TRAVIS CLUFF and CHRIS LOFING first broke onto the big screen as names to be reckoned with some six years ago with the horror film THE GALLOWS. A young adult tale set in a high school complete with all the requisite horror tropes and more, their work as co-writers/co-directors caught the eye of Jason Blum and Blumhouse. And while one might think that’s a sure-fire way to “write your directorial ticket”, that’s not the case. You still have to hone your craft and “pay your dues.” While Travis and Chris have filled in the intermittent years since THE GALLOWS with a sequel and some short films, they are now back front and center with the intriguing, edge-of-your-seat thriller, HELD.
Co-directed by Cluff and Lofing with a script by Jill Awbrey who also stars, with HELD, Chris and Travis show maturity and growth in their directing and their storytelling, making judicious use of all the tools in the toolbox to develop a visual tonal bandwidth that is an exemplary example of visionary collaboration between directors, cast and department heads. Gone are the young adult high school hijinks, replaced with a mature adult story that sizzles and shocks with ever-increasing tension and rapier editing.
HELD is the story of Emma and Henry who plan a weekend retreat to rekindle their marriage. Heading off first with Henry promising to join her the next day, Emma’s blown away by the high-tech polish and luxury of this hideaway smart-house Henry found. Showered with surprise roses left at the front door, Emma is beyond touched, and then surprised, when Henry shows up shortly thereafter, a full day early. But something doesn’t sit right between them. The tension is so thick you can cut it with a knife.
And it’s not just something isn’t right between them, something is amiss with the house itself when its integrated security system locks them in and a malevolent and menacing disembodied Voice fills the air and the phone as hidden camera surveillance images of the two of them are plastered on jumbo tv screens on the wall. And that’s only the beginning. As violence sets in, truths are revealed and nothing is what it appears to be.
Essentially a two-hander with Jill Awbrey starring as Emma and Bart Johnson as Henry, and Rez Kempton in a key supporting role as Joe, I reconnected with TRAVIS CLUFF and CHRIS LOFING in this exclusive conversation talking every aspect of HELD from the importance of collaboration to cinematography and multiple cameras, shifting aspect ratio, editing, color, costume, cast, sound, and score and how it all comes together to fuel the characters and the various themes articulated by screenwriter Awbrey.
TAKE A LISTEN. . . . .
by debbie elias, exclusive interview 03/30/2021
