Soul Heist – A new horror comedy by Screecher Films

Sponsored Feature: Screecher Films (Canada)

Soul Heist is a new horror comedy short film written and directed by Julian Hoffman.

Watch the trailer here!

Two best friends hatch an idiotic plan to steal back one of their souls from a gang of soul-sucking demons.

A Q&A with Writer/Director Julian Hoffman

Welcome, Julian! Thanks for joining us to discuss your new horror comedy Soul Heist. How did you come up with the concept for the film?

Thanks for having me! That’s a good question. From what I can remember, we thought of the title before even coming up with a story. It was like, “Soul Heist! Yeah! Now THAT’s a great name,” and then we had to somehow build a concept around it. We knew it had to be sort of like Ocean’s Eleven but set in the world of Sam Raimi, and we ran with that. Hopefully, we conveyed that.

Were you inspired by other horror comedy films or filmmakers?

I feel like Edgar Wright and Michael Mann played just as much a part in influencing this film as Sam Raimi or Peter Jackson, per se. Especially Mann, with his lighting choices and those Tangerine Dream scores. 

Zac, our producer and composer, really dialed into the vibe of films like Manhunter and Thief for the soundtrack, and he absolutely nailed it.

What influenced your visual style and aesthetic choices in the film?

It’s funny. Skinamarink came out around the time we were shooting this film and it really had us in a chokehold. It inspired us to take a more liminal approach to the aesthetic which is why you see the characters creeping down a lot of empty corridors and non descript places. And of course we also wanted to pay homage to the neon, giallo films of the 80s, specifically Demons (1985). So Soul Heist is really a strange marriage of Argento and Skinamarink. 

Also, the reason we went with a 4:3 VHS aesthetic on the film is because we genuinely feel like Soul Heist is the kind of film you see at the back of a video store, see the poster and go “that looks cool” and then pop it into the VCR. We wanted to capture the spirit of that. Which is also why we bring a limited-run of VHS copies to every screening. 

The reason we went with a 4:3 VHS aesthetic on the film is because we genuinely feel like Soul Heist is the kind of film you see at the back of a video store, see the poster and go “that looks cool” and then pop it into the VCR.

What were some of the biggest challenges you faced during production, and how did you overcome them?

Working with a micro-budget is always challenging. Especially when we’re used to doing slashers and all of a sudden we have all these effects like soul-orbs, portals, glowing eyes and tons of drone shots. From actors getting COVID the morning of the shoot, to getting the local fire department called on us, we did not have an easy time. 

Additionally, the entire film takes place in the span of one night, so we did four days of true night shoots which got really old rather quickly. There’s nothing more draining than watching the sun rise as you leave set in the morning. But the cast and crew were all troopers. 

Can you talk about your experience working with the cast and crew on Soul Heist?

First of all, the actors were amazing to work with. Sabrina Knappett and Jake Larton, who play the two main roles, were a blast both on and off camera. Jake was doing impressions pretty much between every take. Just recently, they were both nominated for Best Actress and Best Actor, respectively, at Days of the Dead Film Festival. Jake ended up taking home the award.

The crew was also fantastic. Gabriel Lau shot the film and basically said yes to any idiotic shot request I had as a director. Everyone seemingly trusted my vision and played along, even when it was 5 a.m. and we were all crashing out. I’d like to give a shoutout to Matt Dionne, Anthony Moss, Rachel Jones, and many others who helped bring this to life. And also Evan Laszlo, who saved the sound design all the way from Florida.

What do you hope horror fans take away from the film?

I’d be satisfied with a simple 3-star rating on Letterboxd and a review that just says, “I had fun.”

Honestly, I just want to give back to the horror community in the same way I take from it. I watch films, I enjoy them, they inspire me–then I make something and put it out there for others to (hopefully) enjoy too. Then someone else gets inspired, makes a film, and the cycle continues.

We recently won the Troma award at Days of the Dead Film Festival so we must be doing something right… I think? Now I’m not sure. 

Follow Soul Heist on IMDb, Letterboxd and Instagram.

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