The slasher sub-genre is one of the most crowded out there so a huge challenge facing any filmmaker who tackles this particular realm is to concoct a fresh spin that audiences aren’t familiar with.
In the case of director Jacob Johnston, he clearly thought as far outside the box as humanly possible when it came to his feature debut, Dreamcatcher, finding inspiration as far back as Johann Goethe’s ”Faust” and Shakespeare’s ”Macbeth” whilst setting it very much in the present in the form of an EDM music-based, ensemble slasher movie.
Written and directed by Johnston, and produced by Brandon and Krystal Vayda (who previously worked with the late, great Wes Craven on Nick Simon’s The Girl in the Photographs) and boasting an extensive ensemble cast, Dreamcatcher also proudly wears Craven’s influences on its sleeve. Shining a light on self-made fame and success and the depths someone might go to retain their glory, the film introduces us to DJ Dreamcatcher who is on the cusp of international recognition. But everything is about to change when he prepares to play a set at Cataclysm, an underground music festival where a drug-fuelled gruesome event escalates into a 48-hour whirlwind of violence and mayhem.
With Dreamcatcher releasing On Demand and Digital this March 5th, SCREAM sat down with two of the cast members, Zachary Gordon and Lou Ferrigno Jr., who revealed how, aside from being a hugely entertaining – and terrifying – thrill ride, the narrative also injects a healthy dose of satire and social commentary into the mix that’s guaranteed to spark a debate amongst audiences long after the end credits roll…
Words: Howard Gorman
