memories, skills, emotions and physical abilities of the host body. This is the key to the e-DEMON’s manipulative nature. Just imagine not knowing if you can trust your own family member or friends or lovers in the middle of a crisis? Imagine they could all just turn on you and hurt you. To me that’s one of the scariest things ever.

e-DEMON screens theatrically in L.A (Sep 14) and NYC (Sep 21) with a VOD release on 9/14.

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