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Confession

This interview was conducted immediately after the Confession
showing at the 1997 DDI VideoFest.
Interview by Elizabeth Wayne

Q: I just watched the new Dark Talisman video Confession, and I must say I'm impressed! SWB: That's a surprise! Most women don't seem to care for this movie.
	Q: Why do you think that? SWB: We had a showing at the local university, and several young ladies said they thought the movie was really well made, but it wasn't appealling. Maybe it's because there are no female leads.
Q: It's a very masculine movie. SWB: (laughs) Yeah, you could say that. Q: It's also very different than your other movies, isn't it? SWB: It isn't your standard horror movie, I guess. I think of it as personal horror. Loss of control, violence, death, all of these things are common in horror movies. I just took out the obvious monsters. I tried to pace it like a horror movie. I wanted it to be more personal, though. I guess I think of Confession as a horror movie in the same way I think of the original Death Wish or Straw Dogs as horror movies.
	Q: I thought it was sort of an action movie. SWB: Oh, there's definitely a nod to the action film. We designed some of the action stuff based on the works of Akira Kurasawa and, of course, John Woo. I think you're going to see Woo's work become even more influential in the American market. He makes violence balletic. It's beautiful to look at, but horribly painful looking at the same time. The Killer may be the purest melodrama I've ever seen. It was deeply effective to me and, therefore, to Confession as well. There are a couple of lines where I was trying to pay homage to that movie, and in fact the entire heroic bloodshed genre which, of course, can be traced back to Sam Peckinpaugh.
Q: How long did it take to shoot? SWB: It took 21 days. It was originally set for 30, but right in the middle of shooting, I had to have my wisdom teeth removed, and we lost some time while I was recovering. While I was laid up, I edited the script so we could get all the necessary footage after losing the time.
	Q: Do you think the movie suffered? SWB: The story is all there. We lost a couple of action scenes that would have helped the audience accept the brutality of it. Overall, I don't think the story suffered, just the overall impact, the brutality.
Q: It seemed pretty brutal to me! SWB: Really? Good! Q: Someone said you were a veteran of Desert Storm? SWB: Uh-oh, you've been talking to Dan... (Dan Perrin was the owner of the drive-in where the VideoFest was held.). Q: Is that where you got the idea for the movie? SWB: No, definitely not. It isn't why I make horror movies, or why there's graphic violence in my features. I spent ten years in the US Army, but I've been making horror movies since I was twelve. It doesn't add up, if you do the math.
	Q: Where did you get the actors? I really liked Mikey and Brannigan, but Donny was very scary. SWB: Mikey was played by Mike Keesee who was introduced to me by a friend at school. I had written the role for Jack Wheeler who starred in Contamination, but he had other commitments, and couldn't do it. Mike inherited the role, and I'm happy with his portrayal. Brannigan was played by Jefferson Scott Maxwell who is a professional actor that just happened to be in the area. He met Mike, and Mike introduced us. I picked him up immediately, and he was fantastic to work with, utterly professional. Donny was played by John Frazier; we've traded off work for about a year now. He has a fantastic range as an actor. I will be very surprised if you don't see John in Hollywood movies within the next five years. I just hope he always remembers his shot-on-video roots.
Q: And you starred in the movie... SWB: (sheepishly) Yeah, but not for the reasons most people think. I was there, on set, everyday, guaranteed. I could set the shot and do the lines and move on because I knew generally what I wanted. Trust me. It was necessity, not vanity.
	Q: All of your movies have a very different look. Watching Confession is very different than watching Contamination. Do you do that on purpose, or does it just happen? SWB: Both, I think. Every movie is different. It has a certain tone or feel or need; it fills a different niche. I like to set up shots that fulfill those needs, use angles that help to set the right tone, lighting that helps the mood. I think being able to tell a story visually is the most important thing. When you shoot low-budget/no-budget, I think its even more important to keep the story visually stimulating. Guys like me don't have the capabilities to shoot extravagent special effects or set-ups. The one thing that absolutely must come across is our desire to entertain the audience.
Q: Will there be a sequel to Confession? There's still more you could do with this story and these characters... SWB: I don't know. The ending is designed to make the audience wonder "What would I do, if that were me?" Q: There was a hush over the entire crowd as the closing credits rolled. So I think you succeeded. I know I was blown away! SWB: Well, thanks. I really appreciate that.