Everyone loves a good, scary story. From the literary works of Edgar Allan Poe, Mary Shelley, Bram Stoker and Stephen King, to the fondly remembered Universal and Hammer horror films, on up to modern classics like PARANORMAL ACTIVITY, THE CONJURING and the hit FX series AMERICAN HORROR STORY, audiences have been captivated by the many terrifying tales of the macabre that have remained part of popular culture throughout the years. Web series have made their own distinctive contributions to the world of horror, and the latest to continue that trend is the anthology series THE DEAD HOUR, now streaming its second season of five episodes on its official web site and Vimeo pages.
Created by Daniel Iske and Scott Coleman of Magnum Pictures, the series debuted its first season (also five episodes) in 2010, and production of its third season began last month. Five more episodes are set to air beginning in January of next year. In addition, an IndieGoGo campaign will also be launched to raise funds for the show’s third season; fans can get updates on the campaign on Magnum Pictures’ official Facebook page.
THE DEAD HOUR stars Melissa Holder as DJ Raven, a sexy and mysterious radio disc jockey who guides viewers through a different scary tale in every episode. As befitting an anthology series, each episode features a completely new experience every time, but with DJ Raven being the one constant that links them all together. As Iske explains, the concept for their series grew out of both their love of the genre, and also of the untapped possibilities for storytelling that Iske saw in producing a web series. “Scott and myself had finished a feature horror film in 2008 called THE WRETCHED, but about to be released soon by Ruthless Pictures as FIELDS OF THE DEAD. We started to have meetings about what our next project would be. Scott wanted to stay in the horror genre and I really wanted to do a web series, so we combined our desires. We thought an anthology series would be interesting and once we came up with the DJ Raven/Dead Hour concept we (knew) we had struck gold,” he says.
Produced and filmed entirely in Omaha, Nebraska, Iske and Coleman took full advantage of the city’s homegrown talent – both in front of and behind the camera. Even though the production process had its own unique challenges (primarily due to budget), both producers became more ambitious as each season progressed. “We have a very small budget for each season, most of which just comes out of our pocket. So like any indie film production, it’s always a challenge in both good and bad ways. It forces you to be creative, but is also sometimes frustrating by the number of hurdles you have to jump over to get the final product. It usually takes us four whole filming days for each episode, spread out over a month or so. The first season we stayed small with more intimate stories in locations we knew we had available. (In) season 2 we went bigger with more complex stories to pull off production wise, and season 3 will be somewhere in the middle of the previous two, with a focus on internal horror and fears,” Iske says.
THE DEAD HOUR is a horror web series that emphasizes storytelling over grisly visuals, with tales that will instantly connect with viewers. As a result, Iske feels that it may be unlike any other series produced for the web. “I know I’m biased, but I really do think our show is one of the best “indie” web series out there. I think we have great production value, writing and acting. I feel as if our episodes are professional looking while still maintaining that homegrown mid-western indie filmmaking feel,” says Iske.
THE DEAD HOUR has already made quite an impact among the show’s fans. For Iske, the overwhelmingly positive reaction to the series is just one of many things that inspire him as a filmmaker. “The best part of filmmaking is creating these stories with other filmmakers and actors. The rush from collaboration is like nothing else, (and) next is the feedback from people who watch my work, whether it’s emails or comments or talking to fans at festivals or conventions. Hearing how something I made affected someone is the coolest thing ever,” he says.
While Iske and Coleman both hope to achieve their own place in film history with THE DEAD HOUR, their biggest success comes in knowing that they’ve created a scary, spooky and smart horror web series. Says Iske: “I’d like everyone to watch really or at least to give a few episodes a chance. It’s not Hollywood driven, it’s not gory or full of blood. It’s unique stories, each episode with a little different feel. We like to create themes that strike an inner horror chord that we hope is different than slasher/torture fests.”
Furthermore, both Iske and Coleman have greater ambitions for the overall impact of their series: “We want our show to be a social commentary on the times we live (in) through these short horror stories. Each episode has an underlying political or social message that we hope gets through or makes people think…(and) to me that makes for a much more rewarding viewing experience,” Iske says.
ON THE WEB: www.thedeadhour.com
VIMEO: http://vimeo.com/user18726301 (Magnum Pictures’ official Vimeo page, where episodes of THE DEAD HOUR can also be viewed)
FACEBOOK: www.facebook.com/magnumpictures