Blasts from the Past - An Interview with HIKE Director Jennifer Campbell!

An original interview from 27th January 2012.

Name of Short - Hike

Running Time - 7:23

Year of Completion - 2010

Location of Shooting - Squamish, British Columbia, Canada

Director – Jennifer Campbell

What inspired you to make this short in particular?

A couple of things - I wanted to tell a story about a real life monster. The horrors of everyday life are what truly intrigue me. I also wanted to shoot outside in nature using all natural light. We didn't use any artificial lighting which was a real challenge but ultimately worked well considering our budget.

Is this the first short that you have worked on and if not, what other work have you done before this?

Hike is my second short. I did Hike 1 back in 2005 - that was my first short ever. I wrote, directed, edited , produced and shot it on my old JVC camcorder. It was a straight up line as far as learning curves go.

What are you working on next?

My first horror feature called Final Weekend. I'm writing/directing/producing.

Name one woman who you would just absolutely love to work with and why?!

I would love to work with Jennifer Saunders. She's an amazingly intelligent, funny and creative woman. Absolutely Fabulous is comedy gold! (Haha, you have got to meet my sister Kim, she is Jennifer Saunders/Ab Fab crazy!!)

If you could choose one person, living or dead, who would choose to work with on your ideal project?

That's a difficult question to answer. Werner Herzog would be up there. I love movies that are open to interpretation, that don't always answer questions and play with perspective and visuals. Aguirre Wrath of God is one of my all time favourite movies.

Are you going to be doing anything special to celebrate Women in Horror Month this year?

Women in Horror Month is new to me - I just started finding out about all these terrific people, events, sites etc. so I'll be supporting this year via the internet; watching and following what women horror film makers are doing. It would be great to get involved in some capacity so we'll see what next year brings.

Random question – if you had to recommend one TV show that you think people just HAVE to watch, what would you recommend!?!

Well, that would be Sons of Anarchy!!!! 

What's your favourite film from the past year? (Doesn't have to be horror!)

No way to pick just one! The Skin I Live In, Hannah, I Saw the Devil, Attack the Block, Wakewood….

I think the reason that I took such an instant loving to Hike was that it was the kind of short that I could picture myself doing! In fact, scrap that, I picture stuff like this in my little brain all the time when I'm out walking...usually getting upset when I realise I'm just not that lucky, haha!! Anyhoo, how did you come about thinking for the concept for Hike? As a fellow Jennifer I would completely understand if you were just in fact as morbid and gross as me! ;)

The concept for Hike came while writing my feature Final Weekend. Final Weekend is about a psychologically disturbed person and I wrote Hike as a prelude to what ultimately happens in Final Weekend. Hike is about violence against women, being silenced and ultimately being victimized because someone is bigger, stronger and able to overpower.

The views and scenery in Hike are amazing, it totally reminds me of Scotland and makes me realise how much I desperately want to visit Canada! Was the walk in Hike a personal favourite of yours or did this take a little location scouting prior to the shoot?

That area is one that I love and know but we did have to spend a day trekking around to find the right location that would be both beautiful to look at yet give us space to shoot something horrendous!

You are currently working on your first feature with your company WhitebowlProductions. How is that coming along and is there anything you can share with us?

I'm really excited about Final Weekend. It's a character based horror that is similar to Hike in that it's about everyday monsters who walk amongst us. I'm on the look out for a producer right now. I will be producing as well but a feature is much larger so I want to bring on someone with feature producing skills so we can take everything to the next level. (Pictured below, Jennifer Campbell in directing action!!!)

Okay I can't interview without mentioning a certain new love of yours, and that would be Sons of Anarchy. As a fellow Jax~ling, if we became biker chicks and totally stalked Charlie Hunnam with a super awesome horror script, what would your ideal script include? Haha. I find a subject such as this appropriate, men objectify women all the time, especially in the horror industry...a little shameless objectification of men is something we need to do on a more regular basis! ;) My idea is not for a script, it's just to add him to the cast of Elisabeth Fies Psychosexual, bwahahaha.

Definitely a nude shower scene. (Haha...so definitely PERFECT for Psychosexual!!)

And speaking of Sons of Anarchy, do you think Gemma Teller could take on Jason Voorhees and kick his ass??

She could kick his ass but she couldn't kill him cause we all know he never dies.