Lea Lawrynowicz is one filmmaker who wants to try and bring something different to the medium of horror web series. She is currently pitching her new series "Hidden" to the Independent Production Fund. We recently had the privilege of interviewing her about "Hidden," what makes it different, and what she hopes to do with the web series.
A.S.OH: First off, tell us a little about your web series concept. What should the audience expect from a horror series like this?
LEA: “Hidden” is the story of a young woman named Vanessa , who has serious psychiatric problems, primarily an eating disorder which has resulted in her having to use a feeding tube. She makes a bid for independence by becoming roommates with Tracy, a girl seemingly much more together than she is, and who has a strong interest in New Age, occult practices and philosophies. The two form a strong friendship, which coincides with Vanessa becoming aware of an ominous presence in the house they share that has malevolent intentions towards her. In terms of audience expectations, Iʼd say, expect to be surprised, which is about the absolute best you can ask from an audience when it comes to the internet. Weʼre aiming for a high quality yet experimental feel, so, it wonʼt be like a t.v show-itʼs too low fi for that-but itʼll have great dialogue and character development and be broody and weird and yet scary and a little bit gross, sometimes.
A.S.O.H: How did you decide upon this particular idea? What drew you to the concept?
LEA: Alex, the director and co-creator, had been toying with the idea for quite a while. Heʼs really interested in New Age, and occult ideas, not at all as a practitioner, he just finds the culture itself fascinating. He really immersed himself in knowing about these worlds and the people that subscribe to them. This really spanned the gamut, from ghost hunters, to people who claim they astral project, to people who claim theyʼve had sex with demonic presences. As his knowledge deepened, a story emerged and took greater shape and context. Itʼs hard to say why writers get drawn to certain ideas. Writers are usually always on the alert for interesting ideas and stories, and when one calls to you, you just go after it, and see where it takes you. Maybe the idea itself has a subconscious emotional resonance, but, following the instinct and letting it grow is the adventure of writing, and, its led us to where we are with “Hidden”.
A.S.O.H: What does the title "Hidden" tell us about the series?
LEA: It probably doesnʼt tell you much until you know more about the show. Honestly, we needed a title, and that one seemed the best at the time. Now, looking at it, itʼs actually pretty perfect. One of the dictionary definitions of the word “occult” is “something hidden from view”. The show deals not only with occult elements in the more witchy, bizarre sense, but also about the things we hide from ourselves and others. Shame and deception and hiding who and what you really are, either for gain or to spare your own self the humiliation of reveling your deep dark secrets, are a big part of the show.
A.S.O.H: You mentioned before that you were trying to bring "dramatic horror" to the medium of internet shows. Why did you choose this? How will it stand out among millions of other videos?
LEA: There are tons of internet shows out there that deal in more subculture genres, such as sci fi or gamer culture, but, there are very few horror web series. When you are horror fans, such as us, you usually want as much horror as you can stand, so, the lacking in this medium, and, the lacking of good quality horror web series irked us, so, we decided, lets make our own. Another thing that irked us was that the majority of existing horror web series are usually comedy based. As in, very broad, slapstick-y type comedy. There is absolutely nothing wrong with horror comedy, but, when itʼs the only thing out there, in a very limited medium, it gets tiresome. We want to make a web series that horror fans, real , rabid, I heart horror types could get into, with lots of dramatic tension, suspense and hopefully, real , honest to goodness chills. Basically, we wanna try to scare people, and youʼll achieve that better with a dramatic arc than a comedic one. Hopefully, its scare factor and unusual tone will make it stand out, but, in truth, weʼll have to wait and see if it does. The internet is great because anyone can put their stuff out there, but, itʼs also bad for the same reason. There is so much stuff online, itʼs tough to compete. We know this, but, weʼre foolish gamblers who want to try anyways. We just want to try to make the best quality show we can, and we want to be proud of it, and, with a bit of luck, fellow horror fans will dig it to. If we can achieve that- our own satisfaction and just a little pocket of well wishers- then, weʼre all good.
A.S.O.H: Why did you choose the medium of YouTube/Web Series for this story? How will this horror story bring something new to YouTube?
LEA: Originally, it was an idea that Alex , the director had for a short film. We (the cocreators) actually met on the set of a web series , so, they had a little experience with the medium. It was through this experience that we discovered the Independent Production Fund (IPF), itʼs a grant specifically for the development of web series. Alexʼs idea was taking on various permutations, and when he heard about IPF submissions coming up, we sat down together and figured out that the story for the short could actually be extended in really cool ways. We also realized that there was a big lack for not only horror web series, but dramatic horror web series. We thought this could be something interesting to apply with, so, we went for it. The first stage of applying involves making and submitting a trailer, known as a “proof of concept” for the show. You have to put the trailer up on YouTube, and try to garner as many views, likes, and shares as possible, to prove to the grant committee your show can get any sort of attention. That is the stage we are at now....(by the way, please check out our link, and like and share if you can!) So, Youtube was a requirement. In terms of online content, it really is the biggest hub right now in terms of videos, so, if you are making a web series that doesnʼt have super naughty content, itʼs one of the main places youʼll end up. As far as bringing something new to Youtube, I donʼt know if we will bring something new so much as just provide something that you donʼt get to see super often. We arenʼt pretending to revolutionize anything, and Youtube is a vast and ever changing place. We aim to make something that grabs peopleʼs attention, not because itʼs got boobs or kitties or celebrities (all those things are great, by the way) but because itʼs scary and interesting. Truly scary videos are tough to find, and scary and interesting are even tougher, so, thatʼs what weʼll hopefully bring to the big, messy, Youtube table.
A.S.O.H: What is the main thing you want horror fans to know about your project?
LEA: We want them to know that we are fans as well. This isnʼt a phase for us, and we arenʼt trying to make this show because we think horror fans are a neat little demographic we wanna exploit. We wanna contribute to the genre because we love the bloody, dismembered guts out of it. We have really sick imaginations that we are drawing on to make this show so that someday, some night, when you canʼt sleep, and hunger for some horror, “Hidden” can grace your glowing computer screen, and, with a bit of luck, melt your hardened horror heart and scare the ever loving shit out of you....or at least make you feel really uncomfortable.
You can watch the trailer for "Hidden" below. If you like this concept and want to see this show made all you have to do is like the video and share it with your friends.