One of the appeals of the horror genre is that allows people to confront their fears in a safe, cathartic and even enjoyable manner. That chance to "party with your demons" isn't just something for fans; creators are often awarded that opportunity as well. In fact, this time last year, horror comic writers Tim Seeley (Revival, Vampire the Masquerade) and Michael Moreci (The Plot, Burning Fields) were given the chance to channel the anxieties and fears from the COVID pandemic's early days into the script for their first-ever horror movie.
The result was Revealer, an apocalyptic, indie horror-fantasy set in the '80s, which was shot safely and in record time last summer. With production on the film now wrapped, CBR spoke with the writing duo about the movie's story; finding ways to make a film creatively and safely during the pandemic; and collaborating with their friend, director Luke Boyce, as well as the producers of hit independent horror films like The Stylist, Slice, and The Pale Door.
CBR: One of the cool aspects of the way Revealer was announced is that, when the news broke, it wasn't about a deal being reached or filming had begun; it was that production had wrapped. So, take us back to the beginning. How did you guys get involved with the film?
Tim Seeley: Last May, it became clear that COVID was not going to be over until we had a vaccine. So, we were looking at a summer where you couldn't hang out or be able to do anything. Also, we had been working on the Revival movie with Luke [Boyce] and it was like, "This is not going to get filmed because it takes too many people." So we started talking about how you film a movie during COVID and we came up some simple rules: it has to have a story that features a limited cast because you can't have more than two people in a room at the same time. You'd also need a location that would allow us to house people safely.
So we came up with what the film would need to be for safety reasons, and then what we found was there were lots of people who wanted to make movies during COVID because all these special effects people and camera operators were out of work. They shut down production on everything in Chicago and we knew all these people in the area who were looking to do something and would be willing to do it with these limitations.
Michael Moreci: Our producers on the film are incredibly smart and insightful. They're the type of people who can just go and find ways to do things. They saw an opportunity to safely make a movie despite the pandemic.
So they started having conversations with us and Luke and said, "We want to make a movie. We can make a relatively small one. Do you have any ideas?" So, Tim and I put our heads together and came up with some short pitches. They were really attracted to Revealer and they came to us and said, "Let's do it." Then we were literally off and running from that point forward.
What inspired the pitch for Revealer?
Seeley: We had to come up with a storyline that would fit that the restrictions we're working with, and I threw out that we should set it in a peep show booth. Then we could have a reason people couldn't leave and set it around this thing. Then we started talking about how those hadn't been around since the '80s.
I did some research and discovered there had been one near my house in Chicago. We found some pictures of it and I thought it was so amazing. It was such a weird artifact of an era, this adult book store and peep show. Then I remembered that, when I was a kid growing up in a small town in Wisconsin, there was this woman who would just protest adult book stores. She was just always outside with a sign protesting the one adult book store we had in town. Then another one opened and she just went crazy.
So, somehow, we combined those ideas of a character based on that women and setting the movie in a peep show booth. Then we came up with a movie and Mike and I wrote it together in about nine days.
Revealer traps your religious protestor inside the booth with a dancer at the titular book store. So, this is story that's topical, in that it captures that trapped feel of the pandemic.
Moreci: Yeah. It's funny, because when Tim and I were breaking the story it was pretty early pandemic. Lockdown had started in late March and we were in early May. So it probably did effect us.
Seeley: I think a lot of things we talk about in this movie are relevant. The fear of the unknown and believing things about people is where we find ourselves in America right now. It was also weird watching this and seeing how so much of it felt informed by the fear of COVID. They're stuck in a place and dealing with things they've never dealt with. It's so clear that we put a lot of what was happening to us last May into this script; the fear of stepping outside and dying because of a small choice. All of that stuff is in there.
The great thing about horror is you can be relevant, but also have some genre fun, and much of that in Revealer comes from the fact that it's set during the apocalypse, correct?
Moreci: In the movie, a physical apocalypse happens. So the "Satanic Panic" of the '80s is perfect for that. It was a period where Heavy Metal, comic books, and movies we're seen as being made by the Devil and we were all going to hell. And that actually happens in this movie! [laughs]
The '80s are, of course, seen as a golden age for the horror genre by many fans. Is that another reason why Revealer is set then?
Moreci: Horror in the '70s was often very dark and bleak. In the '80s, though, there's almost a party element to horror. They kept Friday the 13th going by becoming self-aware. They had some fun and poked some fun at themselves. That's what kept that franchise alive and allowed it to go to some wacky and wild places. It was the same thing with A Nightmare on Elm Street, and then later Scream picked up that mantle years later in an even more meta way.
So, making a movie in that era means being self-aware. I think that's such a fun thing that horror does, and Tim and I are such students of horror that we know what's going on and how to play around with the genre, especially at that time.
In terms of tone, I saw you compare Revealer to the Evil Dead movies. Does that mean it's a horror-comedy?
Moreci: Yes, Evil Dead is the ultimate tonal likeness to the movie, but I don't want to use the term horror-comedy, because it sends some people running in the opposite direction. [laughs] There's all these great horror comedies like Ready or Not, Evil Dead and Tucker and Dale Vs. Evil that people seem to have amnesia about. So horror-comedy is a great genre with some fantastic films, but there's still a stigma about it with some people. We can't deny though that part of this movie is funny.
Seeley: It's not structured as a comedy, but I'm going to write jokes. That's the way I do things. It's more that it so dark and ludicrous that there's funny in it.
What else can you tell us about the plot of Revealer?
Seeley: So the basic structure is our main character works in a peep show booth. She's an unapologetic badass about it. She's doing it in a time of a lot of judgement, especially for people in sex work. And she gets condemned by this religious protestor who hates her and what she does. She goes into the booth to do her job and the apocalypse from Revelations happens while they're in the booth together. From there, it becomes a conversation about saving souls and sinners.
So, it's very much based in these two characters, but outside and around them the end of the world is happening. All of the things they talk about in Revelations occurs around them. So it's people dealing with the question of, "If this is real, then who is the sinner?"
Having a big thing like the Apocalypse in a low budget intimate movie reminds me a bit of the Headhunter, which was this great fantasy-horror movie, but because it had a shoestring budget the big fantasy elements were more implied and felt instead of seen
Seeley: Yes! We don't have the budget to show all of these things, but I think, in horror, it's more effective to make you feel and envision things yourself. Instead of us showing everything, there's a lot with sound and pressure. What would it be like to know the world is ending on another side of a wall? And then wondering what's next? Are you going to spend the rest of your life in hell?
So there's a psychological element in the conversation between these two characters, but there's also a chase element involving a demon sent to pick up all the stragglers. We've got special effects involving killer worms and all kinds of shit!
Moreci: Horror is historically low budget. The cool thing about that is it encourages creative problem solving. It's like, "We've got a peep show. How do we make this work for 80 minutes?" So, being in a position where you have to creatively problem solve brings out so many cool ideas. If we had more resources and less restrictions, we might not have come up with the ideas in script and on set.
Let's talk about the film's stars: Caito Aase, who plays Angie the dancer, and Shaina Schrooten, who plays Sally Mewbourne the religious protestor.
Moreci: Caito brought Angie to life in this really remarkable way. She had these big expressions, and that's exactly what we wanted. Shaina was the same. She plays the perfect companion to Caito. She's able to do stuff subtly, but still with such emotion, energy, and heart.
These are two women that you get right where they're at. You understand who they are and how they can work together and against each other. It's a testament to how absolutely talented both of them are. I hope they do a thousand more movies. I'll watch every single one of them.
Seeley: We don't get to show all the monsters and all the stuff that comes with it, but we do get to show these people reacting to these things, and our stars are incredible. They convince you this preposterous idea is happening. They're some of the best actors I've seen, especially since they had to work with our material and pulled it off with so many limitations. Because we literally could not have more than two people in a scene at a time, we had to figure out how to play up the relationship between them. We were all stunned over how well it turned out.
How was it working with your friend Luke Boyce? He's a veteran of shorts, commercials and documentaries, but Revealer was his first feature film.
Seeley: We've been working with him on Revival for years and got pretty far. Then, obviously, it wasn't going to go any farther. So, this was our chance to go, "We put you through all this development on this other thing. Let's use all that experience to make a new thing." Luke is no stranger to shooting or directing, but for him to be dropped into this was like film school times 10.
Moreci: Luke, Tim, and I were terrified. [laughs] We were like, "What are we even doing?" Luke had the steadiest hand imaginable, though. On a set during a pandemic, he was the first one in and the last one out every day. He had everyone feeling comfortable, happy and ready. He directed the hell out of it and our producer team was really able to give us the support and resources. They've all done this before, and they understand how it feels to be working on this level. They're like, "You've got a problem? We're going to solve it." They were there every step of the way. You can't put a price tag on how valuable that is.
Your team of producers includes Aaron B. Koontz, who produced directed two independent horror films; Sarah Sharp and Robert Patrick Stern, who produced The Stylist; and Brett Hays, who produced the A24 horror comedy Slice. So, I imagine it was especially comforting since they all had been in the same position you guys were and could offer some invaluable insights.
Moreci: Yes! That's such a remarkable pedigree of really great recent films. So we had Sarah, Rob, Brett, Aaron and all these great people who played unique roles and kept the ship going.
Seeley: Our entire crew was so good that all we needed to go was get the fuck out of their way. This is what they want to do. They're doing this even though it's for less money than their day job. These are people who love making stuff. And having people like Aaron Koontz there made it so easy to let the people who know what they're doing do their thing.
Finally, now that production has wrapped on Revealer, what's next? Has there been talk with distributors or film festivals?
Moreci: Yes, we do have plans that I can't talk about right now, but there will be a lot of news in the coming weeks about when Revealer can be seen by the public.
Seeley: Yep, we timed this fortuitously and thank god for scientists! We have vaccination availability and can take this movie back out into the world and into a theater. We're very lucky and happy about that. We had a lot of good fortune fall on us as we made this thing.
Moreci: We pulled off something remarkable and unlikely and it was one of the best times in my life. We're hoping to do more movies, but if for some reason that's not the case, I'll always look back on this as one of the best times ever. I can't wait for people to see it.
Seeley: If you like Mike's or my comics, I think you'll like this. Obviously, this is a low budget horror movie, but it's full of heart. So, we're not trying to compete with blockbusters. We're just trying to make something with new ideas and perspective.
Directed by Luke Boyce, Revealer was written by Tim Seeley and Michael Moreci and stars Caito Aase and Shaina Schrooten. The film does not yet have a release date.