Horror Movie Time! Learn About ‘Infliction’

Update: Infliction is now available through Amazon.

We love supporting indie arts – but few have a home as close to our heart as indie-horror.  Jack Thomas Smith – the primary force behind the found footage project Infliction – was kind enough to answer some questions about the movie and his perspective on the movie industry.

What first attracted you to the movie’s concept?
What attracted me to “Infliction” is the fact that we are all connected. In other words, our actions today, good or bad, can affect generations to come. When you watch the evening news or read the paper and you see a story about a homicide… It’s just a blip on the news… But for the people directly affected — children, siblings, parents, friends — this changes their lives forever and can affect generations to come. “Infliction” deals with the long-term ramifications of people’s actions.

What is your best advice for someone who wants to be in the film industry? Especially as it relates to handling criticism?
The best advice I have for someone starting out in the film industry is to go to business school!  The movie business is just that… It’s a BUSINESS. We all start out making films because we love movies and want to tell a story… But how do you make your vision a reality? You need money. And the money comes from investors. So you need to know how to put together a private memorandum that includes state and federal tax incentives, a budget, projections, and the breakdown of ownership shares. If someone asks you to invest money into a film project or any business for that matter, the first thing you would ask is how do I get my money back and how do I make a profit? As a filmmaker seeking investment, you need to know how to answer these questions in order to make your film a reality.

Regarding criticism… We’re all different. We all handle criticism in our own ways… My advice there is to do what you love to do and have a thick skin! There’s always going to be people who criticize… It’s always easier to criticize than to create!

What one actor would you most like to work with?
Daniel Day Lewis – He’s an amazing actor. The funny thing is… I never see him when he’s in a film… I only see the character he portrays.. “My Left Foot”, “In The Name of the Father”, “Gangs of New York”, “Lincoln”… In my opinion, he’s the greatest actor of our time.

What is one section of the movie world that people under-estimate the difficulty of?
I don’t think most people understand how much work goes into shooting a film… It’s a lot of long days and long nights… 12 to 16 hour days… Outside all night in the cold… doing the same takes over and over again until you get it right… A lot of people come to movie sets for the first time excited to see the process and then become quickly bored with the standing around as the crew lights the locations or sets… It’s a very tedious process. For me, it’s a rush being on set, because things are constantly changing… and you can be creative and watch your vision come to life.. But it can be very demanding physically and mentally. There’s nothing like it.

What type of film goer do you think would most enjoy Infliction?
We’ve been marketing “Infliction” to horror fans and young adults. We’ve had a number of screenings already in different cities and it really seems that women are connecting with the film. It’s very dark and disturbing and the subject matter is haunting… It will definitely have people talking afterwards.

How can someone get their hands on a copy of the movie?
“Infliction” is screening in select theaters this spring and summer across the country in Lake Hopatcong, NJ; Blairstown, NJ; Pittsburgh, PA; Norfolk, VA; Salem, MA; Albuquerque, NM, Los Angeles, CA; San Francisco, CA; Seattle, WA; and the Chiller Horror Expo in October.

“Infliction” will be released nationwide on DVD, PPV, VOD, and digitally on July 1st, 2014 by Virgil Films & Entertainment, which is the same company that released “Supersize Me.”

Learn more at:
http://www.inflictiontapes.com/
https://www.facebook.com/InflictionTapes?ref=hl