EVERETT — While growing up in Everett, Jeremy Rudd was glued to his television screen — figuratively, of course — entranced by classic ‘80s horror flicks such as “Child’s Play,” “Friday the 13th” and “Halloween.”
Decades later, Rudd has made his own nightmare directorial debut — inspired by his childhood favorites.
“Horror is pretty much translated around the world,” Rudd said in an interview with The Daily Herald. “Everyone knows what it feels like to be scared, or stalked or chased by a monster.”
Seattle’s newest indie slasher flick “Die’ced” tells the story of teen girl Cassandra, played by Eden Campbell, as she searches for her missing mother. Her mission takes a turn when she comes “face to face” with the terrifying scarecrow serial killer Benny, played by Jason Brooks, who was mistakenly released from an insane asylum.
“Die’ced” was released on Oct. 19 on Amazon’s Prime Video. It’s the first feature film that Rudd, who primarily works as an actor, has written and directed himself.
“It’s a very different kind of stress,” Rudd said. “When acting, you’re just focused on your lines, you don’t want to mess up. When you’re a director, you’ve got to control everything. The whole look of the film, how you want your actors to act.”
From a spooky opening sequence in a cozy Monroe neighborhood to a heart-racing finale in the A&W Bottling Company warehouse in Everett, Snohomish County is the main backdrop for Rudd’s production.
The Loft Coffee Shop in Everett plays host to one of the film’s plot-turning scenes. Rudd is friends with the owner, who allowed him to use his hometown coffee shop for the one-day shoot.
“That’s a scene where our main actress runs into the villain for the first time,” Rudd said. “She’s there eating with her friend after school, and the villain is walking by the window and they have their first interaction there.”
Campbell, 18, describes her character as “your everyday girl” who begins to take charge as the mystery of her family unravels.
“I definitely love her connection with her mother,” Campbell said. “I’m very close with my family, and (Cassandra) is very protective of her family once she learns the truth of what happened to her and her mother. That really drew me to the character.”
Rudd hired his cast and crew almost entirely from the Seattle area. Lynnwood-based actor Jon Meggison plays a minor role. Co-stars Campbell and Brooks have worked in the horror genre for most of their careers.
Campbell said she built trust with the film’s antagonist while shooting combat scenes.
“It’s like a dance,” Campbell said. “You do the same motions over and over again. You learn how to get the motions done in a way that looks realistic but was also completely safe. So as we go along, it gets better.”
Brooks was originally hired on to the film through his special effects makeup company, Real Fiction Studios. But when he told Rudd he was also an actor — who loved to play monsters — the director realized he had found his horror movie icon.
“Once we’re on set, we get to execute the kills and the gore and the blood,” Brooks said. “When I’m in costume, it helps quite a bit. I designed the special effect, so I know exactly how it works, what angle it looks best at, all those things to help make that come out even better.”
With 10 to 15 crew members, the 60-minute movie took about a month to shoot last year and five months to edit. Campbell called it one of the “most efficient” sets she’s worked on.
After shooting wrapped, Rudd’s production was short on funds to hire an editor. The actor-director raised money through an online fundraiser, but ultimately had to cut costs by taking on additional roles himself, such as color-grading, sound design and final touches.
Rudd is excited to bring those new skills to his future projects.
“Those are pretty tedious jobs; they’re pretty challenging,” Rudd said. “I learned a lot of it from other filmmakers or looking it up on YouTube. Stuff is slowly starting to make sense now.”
The film — which is unrated — contains violence, alcohol use, smoking and foul language. It’s available to stream for free on Amazon’s Prime video.
Maya Tizon: 425-339-3434; maya.tizon@heraldnet.com; Twitter: @mayatizon.
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