Ali Mashayekhi and Jessica Pontes' short horror film, One in Two People, was screened at Little Terrors Short Horror Film Showcase at the end of January. Check out my email interview with the Director and Actor/Producer respectively...

MY TAKE WHEN I WATCHED ONE IN TWO PEOPLE AT THE BLOOD IN THE SNOW FESTIVAL: Mental health turned on its head - another highly creative idea with potential to spawn into a feature length story.

NOW I KNOW THERE ARE NO PLANS TO TURN THIS INTO A LONGER FORMAT, BUT THERE ARE PLANS FOR A PREQUEL, DELVING INTO THE MAIN CHARACTER'S BACKSTORY. I very much look forward to seeing this, which will naturally add context to One in Two People. But I still think there are future possibilities for this story and its main character. Perhaps not a feature, but perhaps a sequel short.

What was particularly interesting to me about One in Two People was actually the other characters around Emily - the ones she called on for help - and their different ways of handling, coping with, or mismanaging the situation. Some lacked patience for Emily's mental illness, others clearly didn't know what to do at all. The most supportive and helpful suffered for it.

As someone who has dealt with mental health issues on both sides, it was interesting to see the array of reactions from a spectrum of people with differing connections to Emily (and different levels of emotional closeness, from partner to stranger). The sometimes clumsy coping skills as characters struggled to help or solve the scenario they thought they were in rang true for me.

Never mind that one woman's mental illness is not all these characters have to cope with! Like many a good horror tale...less is more and not all questions are easily answered.

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And now, on with my interview with Ali Mashayekhi, Director and Producer of One in Two People. (Followed by my interview with Jessica Pontes below)

Please summarize One in Two People for me:
One in Two People is short film about how society sees people with mental health issues, through the lens of denial. 

What was it about this script that drew you?
I am always attracted to scripts that have a mental health pretext, presented via different genres. 

Tell me a little bit about working with the cast and crew:
I was personally friends will all the cast and was looking for an ensemble project to include them all. The Strain twins (Katie and Karissa) are also becoming indie horror genre royalty, so it was a special treat to direct them too. All credit goes to my talented DOP Conor Fisher,  Editor James Tracey and Composer Chris Reineck, both Chris and James are fellow CFC alumni who'm I've worked on several other projects which made things easier. My EP Michelle Rashidian also give me full autonomy to execute whom I am very grateful for. 

Where has One in Two People been so far (I know it’s screened at BITS!) and where can we see it next?
One in Two People was screened at Cinepocalypse in Chicago, Monster Fest in Australia, Frightfest in UK and most recently in Blood in The Snow in Toronto. We have two more festival selections not yet announced. By end of March we expect to include One in Two People in an Indie horror anthology feature.

Do you envision a longer version of One in Two People at some point down the road?
No, I think the short will be the best way to tell this story. However, we recently shot a prequel to it, where we see how Emily (the girl suffering) developed her problems when she was five years old, it's called A Monster Origins Story. 

Now, a couple of questions I like to trot out because it’s one of the things I focus on in my author blog — what is your favourite B-movie and why? 
I see "B-movies" as not mainstream films, not necessarily low budget or indie, with that being said, hands down the BEST horror film ever is It Follows. I am a huge fan of genre with subtle and not-so subtle sub-meanings and It Follows is ominously isolating in its presentation of the STD culture. Very well executed and I am sure a classic in years to come. 

How about your favourite horror-comedy (that rises above what you might consider a B-movie)?
The Return of the Night of the Living Dead (1985 - Dan O'Bannon) It's actually not intended to be a comedy I think, but it's so campy and apocalyptic at the same time. At some point the zombies who've been dragging their feet and moving in slow motion all film decided to sprint with no reason as to why, I know that's not funny per-say, but in context, watching them for 85 minutes not running, I found it hilarious. 😉 

Thank you so much for "chatting" with me!
Thank you! 

And now, my interview with Jessica Pontes, Associate Producer:

Give me your personal summary of One in Two People:
One in Two People, is a creative way in which we wanted to speak about mental health and how society views people with mental health issues. 

What brought you on board for the production?
I love dark genre films with a psychological twist, so when we got the script and concept, we were all in for it. 

Tell me a little bit about working with the cast and crew:
The ensemble cast we had for this film are all friends of ours and most of the crew as well, so it was a fun project to put together. They are all such talented individuals! 

Do you envision a longer version of One in Two People at some point down the road?
What Ali said :) We are really excited for "A Monster Origin Story" to come out, which is the prequel to One in Two People. And hopefully, include it in an Indie Horror Anthology Feature in March. 

Now, questions I like to trot out...what is your favourite B-movie and why? Deciding what is a B-movie and what’s not is very subjective, so I leave it to you to decide.
I would categorize a B movie as not mainstream movies as well, just low budget commercialized movies with ridiculous plotlines: "Eight Legged Freaks", I watched that movie when I was younger and it gave me a phobia of spiders, never could shake it or something like "Sharknado" (also, have a unrealistic fear of Sharks), is something that I would consider to be a B movie.  

How about your favourite horror-comedy (that rises above what you might consider a B-movie)? 
When I attended BITS this year, I watched a Feature Film called, "Puppet Killer" written by Kevin Mosley and Directed by Lisa Ovies. It was phenomenal! It was hilarious and dark, but also, the best thing were the 80s Horror movies references! And as a lover of the original Halloween, Friday the 13th..etc. It was the perfect way to pay tribute to those 80s Horror Classics!

Thank you Jessica and thanks again Ali!

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