The people behind Volumesof Blood: Horror Stories couldn’t have asked for a better year as the film continues to garner critical acclaim from various horror outlets (yours truly included). Although all the hype surely has fans of the first feature Volumes of Blood in a frenzy, it won’t be until 2017 that most audiences will likely see the much-anticipated anthology horror film.
In the meantime, however, continue reading below and read a We are Indie Horror exclusive interview with actor Caleb Shore, who appears in one of the segments of Volumes of Blood: Horror StoriesCaleb Shore shares with us, how he got into acting and working on indie versus a studio set. Check out the full interview below.
We are Indie Horror: Tell us a little bit about yourself. Where are you from? How did you get into acting?
Caleb Shore: I’m from Nashville, born and raised; still living in Nashville… how did I get into acting… I’ve loved movies my entire life, since I was a little kid and I always liked to entertain the family. My official start in acting [was when] I took drama class in high school and in my senior year I did a play. It’s a funny story, my substitute Spanish teacher one day, towards the end of my senior year, just so happened to be an acting agent. She was just starting her agency and she asked a couple of us from the Spanish class to schedule a meeting and audition, so I did, and that was sort of how I officially got into it. I went out there and auditioned for her.
WAIH: You said you did a play in your senior year, what play was that?
CS: It was a one act comedy, it’s called “Thirteen Ways to Screw Up Your College Interview.” It was a funny one.
WAIH: You’re in the newest Volumes of Blood: Horror Stories, what segment are you in?
CS: I’m in “Feeding Time” directed by John William Holt
WAIH: Tell us about your segment.
CS: It was super fun to shoot. Without giving away too many spoilers, every segment takes place around a holiday. “Feeding Time” takes place around Thanksgiving and I play Boone an insurance salesman who is not very good at his job and is being forced to go door to door on Thanksgiving selling insurance. I come to this particular house and meet a girl who is going through a difficult time and from there the antics ensue.
WAIH: How did you get on board with Volumes of Blood, how did you get that role?
CS: You know I had worked with Johnny Holt, the director, once before, Holt and Austin Madding the D.P. for that segment and Chris Bower, one of the producers for that segment. I had actually worked with them before in a short called The Broken, which was a prequel to Johnny Holt’sThe Dooms Chapel Horror. Chris Bower, one of the producers, and actor in the film, reached to me and said, “hey, we’re doing this movie, there’s this role, do you want to read for it?” So, I did. I sent in a video audition. They liked it enough and picked me. It was just, I knew a guy and that’s how it happened.
WAIH: How long were you on set?
CS: We were on set two full days… for us. They had been shooting a segment right before us.
WAIH: I’m sure the shoot was a lot of fun, it looks like a lot of fun.
CS: It was. It helps to have such awesome people around. Everything from the P.A.s to the sound tech, our visual effects, Cassandra Baker; she was the MVP of the whole film. Our visual effects were real and she really brought that to life. They were all pros and they were also really fun so that really made it a great environment.
WAIH: I also saw on your IMDB that you’ve done bigger productions, and by that I mean studio pictures, right?
CS: I have and you know, it’s funny, at this stage of the game a young actor’s career is usually: you get big roles in small budgets or very small roles in bigger budgets. That’s kind of how it goes. I’ve been on two big budget sets before, both times I was a background player. I was in Last Vegas with Morgan Freeman that was a fun shoot. That was just a one day, go down to Atlanta, work for 14 hours and then you drive back home. Then I was a soldier, I played a District 5 rebel soldier, in The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 2, the last one. That was fun, I spent almost a whole week on set for that.
WAIH: How was that, working on, say, The Hunger Games set, since you were there the longest?
CS: It’s cool. It’s fun, it’s a different kind of fun because you do a lot less, a lot of waiting. For Volumes of Blood you’re a bigger character so I was always doing something, but on The Hunger Games they gave me my gear and I showed up at the crack of dawn. We get into wardrobe, they issue our weapons, and we sat around until they called for us and point a camera at us. It’s funny because you make friends that way too, but it is a different dynamic.
WAIH: Did that shoot in Atlanta as well?
CS: It did, yes.
WAIH: You mentioned a short before from John Holt, was that a horror film?
CS: It was. It’s called The Broken
WAIH: Have you done horror besides Volumes of Blood and The Broken?
CS: Those are my two, The Broken was my first venture into horror, and then I guess they liked me enough and asked me back for this one.
WAIH: Do you like the horror genre at all?
CS: I sort of do, I am not as die hard a fan as a lot of people are. The horror genre is pretty unique and it has such a die hard fan base. I wouldn’t consider myself a die hard horror fanatic. Every once in awhile, I’ll see one that I really like, I would say a recent one would be The Babadook. That was a good one, and a throwback for me would be In the Mouth of Madness with Sam Neill, that was a real fun one.
WAIH: Going back to The Babadook I really like that movie as well and I find myself talking about that movie to people that don’t understand it. It’s refreshing to hear someone else that likes it.
CS: Yeah, it’s funny. Depending on who you talk to they either loved it or they just didn’t like it at all. I don’t think a lot of people understand what it is. I think it is one of the best. It is so much more than just a scary movie, it’s got some real unpacking to do when you watch it closely.
WAIH: Did you see anything this year that you liked? This was a big year for, not just indie horror, but also, there was a resurgence in studio horror.
CS: There was and I feel like I didn’t see enough movies this year. I didn’t see many of the new horror that have come out. I want to see, and I don’t know when it’s out, it’s got to be soon though, the new M. Night Shyamalan
WAIH: That’s in January, it’s called Split
CS: That to me looks really good. I’m very interested in that one.
WAIH: Volumes of Blood releases some time next year, right? It just had it’s premiere October [2016]?
CS: The premiere happened at the end of October and right now I believe another six months until distribution. It’s making the rounds and doing some festivals.
WAIH: Do you have anything in the works right now?
CS: You know, nothing concrete. I haven’t been officially cast in anything. I did a couple of, ever so often during a down period you just grab a camera and get some of your film friends and you go and shoot something just for the fun of it. I have a short coming up, I hope. I’m looking at getting cast, not sure if I’ve got it yet, but I’ve got my fingers crossed.
Check out our review for both Volumes of Blood and Volumes of Blood: Horror Stories in the links provided.
