INT: Ryan Shifrin

Last Updated on July 28, 2021

The
Arrow interviews Ryan Shifrin

Son
of composer Lalo Schifrin (Amityville 2 / The Dead Pool), Ryan
Schifrin will soon bless us with a cold, icy and hopefully gory can
of horror fun times: a killer snowman movie named ABOMINABLE!
When’s the last time you saw a good psycho Big Foot movie? EXACTLY!
I had the opportunity to chit-chat with the young writer/director
about his hairy feature length directorial debut recently and here’s
what he put on the
slab!

ARROW:
How long have you been a horror fan?

RYAN:
I’ve been a horror fan since I saw Halloween…I was waaaay to
young to be seeing it, and it gave me nightmares, but I was hooked
from then on. I still read Fangoria magazine every month, and
I’m there opening night for every horror movie that comes out.

ARROW: What’s your favorite horror movie?

RYAN:
Oh boy… You mean I have to pick between Re-Animator, The Thing
(Carpenter’s), Day of the Dead (I prefer Day over Dawn) and Evil
Dead II? 

ARROW:
You just directed your first feature length horror film, the
upcoming ABOMINABLE. What was the creative spark that triggered you
wanting to create a killer snow-beast opus?

RYAN:
Bigfoot – The Abominable Snowman – they are such iconic
creatures.  I’ve been into cryptozoology since I was a little
kid.  UFO’s, The Loch Ness Monster, etc.  It occurred to
me that I haven’t seen a theatrical Bigfoot movie since Harry and
the Hendersons, and that was a “family” movie.  I think the
time is ripe for a scary Bigfoot movie, where he’s not cuddly or
misunderstood.  Not all people are nice, why should Bigfeet be
any different? 

ARROW:
Where did you write the screenplay and how long did it take you to
bang it out?

RYAN:
I wrote the screenplay in L.A.  I don’t remember exactly how
long it took, but the first draft came together fairly quickly (a
matter of a few weeks). Usually I like to have an extensive
outline done before I start the screenplay, because then I can get
through a first draft in a short period of time. Also, I like to
have the characters feel like ‘real’ people before I start
writing, because I often find that they almost write it themselves
– they end up saying or doing things you never planned on, which I
think makes for a better story. It’s important, especially in
horror movies, to be able to relate to the main characters, so that
we are emotionally affected by what they are going through.  If
we don’t care about them, how can it be scary? It doesn’t matter
if you have 5 million or 50 million dollars – the emotional ride
you take the audience on is what counts, and no amount of money can
fix bad characters.

ARROW:
Was locking financing for the picture a battle or a smooth ride?

RYAN:
Originally I was going to do the project with another company, but
once we put the LLC together, and talked with our investors, we
decided to do it independently. Once we were able to put together
the cast we had, the decision was made to add days to the shooting
schedule, and the budget was raised. So, I would say that it
went relatively smoothly.  I actually think we were incredibly
fortunate, and I would never expect to be so lucky again! I also
have to credit our D.P. Neal Fredericks (who tragically was killed
in a plane accident in August), for guiding us every step of the way
and making our shoot one of the smoothest, most wonderful
experiences.

He went
above and beyond the role of what a cinematographer does on this
production – he was there from pre-production through post,
helping us immensely. We dedicated this film to him, and people will
see what a versatile talent Neal was, someone who could create the
shaky-handheld documentary feel of Blair Witch, and then turn around
and do a slick, studio-looking film on 35mm as he did with
Abominable. We could not have pulled this movie off without
Neal, plain and simple. I can’t tell you how much we all miss him.

ARROW: I
commend you on your casting. Having Dee Wallace Stone and Jeffrey
Combs in the mix is a treat for all genre fans! Were they your first
choices?

RYAN:
Absolutely! I put together a wish list, and gave it to our
casting director. I was so nervous meeting them for the first
time! I grew up watching their movies, and a lot of the reasons I
even went into this business was because of being influenced by
their work. They were very enthusiastic about the script, and
we really hit it off. They are so gifted; they made me look
good! I also wrote the lead part with Matt McCoy in mind. His
character is very much like Jimmy Stewart’s in Rear Window, and I
needed someone who has the charisma and acting ability to pull it
off, which is a hard thing to find. I was so thrilled when he said
he’d play the part. Another person on my wish list was Paul
Gleason, the principal from The Breakfast Club. I couldn’t
have asked for a better cast.

ARROW:
What would you say was the biggest hindrance during the actual
shoot? How did you overcome it?

RYAN:
Snow! We were hit with a series of blizzards. Luckily, we were able
to move indoors and shoot interiors, then go back out once things
calmed down, clear off the snow, and keep shooting. We did
spend several freezing nights shooting as snow fell, which slowed us
down but added some beautiful production value. Another problem
we hadn’t anticipated was bark beetles. They are killing off
the trees in the forests in several states, and the dead trees near
electrical lines are fire hazards, so the electric company is
scheduled to be on the mountain cutting down the trees for the next
year.

Our first
day of shooting, they showed up and cut the power and told us
they’d be in the area for a few weeks, cutting down dead trees. After
some discussion, they were kind enough to move their operation to a
different area until we were done shooting. They basically cut us a
break, which if they hadn’t, would have shut the production down.
We are very grateful for their kindness, to say the least.

ARROW:
Were you happy with how your killer snowman suit turned out (i.e.
are we going to see the darn beast in the movie?)

RYAN:
I think our monster suit is superb. It was created by Christien
Tinsley, who worked on The Passion of the Christ, XXX, Chronicles of
Riddick and many other studio films. He’s an amazing talent, and
he made a really scary monster.  If you’ve seen the Drew
Struzan poster, that is pretty much how it looks.  And yes, you
will absolutely see the beast. I’m a fan of Jaws, where they
withhold showing you the shark, but eventually they reveal it in all
its glory in the 3rd act. I followed this same model, especially
since we are dealing with an iconic monster. If I go to a Dracula or
a Frankenstein movie, I darn well expect to see the monster, and I
feel the same way about Bigfoot. I understand that often times,
the imagination is scarier than anything you can show, but at the
same time, you don’t go to see a Michael Myers movie expecting him
to stay in the shadows the whole time.  I personally feel
ripped off if I never get to see the monster in a monster movie. Luckily,
we have something that is worth showing, and is worth the wait. And
it’s not CGI! Old school all the way.

ARROW:
Are you playing the flick straight or as a horror comedy?

RYAN:
We play it fairly straight. There are in-jokes and horror
references, and of course, you need to lighten the suspense with
humor on occasion, but the tone is straightforward and serious. We
looked at a variety of movies, from Pumpkinhead to Signs, and wanted
to really put the audience up there in the isolated forest – make
them feel in the moment, as though they were there alongside the
main character. It’s not brutalizing though. If The Texas
Chainsaw Massacre remake is the Saving Private Ryan of horror movies
(in terms of tone), this is probably more along the lines of Raiders
of the Lost Ark. It’s a fun ride.

ARROW:
How graphic/gory is this bad boy going to be?

RYAN:
This is not PG-13, for sure. We have some gory kills, which
comes from my guilty pleasure in enjoying Tom Savini’s work in
Friday the 13th and the Romero zombie flicks. I didn’t want a
watered down movie, because if you try to please everyone, you end
up pleasing no one. This film was made for horror fans by horror
fans. I remember freaking out in Creepshow when the monster in the
crate bit off a huge chunk of the guy’s face! I wanted to
have moments in this film that will affect people in the same way.
If it appeals to mainstream audiences beyond that, in the way that
Jaws did, fantastic. If not, we know who the loyal fans are, and we
won’t let them down!

ARROW:
Any female TNA in this monster stew? Yes…I’m that guy!

RYAN:
Joe Bob Briggs, from Drive-In-Theater ingrained it in my head, from
years of watching cable TV:  A good horror movie has The Three
B’s:  Blood, Breasts, and Beasts. So, to answer your
question, yes, we have all three.

ARROW:
Where is the film now in terms of distribution? Are all your
territories locked?

RYAN:
We’re in the process of setting up screenings for distributors
now, we have kept this movie under wraps until it was finished and
now we are ready to unveil it.  Luckily, we didn’t run out of
money and have to crawl to someone begging for finishing funds. We
got to make the film we wanted to make, without interference, which
very rarely happens nowadays. Skywalker Sound did all of the
sound FX, and we knew they would do an incredible job, so we decided
to wait until it was totally finished before showing it to
distributors. That time is now upon us, and we’re very
excited. Wish us luck!

ARROW:
Good luck!! What’s next on your plate? Any other projects on the
horizon?

RYAN:
I have several projects in various stages of development. A lot
will depend on what happens with "Abominable" of course,
so I’d rather not reveal too much now. I do love monster
movies, however, so expect more of those!

I’d
like to say mucho thanks to Ryan for dropping by the site to talk
shop! I’m really looking forward to Abominable (perfect X-Mas
movie), so let’s hope that it delivers the big foot goods!

VISIT
THE ABOMINABLE OFFICIAL SITE HERE