What happens when a workaholic new mother becomes targeted in her own home? This is part of the premise of the horror short Night Work which screens as part of the Overlook Film Festival 2023.
Bloody Flicks caught up with director Savannah Hunter-Reeves to find out more.
What can you tell us about the genesis of Night Work?
I don’t have kids myself yet but I’ve always been drawn to motherhood as a theme, and horror is such a perfect vehicle for it. I had tossed a few different ideas around for my first short but when I saw the deadline for The Film Fund competition was coming up, I knew I had to go with something that had a “hook”. In this case, it was the contortionist, who was really fun to work with. I also knew I wanted to do a contained horror that used as few locations as possible. Between budget/COVID limitations and winning The Film Fund competition, the idea for NIGHT WORK came together.
Given the theme of isolation, was this partially born out of the pandemic?
I didn’t write the script with this in mind but COVID ended up playing a big part in the film’s evolution, as you can tell by the opening scene; I don’t think Zoom hang-outs are as popular today as they were when we shot this. I tend to write stories that unfold at the micro rather than the macro level, so themes of isolation, loneliness, and interpersonal themes, are always appealing to me. But the truth is we didn’t feel responsible for having more than ten people on set, so naturally, the film has a very isolated feel.
Night Work also has something to say about the guilt of some mothers having to leave their newly born children because they have to go back to work, how did this develop during the writing process
As I said, this topic has always fascinated me. Like most people in this industry, I’m a person who loves to work, I like to always be creating and I can get very obsessive about it. I do wonder how that might change when I have kids of my own, but I think even if you’re a woman who isn’t a mother, there’s always an underlying feeling of guilt about working too much. It’s hard not to feel like you’re failing in other areas of your life, or that you’re not doing a good job balancing everything. I think that’s a natural feeling for most of us. I knew I wanted the ending when Simone sees the creature has shapeshifted to look like her, to represent us all being our own worst critics. At least for myself, I know a lot of the guilt and judgement I feel comes from me, not other people. I’m trying to work on that.
There is a real slow-burn element that works so well in the film, can you tell us how you looked to build tension?
I can’t really say it was intentional. I think I’m just such a huge fan of horror, I have such a respect for it and have been watching it since I was a kid, that horror conventions and best practices are just muscle memory at this point. Some other things didn’t come so naturally, but that did.
Do you think it’s more difficult to tell a complete story within a short period of time?
I think it takes practice, but it’s not inherently more difficult. A standard story structure can fit into any amount of time. I would say the hard part is trying to keep that structure together when things change on set. Scenes get cut, things go wrong, and you have to adjust. Short films are riskier than features because there’s a limit to how much you can rearrange the story in post. It can very easily lose its shape if you don’t get what you need. We ended up cutting some scenes, changing dialogue, etc. and I think it worked out okay, but the story was definitely less ambiguous going into shooting. I’m sure it would benefit from a bit more clarity but people have said they like that things aren’t perfectly explained in the film, so I’m just gonna go ahead and take credit for that.
How excited are you to be screening at Overlook Film Festival?
I’m so excited! Overlook is such a cool fest, you can tell they truly appreciate horror and that means so much to me. I’m in such good company and am really honoured to be screening alongside all these great films.
Is the plan to take the film on the festival circuit this year?
Yes, we just started! Since this is my first film I’ve tried to keep my expectations low; with each selection and rejection, I’m just super grateful to be on the ride. I’m excited to see what the rest of the year has in store for our little film.
Night Work screens as part of the Overlook Film Festival 2023.
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