The first trailer for Scott Frazelle’s upcoming practical FX horror feature MOGGY CREATURES recently went online. Genre faves Michael Moon (Day of the Dead 2 : Contagium) and Sadie Katz (Wrong Turn 6 : Last Resort) play Michael and Anna, a troubled couple who take in a stray cat hoping to rebuild their marriage, only to have the pregnant animal spawn evil monsters!

The movie isn’t done yet – it needs your help, as Frazelle tells us in this exclusive interview.


 DFAT: Where did the idea come from, Scott?

Scott: I was looking at pictures of hairless cats, noticing how the simple absence of hair made them so different, yet people still wanted them as pets.  And so my thinking went, “how much more different could they get before people stopped looking at them as pets?”  And more importantly, how much different could that behave before people would be afraid of them?

moggy3DFAT: And how much were films like Cujo and Gremlins an inspiration?

Scott: Those are some of my favorites, for sure.  I saw both those films as a teenager, and even back then, took note of the elements that made them work.  Both ask for the viewer to consider something just a little askew of what they know as reality.  But I wasn’t thinking of those movies when I came up with my concept.  I’ve gone out of my way in writing the script to avoid the trappings of those films, because I’m not trying to do the same thing with a different animal or creature. 

DFAT: Any particular filmmakers a direct influence on the project?

Scott: No, and that’s because I’ve seen so many good movies done in different ways by different filmmakers.  I’ve also seen some not-so-good movies that still did something unique or handled subjects in ways I couldn’t have imagined.  I think any movie I enjoyed at any level has been a great influence, and I thank the filmmakers as a whole for that, there’s just too many to list!

DFAT: Where’s the project currently at?

Scott: Currently its a great script, a proof of concept trailer, and some initial FX work plotted out, all looking for some financing!  We’re going to be crowdfunding to get our startup money January 2017.  Based on the feedback I’ve gotten from the trailer, I’m confident we can raise the startup money necessary, and attract the right kind of investor or producing partner to make it a reality. Anybody interested in following the project on a weekly basis can go to the website, moggycreatures.com, and sign up for the newsletter. 

DFAT: When would you plan on shooting it?

Scott: I plan to start principal photography in April 2017.  This project is practical FX-based, and will demand extra time for FX shot and post-production.  I want to premiere Moggy Creatures Halloween 2017, so there’s no time like the present!

DFAT: Do you have a cast in mind?

Scott: I have my two leads, Michael Moon, a terrific actor, stage director, and movie biz veteran as Michael, ready to chomp into this role, and the inimitable Sadie Katz, rising scream queen but overall amazing actor, ready to bring her brand of intensity as Anna.  A lot of forces work for and against getting just the right people in your movie, and these two stepped up for the trailer and some other footabe, and it just worked instantly.  I feel the same way about Joshua Bermudez and Joette Marie, who played the roles of Guillermo and Jenny, respectively.  Hopefully they’ll all be available when the time comes.

DFAT: How important is sound to a movie like this?

Scott: Its my observation that audiences will forgive a lot of flaws for a good narrative, but sound, when bad, is the one that is hardest to overcome.  I’ve watched movies that were shot on VHS (out of necessity), scenes with poor focus or rough edits, but nothing takes you out of a narrative more than not being able to hear what a character said.  A hard, fast rule in screenwriting is you can only put on the page what you can SEE or HEAR.  So for me, sound is half the movie.

DFAT: Most filmmakers credit “Star Wars” as the movie that made them get into filmmaking. What about you?

Scott: It may be incredible to believe, but as landmark a film as Star Wars is, it was not the defining moment for me to become a filmmaker.  Star Wars certainly enthralled me as a child, but there have been a lot of films that did that for me.  I started out writing with the idea that I could make movies from the page.  After I worked on my first professional film set, I was just as enthralled with the process, and I knew I could do it.

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