Matthew Garrett is a director who hit the ground running with his first short film Ellie (2006), an unsettling movie that gathered much praise when it made the film festival rounds. His second film, the suspenseful and enigmatic Beating Hearts (2010), won Best Short Film at the Boston Underground Film Festival before it found a home here at FEARnet (click here to watch it). Garrett's first feature film is an anthology called Morris County, slated for release later this year. Garrett kindly took some time to discuss with FEARnet his past, present, and future as a film director. FEARnet: What inspired the story of your first film, Ellie? Garrett: It's difficult to discuss the news story that inspired the film without giving away part of the ending, but I will say that the themes of self-destruction, sexual abuse, and the inherent hypocrisy of organized religion were definitely on my mind. What events...
- 9/18/2013
- by Eric Stanze
- FEARnet
Filmmaker Matthew Garrett announced recently that he’s begun work on transforming his hit horror short film Beating Hearts into a feature-length project. To help celebrate the news, please watch the unsettling short above, which will only be online until January 1st, 2012.
Plus, Garrett was gracious enough to grant Bad Lit an exclusive interview on his plans for his first feature-length narrative project, as well as describe the genesis of the short.
(Bad Lit previously reviewed Beating Hearts earlier this year, describing it as “an absolutely terrifying movie.” We also reviewed Garrett’s feature Morris County, which consists of a triptych of shorts: Ellie, The Family Rubin and Elmer & Iris.)
Bad Lit: Making a popular horror short film, then producing a feature film version of it seems to be a popular move these days — ala The Pact and Excision. How did making a feature version of your short Beating Hearts come up?...
Plus, Garrett was gracious enough to grant Bad Lit an exclusive interview on his plans for his first feature-length narrative project, as well as describe the genesis of the short.
(Bad Lit previously reviewed Beating Hearts earlier this year, describing it as “an absolutely terrifying movie.” We also reviewed Garrett’s feature Morris County, which consists of a triptych of shorts: Ellie, The Family Rubin and Elmer & Iris.)
Bad Lit: Making a popular horror short film, then producing a feature film version of it seems to be a popular move these days — ala The Pact and Excision. How did making a feature version of your short Beating Hearts come up?...
- 12/21/2011
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
Beating Hearts, a short film written and directed by Matthew Garrett, is like a horror movie in reverse. Instead of first establishing mood and tone and then getting to the gore, Garrett opens his film up with an act of horrific violence and then spends the rest of the 11-minute running time wallowing in the melancholic aftermath.
This is an absolutely terrifying movie, but not because killers are jumping out of shadows nor are there music stingers designed to make you jump. Even the violence is minimal. No, Beating Hearts is terrifying because in a very cold, matter-of-fact and low-key manner it puts a great evil on display and provides no answers for us to understand or cope with it.
Pure evil usually is incomprehensible. Yes, we can always figure out the logistics and the circumstances of a completely monstrous act, but the “why” of it all will remain outside of normal human understanding.
This is an absolutely terrifying movie, but not because killers are jumping out of shadows nor are there music stingers designed to make you jump. Even the violence is minimal. No, Beating Hearts is terrifying because in a very cold, matter-of-fact and low-key manner it puts a great evil on display and provides no answers for us to understand or cope with it.
Pure evil usually is incomprehensible. Yes, we can always figure out the logistics and the circumstances of a completely monstrous act, but the “why” of it all will remain outside of normal human understanding.
- 1/28/2011
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
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