Existential horror and charity fundraisers might not seem a natural pair, but Northwestern student group Applause for a Cause seeks to bridge that gap with the premiere of their new film Dead Tongues on Friday, May 6, at Ryan Auditorium.
For the past six years, Applause has annually produced theatrical-length movies adapted from student-submitted screenplays, all in the name of benefitting a local charity; however, this spring’s release pointedly stands out from the organization’s past efforts.
“We’re definitely switching it up with the darker theme this year,” said sophomore Khoa Truong, an RTVF and computer science double major who co-executive produced the film with Maddie Ewbank. “We were looking for a certain type of story, for a thriller with psychological themes instead of just open submissions.”
Directed by Roberto Drilea and Brianna Dorn, with a script by Chris Reichert, Dead Tongues follows Stacy (Phoebe Fox), a woman investigating her ex-boyfriend Travis’s mysterious suicide, only to be ensnared by his previously unheard of twin brother Tony (Justin Dresner in both roles) and a dark family history.
All of Dead Tongues’ earnings will benefit Northwestern’s own Supplies for Dreams, a nonprofit providing Chicago public schools with materials, student mentoring and extracurricular opportunities. And while this year’s production is dedicated to helping school children, it might not actually be appropriate for their viewing.
“The story is essentially two characters trapped in a single location having this psychological back-and-forth,” said Reichert, a senior RTVF major with a minor in creative writing. He explained how his story was largely inspired by the short fiction of cosmic horror godfather H.P. Lovecraft, featuring the author’s signature themes of secret cults and eldritch horrors: “There’s all sorts of sinister stuff going on.”
After receiving a dozen submissions late last spring, Applause’s executive board – currently consisting of Truong, Ewbank, Drilea, Dorn and treasurer Bonnie Zhang – decided Reichert’s pitch was best fitting their vision and the most feasible to make. Revisions and story notes were then given on the initial 80-page draft through fall quarter, when pre-production began.
“I think the biggest thing we did differently this year from in the past was making sure we had a script by the end of summer and casting done by mid-fall,” said co-director and cinematographer Drilea, an RTVF senior. “If you don’t set certain limitations early on, you may not even finish the film, and that’s been the case with past Applause projects. Last year they had to premiere something that wasn’t finished.”
The film is set to reach a feature-length running time of 80 minutes, whittled down from what Drilea estimates was 22 hours of raw footage, shot over six consecutive weekends in winter quarter. While more screen time sounds creatively liberating on paper, it creates serious limitations and a kind of “pariah” status with the university, according to the director.
“The school provides quite a bit of support in the form of grants to short films, but not anything for feature films,” he said. “People don’t believe you can actually make a feature film as an undergrad student with the resources available.”
Lack of school backing lead Dead Tongues to be largely funded via crowdsourcing. Some grants were provided by ASG, according to Ewbank, but most support came through campaigns on Kickstarter and Catalyzer. She noted that Lovecraft’s fandom was especially important to putting the project together.
“We ended up getting a lot of donations from outside the university, from H.P. Lovecraft communities, things like Facebook pages,” she said. “These people genuinely love Lovecraft, and want to see his work made into films.”
Though Dead Tongues eventually met its target budget of $4,000 – it raised $4,269 total – some concerns linger over whether it will be able to recuperate that money through ticket sales, as former Applause projects have come up short.
“Ideally we want to match the production cost, but the organization hasn’t really reached that goal in the past,” said Truong. “From what has been raised, it’s probably going to reach about 75 percent.”
Truong and Ewbank suggested these shortcomings stem from a lack of campus awareness about Applause’s mission to creatively provide for local causes. Both producers hope future efforts will be able to better spread the word by ramping up the marketing and partnering with other university-tied groups like Supplies.
“This year, we’re building the base for a more sustained relationship within Applause internally and for making the event more inclusive for the rest of campus,” said Ewbank. “We’re hoping to make it a thing that people know about, and want to get involved with, even outside of film.”
Dead Tongues premieres Friday, May 6, at 7 p.m. in Ryan Auditorium; tickets cost $5 at Norris Box Office and $8 at the door.