The Rake Magazine

Local filmmaker Jon Springer's new film The Hagstone Demon will be shown as a free sneak preview Thursday, May 8, at the Riverview Theater. The film stars Mark Borchardt, the subject of the Sundance award-winning documentary American Movie, which made him a cult celebrity of the indie film set.

This locally produced film — presented by Flat Earth Brewery, Copycats, Cine-o-matic, and the MN Film & TV Board — will screen at the Minneapolis theater, located at 3800 42^nd Ave S. Cast, crew, and guests are invited to an informal reception in the lobby beginning at 6 p.m. General admission begins at 7 p.m. Mr. Borchardt will attend the screening.

Jon Springer is an award-winning horror writer/director with regional and national acclaim, and is regarded as an established cult filmmaker. Ain't it Cool News described Springer's film Living Dead Girl as a "hilarious silent-movie spoof...a grotesque, full-color, Romero-style gore fest," and in 2003, Film Threat called him "a filmmaker who sees nothing as taboo and whose imagination is something to behold." City Pages has described Springer as "the state's most audacious narrative filmmaker." Springer was recently awarded the 2007 McKnight Filmmaker Fellowship.

An after party will take place at the new Nick and Eddie Restaurant and Bar (1612 Harmon Place, Mpls 55403.) JUST ANNOUNCED: It has been confirmed that Grant Hart of the legendary post-punk band Hüsker Dü will be performing live at the after party.

The following is an interview I had with Springer regarding the film:

The Rake: What is the film about?

Jon Springer: I guess you could say "The Hagstone Demon" is about a person who discovers his own free will. This character, Douglas, is confronted by his past and literally attacked by it. It seems to me that anyone confronted with a situation, especially a traumatic or even a horrific situation, are then faced with a set of choices on how to deal it. So here's a guy who doesn't think there's a choice because he's been so traumatized and so complicit himself. He thinks it all comes down to fate and that he has no power to change anything. But at the crucial moment he discovers that he does have that choice and that power and he acts on it. In the case of Douglas, he makes the discovery simply because someone else in his life gave a shit, and that person had the strength and the courage to show him the way.

The Rake: How did you get the idea for the film?

JS: The idea for the story came from two sources: my co-screenwriter Harrison Matthews said he began with the image of a man vacuuming a long hallway in an old apartment building. The story expanded from there. Harrison happens to be a caretaker of a Brownstone in Powderhorn Park, where most of the film was shot, and I really fought hard to get that location, because it was essential to the character of the film. But the point is that the character of Douglas was autobiographical from the very beginning for Harrison. My own interest in the story stemmed from reading the Joris-Karl Huysmans novel "La Bas", in which the author includes an infamously vivid description of a Black Mass that he attended while living in Paris, during the Occult Revival of the late 19^th Century. I believe that this actual excerpt from "La Bas" was used in the obscenity trial of Oscar Wilde, who was a contemporary of Huysmans. Anyway, I had an intense interest in filming such a ritual, using Huysmans' description as a starting point, and from my other research. But I should say that the location itself was an inspiration for the story. The inside of this thing is amazing, with cracked plaster and exposed pipes running everywhere, like the insides of an organism. So the idea was that this organism is situated at what might be called a confluence of negative spiritual energy that both feeds Douglas and slowly destroys him.

The Rake: Whom did you work with on the film? How big was the crew and budget?

Where did you get funding for the film?

JS: The film was self-financed, as were all my other films. This is my eighth film and my second feature. I like to work with the same small group of people for my crew. I find that I can achieve about twice the visual detail of other films in this budget range by using a small, mobile crew. It's like shooting with a MASH unit. We were doing company moves in less than 45 minutes. As far as cast, I worked with Mark Borchardt on my short Living Dead Girl back in '04, and at some point I thought he might be a good choice for Douglas, although that was not the original intention. I remember seeing Nadine Gross in a few local films in which she was horribly directed and under-utilized; I saw the potential she had and I asked her to play a multiple character role in my short Heterosapiens back in ‘02. She is an incredibly versatile and technically competent actor. In fact she is one of the best character actresses in town...probably the best. Diablo Cody was interested in the part of the succubus at one point back in ‘06 and we set up a meeting. Her agent found out and quickly nixed the idea, citing her many writing deadlines (in retrospect I can see that was probably true). Hagstone definitely would have been a different movie because Diablo is not an actress per se...but of course the film would probably already be in distribution.

The Rake: Is this your first full-length feature? What other films have you made or been a crewmember of?

JS: I don't usually crew on other people's films anymore. I started out back in the early 90's as a commercial and movie cinematographer. I am a DP at heart. And I actually relish the thought of going back to shooting movies for other directors - which would allow me to concentrate on the photography, which I love and not worry about anything else. But I don't get much work as a DP anymore because I think in part most directors don't want another director shooting their film. Although I must say I would never try to direct someone else's film. The strength of a good DP is not only the technical competency and ability to make stunning pictures, but also the experience to get a director through a 22-day feature schedule, for example, or the ability to successfully mount the director's vision. Many first time directors search for a DP and are wowed by a technically fantastic reel, but overlook these other aspects.

The Rake: What films and filmmakers inspire and have influenced you?

JS: That is always such an academic and boring discussion.

The Rake: Who are some local filmmakers you like (either working with or their own work)?

JS: I thought Todd Cobery's trailer "The Dead Won't Die" was refreshingly competent and showed his love for the zombie genre, which I share. I shot Jesse Roesler's "Secret of the Symmetrical Gentlemen" which was the Minnesota entry in the National 48-hour Film Contest, and I shot Chris Gegax's "Forgotten" which won the local Screenlabs Competition. I thought both of those films were well directed. I liked "Sweetland" and was impressed by Ali Selim personally the few time I've spoken with him. I also share an office with Matt Ehling and have great respect for his documentary work and for him personally.

The Rake: What kind of equipment did you use (camera, sound, etc.)?

JS: We shot the film in 720p/24 with the JVCHD110 camera. I used a set of Nikon film lenses I had laying around and a Redrock adapter. I did some very detailed macro photography in this film, and I also used a film grain/dust plug-in in my Avid that was excellently subtle and the results were amazingly convincing on an HD display. The company who authored the Blu-Ray at Cine-O-Matic in Minneapolis actually thought it was transferred Super-16mm - and these people look at different formats and codecs all day long. So I was able to fool the experts...and that was a good sign!

The Rake: What is your hope with this film? Where do you see it reaching its biggest audience? Who is the audience for this film?

JS: Well first and foremost this is a serious horror film. Secondly, it is a film that stars Mark Borchardt as the main character. And I'm sure both Mark and I would both consider it in such a manner. If you watch Mark's film "Coven", you will see that it is a serious horror film, yet Mark's humor shines through the seriousness of it. There is a reason why Roger Ebert loved "Coven" and invited it into his festival back in the 90's. He liked it for the same reason he liked "Dawn of the Dead" - because the film took itself seriously, and because Mark is an interesting person to look at and listen to. People just like to watch Mark...especially in a good, creepy low-budget horror film. Hopefully they will like him in this film.

The Rake: What kind of films do you want to make?