It is known a high fever can cause our minds to play tricks on us. But what if the higher temperature allows for our senses to comprehend more of what is around us. Of course, those who don't have the heightened perception may not understand what we see.
I recommend Fever for those who like to explore the dark unnatural side of our existence.
Synopsis: A dark supernatural presence stalks a sick little girl and her skeptical mother.
Brian Rosenthal, writer and director, shares his inspiration for Fever. He also shares his past times and what got him interested in pursuing a career in film making.
What was the inspiration for Fever?
So, the inspiration for Fevercomes from a few places. Firstly, my childhood fears... I used to get sick often when I was pretty young. I'd get these high fevers, so between that and an overactive imagination, those nights were absolutely filled with terror. Then I suppose there's the more measured inspiration, which is wanting to throw my hat into the hook/rules based supernatural horror sub-genre... stuff like Nightmare on Elm Street, Lights Out, The Ring... I love when that kind of horror is done well, it can really grab you. And my notion, for what it's worth, was that the more relatable the hook (don't watch the tape, don't fall asleep, etc.), the more potential there is for terror. I also really wanted to do something that felt like it could play universally and rely on its imagery to tell the story, despite featuring dialogue. I love visual storytelling, so that was definitely a goal.
What project(s) do you have coming up you're excited about?
I'm currently attempting to get Fever off the ground as a feature and working on a screenplay for that. I also have another feature film project with a completed script that I'm working on called The Last Blockbuster, which is a riff on Clerksand The Monster Squad where we follow a handful of lovable movie geeks as they attempt to survive a supernatural apocalypse barricaded inside the world's last video rental store. It's this high concept, meta B movie about B movies set almost entirely inside a place that rents B movies... it's just fun as all hell, I'm personally super invested in it, and I hope I get the opportunity to bring it to life and share it with everyone. In the meantime, my crew and I actually shot a pitch teaser for it that kinda functions as a short as well, you can check it out here (https://vimeo.com/brianrosenthal/thelastblockbuster).
What was your early inspiration for pursuing a career in film?
I got bit by the movie-magic bug early seeing special FX blockbusters like Star Wars, Ghostbusters, T2, Alien(s) etc. at a very young age, then being fascinated enough to pursue 'making of' videos wherever I could find them. Partly out of curiosity, and I think in the case of horror partly as a means of deconstructing the things that scared the hell out of me on screen so I wouldn't be afraid of them anymore. It was around my freshman year in High School when my buddy, Jon Zietz, started experimenting with filmmaking, editing deck to deck, etc. He and his dad really helped get me going, we kinda learned the nuts and bolts as a team and proceeded to work together for a number of years, even cranking out a no-budget feature shot on a mini DV camera (JVC GY-DV500 to be exact!) back when we were around twenty-ish, in the early oughts.
What would be your dream project?
I have this notebook filled with all my ideas for shorts, features, etc... but out of them all, I think The Last Blockbuster is the one that means the most to me. It has such a different perspective on nostalgia that I think will really resonate with folks, as well as entertain in a big way. I can die happy if I get to make that film.
What are some of your favorite pastimes when not working on a movie?
Watching movies, reading/studying up on new film tech. I also play and collect retro video games, as well as movie related stuff—prop replicas, figures, etc. I'm a geek, no shame in it. I used to play guitar and draw quite a bit, but the latter has sorta folded into storyboarding for creative projects and the former needs to be dusted off and restrung, it's been years.
What is one of your favorite movies and why?
It's a hard tossup between Ghostbusters and RoboCop, and both for very similar reasons, as different as they obviously are. I had seen the cartoons in the 80s before knowing of their live-action counterparts. And upon seeing both films (I think I was 5 when I saw Ghostbusters and 7 when I tricked my family into renting me RoboCop) there was this instant correlation between imagining a thing and making it happen in front of a camera. Seeing it go from animation to live action was the real 'a-ha' moment for me, and I was already familiar with drawing so that connection just made sense. And with both films, I experienced the same rollercoaster... fear, excitement, laughter, all in one package. It helped me realize at a young age that a film could dance a line, tonally, and still work, without being entirely one thing or the other. And once again, in the case of both films, the FX. I wanted to know how those proton packs worked! How did they make those beams appear on screen!? What kind of magic was this? Was it the same way lightsabers were done in Star Wars, I wondered? (I learned the word 'rotoscope' at a very young age). And how the HELL did they stretch the skin on Peter Weller's face over all that metal?! That was just so damned freaky, mesmerizing and iconic all at once, I had to know what the trick was. Those films helped me become just as familiar and fascinated with the people behind the camera as the ones in front of it, and remain among my favorite to this day.
You can find out more about Fever on the following sites.
https://www.facebook.com/feverhorrorshort ('Fever' Facebook Page)
https://vimeo.com/brianrosenthal/feverteaser ('Fever' Teaser Trailer)
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8902462/ ('Fever' IMDb)
https://www.twitter.com/brosenthal82 (Director's Twitter)
https://www.facebook.com/lastblockbusterfilm ('The Last Blockbuster' Facebook Page)
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