Travis Cluff and Chris Lofing, co-writers and directors of the 2015 horror film "The Gallows," promised as long as their next movie didn't require an ocean for filming they would continue to shoot in Fresno, Calif. The filmmakers remained true to their word, and the feature film "The Gallows Act II" was shot in the city 200 miles north of Los Angeles.
The pair love the freedom of working outside the Southern California moviemaking hubbub.
"It still feels like we are just a couple of guys from Fresno who are getting to make movies," Cluff says. "We are still very much outside the system and it just felt like us being in our backyard making this movie with our family and friends. There was a very similar vibe on the set to the first movie."
Talk of a sequel started immediately after the release of "The Gallows," with the original idea for the story to be prequel to how a stage production became so deadly. They found the approach wasn't working and went in a different direction. The way "Act II" came together gave Cluff and Lofing a way to feature a whole new group of characters in a new setting while retaining bits and pieces of the original story.
Auna Rue (Ema Horvath) is a teenage vlogger and aspiring actress who longs for notoriety. The quest leads her to a sinister website where she's pulled into the cursed stage play, "The Gallows." Her performance online makes her an instant star, but a dark spirit is looming. The film also Chris Milligan and Brittany Falardeau.
Focusing on one character is a big switch from the original film, which was an ensemble of actors encountering the deadly spirit. Lofing and Cluff felt like centering the story on one person surrounded by strong supporting players was another way to make the sequel feel slightly different.
Having Horvath's character be a vlogger was a key part of the story inspired by events surrounding the original film.
"One of the cool things that happened during the making of 'The Gallows' was this viral challenge called 'The Charlie Challenge.' It was a real thing that took the internet by storm," Lofing says. "We did that as a cool way into this world. What if 'The Gallows' was this viral challenge, this viral sensation, that kids are doing online, having different results ranging from getting tons of views to endangering themselves by conjuring up this spirit?
"We thought this was a really interesting and fun way to take some of those themes regarding social media, like the dangers of these challenges."
The biggest challenge was coming up with an ending that was appropriately creepy and smart. They know a lot horror movies are remembered for how strong or how weak the ending is.
Their decision was to play out the themes of the good and bad of the internet.
"The most cautionary tale you can tell is that if people believe that everything online is harmless, then they won't be on guard when harm comes their way," says Cluff. "If people are so willing to be desensitized by everything, then they won't be able to find red flags in their lives again."
A major benefit of shooting away from Hollywood is how much money can be saved by using local actors and crew members. "The Gallows" was shot for approximately $100,000, and it eventually made more than $42 million in box office totals around the globe. The feedback the pair have been getting regarding the sequel is the production values look like they cost vastly more than their budget.
"When we hear things like that, we say just give us $10 million and we will make a whole universe of 'Avengers' movies with that budget," Lofing says.
