Horrible Imaginings Film Commentary: Chris Cronin's "OSCAR'S BELL"

It is time for another Film Commentary, the section of our site where we offer you the chance to watch an excellent short film before reading an interview with the creators!

The short “Oscar’s Bell” is the type of film that is made to watch in the dark with the volume up. It is an exploration of some of the most classic anxieties—a forest in the dark, a mysterious sound—coupled with a most primal need to protect a child and the pure trust one has for one’s dog. These elements combine to provide a keen buildup of dread before a devastating payoff. It took a well-deserved award at the 2019 Horrible Imaginings, and now it is available for anybody to watch online, thanks to our friends at ALTER.

Duncan (Paul Bullion, Peaky Blinders) and his dog Oscar have gone on their weekly camping trip into the wilderness together. However, when Duncan looks out into the woods, something else looks back.

So, check out “Oscar’s Bell” here, and head on back to read my interview with director Chris Cronin!

Here we go! I am honestly excited by this since distance prevented your attendance at the festival, and I was not able to ask you these in front of an audience. Second chances! I might ask for elaborations maybe. Of course I will be linking directly to the film in the post. I am going to link to it first to encourage that they watch it first:

1. Let's start with this because it is a compliment to your film, but also about the pre-production. One of our audience was a person who teaches screenwriting, and he loved "Oscar's Bell," saying "THAT'S how you build tension!" So I wanted to ask you about that process of building tension and dread at the script level. Are there any tips you would give other screenwriters? 

That’s awesome! I’m really glad he enjoyed it.

My brother Sam Cronin initially came to me with this true story he found based around a man and his dog in the wilderness. It had amazing potential to be turned into a short film, it just didn’t have enough stakes or an ending. We thought that even without those elements, it was still really unnerving so we realised it was the question of “what’s out there?” that was enticing us.  Our main goal was to ask that question and not satisfy it within 30 seconds and also come up with a conclusion that rewards your patience. With horror, the dread and suspense for us is in the unknown, before the discovery, and so we wanted to draw that out as much as possible. What’s in the woods? Well, let’s hint at the dangers that go with that question, but let’s not answer in the next shot for the sake of a visual scare. It’s really down to asking questions which hint at dark consequences for as long as possible, without frustrating the audience.

Letting the audience wonder and come up with possibilities, with horror they tend to fill the blanks with their own fears. I know that’s what I definitely do. Even the cinematography can ask questions. In my personal favourite moment, our lead character Duncan is looking suspiciously at the tree-line, the camera moves to look behind him, it’s asking “Forget the trees, what’s behind you?”

Dread is a different feeling to suspense for me but they can be tied together. Knowing something bad is going to happen but having the characters push forward anyway because they have no alternative or maybe the question is too unbearable. You essentially know they are doomed but can’t help but root for them to come out unscathed anyway. If you don’t have those elements you are just walking around the woods, waiting for a jump scare. For Oscar’s Bell, I feel the dread is in knowing that a dog and a child are at risk.

2. When it comes to scary stories, there is perhaps no more classic setting than the deep, dark woods. Can you talk about that setting, and what you bring to such a traditional folktale fear?

You can’t get more stripped back horror than ghost stories told around a campfire. I think we just combined those elements with a creature that haunts me... I don’t want to say what it is as I’m having a lot of fun listening to viewers interpretations. I think it’s quite primal to look into the shadows and imagine the worst. What we’ve added to the genre is not only do you trust your own senses but do you trust your loved ones?

I think the lead character Duncan is an exception to the horror rule, he’s not an idiot whose slow to the realisation of the dangers, he’s just very comfortable in that environment and he’s being very rational to the odd noises that he hears. We created moments in the film that could be easily explained by the environment and we wanted someone very capable in that space who wasn’t scared by the odd rumble in bushes. He can't hear those horror chords yet!

3. I have to ask about the nightmare of production, and that nightmare has a name: hurricane. Can you talk about how your best laid plans were threatened by an Act of God?

We did everything by the book to make sure the production ran as smoothly as possible, and with the money we raised with IndieGoGo we got the right tools for the job... then the hurricane came along two days early and trashed all hope of finishing the film. We had to cancel on our second night of shooting and return the rented equipment so we ended up with no film and no budget. It took us a full year to round up the bare essentials, and an amazing group of people to help Oscar’s get back on track. Shot over two nights in Manchester in a field in a scouts camp, it ended up being a really positive production in the end .. except for the cold and being tired from night shoots.

The silver lining was that Paul Bullion came back and was the linch pin to getting it made. Not only that, Anti - the one take wonder dog - wasn’t available for the original shoot dates so we started out with a different dog. When we looked at reshooting we wanted to try get Anti again and she ended up being available which was a massive blessing as she was our first choice initially. 

4. Your title character is a dog. Can you talk about working with animal actors, and especially Anti, the dog in your film?

They say don’t work with dogs and children but I seem to have done both often for some reason. Believe it or not, Anti was perfect in nearly every take. Ashley, her trainer, was extremely experienced and was able to achieve everything needed in the script. They literally spoke to each other, it was insane. Anti’s film credits are more impressive than any of us. She’s currently chilling with Ricky Gervais in After Life on Netflix and a bunch of other big productions!

The only personal advice I have is if you’re going to work with animals make sure you hire animals that are film trained as opposed to photography, or your friend’s pets. They just don't care about your tight schedule.

5. Speaking of actors, your lead human actor Paul Bullion is just outstanding, and he genuinely sells the feelings he goes through out there with his dog. Can you talk about how he got cast, and what working with him was like? 

Paul already had amazing screen presence so thats was a plus bringing him onto the project. Just check him out in Peaky Blinders or any of his other work in film and television. He prioritises collaboration and understanding which was very important for the role. He wanted it to feel honest but also fulfill the vision of the project so it was a real pleasure working with him. 

Ben Newsome helped us with casting and, through Paul’s agent, put us in touch. As a production team, we were immediately drawn to him for the role of Duncan. He came across tough but with a sensitivity just below the surface, which was a perfect combo for a protective father in extreme circumstances. With Paul, the process was mostly understanding the character, what motivates him and what truly scares him then slowly revealing that over time. We had those discussions at the start and from then on it was just watching him work, providing little bits of motivation here and there. One element we really wanted to push for the character was that Duncan isn’t so easily rattled for a lead in a horror story so that when he does start to unravel, it should be even more daunting for the audience.

6. Genesis Flux is the name of the production company behind this creation. Can you talk about Genesis Flux, what it takes to find regular creative partners, and what we can expect in the future?

Genesis Flux is a band of brothers and sisters that found each other early in our careers. We come together and create something that we believe tests our creativity and skillsets when the script feels right. Everyone in the group is off right now doing their own thing in TV, film and documentary. We did just wrap though on an emotional and ambitious sci-fi called 'All The Imagined Echoes' but have no plans after that for now. I'm just about to enter prep for my first feature film with Dan Films. If you enjoyed Oscar's Bell then I’m happy to say the feature will be a supernatural horror too!

7. POSSIBLY SPOILER TERRITORY: I brought up before the mounting tension and sense of dread. The challenge of choosing to create something that attempts those feelings is the payoff. What are the tension and dread building toward? How to you create a payoff that justifies the feelings that came before? Where did your idea come from?

Ok, I’ll try to avoid spoilers best I can as I’m super proud of the ending and I want people to see it!

Oscar’s Bell’s concept came from a reddit reply to a ghost story and we found the reply, which was a true event, to be even scarier than the story. With that commenter’s permission, we crafted Oscar’s Bell. In real life it ends up being nothing and they just camp in the truck until morning so we had to completely create a satisfying answer to justify the drawn out suspense and dread that you mentioned earlier. We just kept asking ourselves, what would be worse for Duncan? After a few steps of cruelty, we came up with our ending. It really does just play out like a cruel joke. Set up, misdirect and then the scary punchline.

Thank you, Chris Cronin, for the wonderful interview. We look forward to hearing from you again!