The undead haven’t risen from their tombs. But a date with the dead is ominously approaching.
After a year-and-a-half of writing, filming, producing, and eventually re-writing the entire …
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The undead haven’t risen from their tombs. But a date with the dead is ominously approaching.
After a year-and-a-half of writing, filming, producing, and eventually re-writing the entire script, director Maria Collette Sundeen’s short film “Lifeless” is nearing completion as Halloween rapidly approaches.
The film is set in Port Townsend, and highlights a horror story that strikes the emotions of frustration, loss, and suffering in a decaying landscape.
Influenced by the chilling stories of Edgar Allan Poe, H.P. Lovecraft, and Lord Byron, Sundeen wanted to fashion a story centered on the raw sentiments and feelings she experienced during the coronavirus pandemic.
“I wanted to capture that in a story,” she said of her quarantine experience, in a recent interview.
“I wouldn’t have been able to write the film without COVID,”
As the initial outbreak of cases swept across the U.S. in March last year, Sundeen was stranded in her home in Los Angeles.
“I was stuck there; everyone was gone,” she said. “I got very ill, and was home alone with my cat.”
Like many, Sundeen experienced the isolation, irritation, and gloom of being quarantined away from other people. But instead of letting the negative emotions control her, she channeled them into an idea.
A year and some months later, “Lifeless” is almost finished as Sundeen eagerly awaits her opportunity to debut the film.
Sundeen is working on the final touches “to make it come alive.”
Right now, “Lifeless” is “in post production, the process of editing, color correction, and sound effects,” she said.
Avoiding the tropes and clichés common to the horror film industry, Sundeen is paving her own lane in the industry.
“This film is actually kind of a poetic ghost story,” she said. “It’s a work of art; it’s not a traditional horror film.”
With no dialogue whatsoever in the film, other than a narrator, “Lifeless” depends on the visuals and sound effects to drive the story forward.
“The impact needs to be immediate,” Sundeen said. “It changes how you’re receiving it.”
The director hired Douglas Pipes, a widely-admired film score composer who wrote soundtracks for numerous films like “Monster House,” “Trick ‘r Treat,” and “Krampus,” to create a chilling ambiance through sound.
Pipes took her beat sheet — a sheet for a composer to create music that fits the tone and sound for scenes of a film — and did what he does best, adding sounds and rhythms to perfectly complement “Lifeless.”
Sundeen hopes the film will be completely wrapped up by Halloween, but with so many moving parts in the post-production process there’s no way to know when everything will be ready.
“My goal is to have it done by Halloween,” she said.
If not, she’s “100 percent sure in January” the film will be ready for folks to watch.
Sundeen is especially excited to share her final product with the Port Townsend community and the people who helped her out early into the filming stage.
“The city of Port Townsend was so overwhelmingly supportive,” Sundeen said. “I can’t wait to come back to town to share the film with everybody.”
Taking advantage of the town’s unique look and atmosphere, she filmed scenes downtown, in Fort Worden State Park, and at other locations across the peninsula.
“We couldn’t have done it without everybody’s support,” Sundeen said, complimenting various people and businesses that made “Lifeless” possible to complete.
As Halloween creeps up, she will continue finalizing the film to premiere in the not-so-distrance.
“I hope everybody can relate to this story,” Sundeen said.
To learn more about the film or donate to the project, visit www.indiegogo.com/projects/campaign-to-support-lifeless-a-short-horror-film#/.
