The Mini-View Resurrection Featuring Tim Ritter

Tim Ritter is an independent filmmaker and heavy metal enthusiast who has gotten notoriety for writing and directing such films as the TRUTH OR DARE trilogy, KILLING SPREE, CREEP, and most recently, RECONCILED THROUGH THE CHRIST. He is also an obscure novelist, having recently penned THE HAMMER WILL FALL and the semi-autobiographical UNREEL.

TIM RITTER: B MOVIES THAT DESERVE AN "A"
excerpt taken from an article by Phil Hall

True addicts of contemporary B-Movies will genuflect at the mention of Tim Ritter's name. As the creative force behind contemporary horror cult classics including the "Truth or Dare?" trilogy or the grisly features "Creep" and "Killing Spree," Ritter has been terrifying and entertaining audiences with his intense, envelope-pushing approach to filmmaking that liberally mixes pulse-banging suspense with unapologetic violence. If Alfred Hitchcock and Herschell Gordon Lewis had their genes spliced together, the result would easily be Tim Ritter.

Born on a Friday the 13th back in 1967, Ritter was still in high school when he scripted, directed and edited his first feature, a 1984 Super 8mm production called "Day of the Reaper." Shrewdly recognizing the potential of the then-nascent direct-to-video market, Ritter self-distributed his production to video wholesalers and, in the process, helped lay the groundwork for what is now one of the most important facets of the home video market. He followed up "Day of the Reaper" by co-directing the video anthology "Twisted Illusions" (1985) and wrote and directed (albeit without director credit) the first installment of the "Truth or Dare?" series that introduced one of the most indefatigable serial killers to slash his away across the screen, The Coppermasked Madman.

Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, Ritter helmed his own productions (including "Wicked Games" and "Screaming For Sanity") and also served a variety of function on other works including stints as writer, editor, second unit director, narrator, and even "creative consultant." In 1995, he directed "Creep," a horrifying adventure following the crime trail of sibling serial killers. Even in the no-holds-barred world of B-Movie filmmaking, "Creep" cut more than a few nerves and remains a popular cult film to this day.

In the twenty-first century, Ritter has turned his attention to creating a variety of new projects, including books and movies. His novels include THE HAMMER WILL FALL (2000) and UNREEL (2004). His latest productions are TWISTED ILLUSIONS 2 (Dexter Deadbeat segment) and RECONCILED, both produced by his new SRU Ventures, LLC distribution company.



http://www.timritter.com/

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0728813/

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Deadly-Dares-Truth-Or-Dare-4/263180220366298

http://www.youtube.com/user/truthordaremovies




1. Having come from the golden age of the video market, and mom and pop video stores, do you think it's easier for a filmmaker now to self distribute using the internet through sites like Amazon and the aid of social media websites such as Facebook for promotion?


Yes and no. While it is easier to promote your movie to a potentially large audience using Internet tools, and it certainly beats putting flyers on cars or trying to sell your movie directly to small video stores, there’s just so much information out on the Net now that it’s very difficult to get noticed. There’s so much for people to look at now, so many things competing for entertainment time that it seems very easy to get lost in an oversaturated marketplace. The questions then become- “how do you stand out and get viewer’s attention with very little advertising dollars?” So you end up having to do all the same difficult promotional and hype work even more so. Unfortunately, for horror and especially slasher movies, I’ve recently found Amazon and Youtube to be very restrictive on content- ridiculously so, to the point where they are rejecting your work or banning it for no reason at all. I’ve had a couple of DEADLY DARES videos banned that were very PG-13 in content, but they seem to have these ridiculous standard where even the HINT of violence...the “negative tone” of a small clip where someone is put in jeopardy...is listed as pornography and taken down! Where the MPAA has gotten more lenient on horror movie ratings...the free social sites seem to be getting more restrictive, especially for the little guy. It can be very frustrating- you never know what anyone is going to complain about, and it seems they’d just rather take stuff down rather than even put an age restriction on it.

2. Also, do you think with the transition to digital film making over the past few years that it has opened the door to aspiring filmmakers? Or made it too easy for anyone to get into film making?

Yes, the tools are more accessible than ever. Anyone with the desire to make a movie can buy or borrow a decent video camera and edit your footage on a computer. I think it’s a great thing that anyone who has the desire to create can get the tools easier and cheaper than ever before. That being said, it’s still VERY difficult to plan and execute a low or no budget movie from beginning to end. The same obstacles that were there in the beginning are there now- finding a good cast, locations, shooting schedule, insurance, working around weather, finding the TIME to log your footage and edit it all. While basic editing is pretty simple, getting into the nitty gritty of sound mixes, color correction, ADR, music, contracts, right on into distribution---is still a very tough thing to get through. A lot of people don’t realize how hard it all is until they’re in the thick of it. And distribution- that can take years in itself...So if you’re planning to make a small movie, be prepared to live with it for a few years or more, from concept to distribution!

3. The past few years have seen a huge boom in VHS collecting, be it a hipster movement or general love of the format. Many of your old films have been seen on Ebay and through tape trading websites reaching several hundred dollars. Do you find this flattering and take it as a compliment? Or do you think it's just part of the trend making it hard for true fans to get their hands on your films?

I think it’s awesome that anyone is watching my movies on ANY format! It’s very humbling to know that fans are still watching my stuff and whatever the format, it’s great to me! I am surprised that some aren’t letting go of VHS- the quality and ease of use that DVD has is just so much better to me, but VHS...what can I say? It’s like vinyl records, some people just prefer “the old way” of delivery. Now if we start seeing a return to 8-tracks in music...I might start to worry! (laughs) But seriously, I always say...”shoot your movie with whatever you have access to, whether it be VHS or a RED cam.” Same goes with viewing- whatever your preference! There was a huge resurgence of interest in the original TRUTH OR DARE? when it appeared on Netflix Streaming when they first introduced it---so we were on there at the beginning of the whole streaming thing, for about two years. Thousands more people watched the movie or saw it again, so again, any way you can get an audience these days is good. As far as the inflated prices of VHS and OOP DVDs, it’s interesting...it’s a collector’s market and honestly, if people weren’t actually paying those prices for that stuff, then they wouldn’t ask that much. I’ve talked to many fans that purchased OOP TRUTH OR DARE? copies for $450.00 and up, soooo...as long as people are willing to pay those prices, then they’ll stay that way. All of my movies are pretty easy to find very cheap in the Amazon Marketplace or in Streaming places, so I don’t worry about it being too difficult for fans to find my old stuff if they really want to see it. Now it is harder to find some of the super unrated versions of the old stuff like CREEP and SCREAMING FOR SANITY and a few other titles because they were all released on DVD with different cuts- and in some cases, with scenes missing at the request of retail outlets a few years back. And there were only a few thousand copies of those originals made to begin with, so those are rarities!

4. On a very similar note, many of your films have recently turned up on YouTube and to download for free via Torrent sites over the internet. As a film maker how does this affect you? Do you see at as a positive, showing continued interest in your films after all these years? Or as a negative to the people who are trying to legitimately acquire your films?

Definitely as a positive that there’s still interest in the old movies and that people are still watching after 25 years plus! And it helps to promote the newer stuff I’m doing, hopefully leading viewers into checking out what I’m doing now. I think all artists just have to roll with the technology and we have to realize that not all of us are going to be able to make millions off their work...Especially in the SOV horror movie world with so many niche areas, there’s just so much to choose from. I do my stuff for the passion, because I love doing it, enjoy creating and collaborating with cool people, and feel very much alive when making a project. It’s not for the money, if it comes, fine, but if not...I did it because I had to create!




5. You recently completed your newest film, Deadly Dares: Truth or Dare IV, and had the world premier in Lexington, Ky on the 25th of this month. Can you tell us a little about how this new film came to be, and what the response was like from the crowd in attendance?

Well, after I made RECONCILED, I thought I had said and done all that I could in the underground, SOV market. I had homaged all my favorite horror movies, made some original flicks, and had a blast! So I turned to just writing books and scripts for awhile, and unfortunately, I wrote all these really fun scripts for various filmmakers and companies---and none ever got made! That became frustrating. In the meantime, there were some fans and filmmakers always in touch with me- like Matt Hill, Richard Anasky, Mario Dominic and a few others- that REALLY wanted to see another TRUTH OR DARE movie. Then that resurgence of interest in TRUTH OR DARE? came about that I mentioned, and we released a free documentary on the Internet (still on Youtube for the moment!) that got lots of views, especially through Fangoria.com. I ended up doing a lot of podcast interviews and talking to so many diehard fans that knew all about the movie and its sequels- and they had such fond memories of growing up with them and finding the treasured razor blade or Chas Balun box art covers on VHS, and the big question was always...”What about a 4th entry?!?” So the longer I thought about it, I hit upon a very cool story that I liked, one that was very simple to attack from a small budget, using video AS the format that it was intended in the story...and I said, “Why not? Let’s just do this and see what happens!” And as I started, it grew and grew, and we got so many great people involved and contributing to the movie, and it was this three-year-long experience from 2008-2011 that has just been awesome. There’s been ups and downs, of course, trials and tribulations, but at the end of the day, it was just so awesome getting out there and doing something for passion again, using the new HD video toys, and figuring out all this stuff as I went along. And so many friends and filmmakers joined the party, contributing and helping, that I was amazed! Scott Bullock shot some awesome crazy dare footage in Colorado, Richard Anasky let me use his short film remake of the original TRUTH OR DARE in this movie for flashbacks...I got Vanize, one of my favorite heavy metal bands, signed on to let me use some of their songs...I mean, as we went along, things just fell into play and it became more than a movie for me, just an incredible life journey with other like-minded people. Now Dann Thombs, a great indie moviemaker who just has a blast making things, is editing the HD cut and adding more stuff, and of course, Joel Wynkoop sent in some great footage...We just have so much footage, enough to probably cut three different versions, and it just continues to become more exciting with Silver Ferox making us all these great posters, and we’re trying to recreate the excitement of the past, the collectibility of whatever we release with just awesome artwork and pictures. We created all these really cool lobby cards for the theatrical release with excellent stills from the movie that Sean Patterson took, and people just ate em up, we gave them out for free! So we’re just trying for that magical experience- something made by fans, in collaboration with fans, for fans. I think sci-fi and horror fans are the most dedicated, and when you have just a small budget and say “hey, come on out and help us out!” and many of them do- on their own dime- they fly in, drive in from other states, and bring equipment, props, and themselves. It’s so amazing and humbling, and such great collaborating with like-minded people. I think the Internet has helped bring us all together in a way that wasn’t possible before, so in that aspect, the social sites and all are a very good thing!


We recently completed the “Underground Bootleg Cut”, which is essentially a very polished rough cut. We’re still working on the HD cut, and we figured why not have a couple of versions to peddle around? After, this was a movie made by fans, for fans, so let’s start the ball rolling now, on the 25th Anniversary of the original film! So we had the first showing, and everyone was jazzed after seeing the movie, it seemed. There was a definite buzz of excitement afterwards, in good way- people were talking about the movie, some of the gore scenes, the plot twists, so I was happy! You never know how things are going to go, especially after being with a project like this for three years now. I was amazed that some of the simplest gore effects really got people and had them hooting and hollering, so that was very gratifying! Our plan now is to just show the movie in small theaters and horror conventions for six months to a year, also doing a limited edition VHS release, to be followed by the official DVD release. Just have fun with it and hope people enjoy it!

And a couple of bonus Halloween questions.

6. What scares Tim Ritter?

Well, since moving up to Kentucky, tornadoes and ice storms! Mother Nature can be pretty terrifying, and in Florida, it was the hurricane potential. But lately, these big tornadoes are VERY scary and ice storms are so dangerous and inconvenient. You lose power for a few weeks or more and that temperature plummets below 30...it hurts! Give you a whole new appreciation on modern conveniences we take for granted! Gotta RIDE THE STORMS, man...No fun!

7. And lastly, do you have any certain Halloween traditions? Or certain films that you watch every year to get you in the spirit of the holiday?


Oh yeah, in September I watched all the FRIDAY THE 13th movies, followed here in October by all the HALLOWEEN movies. They’re great all year long, but especially in October, with the leaves falling and the whole ambiance of cooler weather and wind, there’s nothing better than Michael Myers fests! I love all the movies in both series and of course, while the originals are the best, I always appreciate the sequels and each year, I have new favorites in the sequel department. And can’t forget giving out candy to kids and putting on a mask to scare them- that’s always fun too!