By: Sara Leary
Edited by: Derek Legette
Steve Daniels yells "action," and in seconds a wave of silence falls over the set of his independent horror film. Actors begin reciting lines and moving about the forest scene as Daniels records every moment.
This isn't your typical movie set, and he isn't your typical Hollywood director. Based out of Columbia, Daniels shoots, edits and distributes his films, working from his office at Mad Monkey Inc., where he makes a living as an editor for the production company.
Daniels, a self-described "outsider," says he creates horror films because "without strict genre rules or boundaries, the audience is far more likely to go along for the ride you send them on."
Years of what he says have been "learning from just doing" got Daniels here. Now 37, he started making films at 14.
Daniels works on a tight budget, sometimes as low as $500, but still managed to get his films recognition at festivals in Canada and Spain.
His latest project, "T is for Termite," is headed to Columbia's nonprofit cinema, the Nickelodeon, in April.
"Steve is the perfect Southern filmmaker," said Andy Smith, director of the Nick, which has shown several of Daniels' movies. "His films are drenched in punk rock grittiness. He's got a really great aesthetic sense and knows how to tell a story visually."
Smith expects audiences to be "bowled over" by "Termite," which is about an exterminator serving out a prison sentence and seeking out life-size termite monsters.
The Carolina Reporter talked to Daniels about why he has such a passion for making movies. The interview has been edited for length and clarity.
So how has your inspiration changed over the 23 years you've been doing film? …
I'm inspired by technology. I've never been a big tech head per se. I know a lot of people get so wrapped up in the technical aspect, this model of camera, this and that, that their storytelling or filmmaking doesn't have any soul. …
The new technology has inspired me to keep creating, and of course so many other people now are making stuff. … Virtually anybody can get a hold of some sort of camera and editing software, nonlinear editing program on their laptop, and make a film or make a story. YouTube is flooded with them. …
You talked about technology a little bit, and I know the Canon you use is a still camera that also shoots HD, so why do you use that rather than a traditional film camera?
It comes down to cost. Of course my background in real filmmaking is Super 8 film, and though it's the cheapest film format, it's still pretty expensive to actually shoot film. ...
Not that I'll ever give up Super 8. ... What attracted me to Super 8 was kind of the lack of technology. … I think it makes a statement that it doesn't matter what you film or make your movie on, it's all about the content. I think people lose sight of that. … As long as the story's good, it doesn't matter. …
You talked to me … about how you prefer working in the horror genre because you aren't limited by restrictions. What type of regulations does the horror genre let you break?
It's wide open. People that are into horror generally are very accepting, are very quick to suspend their disbelief and go with whatever you throw at them. … With a horror genre, you can do virtually anything. … With, say, a drama, you're kind of stuck in reality, you know you can't break these realisms, these truisms, but with horror you can do anything. …
If you could talk to your 14-year-old self, what would you advise young Steve to do in terms of filmmaking?
I would have told myself to keep making films, to make more films. … You always look back and think you know, I had all this free time. ... I would have told my 14-year-old self to keep making more films, make more and more and more and more. The more you do it the better you get at it. …
You said you see yourself as an outsider and not really part of the film industry, so why do you think that your films have been so successful at these festivals? …
Filmmaking is a collaborative effort. You have to rely on other people, but I just don't feel like I belong to an industry per se. I'm this dude in South Carolina making films. ...
You know it's not a business as of yet, which I would love it to be, but it's just this hobby and this thing I do that I felt compelled to do. I don't make money with my films. I always go in the hole. I don't make them to make money. …
You say that you work with kind of a lower budget; how does that affect your filmmaking?
At this stage I don't see that it really hinders it that much. … I don't cap my ideas as far as budget. ... Not having the resources forces you to come up with creative solutions … I think it kind of helps in a way. … It's the old cliche of if you have a ton of money and you have a problem and you throw money at it, that's not always the best solution. …
One of your most recent films, "Dirty Silverware," is about an evil creature in the forest that makes cursed silverware. How did you come up with such an unusual, I guess, plot line?
We have a kitchenette here at work, and I came in one morning and made some coffee and put some creamer in my coffee and went to stir it up. Opened the silverware drawer and there was this creepy, old spoon in the silverware drawer that I had never seen before ... nobody knew where it came from. … It just got me thinking of like where's this spoon been? What kind of murderous acts has it been a part of? … And then kind of came up with the whole story of a creature making cursed silverware and if you use it bad things happen. …
So besides directing, you said your favorite pastime is spending time with your family. How does what you do impact them at all?
They get a kick out of seeing the final product and knowing that they helped, they provided crucial feedback and guidance I guess through a process. My wife is an excellent sounding board. She's kind of the voice of reason. If I get some wild idea and bounce it off of her, depending on how she reacts really plays into a lot of how I proceed. It's always cool to see her see the final project. …
So where do you see yourself going next, and why?
I need to make a feature-length film. I've made all these shorts. The next rational step is to make a feature. I've got to nail down the idea. I've got tons of these little interesting nuggets of ideas but I need to decide. ...
Steve Daniels says his next rational step is a feature-length film. “I’ve got to nail down the idea,” he says. “I’ve got tons of little interesting nuggets of ideas but I need to decide.”
“Dirty Silverware,” the film Steve Daniels created with a grant from the South Carolina Film Commission, stars an evil silverware-creating monster that is double the size of the director. The film tied for Best Short Film at the SITGES Festival in Europe.
