Se7en Questions with Filmmaker

Anthony Raus

Who are some of the artists or some of the works that inspired you to get started in this field? Of today’s current artists, who do you draw inspiration from?

A lot of the influences I have are drawn from Gothic or Dark imagery. As a filmmaker, I would say Alfred Hitchcock and Guillermo Del Toro are two of my biggest influences because they both really understand their respective genres and both made films they wanted to make. Technique-wise, there are directors like Kubrick, who I also really admire.

What have thus far been some of the negatives of being an indie artist in your field?

There are quite a few negatives, but we are filmmakers and we survive them. However, the biggest negatives I’ve encountered are reaching the large number of audience members that are attainable for Studio Productions, and also working with the budget I am given while at the same time attempting to create these fables that (I hope) people enjoy. 

What have thus far been the positives of being an indie artist in your field?

The biggest positive as an Indie filmmaker is the freedom you have when creating. There aren’t hundreds of Producers/Studio executives breathing down your neck. I am able to tell the stories I want to tell in the way I want to tell them. 

What have been your favorite completed projects to work on up to this point? Can you tell us a little bit about them?

Over the past four years I have written and or directed ten films, all of which hold a very special place in my heart. North Woods (2016) is an exploitation/monster film about a group of film students making a documentary on the Wendigo. The whole team and I were just a group of college kids making their first feature film. It was a learning experience and so much fun.

With my later found-footage horror film, The Audition (2017), a story about a film director who holds a young actress captive in an attempt to torture and extract a brutally honest performance, it was much more about the technical side of filmmaking, especially as it was a found-footage thriller and it was important to understand and convey what was plausible in the situations of the film.

Then came Company (2017) a horror family drama set in a very bleak 1954 and centering around a very normal suburban family with a daughter who has a very sinister imaginary friend. The challenge there was dressing the set and creating the atmosphere of the 1950’s.

The last film I made in 2017 was a Christmas Drama called Silent Life, which was a mix between It’s a Wonderful Life and  A Christmas Carol. This film was very new for me because along with writing and directing, I also starred in it, which presented a whole new challenge when you are acting and also wearing the director’s hat.

What projects are you currently working on or have planned for the near future?

Currently I am in Pre-Production of my new horror film: Abstraction (2018). It is about an author who abandons and ultimately erases one of the characters in her story which leads to horrific consequences. the film stars Mary Liz Adams, Gary Fizer III, Allie Shoop, Bella Robinson, Ian Blake Salazar and is being produced by Johnny Macabre (Don’t Fuck in the Woods, Crepitus) and Tori Danielle (PopHorror.com).

I am also currently in the early stages of production of a sci-fi/thriller called The Spaceman Society, a film about a graduating NASA student who suffers from claustrophobia and locks himself in a sensory deprivation chamber. It stars Bridget Trent. I am really excited for both of these films to come to fruition.

Where do you see yourself in a few years and what would it take for you to consider your career a success?

I see myself still making films and still loving what I do. That is something I don’t foresee changing. For me to consider my career a success I think I’d have to be able to put all my attention toward overseeing production rather than (in addition to directing) being the cinematographer, the editor, the sound technician, craft services, etc.

If you couldn’t do this anymore, what career path do you think you would have followed and why?

That’s a really tough question, If I couldn’t do anything involving the performing arts (acting, directing, etc.), I probably would have become a painter because I’d still be able  to  artistically play with visuals. If I must exclude the arts, then I would have become a chef because I’m fat, Italian and I love food.