Cillian Murphy is great as an unbalanced see-saw of tension and release. Susan Sarandon provides a strong-headed challenge to his defenses and dementia. The mix of suspense and sit-com setups creates a delusional air that upsets all expectations. The overall tone is strange and intriguing — somewhere between Psycho and Lars and the Real Girl. Yeah, just try to picture that.

It’s too bad this film got shuffled off as a straight-to-video release with little fanfare. I imagine it’s a hard one to market properly, but it’s best to go in as cold as possible. Like the self-sequestered main character, you don’t see odd ones like this very often. When they appear it’s a literal train wreck of allure and abhorrence.

Special features almost always make or break a sale for me. If I like a movie enough to buy the disc, it’s because I want to not only relive the experience but hopefully find deeper engagement and meaning. Of course DVD extras can be a mixed bag. Some are a complete waste of time, pointless filler, or simply a joke—the screechy alien language track for Galaxy Quest and the amateur hand puppet version of The Incredibles are funny ideas but not worth sitting through. Watching Memento chronologically-corrected is enlightening but buried in a frustrating maze of cryptic menus. Tim Burton routinely lets me down with his unenthusiastic commentaries, while I’ve watched films I didn’t necessarily care for just to hear Roger Ebert’s fascinating insights. Like buying a music single for the B-side, I couldn’t care less for Bruce McDonald’s Roadkill but the bonus short Elimination Dance makes the disc worth owning.

I admit I’ve bought collector’s editions just to feel like I got my money’s worth. But will I really ever make time to watch the half dozen edits of Blade Runner or Brazil? What about the extra discs accompanying Sympathy for Lady Vengeance and Brotherhood of the Wolf that aren’t even in English? Thankfully the Lost Season 5 Dharma Initiation Kit is too big to fit on my DVD shelf or I’d be in serious danger of dropping cash on more needless and pricey embellishments.

Like many collectors I’ve double dipped on some titles, falling for the studios’ dastardly trick of saving bonus goodies for re-releases. Sometimes I’ve held out for extras that never came. Why doesn’t a meaty film like The Fountain have a commentary track, especially when director Darren Aronofsky has one recorded already? I did finally break down and buy the bare bones Pee-Wee’s Playhouse box sets, giving up hope that Paul Ruebens will make good on his promise of deluxe editions.

The battle over what to buy becomes even broader when taking into account versions from different countries. The Canadian and UK editions of Guy Maddin’s My Winnipeg both have equally covetable featurettes. That decision came down to the covers, as I didn’t care for region 2’s horrific frozen horse heads. I found myself willfully buying Maddin’s Saddest Music in the World twice however, one for the commentary and one for better image quality.

Now studios are really twisting my arm and starting to relegate the good stuff for blu-ray only. It’s probably about time I jumped on the technology bandwagon anyway, but I do so grudgingly. The release that pushes me over the edge is Richard Kelly’s box office bomb The Box, an oddity that didn’t completely win me over but makes me curious enough to hear what the heck Kelly was thinking when he made it. Hopefully his commentary isn’t a disaster like the Donnie Darko director’s cut turned out to be.

Sometimes buying a hard-to-find favorite on DVD is bonus enough. I find pleasure in watching bootlegs of Max Headroom and Sifl and Olly despite their glitchy lo-res quality. I’ve even dusted off my VHS player just to revisit Santa and the Ice Cream Bunny. I doubt that’s getting a Criterion release anytime soon.

What about you? Do you gorge on ultra editions, or do you side with David Lynch who believes even chapter breaks are an excessive distraction to a film?

The opening credits of Ti West’s The House of the Devil instantly alerted me to a different beast. A slow and deliberate pace is set right away, played out to a wonderfully kitschy prog-electro score. It’s not the only nod to genre master John Carpenter. The simple story starts with Samantha, a cash-desperate college sophomore accepting a questionable baby-sitting gig in a creepy Victorian mansion from an even creepier middle-aged couple. Decades are rolled back as much by the wardrobe and lack of cell phones as by a desaturated palette and stripped-down directing. The naturalness of everything helps the subtle oddities stand out and heighten the tension. For most of the film almost nothing truly frightening takes place yet the atmosphere and suspense build intensely. We’ve seen inevitable doom spelled out the same way innumerable times over the years but Sam’s believable naivete makes us worry for her life as she dances carefree around an unfamiliar house. The pay-off is rushed and not as extreme as more modern themed horrors though fitting for the established mood and period. It’s admittedly a little boring in spots and utterly predictable but kept my interest for the long run. Damn if I didn’t have to check the release date more than once to make sure I wasn’t watching a lost late-1970s slasher. For that alone I’d call it a success.

Bitch Slap:
The House of the Devil:

For scandalous tales of youth you can’t beat the Papin sisters of 1930s France, housemaids whose improper relationship supposedly led to a brutal murder. Two movies offer fictionalized tellings of the sordid events. For all of their similarities the films could hardly be more different.

1994’s Sister, My Sister is a British production that seems better suited for the stage. It’s dialogue-heavy with minimal drab sets and costuming. Aside from a nun’s backside and an unseen photographer, the characters are pretty much limited to the Papin siblings, their upper class widow employer and her spoiled daughter. Their acting is overly dramatic to the point of caricature. The candy-coveting rich daughter could be one of the cartoonish brats lost in Willy Wonka’s factory of traps, and like them her death is a relief from her awfulness. She’s made miserable by an over-protective and agoraphobic mother. Their housebound co-dependence plays like Grey Gardens: The Early Years, and while entertaining it does little to make them sympathetic victims of mutilation. The Papin siblings’ emotional breakdown and sexual obsession seem sudden and somewhat under-explained despite constant exposition. Their trysts add titillation rather than insight to their damaged identities. Equally excessive is their final act of violence. The opening scenes’ bloody stairwell did less to foreshadow the climax than to make me impatient during the filling before the killing.

Leave it to the French to do their country’s scandal justice. 2004’s Murderous Maids is as gritty and sensuous as Sister is generic and dull. Colors and textures are sumptuous in a convincingly detailed provincial setting. The Papins are nuanced characters with real personality and depth. Their lives are tied in a complicated knot of familial responsibilities, class segregation and religious guilt. Instead of incessantly talking about their troubled psyches they show every crack through subtle glances, involuntary twitches, and muscles stiffened against each day’s despair. Christine’s eyes are gauges to the paranoia and craziness burbling inside her, while Lea’s attain a glaze to match the hardening of her youthful spirit. We meet their desperate shrew of a mother, see the harshness of their religious schooling, and view first-hand the conditions chipping away their childhoods that the other film only hints at. The sisters’ bond is built around admiration of the older and protection of the younger, progressively becoming more insular and inappropriate as life outside their bedroom worsens. Their notable difference in age and sexual understanding contributes to an already creepy closeness. While Maids is the more explicit film, the eroticism is uncomfortable to watch. Sister’s denouement is underwhelming despite being described in grisly detail. This film’s less-stagey murder scene is tense and shocking, even with a title as spoilerish as Kill Bill.

In short, Sister, My Sister could take place anywhere, anytime, with little sense of motivation. Murderous Maids not only made me care for a psychotic killer and her naive accomplice but had me thanking God I wasn’t alive in the wretched slums and time that borne them.

Sister, My Sister:
Murderous Maids:

Bat for Lashes – Two Suns
Utterly modern…music for a synthique tribe! Hints of Kate Bush, of course, but Bats for Lashes has its own flavor of weird.

Black Tape for a Blue Girl – 10 Neurotics
A big departure for Black Tape. Slight traces of ethereal goth remain, but this is far more in the cabaret vein. An almost Weimar-esque fixation on sexual fetish is writ large in acoustic tones.

Zoe Boekbinder – Artichoke Perfume
Bluesy, whimsical vaudeville constructed from carefully layered sound. And that voice! I’d like to live inside that voice!

Built to Spill – There is No Enemy
Is this my nostalgia pick? It does remind me of being in college, but…nah, this is just a solid alt. rock album of a type you just don’t see anymore.

Depeche Mode – Sounds of the Universe
I never expected to like a Depeche Mode album this much again. DM delves into vintage analog synths and surfaces with their best album in years. Who would have thought?

The Dirty Projectors – Bitte Orca
Probably my second most-played album of 2009. Sunlit voices and lush, arboreal arrangements are pierced with bursts of rhizomatic noise.

The Flaming Lips – Embryonic
In all seriousness: this sounds like a more organic, more psychedelic Throbbing Gristle to me. Punk Floyd!

God Save the Girl – s/t
Breezy-yet-cinematic indie pop with lovely vocals. If you felt like you didn’t get your Belle & Sebastian fix, this should be your first stop.

Imogen Heap – Ellipse
Experimental pop as sound collage. Plus, there is something about Imogen Heap’s vocals I just find simply charming.

Katzenjammer Kabarett – Grand Guignol & Verities
One of the few “goth” bands with the will to pursue their own sound. Arty and humorous, they make quite a din.

Luminescent Orchestrii – Neptune’s Daughter
Avant gypsy! Traditional Eastern European music and sounds for modern nomads get married to the vagabond spirit.

Morrissey – Years of Refusal
It’s Morrissey. You know what to expect. I like this better than Ringleader of the Tormentors.

Sonic Youth – The Eternal
Experimental stalwarts stay firmly in the groove. I’m calling this their “shoegaze album,” for whatever reason.

Yeah Yeah Yeahs – It’s Blitz!!
YYYs drop a little of their rock swagger and pick up a big dose of P.I.L. death disco. Their biggest stylistic shift yet, but it is infectious.

I showed you mine…now show me yours?
(Anyone can play!)

Punch-Drunk Love, 2002
I can’t quite explain what put me off about this. I’m a fan of Adam Sandler, both his goofy and serious work, and his acting here is fine. The plot is an improvement over the sprawling mess of PT Anderson’s previous film Magnolia. Something about the atmosphere just grated on me and made my blood pressure spike, especially the nerve-wracking over-amplified audio. Ironically even as I covered my ears I knew the soundtrack sans film would become one of my faves.

The Guatemalan Handshake, 2006
Several things contributed to me probably not giving this a fair shake, including an oven-like cramped theater and a bad day at work. Still, I consider this a heavy-handed, mean-spirited Napoleon Dynamite wanna-be. Lord knows I love quirky characters but names like Turkeylegs and Lunchmeat are beyond dumb. Killing a small dog for laughs is guaranteed to turn me off, and that’s just the opening scene. One of the few films I’ve ever walked out on.

The Black Dahlia, 2006
One of the few films I wish I walked out on. A legendary Hollywood murder is the basis for this movie and it’s a crime that such a story was so wasted. I could write it off as an unintentional comedy for its overly clichéd characters if it wasn’t for all the gratuitous shots of grisly mutilation.

Surveillance, 2008
Jennifer Lynch infuriated me with the horrible twist ending to her horrible film Boxing Helena. I figured 15 years was enough time for Ms. Lynch to learn from her mistakes and gave her second film a shot. I braced myself through all the pointless poor attempts at copying her father’s signature surreal humor, believing that the threads would tie up to an interesting ending. Sorry Jennifer, you’re back on my shit list for yet another climactic cop-out.

A.I. Artificial Intelligence, 2001
You know a film is in trouble when the best performance is given by a monotone, robotic stuffed bear. There’s debate over whether Kubrick or Spielberg is to blame for the tacked-on final chapter that ruins everything leading up to it. The pace-halting prison scene at the end of Minority Report should remove any doubt.

Fat Albert, 2004
Of course it would be bad, but my curiosity got the better of me. Fat Albert was my favorite cartoon growing up in the 1970s. This movie not only spits on my childhood memories but kicks them in the crotch with cleats. I want to punch everyone involved in this film.

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, 2008
Why did I believe Lucas and Spielberg when they promised to keep this CGI-free? It’s a circus of computer monkeys and digital ants, with a tired old ringleader aping for a paycheck. I’m proof that there’s a sucker born every minute.

S. Darko, 2009
Richard Kelly’s denouncement of involvement should have turned me away from the start. It’s like the producers hated Donnie Darko fans and created a sequel simply to torture them with. It pisses all over every carefully constructed bit of mythology from the original.

Tideland, 2005
I’ve defended Terry Gilliam plenty throughout the years for providing such whimsical child-like delights. Not this time. It will take a lot to earn back my trust after such an offensive audience-hating turd.

The Cat in the Hat, 2003
I had the sense to avoid Jim Carrey as The Grinch. What made me think a live-action Cat in the Hat wouldn’t be completely awful? Maybe it was my love for Mike Myers, sadly delivering the worst performance possible as a Bronx-born wise-cracking MILF hunter. Who thought a classic childrens story needed such excessive, sexually inappropriate padding? Simply vile.

Primer, 2004: The camera pans around Aaron
It’s hard to believe this is Shane Carruth’s first film, especially considering he did everything from the writing to playing a lead role. The direction is decidedly non-showy which gives the few tricky shots extra emphasis. The convoluted plot intentionally confuses the audience and Carruth’s character Aaron. The gravity of the situation he’s involved in hits home when both the camera and Aaron’s understanding of events come full circle.

Secretary, 2002: Four peas for dinner
The sadomasochistic affair between a secretary and her boss may strike some people as bizarre, especially the strange unspoken rules they develop in their romantic roles. It certainly does to her perplexed family as she eats an obsessively arranged meal. What some may find to be a twisted ritual illustrates a love these two characters would gladly suffer anything to realize.

The Fountain, 2006: Flowers burst from Dr. Creo’s chest
The mix of trippy sci-fi, drama and romance becomes an avant-garde mess long before the climax. The cryptically symbolic storyline probably loses most of its audience. However, the overpowering tangle of loss and hope is undeniable as Hugh Jackman’s character explodes into bloom. I saw plenty of tissues come out at the theater when he realizes in surprise how his dead wife lives on.

The Prestige, 2006: The secret of The Disappearing Man trick is revealed
The film and its actors are at times overly dramatic to the point of silliness, but the big reveal gives me chills. Hugh Jackman plays a magician driven by grief, vengeance, and professional rivalry to make the ultimate sacrifice. The revenge he finally achieves seems secondary to a ghoulish act of perpetual self-punishment.

Donnie Darko, 2001: Waking memories of erased events
To appreciate this movie you need to feel it rather than expect full understanding of what happens. That’s exactly what the characters do in the final act as they process the fleeting dreams of an alternate timeline. Each person reacts differently to visions of the paths their lives may take, from satisfaction to horrific guilt. Gary Jules narrates their disorienting epiphanies in a haunting rendition of “Mad World,” a song that chokes me up whenever I hear it.

Mulholland Drive, 2001: Crying at Club Silencio
It’s a classic David Lynch scene, both baffling and beautiful. Naomi Watts and Laura Harring play women brought together by a mystery and unexpected love. As they watch a surreal performance they realize it’s all an illusion—just like their own idealized lives. They share a tearful farewell before Watts awakens to a horrible reality she’d prefer to forget. At least I think that’s what happens.

Birth, 2005: Nicole Kidman stares into the camera
Birth is one of the most under-appreciated films of the decade, and the one that got me to finally shake my irrational dismissal of Nicole Kidman as a serious actress. (Her divorcing whack-job Tom Cruise may have helped a lot with that too.) A young boy’s preposterous claim that he is her dead husband reincarnated shakes the widow to her core. The support of her rational family and fiancée does nothing to quell her growing emotional turmoil, and ironically may even be feeding it. A trip to the opera gives her and the audience an opportunity to meditate on recent events. During an uncomfortably long and slow zoom, Kidman’s unblinking face broadcasts all the crazy questions and life-altering decisions she grapples with. Rarely does such a silent performance say so much.

The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, 2004: Sitting silently in the submarine
I seem to be in a minority of people who cite The Life Aquatic as their favorite Wes Anderson film. I won’t deny it has plenty of flaws, worst of which is wasting such a talented cast on flat caricatures. That just makes it more amazing that the crew coming together for their captain in a moment of quiet tenderness almost brings me to tears.

The Wrestler, 2008: Entering the deli counter
Darren Aronofsky held back his usual bag of cinematic tricks to focus on tragic characters. It’s his most tempered film to date, and the combination of handheld camera POV, pacing, sound, and Mickey Rourke’s subtle performance add up to a perfect balance of emotional story-telling. The scene plays unremarkably but in a few seconds tells everything you need to know about the life and state-of-mind of a fallen hero.

Napoleon Dynamite, 2004: Napoleon busts out the moves
A high school’s biggest loser risks humiliation when coming to the aid of a friend, and wins over the entire student body with some ridiculous dance moves. Napoleon’s gentle, unabashed silliness drew me to the theater five times. (The previous record-holder was 1985’s Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure.) The climax is a celebration of self-expression against a critical world. Cynics write off the film as fluff but watching it elevates me to pure joy.

I’m surprised how well this fake-umentary of supernatural events works considering this is the tenth anniversary of The Blair Witch Project. Perhaps it’s been long enough that younger ticket buyers don’t remember the backlash generated from a marketing campaign designed to convince people the footage was real. Paranormal Activity’s blurring of reality is more subtle, literally leaving the source of the film open-ended by omitting opening and ending credits. Reinforcing the invented reality is a setting so unremarkable as to be completely familiar. There’s little to pick out of the background that we don’t overlook in our own homes. Some of the more noticeable objects are an oversized teddy bear and large screen TV, comforts that encourage us to let our guard down.

We roam the soon-to-be-haunted house via footage from a consumer-level camera recording potential spooky events. Most of the hand-held shots will likely induce kinetosis, and I imagine people around me had their eyes covered as much out of fear as to avoid involuntary vomiting. In utter contrast are the stationary shots. Positioned on a tripod in the bedroom, the momentary calm point of view serves to build almost unbearable dread. The camera’s timer displays the seconds as we watch a young couple sleeping near an open doorway into darkness. We’re as vulnerable as them, forced to stare out into the dimly lit hallway wondering what will burst in to break the tense silence. When the footage fast forwards and suddenly resumes playing after an hour’s count it can only be to show us something that absolutely shouldn’t be there. The worst part is waiting for the inevitable, realizing any evil entities that enter will meet our gaze before finding the on-screen victims.

The two lead actors tie it all together naturally. Micah and Katie are played by unknowns of the same names who have a very believable chemistry. They mostly goof around with each other for the first act, establishing their laid back personalities and playful relationship. We learn that Katie has sensed some sort of spectral presence in her life throughout the years, and while Micah is concerned and supportive he is also keen to capture evidence of any “cool” otherworldly events. The couple butts heads when Katie feels that she’s not being taken seriously and demands to put away the invasive camera. Micah is a day trader who is used to quickly dealing with issues without much investment. As things get uncontrollably weirder in both his house and relationship he releases his frustration by angrily taunting the ghosts to step up and show themselves. Cue scolding groans from the audience.

The dynamics of Paranormal Activity and The Blair Witch Project are similar. A jovial, off-the-cuff character introduction. A set-up that quickly spirals from a casual good time into doubt and distress. A panicky climax where the carefully established realism shatters from a confusing confrontation of abnormal forces. Despite an out-of-place CGI effect I’d say Paranormal’s ending is the biggest improvement over Blair Witch’s formula. This and recent releases like Rec and District 9 prove that the “reality TV” shtick still has mileage, so it’s too bad the hand-held treatment is so hard to endure in a long feature. Maybe someone will make the ultimate shaky cam movie in 3D to finally kill both gimmicks.

Liarsociety: How long did it take to gain a comfortable rapport with Emily and her family?

Aaron Marshall: Not long at all. After a couple weeks of filming, they became comfortable with the cameras.

Did you worry about being influential observers and unintentionally affecting the behavior of your subjects?

It was our goal to be there as observers only. We told the family from the beginning that we did not want to interfere with Emily’s filmmaking process.

Do you think Emily would have finished her film if it wasn’t being documented? Did you sense that your presence created expectations or pressure to come through with the goods?

Yes, I do think that Emily would have finished, even if we hadn’t been there. However, as much as we tried to maintain our distance and let Emily work as if there wasn’t a camera following her around, I’m sure that it did have an impact. Mostly, I think it probably helped encourage her.

Some documentaries about extraordinary kids seem to be the product of happenstance, picking the right subject from a larger group to follow to a successful goal. How confident were you that a pre-teen girl could pull off such an ambitious project?

Initially, we had no idea if she would finish. It was more about just watching what would happen. Had Emily failed to finish the movie, she still would have learned a lot, and that would have also been a story worth telling. But, we were rooting for her, so we’re glad she finished!

You followed the Hagins for a couple of years. Was there a point where you considered dropping it? Did you pass up other opportunities for the sake of the project?

We never considered dropping the project. Though, there were other opportunities that I passed on to keep working on Zombie Girl, it was because I believed in the film and was excited to finally see it completed.

What did you guys do during the downtime in Emily’s production? Did you hang around in case something film-worthy happened, or did the Hagins call you when she got back to work?

They called us whenever they were filming and we would show up — even it it would just be at their house, when Emily was working on storyboards or something like that. With the exception of just a few days, we were only around when they were working on the film.

In interviews you’ve said that you held back from offering help while Emily and her mom figured things out or looked for equipment that you had on hand. When Emily clumsily tears open a stuffed animal with a knife I wanted to shout “always cut away from yourself!” How hard was it to stay quiet when preventable difficulties or potential disasters arose?

It was sometimes hard not to say things when Emily was making a filmmaking mistake, but to intervene would have been robbing her of the valuable learning experience that those mistakes can provide. Emily learned a ton from the production of Pathogen because she was allowed to make mistakes and grow as a result of those mistakes.

There’s a funny scene where a dude in a pickup truck stops to check things out and show off his zombie t-shirt. Did other bystanders give you many interruptions or trouble?

No, not too much trouble. Thankfully, Austin’s a place that embraces filmmaking!

Other documentaries are sometimes accused of making caricatures of their subjects or falsifying their personalities. Did you cut or include shots to help maintain a balanced portrayal of the Hagins?

We tried our best to give an accurate and fair portrayal of people and events in the film. Obviously, when you shoot 150 hours of footage, a considerable amount of stuff is left out when condensing it down to 90 minutes. But, in the end, I think we did the best we could.

You managed to find a subject with an impressive maturity for her age and a very supportive family. What do you think about the attention Emily is getting from your film?

Luckily, Emily has a good head on her shoulders, and she seems to see it all as a chance to learn.

The premise of Zombie Girl has inherent novelty value and hooks everyone I know who’s heard of it. I wondered how the fact that Emily was both so young and a girl would influence the people considering her grant application, regardless of her project’s content.

I’m sure Emily’s age was one of the factors considered by the grant committee. As was the fact that she was extremely well organized and committed to the project. I think the chance to help get someone with such conviction off on the right foot appealed to the committee. Emily is a kid pursuing her dreams, which is something I think should always be encouraged.

Emily promises not to pull a George Lucas and tweak her films once they’re done. How satisfied are you with the documentary? Is it still a work in progress as you prepare for wider release?

Zombie Girl is done. We hope to have the film out on DVD either late this year or early next year. For the time being, it’s still playing at film festivals and independent screenings around the world.

There are always things you can do differently. And I’ll apply those lessons to the next project. As for Zombie Girl, we’re very proud of how it turned out.

What’s up with next or current projects?

I’m developing a comedy right now, while Erik is working on another documentary and Justin is co-producing a drama.

A great thing about documentaries is that their stories continue beyond the films. What do you see in Emily’s future

Movies!

Find out more about Zombie Girl: the Movie at the official site

Liarsociety: Did Emily surprise you and your husband by wanting to make a full-length film? Especially one about zombies?

Megan Hagins: My husband was surprised but I was not mostly because I spent more time with her.

The production of Pathogen ballooned beyond anyone’s expectations. Considering the time, work and money invested, would you do it again?

I would absolutely do it again. I tell Emily to aim as high as she can, but to create a plan b, too. It is important for her to come as close as she can to making her vision a reality. Even if she goes to a plan b, it will be her plan b, not one imposed by us.

Have you retired from filmmaking?

I am pretty much retired from Emily’s projects. I still drive and buy food, until she can drive. Most of the process is “not my cup of tea.” I think it takes a particular kind of person to do what Emily does and think she has the right stuff, but I do not. However, I still sometimes think about working in production art or special FX…behind the scenes stuff. Not necessarily for Emily, but in the field.

How did your childhood compare to your daughter’s? Did your parents share a love of movies? Did they encourage you to be creative and imaginative?

My childhood was a lot different. I grew up in a completely different era and in a different part of the country. I had two brothers and one sister. We had a neighborhood gang of kids and we’d hang out outside and play games like tag, hide and seek or jump-rope games. We were not encouraged to be imaginative, we were imaginative because we needed to entertain ourselves in the early 60s. There were cool kids’ matinees at our neighborhood theater on Saturday mornings. They cost 25 cents for a double feature. My mom used to send me out with the “gang,” I think to get me out from under her feet, giving me 25 cents for the movie and 10 cents to get a bag of candy from the penny candy store around the corner from the theater. My mom and I used to watch old movies on “The Early Show” that would come on network TV at about 4 in the afternoon…there was no cable nor VHS or DVDs. Once a year, two favorites would come on on a Sunday…The Wizard of Oz and later in the spring, King Kong. My dad hated movies.

Emily grew up in Texas and there were not a lot of kids her age in our neighborhood. There are a lot of external entertainment sources. But from an early age she had a great imagination and creativity. I think that is so important in every aspect of life that I hope I encouraged her and nurtured her.

You’re a graphic designer by trade. What led to that career path? What kinds of creative projects do you enjoy outside of work?

I was always good at drawing and felt that my parents and teachers recognized this from the time I was about 7. My mom used to read to my brother and I at bedtime or naptime. I loved the illustrations in the storybooks. I went to art school to be an illustrator. I enjoy painting on my own time, but haven’t done paintings for a while.

Do you see Emily struggling with the balance between the commercial and artistic sides of pursuing a creative profession? Do you encourage her to find a practical application for her skills, or to even consider filmmaking a hobby while finding a more secure job?

I see no real problems between commercial and artistic sides. For one thing, I believe she has all kinds of skills like diplomacy, negotiation and good business sense to be very successful in her artistic pursuits. But realistically, she does know that studios rarely hand over millions of dollars to let a filmmaker do whatever they want with. She will have to be creative in finding funding for her own projects or be willing to do what studios want for their projects. She may have to do other kinds of work or make more commercial videos to earn money to support her filmmaking.

You and Emily have gone to countless films together since she was very young, and you were very involved with helping her realize her vision of a full-length film. As she gets older are you still doing things together as much, or is she more independent?

We are still great movie-goin’ buddies and we both enjoy each other’s company a lot, but she has other friends and activities and she does a lot more on her own. I like to feel that I am there for her as a parent and as a friend, and she knows that. I don’t have the need to impose myself on her life in ways I am not wanted. We still do a lot together and that includes seeing movies.

You didn’t keep Emily from watching films at a young age that other parents may consider too sophisticated or mature for their own children. She seems to have turned out none the worse for it. Do you get any flak from people over that or for encouraging her to make a zombie film?

I encouraged her to do something that she felt passionate about. It wasn’t the zombie part that I was encouraging. As soon as I knew she had crossed that line where she could distinguish a movie from real life, I thought there were a lot of movies with artistic or creative merit that she could watch, and, in fact should watch. If she had any questions she could ask.

Horror movies have gotten a lot more extreme in recent years. Do you check out films like Hostel or Saw? Are they bad? Is the media overreacting?

We saw Hostel but not Hostel 2. We like Eli Roth a lot and think he is very talented. It doesn’t really matter if we don’t care to see all of his movies. There was a lot of merit in Hostel, and because of the “torture-porn” title a lot of people overlook where there is merit and just get caught up in the sensational aspects. But, movies are best for me when they have a good story at their heart. If the story is nonexistent or overwhelmed by gratuitous sex or violence that has nothing to do with the story, it may not be a movie in which we are as interested. I am not necessarily saying that the Saw movies or Hostel 2 are bad movies, but just ones that elements of graphic violence overwhelm the movie and the story or the characters are not strong enough to carry the movie without those elements.

Though you obviously trust Emily’s judgment and ability to process things appropriately are there things you’d like to protect her from?

Unscrupulous people…and not so much protect her from them, but to give her the tools to recognize and deal with those kinds of people and elements in life.

How do you feel about the documentary’s portrayal of your family? Did you ever regret agreeing to be the subjects of a film?

I think we are portrayed primarily as a loving family and parents who care for and support our child. I am happy about this because I think a lot of parents do not consider the arts a worthy career choice and I think that sets a good example and gives the message that it is important to support your child’s talents and abilities with an open mind. On the other hand, I have some flaws I wish weren’t on camera. Sometimes the filmmakers wouldn’t leave till later on a school night and Emily had tons of homework, so that was a bit harder to manage. These were pretty nice guys, so it was a positive experience.

Parents naturally love their children’s work, and lots of kids have fun making videos which are never seen outside their circle of friends. Should Emily’s film Pathogen be fair game for movie critics?

You know, actually, it has been. Some people are pretty mean in their criticisms. The movie is technically lacking. But it also has a story that makes sense and it is fun to watch…sometimes because of her mistakes, but sometimes for the things she does right. Although I might be biased, I think the potential and talent Emily shows in this work is also clear to people who watch a lot of movies, and that includes critics. But the main thing is, while lots of kids love making movies, they also rarely have the passion to see a feature through. The only other example I’ve seen of that passion, is in Raiders of the Lost Ark: the Adaptation. I know many established directors have spoken to Emily and told her that she reminds them of themselves at her age. But I think any kid who shows potential and the “right stuff” should be encouraged as Emily has been, even if their films are also rough. As I mentioned before, it takes a particular kind of person who can see films through from start to finish. The horror community is pretty cool though, and often embraces the low-budget movie if it is fun to watch, and I think Emily is fortunate to have chosen horror for her first film because horror fans are so cool.

What lessons do you think she’s learning through all this, beyond skills as a filmmaker?

Perseverance, leadership, organizational skills, people skills, bargaining skills, budgeting skills, scheduling skills, resourcefulness, writing, and communication.

Any advice for other parents?

Support your kids as much as you can. Love ‘em unconditionally. Keep them healthy. Kids need ample age-appropriate opportunities to earn their parents’ trust and respect and it is up to parents to give them those opportunities. It is important in keeping a balance for the concept that privileges need to be earned and are available on many levels, both abstract and material to all kids regardless of the economic background of the family. It is a way of teaching your kid a good work ethic and wonderful for their self esteem and sense of accomplishment. I would never have extended my help to Emily the way I did if she hadn’t been working just as hard, if not harder, than I did.