Baron Craze: Please introduce yourself to the readers of The Horror Times.
Matt Frame: My name is Matt Frame, 47, Canadian, vegetarian, windsurfer, and occasionally maker of movies.
BC: Where did the idea for “Camp Death III in 2D come from?
MF: I was in the mood to make a film but it needed to be something I could make quickly, say 6 months from start to finish. I figured doing a parody of Friday the 13th Part III would be super easy to pull off. Turns out I couldn’t have been more wrong.
BC: Would you agree horror comedy is tough to both write and film? What if any films did you use for inspiration?
MF: Yes and No. For whatever reason, writing comedy comes easy for me. As for filming, I think any ultra low budget film (comedy or otherwise) is going to be absurdly challenging, doubly so if the script is as ambitious as ours.
As for inspiration, the tone and absurdity of ‘Meaning of Life’ by Monty Python was definitely something that was on my mind.
BC: What challenges did you face making this film? Was there anything you had in the script that you needed to change once on the set?
MF: Challenges were constant. We dealt with financial issues, bad weather, actors quitting, crew quitting, bad health, delays, lawsuits etc. The film was intended to be finished in 6 months time. It took almost 50 months.
Changes to the script were also constant. With weather playing havoc as well as actors quitting mid-shoot, we needed to improvise to fill in the numerous narrative holes.
BC: Had you worked with the cast before?
MF: A small handful of the 25+ cast members I had worked with in the past, say 4 or 5.
BC: And if this one goes well, will you consider a sequel?
MF: Absolutely! That is the only reason why I am working so hard to spread the word about the film. I am really proud of the film, knowing we did the absolute best we could with all of the limitations and problems. However, with a bit more money/preparation, and with all of the talent we have going for us, we could make something really special.
BC: What horror film hooked you on the horror genre, not your favorite film?
MF: Halloween III: Season of the Witch
BC: You did many personal feats and stunts to raise for the film, what were they? And Why?
MF: I have done two in relation to this film. The first was the ‘coconut walk,’ a 24hr non-stop walk around the local high school track with a coconut chained to my waist. I walked almost 70 miles non-stop. As embarrassing at it was, it raised almost $15,000 in a few days.
The second was more recently. I sat thru ‘Camp Death III in 2D!’ 34 times in a row for over 52 hours, non-stop. It was streamed live on Facebook and YouTube.
Why do I do these things? Because they work…and I say that with a heavy heart. It seems that nothing drives a crowdfunding campaign more than a middle aged man torturing himself for all to see.
BC: Quite a bit of the comedy is offensive why is that?
MF: It’s a send-up of early 80’s political incorrectness but mostly I made the film for people who share a similar sense of humor to mine. It’s not for everybody but neither is spicy food.
BC: Follow-up why is the person in a wheelchair kicked and made fun often, one sees the character to mirror the one from Friday the 13th Part 2?
MF: Good eye! Most people don’t make the connection. Barry Brown is a direct reference to wheelchair bound Mark from Friday the 13th Part II. That poor guy suffered the single most brutal and humiliating death in all of the series. It was offensive even back in 1981. So we are playing with that in our film.
BC: How many Easter eggs or hidden references are there in the film to other horror films?
MF: Hidden stuff? Not much. There is a ‘Friday the 13th‘ poster on the wall in one of the scenes but, for the most part, everything is out in the open. Heck, let’s be honest: ‘Camp Death III in 2D!’ is not a film that engages is subtlety.
BC: Thanks for the interview, what else do you have in the works?
MF: This is it. The next 6 months it’ll be promotion and more festivals. After that, we’ll have a better idea if a sequel is possible. If it is, wonderful. If not, well, I’m going windsurfing.
Any social media links:
Trailer: https://youtu.be/5oTL6Hl9y90
Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/campdeath
IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3370702