The Rasmussen Brothers, Shawn and Michael, are quickly making a mark in the horror and thriller genres.
In 2005, their screenplay “Long Distance” was produced and starred Monica Keena. In 2010 horror icon John Carpenter directed their script “The Ward.” That film features Amber Heard, Danielle Panabaker and Lyndsy Fonseca and is scheduled for an August 16th DVD release.
The brothers’ latest project is “Dark Feed,” another trip into sinister territory that they are both writing and directing.
The Rasmussen Brothers talked with me about their work past, present and future, the state of the modern horror film, and why they write things so dark.
1. What was it like working with John Carpenter, the man who helped create the modern horror genre? What did you do when you heard he was going to direct “The Ward”?
SHAWN: As you can imagine, working with a legendary director like John Carpenter could be an overwhelming experience, but he’s such a nice guy that it wasn’t like that at all. It was just an amazing opportunity for us. He taught us a lot as writers and filmmakers. He was always asking us to think about scenes from the perspective of the director, instead of just as writers.
MICHAEL: We were ecstatic when we first learned about it. I mean we grew up watching this man’s films so having a chance to work with him was very exciting. We spent three days with him going through the script page by page answering his questions and getting his thoughts on each scene. It was certainly a surreal experience working with someone who you admire so much.
2. How long have you been horror fans and what are some of your favorite horror films and stories?
SHAWN: I’d say that we’re movie fans more than pure horror enthusiasts. It just so happens that a lot of the movies we love are dark or have horror elements. Films like “Seven”, “Silence of the Lambs”, and let’s not forget “John Carpenter’s The Thing”.
MICHAEL: Hitchcock was a big influence growing up. They re-released his films in theaters when we were kids, and I remember watching his classics like “Rear Window”, “Psycho”, and “The Birds”. These films certainly influenced us at a young age, along with films by Polanski and Kubrick like “Rosemary’s Baby” and “The Shining”.
3. What was your inspiration for “The Ward”?
SHAWN: We originally wrote “The Ward” back in 2005 with the idea of making it ourselves. After our first film got made, we wrote a couple of larger spec scripts that ultimately didn’t get picked up by the studios. So the inspiration was to write something self-contained that could be shot with a limited budget. We thought the idea of five women trapped in a mental institution would make for an interesting and marketable story, and then we went from there.
