The Look (2008)

A man tries to get away with the murder of his wife to escape ‘that look.’

A Gothic horror-noir that tells the story of Irv Moulton, a slumping, middle-aged man, who wakes up on the kitchen floor of his home to find two suspicious detectives looming over him. As Irv tells them one story of the evening’s events, we begin to learn of another, in which Irv killed his wife to escape “that look,” a gaze more terrifying than Irv could ever imagine.

Director’s Statement

Our foremost goal is to make films we would like to see. Genre pictures have always been a great love of ours, and even greater are films which pull at, stretch and blend these genres to make worlds of their own. There is nothing we enjoy more than a good thrill, chill or twist, and we strive to create characters and moments which stick in the brain long after the curtain has swung closed. In the words of writer Joe R. Landsdale:

“The low-budget horror movie stands on the line of good taste and bad taste, and like a scarecrow in a high wind, flaps its arms and leans first in one direction, then the other. What gives the good film its power is its bravery, its willingness to let the wind blow it across the line of good taste, into that part of the field that is less mannerly and sometimes downright rude.”

We could not agree more.

The Making of

The Look was funded by a $10,000 ViviGeek grant. Columbia grad student Ryan Demler pitched the idea for his short ‘gothic horror noir’ using a video, screenplay, synopsis and other material. Fellow film students awarded Ryan’s pitch the most votes, giving it the funds it needed to go into production.

Cast and Crew

Writers and directors
Ryan Demler
Matt Fantaci
Producers
Justin Sucre
Ryan Demler (executive producer)
Music by
Ernest Adzentoivich
Cinematography by
Jonathan Miller
Film editing by
Chunwoo Kae
Cast
Thomas G. Waites
Ashlie Atkinson
Annie McGovern
James Farrell
Allan Greenberg