In 1993, Charlie Grimille became the victim of a horrible accident during a high school play when the gallows prop he was standing on gave way, and tragically ended his short life. In the years that followed, small paranormal occurrences here and there in the school paved the way for rumors to spread about the supposed curse that had seeped into the veins of Beatrice High that fateful night; blood that can never be washed away from the hands of those who would seek to sweep this sad story under the rug. Now, in present day, in one final attempt to finish the play that has been in intermission for over twenty years, the 2015 class has decided to put on the production of “The Gallows”, an act which they hope will finally put an end to all of the superstition that surrounds the drama department. However bold their attempt to pay respect to the past, their efforts only wind up disturbing the slumber of the boy they laid to rest two decades prior, and after all these years, Charlie is well overdue for some vengeance.

“There’s something eerie about an old school in a small town, that it can just disappear. This story can just disappear.” Writer/director Chris Lofing knows that if you scratch the surface of any remote backwoods city, you may not believe what you find. Even the remnants of the most aggressive forms of betrayal, shame and death can be found in quiet little unknown towns if you take the time to sift through the dust and the smiles. In their own way, small towns are downright creepy — which is why they make perfect locations for horror movies. The film takes place in the real life city of Beatrice, Nebraska, although, as Lofing states with a smirk, “You’d never be able to find it”. This ambiguity, in addition to the terror of being trapped inside of a dark school, late at night with a deadly presence, combine to create a tangible, fearful feeling of isolation — a threat which he and co-director Travis Cluff decided to capitalize on.

As two up-and-comers in the film world, filmmaking partners Chris Lofing and Travis Cluff wisely chose to go the affordable route and attempt a found footage horror movie for their first official feature length film. Although he is a self-professed horror fan, Chris explains their approach to coming up with a story was mostly based on the fact that they both knew that the horror genre is simply an easier door to walk through than others. “I grew up on John Carpenter and Wes Craven, and I love the old classic slasher movies,” Lofing recalls, “but I think mostly for the film, it was a lot of necessity. We didn’t have a lot of money and we knew horror was a great genre to kind of get your foot in the door, get your experience, and again, we had no resources.” Giddy with anticipation for their upcoming project, but low on funds, Lofing and Cluff turned to found footage as a way to save money but still achieve their dreams. Once they had figured out the fundamentals, the next step for this budding filmmaking duo was approaching Blumhouse Productions through their manager, Dean Schnider. “We realized this is a micro budget horror movie and the king of horror movies is Jason Blum” notes Schnider, “and so we decided to do a test screening with Jason and us, and with a hundred teenagers, and we realized at that moment that there’s something really special here”.

With a low budget, completed first attempt at directing, and a solid production company under their belt,The next item to tackle on Chris and Travis’ list was the film’s rating, a detail that may seem minuscule to some, but in the land of box office sales, means everything, as it determines the target audience, and therefore, usually dictates the profits as well. “Chris and I were crafting the most wholesome scares” remembers Cluff fondly, “We really weren’t going for any blood and guts, we were really shooting for PG-13….but the fact is the movie was too scary for that, apparently”. Although they were slapped with a hard R rating, producer/manager Dean Schnider argues that it’s for the best in the end. “New Line and Jason Blum; we were all thrilled that it was R, because it was R for really being too terrifying, and we think it’s something, that these guys really outdid themselves”.

Aside from the small town setting and personal, feel-like-you’re-there experience of a found footage film, the success rate of the movie’s scary moments is largely based on the audience’s ability to relate to the characters, and feel the pressure of putting those characters in danger. Therefore, roping a group together of talented, hard-working actors is a crucial aspect of the filmmaking process, and one that Cluff and Lofing carefully constructed piece by piece until in the end, they not only had a cast, but a family, as well. “I’m realizing that you guys kind of grew up on set with us. I like that” comments Cluff, and hes not far off. With an entire four years spent working on The Gallows, each of the actors experienced the transition from young adulthood to grown ups all while playing high school students, ironically closely embodying the students they portray, forever (or at least temporarily) trapped within the school’s walls. As Cluff listens to each of the cast members discuss their similarities to their characters, he finds that his actors have even more in common with their roles than he thought. Like the boy he plays, Reese Mishler, too, played football in high school, and turned to drama after quitting team following an injury. “Whenever I strated acting, I was actually very shy as a kid, I still am, I got held back in school because I didn’t speak,” reveals Reese, “So playing somebody who was extremely nervous and had this incredible stage fight, I understood, that made total sense to me”. Ryan Shoos admits that he, like his character, was fairly immature in high school, and Pfeifer Brown found easy parallels between her real life love for acting and the arts, and her character’s obsession with the theater. However, it is really Cassidy Gifford that truly nails the reason why they were all able to find common ground with the people they played in the movie in a simple, profound statement: “Fear is fear when it comes to human nature. So, for all of us, even though we all started out as completely different characters, ultimately, we’re all faced with the same things and that’s what brings us together is it’s just human nature to be terrified, and that doesn’t necessarily manifest itself in completely different ways”. Mic drop.

Some may assume that a single set run by two directors could leave room for disputes, but this family constructively dealt with their differences in a way that actually improved their movie. “The best idea always won” states Lofing with pride, “It was always for the betterment of the movie, and even if it took a little while to get it figured out, and maybe try both ways, the better idea always won and made the movie better for it”. However admirable their approach to problem solving was, it wasn’t the only factor that contributed to the growth of this tight knit unit. Directors Cluff and Lofing had their hands in almost every facet of the filmmaking process, from writing and directing, to producing, editing, to visual effects, to craft services, and even acting in a few bit cameos. “It was a family affair” boasts Ryan, as Pfeifer nods in agreement, “It was a big family” she smiles. Like any family, members are willing to go beyond their comfort zones in order to make the ones they care about happy, “After being on set for so long we just became friends, and for us, we wanted them [Cluff and Lofing] to get what they wanted to get,” Cassidy explains, “even if sometimes we couldn’t see, like, if we got frustrated because it was taking so many takes, ultimately, when we would finally see it, we were grateful that the work had been done, because it’s hard to get a scare down just right. Two seconds off could make or break it, so you really have to be so specific”. The need to push past one’s limits definitely applied for “family” member Reese Mishler, a challenge he took on in arguably the bravest act of all of his peers, as he faced not only exhaustion, but also, possibly, real life ghosts. “So me and Pfeifer, we’re walking through the attic, and we’re just on these two little planks….and out of the corner of my eye I see this burlap sack just spinning….I see this thing just lurch up into the air and it’s gone,” shudders Mishler, “I was like ‘Guys we can’t do this again I just can’t handle it’ and they’re like ‘Just one more time, we’ve got it on the next shot’. So, we get to the exact same spot….and I’m just looking for this burlap bag, and then, we hear this whisper of my name….I swear I have no idea how it happened”.

The Gallows hits theaters everywhere on July 10th, 2015.