Running We Are Indie Horror is a fun gig as horror lovers. We get to watch some great indie horror, but we also get to watch amateur filmmakers make their way onto the scene. When we set out to create this horror community, we had no idea how many filmmakers would come out and show support, as well as look for support themselves. This is why it is great to see films like George Fraser’s Happenstance in our inbox.
The first time filmmaker set out to tell the story of a serial killer collecting victims to fill his meat freezer while at the same time looking for an understanding companion. The short film stars Kevin Whittier and Christina Kostoulakos as the hellish couple.
The story plays much like a music video, showing the actions as opposed to drowning the audience with mindless dialogue. Little dialogue is actually needed to tell the story. All that is important is to show the serial killer advancing on his prey. When he walks his victim into his cabin, the room is lined with other girls who seem to have ended with the same fate. Where did these girls come from? Did that first girl run away from his cabin, or did he find her elsewhere? Does it matter? Either way, opening with a pretty girl running through the forest in her underwear is never a bad way to start a film. The killer seems to have more in mind than just slaughtering these girls. Unfortunately for us, he leaves the cabin before we get any real answers.
Happenstance was shot over five days spread across a three month period. Working without a budget can be tough, missing essential elements like a good sound design or special effects is usually the first thing to be left out. Fraser did a phenomenal job working around these dilemmas, using minimal dialogue to offset the absence of a solid microphone and/or boom operator, and using his lack of lighting as a tool to make a gritty and stylized film. Overall, Happenstance is a great jumping point for a first time filmmaker. Clearly Fraser has style and story telling abilities. Everything else comes from collecting a solid production team, but as writer and director, being able to tell a story is what counts, and George proves he can do just that.
George Fraser is currently working on his next short film, Defunded, which is scheduled to shoot this Spring. We unfortunately cannot share Happenstance with you at this time, but we will absolutely make sure we do as soon as it is made available to the public.
