Hello everyone, Matthew here once again.
Back in 2011, an indie film was released called Mimesis: Night of the Living Dead. It was a fantastic little flick. It delivered something different, something unique to the genre. I had the pleasure of seeing it back then. And I can say without a doubt, it is a film that I highly recommend. If you have a chance, seek it out. It is a horror gem in the rough.
Through the years, I kept my ear to the ground and tried learning more about the film. My love for it continued to grow. This year, I revisited it once again and can say that it holds up so well.
But this revisit was different. The reason being this blog. I never had once considered the idea before that I would get the pleasure of talking to some of the people that I have in the past.
So, I decided to put my ear to the ground and set my feelers out. I was hoping that I would be able to uncover more about this great film. And boy, I am happy to say that I am beyond thrilled I did.
Mimesis: NOTLD (what I will be referring to the film as) was the idea from a man named Douglas Schulze.
Upon further investigation, I uncovered that Schulze is from Michigan. This makes me appreciate the film so much more as it is from what I would consider being a Michigan hero. Schulze now joins the ranks of my fellow Michigander Heroes, such as Bruce Campbell and Sam Raimi.
I reached out to Mr. Schulze and am thrilled to bring this talk to the blog. So, without further adieu, here is my interview with Douglas Schulze.
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What was your introduction to the genre?
Well, 2001 A Space Odyssey was the first film my father took me to. And it definitely left a mark. It took decades and repeated viewings for me to understand it. But it started my undying passion for cinema.
Then there was another sci-fi film called Planet of the Apes (the original) that frightened me. It sort of introduced me to the idea that movies could be quite macabre and fantastic.
As a kid, I watched the Ghoul and Sir Graves Ghastly on tv. That was when I was indoctrinated into the horror genre with the Universal classics (Dracula, Frankenstein) and Hammer Horror (Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing). But admittedly it was George Romero’s Night of the Living Dead that hit me like a cinematic locomotive.
Seeing the flesh-eating with the minimal soundtrack was truly disturbing and mind-blowing.
What is your favorite horror film?
Tough to say. Not one film is my favorite. Like everyone, Carpenter’s Halloween is a masterclass in suspense and terror.
While The Exorcist is just extremely well made and utterly terrifying to this day. And Suspiria ranks high on the list as an impressionistic horror film with its wild art direction and avant-garde style.
The original Wicker Man is brilliant and more of a slow dreamy burn (no pun intended). Psychomania was high on my list as a kid with suicidal bikers coming back from the dead.
Yeah, so many great ones. And the first Elm Street was top shelf. Oh and Ridley Scott’s Alien. So, there’s a lot.
What inspired you to become a director?
I always wanted to make movies even from an early age. Ask anyone in my family or childhood friends and they’ll tell you. I picked up a camera when I was 13 and made super 8mm movies.
My brother, who is older than me, got a movie camera and started making movies. He did some wonderful comedies and even something for his High School set to Elton John’s Funeral For A Friend. It was a music video in the mid-’70s before music videos. So he inspired me.
My Dad’s love of movies inspired me too. He was an architect and the creative design process is a bit like moviemaking in that you sketch and design then make a blueprint and bring it to life.
Where did you get your start?
I had a summer job as a janitor at a local college and one night while cleaning a classroom a tv was on and the newscaster was talking about a group of local filmmakers who just made a movie called The Evil Dead.
They talked a bit about how it was made as a low budget independent horror film. Until then I never knew you could make a movie outside of Hollywood. A totally game-changer moment for me.
That night I’d found my focus. Then I went to college, joined some clubs, started making 16mm films and then spent two years raising money to make HELLMASTER that we later sold to HBO.
What was the genesis for Mimesis: Night of the Living Dead?
Going to horror-themed conventions (including comic cons) I’d see the cosplayers and the lengths folks would go to become their favorite horror characters.
One night, I just sort of thought to myself what if there was a cult of horror fanatics that recreated their favorite films only they did it for real and killed people. Since Romero’s film influenced me so much as a kid I felt it’d be a great homage to use NOTLD as the first film to be MIMESIZED.
What was the production like?
Pretty smooth and uneventful which is a good thing. I believe it was a 23-day shoot on a remote farm near Port Huron. We filmed mostly nights and kept it to 12-hour shoots.
We had the late, great Sid Haig in for a few days and he was a real treat to work with. Nice guy. Big and imposing when you meet him but very kind and personable. I had a ton of fun filming the first MIMESIS. Fond memories.
What is it like filming in Michigan?
Well I’ve scouted the entire State and know most areas like the back of my hand. I’ve filmed at the tip of the Upper Peninsula (Copper Harbor). I’ve filmed inside Cathedrals in Detroit, inside an active Asylum, a prison.
Hey, I even had two hundred Juggalo’s and the Insane Clown Posse carrying ten-foot crucifixes down Hamtramck streets. Never a dull moment when you’re filming in Michigan
How was it working with the cast?
For MIMESIS 1 it was great. Working with Sid and Allen Maldonado whose back in Mimesis: Nosferatu. I’ve been fortunate to have directed some truly great actors. I directed the late great David Carradine (Kung Fu, Kill Bill), Dee Wallace, John Saxon, Lance Henriksen, Veronica Cartwright (Alien), Kristy Swanson (Buffy) and dozen of really awesome Michigan area actors.
How do you feel the film turned out? Was it everything you were hoping it would be?
I felt good about the first MIMESIS. I mean anytime you can make a feature film for 100k and have it compete with multimillion-dollar films it’s quite a victory. MIMESIS 1 aired on SHOWTIME NETWORKS and was a top seller in retail stores (on disc).
I recall seeing the Anchor Bay numbers and we were outselling their theatrical titles. So, all things considered, it did ok.
It was fantastic when learned that filmed in Michigan. As a fellow Michigander, it’s always awesome to see others from here as well. Just like always supportive of them – almost like seeing them as a home-state hero.
Yeah part of what makes moviemaking so awesome is the Michigan support. So mega thanks.
The next film in the Mimesis series was Nosferatu. What was the genesis of Mimesis: Nosferatu?
Well it’s iconic. The image of Murnau’s rat-like Count Orlok struck me as having awesome potential to Mimesize.
What was the production like? Was it different than the production for Mimesis: NOTLD?
Yes, every film is its own world, even a sequel like this. I intentionally want every Mimesis film to stand on its own and not be looked upon as a “sequel”.
Traditional sequels are boring and predictable. I went thru almost a half dozen different scripts before settling on the one we filmed. The production was a challenge as we filmed in the dead of winter at a High School. We’d show up when school was letting out and film until dawn.
How was it working with this cast?
It was a most rewarding experience. It was great having Lance Henriksen in and Allen Maldonado returned from the first film.
How do you feel the film turned out?
I’m very happy with the film. In some ways, I think it’s my best work as a director. I’d just come off of an experimental thriller called THE DARK BELOW that had no dialogue.
So I was eager to tackle a more dialogue centric film and this new MIMESIS is sort of The Heathers meets Romero’s MARTIN.
It received a showing at Monsterpalooza. What was that like? How have the audiences responded to the film?
The film has played some amazing festivals in Europe. FANTAFEST in Rome, which we attended. And it took top honors at FilmFreeways Top Rated VAMPFEST in London, England.
A couple festivals in Spain, Hollywood Horrorfest and then Monsterpalooza. That was really wild screening at Monsterpalooza – great audience reaction.
What advice would you have for someone that may be wishing to enter this industry?
Get some education and be in it for the love of it. Make movies that make you happy.
What was it like starting the Motion Picture Institute of Michigan? If you could, I would love to hear how it came to be and how it’s doing now. And if you have anything like to let people know more of.
Eons ago we used to get invited to speak at our college alma maters about how we made independent feature films. Things sort of slowly evolved.
We spent a few years designing a program that we felt would properly train independent filmmakers. It was quite a gamble back then and we had lots of naysayers. But here we are 23 years later; never been stronger.
Our alumni are succeeding like never before. One of our graduates made the critically acclaimed feature documentary APOLLO 11.
Mimesis Nosferatu is available on Tubi and Vudu. As well as purchase from Amazon.
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For more information on MPI, check out their website https://www.motionpicture.edu/
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