‘Savage County’ horror film, created by UCLA alum David Harris, debuts on MTV2
Jeff Pope, Patrick Cox and Jimmy Crosthwait appear in “Savage County,” a horror film directed by UCLA alumnus David Harris that premiered on MTV2.
courtesy of TOMMY KHA
By Jeremy Lu
Oct. 19, 2010 12:44 a.m.
David Harris grew up frightened by the supposed authenticity of “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.” In fact, until college, the Texas native writer, director and 2008 alumnus of the School of Theater, Film and Television, had no idea that the film, presented as a true story, was a complete work of fiction.
Now older and presumably wiser, Harris’ fears have moved away from fictional masked villains and on to more pressing and real matters.
On Oct. 7, Harris’ first feature-length effort, “Savage County,” debuted on MTV2. The horror film follows a group of mischievous Texas high school seniors whose pranks lead to the accidental death of an old man. As a result, the man’s family looks for murderous vengeance.
“It’s my first film, and I’ll say from experience, it’s scary to make a first film,” Harris said. “It’s scary to not know how you’re going to pull it off with the budget. It’s scary to not know how you’re going to pull it off with the schedule.”
The film is the culmination of Harris’ early love of horror films, such as the original “Halloween,” and the Texas neighborhood in which he grew up.
“I grew up between Dallas and Fort Worth, and when I was in junior high and the beginning of high school, literally half a mile from my house, there was the scary house with an old man, a bunch of cats and a gun, straight out of a horror movie,” Harris said. “As a kid, everything scary revolved around that house.”
To capture this vision, Harris surrounded himself with people he could trust.
“I think there is really no way to pursue this if you don’t have that trust in those people and the knowledge that these are people who have been in the trenches with you,” Harris said. “I’ve worked with these people when we were underfunded and we didn’t have enough time to do stuff.”
Harris brought several School of Theater, Film and Television graduates on board for the project. Producer and 2008 alumnus Justin Wolske emphasized not only the UCLA connection but also the similarities in the filmmakers’ backgrounds.
“You’re also working under the same type of independent film conditions, so you don’t have a lot of the amenities you would have in a studio film,” Wolske said. “A lot of the things we do to get by are kind of known throughout the whole circle, so it’s a lot easier than explaining to someone who hasn’t gone through that experience.”
Another collaborator was producer Corey Wish, a 2005 alumnus, who echoed Harris’ sentiments. For Wish, all that he needed to know about the film was that Harris was involved.
“What attracted me to the project, straightforward, was David,” Wish said. “He definitely thinks outside the box, he’s not run of the mill. He’s very creative, and he looks at things differently. The project itself was almost secondary to working again with David.”
Originally conceived as a Web series, “Savage County” was brought to television when more than 100,000 fans used the popular widget “Demand It” to push the series toward a televised premiere.
Harris’ fear also manifested during the “Demand It” process, yet he credits his editor, 2008 School of Theater, Film and Television alumnus Gabriel Noguez, for creating a compelling trailer.
“I was scared that it wasn’t going to work. I spent the better part of four weeks reloading that page,” Harris said. “I think it’s a tribute to our editor. Our editor put together a great trailer.”
Yet having funding from a big network presented a new set of challenges for filmmakers typically versed in the dealings of the independent film world.
“While we were working with a very independent budget, we were actually backed by MTV,” Wish said. “Normally when you are on a small budget, you don’t have anyone overlooking you, but being an MTV movie, we did. We had the Viacom rulebook.”
However, MTV’s presence was good not only for getting the film seen, but also, for keeping the film grounded and character-based.
“We knew there was a line. We knew that it had to be presentable,” Wish said. “It helped us stay focused on character and story and content.”
Co-writer Daniel Alvarado, 2006 alumnus, elaborated.
“The characters in our movie, we wanted to make them a little more practical in the sense that they are a family, and the motivation for what they are doing is grounded in something that is not so ambiguous,” Alavarado said.
Ultimately, Harris’ collaborators have helped with the pressure of his first feature.
“I don’t think I knew how quickly the circle of friends from UCLA would be the circle of colleagues in the industry,” Harris said.
