Interviews
‘Horror in the High Desert 2: Minerva’ Director Dutch Marich Discusses His Terrifying Found Footage Sequel [Interview]
In case you missed it, director Dutch Marich‘s 2021 found footage chiller Horror in the High Desert is a little-known gem that has recently been generating some well-deserved word of mouth among fans of the subgenre. Though found footage remains a subgenre maligned by many, now and then, a filmmaker manages to bring out the best in the format–exploring effective scares, unsettling imagery, and intriguing stories in new and inventive ways. Horror in the High Desert is a prime example of this ingenuity. While the story initially unfolds how a run-of-the-mill spooky docuseries might, the final 10 minutes of the film deliver an equally curious and bone-chilling turn that solidifies Marich’s world firmly in the realm of high strangeness.
If Marich’s microbudget film resonated with you as much as it did me, you have likely already rushed to check out Horror in the High Desert 2: Minerva, which saw its release in March of this year. For those who haven’t, it may be enticing to know that the very scary sequel takes what made the first film so chilling and amps it up to 11. Marich is firing on all cylinders as we follow stories of two new unfortunate souls in the High Desert–Minerva (Solveig Helene) and Ameliana (Brooke Bradshaw)–whose individually horrific stories point to a more significant phenomenon at play in Marich’s world.
Something’s going down in Luminol Entertainment’s “Horror in the High Desert 2: Minerva.”
I recently had the opportunity to briefly chat with the director (who also serves as the film’s screenwriter, producer, and editor) about what inspired the film’s tone, building out his story, and what’s next for the Horror in the High Desert universe. Speaking of the film’s often anxiety-inducing scares, Marich had much to say about atmosphere. “To me the most frightening thing has always been the fear of the unknown. Getting hints of what lurks beyond the shadows, but never the full picture. What I strive to create in these films is an atmosphere that sets the stage for sequences that elicit both fear and a sense of wonder. What am I seeing? Is that what I think it is? Leaving bread crumbs along the way for the audience to form their own theories is fun.”
Though the narrative unfolding across these films seems straightforward enough, Minerva continues to build out an increasingly bizarre tale involving inexplicable phenomena plaguing residents along a stretch of the High Desert region in Nevada. Marich delivers scares and images reminiscent of the best moments from several found footage favorites that came before (see specifically: The Poughkeepsie Tapes, Hell House LLC, Hangman, and Willow Creek). Even with that said, Marich’s films boast a unique approach to the subgenre that aficionados of highly strange phenomena will undoubtedly appreciate.
Suziey Block (“Gal Roberts”) returns in Luminol Entertainment’s “Horror in the High Desert 2: Minerva.”
“The story for Minerva came about after driving by that trailer a million times and thinking about how frightening it would be to live there on the side of the highway all alone,” Marich states, speaking specifically of a trailer that features prominently in the film. “What would be scarier than living there? Living there as an outsider and having no idea about these mysterious disappearances and frightening events taking place in the area. You’d be a sitting duck. A Marion Crane.”
As the horror genre has recently seen a handful of buzzed-about films exploring high strangeness and liminal horrors (e.g., The Outwaters, Skinamarink, We’re All Going to the World’s Fair), Marich is certainly aware of the wake in which Minerva has surfaced. “It’s wild to see those films creating this new wave of horror and suddenly be among them,” Marich states. “I love those movies… strangeness to me is brain candy. I’ve always crafted my stories and visuals around things that scare me and to have so many people connect with it and be frightened by it is incredibly thrilling and rewarding as a filmmaker.”
Director Dutch Marich prepping a shot for Luminol Entertainment’s “Horror in the High Desert 2: Minerva.”
While Marich’s sequel boasts plenty of scares, it also conveys a sense of authenticity that is often difficult to master in films of this nature. Speaking of this, Marich states, “For the Horror in the High Desert movies, to capture authenticity, I’ve mainly worked with people that I know personally and have history with. Aside from Suziey Block, who plays Gal Roberts, the journalist covering the stories, most are non-actors.” As one of the most significant challenges in creating a found footage horror flick is getting actors to act like they’re not acting, Marich’s casting decisions further amp up the feeling of genuine dread as viewers witness horrifying experiences befall people who all feel like someone you might know from your hometown. That said, established actress Block (who also stars in the wonderfully unsettling 2012 film Entrance) is a strong anchor for both films in her reporter role.
Given the found footage films previously referenced, it may be unsurprising to find that Marich’s interest in the subgenre was born when he encountered The Blair Witch Project. “Like most others, my love affair with found footage started when I saw The Blair Witch Project for the first time in 1999. Me and my friend made our own version of it on my grandpa’s video camera and to this day it terrifies me that I can’t find that tape to destroy it! We went waaaaay over the top.” While viewers may be waiting a while for that fan film to surface, Marich promises that more films in the series will be coming. “As of right now, there are five movies in the Horror in the High Desert movie series. I say as of right now because I have several other stories that would fit right into the universe. And I love making them!”
As a die-hard found footage horror fiend, I say bring them on!
Horror in the High Desert is currently available for free on Tubi and Amazon Prime. Horror in the High Desert 2: Minerva is available to rent or purchase on Amazon Prime.
Marich’s next entry, tentatively titled Horror in the High Desert 3: Firewatch, is currently targeted for a late 2023 release.
Only one episode remains in Season 3 of “Chucky,” and what a bloody road it’s been so far, especially for actor Devon Sawa. The actor has now officially died twice on screen this season, pulling double duty as President James Collins and body double Randall Jenkins.
If you thought Chucky’s ruthless eye-gouging of the President was bloody, this week’s Episode 7 traps Randall Jenkins in an elevator that feels straight out of an iconic horror classic.
Bloody Disgusting spoke with series creator Don Mancini and actor Devon Sawa about that ultra-bloody death sequence and how the actor inspires Mancini’s writing on the series.
Mancini explains, “Devon’s a bit of a muse. Idle Hands and Final Destination is where my Devon Sawa fandom started, like a lot of people; although yours may have started with Casper. I was a bit too old for that. But it’s really just about how I love writing for actors that I respect and then know. So, it’s like having worked with Devon for three years now, I’m just always thinking, ‘Oh, what would be a fun thing to throw his way that would be unexpected and different that he hasn’t done?’ That’s really what motivates me.”
For Sawa, “Chucky“ is an actor’s dream in that the series gives him not one but multiple roles to sink his teeth into, often within the same season. But the actor is also a huge horror fan, and Season 3: Part 2 gives him the opportunity to pay homage to a classic: Kubrick’s The Shining.
CHUCKY — “There Will Be Blood” Episode 307 — Pictured in this screengrab: (l-r) Devon Sawa as President James Collins, K.C. Collins as Coop — (Photo by: SYFY)
“Collectively, it’s just amazing to put on the different outfits, to do the hair differently, to get different types of dialogue,“ Sawa says of working on the series. “The elevator scene, it’s like being a kid again. I was up to my eyeballs in blood, and it felt very Kubrick. Everybody there was having such a good time, and we were all doing this cool horror stuff, and it felt amazing. It really was a good day.”
Sawa elaborates on being submerged in so much blood, “It was uncomfortable, cold, and sticky, and it got in my ears and my nose. But it was well worth it. I didn’t complain once. I was like, ‘This is why I do what I do, to do scenes like this,‘ the scenes that I grew up watching on VHS cassette, and now we’re doing it in HD, and it’s all so cool.“
It’s always the characters and the actors behind them that matter most to Mancini, even when he delights in coming up with inventive kills and incorporating horror references. And he’s killed Devon Sawa’s characters often. Could future seasons top the record of on-screen Sawa deaths?
“Well, I guess we did it twice in season one and once in season two,“ Mancini counts. “So yeah, I guess I would have to up the ante next season. I’ll really be juggling a lot of falls. But I think it’s hopefully as much about quality as quantity. I want to give him a good role that he’s going to enjoy sinking his teeth into as an actor. It’s not just about the deaths.”
Sawa adds, “Don’s never really talked about how many times could we kill you. He’s always talking about, ‘How can I make this death better,’ and that’s what I think excites him is how he can top each death. The electricity, to me blowing up to, obviously in this season, the eyes and with the elevator, which was my favorite one to shoot. So if it goes on, we’ll see if he could top the deaths.”
CHUCKY — “Death Becomes Her” Episode 305 — Pictured in this screengrab: Devon Sawa as James Collins — (Photo by: SYFY)
The actor has played a handful of distinctly different characters since the series launch, each one meeting a grisly end thanks to Chucky. And Season 3 gave Sawa his favorite characters yet.
“I would say the second one was a lot of fun to shoot,“ the actor says of Randall Jenkins. “The President was great. I liked playing the President. He was the most grounded, I hope, of all the characters. I did like playing him a lot.” Mancini adds, “He’s grounded, but he’s also really traumatized, and I thought you did that really well, too.”
The series creator also reveals a surprise correlation between President James Collins’ character arc and a ’90s horror favorite.
“I saw Devon’s role as the president in Season 3; he’s very Kennedy-esque,“ Mancini explains. “But then given the supernatural plot turns that happen, to me, the analogy is Michelle Pfeiffer in What Lies Beneath, the character that is seeing these weird little things happening around the house that is starting to screw with his sanity and he starts to insist, ‘I’m seeing a ghost,‘ and his spouse thinks he’s nuts. So I always like that. That’s Michelle Pfeiffer in What Lies Beneath, which is a movie I love.”
The finale of “Chucky” Season 3: Part 2 airs Wednesday, May 1 on USA & SYFY.
Dev Patel’s ‘Monkey Man’ Is Now Available to Watch at Home!
‘Infested’ Review – One of the Best Spiders Attack Horror Movies in Years
Five Underseen Vampire Horror Movies to Stream This Week
Limited Edition ‘Creature from the Black Lagoon’ Monster High Doll Releasing This Week!
‘Stream’ – Horror Movie from the Team Behind ‘Terrifier’ Sets August Theatrical Release
You must be logged in to post a comment.