As I mentioned in my last post, I always name entries after a horror or genre film, but there’s few movies, if any, I can think of that have been released under two different names. That’s what happened with my first film, The Other Side of the Tracks. Although it was released by Showtime under its original title, the domestic DVD was released by MTI Home Video as The Haunting of Amelia. This blog entry is in response to some of the criticism The Haunting of Amelia has received in the last few months.
Apart from the title, opening credits, and box art, this film is identical to the original. When I was first informed of the name change, I won’t kid you, even I was a bit puzzled, particularly with the new Ring-like artwork—a film which my film was nothing at all like—but I was in no position, or should I say, condition, to argue. I’d waited two long years for my film to be released and this was the best release it was going to get. So the last thing I wanted to do was piss off the distributor. I didn’t have any fight left in me to even bother, if that makes any sense. I think any indie filmmaker who has been through the long arduous process of making a movie and getting it out there will understand where I’m coming from. In my case, it accounted for four years of my life.
Although I felt the new alias and artwork would be deceptive to horror and genre fans—that it would be ill received—perhaps MTI knew something I didn’t. After all, they know how to sell DVDs, and I’ve been told bad reviews are better than no reviews. (I don’t know if that’s true or not, maybe that’s just something they tell you to make you feel better.)
Unlike my original title, the new title did not convey my film’s romantic fantasy drama feel. I’ll admit, contrary to my original screenplay, the film turned out to be more “supernatural drama” than “supernatural horror.” The script was much more haunting than the movie, mainly because of the moments that were pulled because of time and budget—the more FX-laden “haunting” moments, moments that might’ve made a “Haunting of…” title more befitting.
Without going into every detail of things I would’ve done different had I known what I know now, the film also suffered from the lack of a traditional score. Instead, many scenes are filled with a Cameron Crowe-style soundtrack, which ultimately gave the film more of a WB Network movie-of-the-week feel. That, coupled with its “Euro-pacing” (admittedly a slow burn), are some of my directorial mistakes. As a first time, writer/director, producer, and editor, I wore a few too many hats and was destined to draw up short somewhere, which is everywhere for a small indie film. Yet, in the end, there’s no denying the film worked on certain levels, albeit much more so under its original name, after all what about Showtime? Showtime!! I suspect, given our cast, the film manages to draw upon a largely young female demographic, Roswellians, the Supernatural fandom, if you will. Following Showtime, “Tracks” received an international pay TV release, a studio release that will span over 25 countries and has already begun airing in Germany (as “Jenseits der Gleise”) on their premium SKY Cinema channel. I’ll take it.
I’d be lying if I told you all the negative “Amelia” reviews didn’t hurt though. It felt like a morning didn’t go by, during this long winter, where I wouldn’t wake up to some blistering blog review. Not exactly the reception I dreamt of. Despite a recent lull in reviews, this morning I was greeted by yet another, this time calling my film “total shit.” So here’s my response to that, and I’m trying to stay objective here…
Is my first film really “total shit?” I don’t think so. We won a few regional film festival awards; nothing major, but nevertheless, we won them. You can’t take that away. And in addition to the fact that the film is airing, and will be airing, on top pay TV channels across the globe, it’s also on Netflix. What do their customers think of The Haunting of Amelia? The film has managed to rack up almost 2,000 ratings so far—a statistically significant enough sample size to eliminate family, friends, and frenemies alike (I didn’t think I had any of those until I made this movie.) Amelia is holding steady with an average rating of 2.5 stars. That’s not great, but it’s decent. Think what you will; it’s certainly not “shit.” Maybe it’s a “love it” or “hate it” kind of film, but if so, the tie always goes to the filmmaker. Finally, something objective to hang my hat on: I’m now able to compare my film against yours, perhaps, my peers, along with countless other films that beat out my debut at certain film festivals (including, yes, Sundance.) Take a look some time; you’ll be surprised at the average Netflix ratings of major studio releases and so-called, “indie gems.” Hell, 2.5 stars, in the genre world, is starting to look pretty darn decent for a first film. I’ll take it.
