In the underground art scene lies Toledo filmmaker Chad Zuver, who believes in creating his art rather than deconstructing it. His main cinematic interests involve anything to do with horror films.
“I grew up in the 1980s, when horror movies were popular. I grew up a big fan of Freddy Krueger and Jason Voorhees. These movies are fun to make, there’s no denying that,” Zuver said. “People seem to love to be killed, or even be the killer. It is like a guilty pleasure. You can make something new with horror movies as opposed to an action movie or a comedy. Everything has been done to death with every genre, but with horror movies, you can take something very simple and expand it into something new. ”
Zuver’s latest creation, “New Blood Rising,” is a testament to his love of the genre. The locally shot film revolves around the members of a vampire family attempting to restore its bloodline and create an army of the undead. Their diabolical goals are thwarted by a group of four vampire hunters. These hunters pursue a young girl named Brie, whose pure blood is the key to unlocking the hellish powers of the vampires.
While the film has a storyline, it can’t be defined by a theme, nor can any of Zuver’s previous work.
“The only theme I could think of is that it does contain your typical cliché horror film elements. I try to keep each movie separate,” he said. “I don’t want to be classified as a certain type of director.”
Zuver resists labels, which is evident in his aversion to the typical aspiring filmmaker storyline. He didn’t go to film school, but instead opted to work for a local film company before branching out on his own. As a director, he is more interested in the passion behind a film’s creation than its technique. His drive was evident when describing working 10-hour days during filming. Zuver commended the tireless effort of his cast and crew, which he said was instrumental to the film’s eventual release.
For his next project, Zuver will collaborate with six other directors. The theme of each short film involves one of the seven deadly sins. It will be released this summer. In addition, he will be directing a remake of George A. Romero’s 1968 classic, “Night of the Living Dead,” to be released this fall.
When asked what gives him the drive to be such a prolific filmmaker Zuver responded, “I started my own film company Shattered Images Film in order to give other people the same feeling I had when creating my movie. The feeling you get from seeing something you created on the tv or movie screen is one that you will never lose.”
New Blood Rising. March 8. Maumee Indoor Theater. $5. Showtimes are 7pm and 9:30pm. DVDs of film will be sold. Also March 15. 7pm. $5. The Ohio Theater, 3114 Lagrange St.
facebook.com/ShatteredImagesFilms
