Terrortory 2 is Here!

Hey there! I know it’s been awhile since my last post, and that I have been slacking majorly on this blog, but for now just know that I am fine. Nothing crazy happened to me or anything like that. I plan on writing an update post soon.

For now, I want to let you know that my new film, Terrortory 2, is out now for everyone to see.

Oh, and it’s FREE!

If you remember, I stared in the first Terrortory as Smiling Jack (I also played the role of Gotz as well.) You can read all about that here. Well, Smiling Jack is back for Terrortory 2. As you can see on the poster below, I made it front and center as Smiling Jack once again.

Honestly, this is truly amazing to me. As a huge fan of the likes of Jason Voorhess, Michael Myers, and Freddy Krueger (to name a few), it’s crazy to think that I am starring in a movie as a killer, just like them, and featured on the poster. Not once, but twice.

So, if you’re a big horror fan, or just a little bit of a horror fan, please go watch Terrortory 2. It’s free on Amazon Video throughout the month of October to anyone that is a Prime member. When you do watch it, could you please drop us an Amazon review, it would really help us out.

I hope you enjoy the movie as much as me and the rest of the cast and crew enjoyed making it. Who knows, maybe one day we'll see a Smiling Jack spinoff movie?


--
Matt

Terrortory DVD and Terrortory 2!

If you follow me on Twitter and Facebook (which you should), then you would have seen the news about the DVD release of Terrortory last week.

Isn't she a beauty?

You can purchase Terrortory straight from the source or alternatively through Amazon. If you haven’t had the chance to see Terrortory yet (what are you waiting for?) and are hesitant to pick up the DVD, you can still check it out pretty cheaply on Amazon Video.

Also, Terrortory 2 is happening!

I am set to reprise my role as the crazy pumpkin head killer, Smiling Jack. I held onto the costume after we had wrapped on the first movie, everything minus the head. The director hung on to that. A few months back, I pulled out the costume, which I had kept inside a cardboard box, and hiked back into the woods once more for a photoshoot. This is the result of that shoot...

I am really looking forward to playing this role again. Smiling Jack, although wacky looking with his big pumpkin head, is 100% pure badass. You really shouldn’t go into his area of the Terrortory, but people still do. I have read the script for my part and heard a lot of ideas from director Kevin Kangas about the rest of the movie. I'm not spilling anything, but from what I've heard, it sounds like it's really going to be one hell of a sequel. I can't wait!

I will keep this site posted on future news, obviously.

Welcome to the Terrortory

Starting today and lasting throughout the month, Terrortory, the newest film I appear in, will have its premiere on Amazon Prime Video. See that guy in the poster above with the pumpkin head? Yeah, that's me!

For the entire month of October, Terrortory (trailer below) will be available, for FREE, on Amazon Prime. If you don’t have a Prime you can still watch it for a $2.99 seven day rental in HD.

Terrortory is an '80s inspired anthology horror film. If you don’t know what an anthology film is, shame on you, I’ll explain it real quick. An anthology film is a movie comprised of several short stories spanning the length of a normal movie.

This film marks a lot of firsts for me. This is the first anthology horror film I have acted in. Second, I actually got to play two roles in the film. Something that was made possible because of the fact that it's an anthology film. (And the awesome people involved of course.) Third, the roles I play are of killers. I have played zombies before, where I did kill someone on screen, but never have I portrayed a masked killer. As a die hard Jason Voorhees fan, to have the opportunity to do this was a dream come true. (And I’d do it again in a heartbeat.) Lastly, I am on the damn poster. How cool is that?

Terrortory has been a long time in the making. The scenes I was on set for were shot in September/October of 2014 and the same time again in 2015. I think I first mentioned I was filming scenes for it in this post way back in April of 2015. The world premiere screening was just last Thursday night in Baltimore, Maryland. Movies take time, and independent movies like this are no exception.

A lot of people put a ton of hard work, time, and dedication into bringing Terrortory to it’s completion. I am glad I got to be a part of it all.

I’ll keep you all posted on the inevitable DVD/Bluray release.

Be sure to follow me on Twitter and Facebook to also stay up to date.

I Finished My Screenplay

In my last update, I mentioned I was going to be writing a screenplay that would be submitted to a contest. This past week the Quarter Finalists for the contest were announced. I was not on the list. Although I didn't make it on the list, I did accomplish something most people can't say...

I finished my screenplay.

The truth is, I started writing this screenplay years ago. I did what many writers do that are new to writing screenplays. I worked on it here and there, never actually got far, and eventually stopped working on it all together. Which is something I'm not proud of, because I'm actually really passionate about the art form that is screenwriting.

Jump to early 2014, I read online that ScreenCraft is holding a screenplay contest specifically for horror. It kicked me into gear. Finally, once and for all, I was going to finish my first screenplay. I was going to make damn sure of it. From mid March to the end of May, I worked on my screenplay almost every night. Even after working an 8 hour day, then hitting a gym session afterwards, I still came home and at least put an hour into writing something before bed.

My hard work and dedication paid off as I was able to complete my screenplay a week before the deadline of June 1. The 30 to 35 disordered pages I wrote before, were now a cohesive 92 pages.

Yeah, I didn't make it to the list of Quarter Finalists for the contest, but I did receive one page worth of feedback notes on my script. I'm proud of what they had to say about it. The numbers I received on their scorecard rating system shocked me, in a good way.

Just because I didn't advance in the contest doesn't mean my screenplay is bad. I am proud of what I accomplished in such little time. The fact that I finished my screenplay and received positive feedback on it from a reputable source is victory in it self. Not to mention it's my first screenplay.

I'll be moving forward with my writing, short stories and screenplays. Hopefully one day this screenplay will be shared with the world.

- Matt

Are you a filmmaker interested in reading my screenplay? Please contact me.

RedFall... is Dead.

I stated back in July of last year that my film RedFall was on hold. I claimed that it would eventually happen, but I just didn't know when it would happen. Well I would just like to put it down right now that I have declared RedFall dead. It has been dead for some time, but now I’m making it official.


Previously unreleased poster. (Yes, that is me.)

I'm not going to sit here and point fingers at anyone and say, "This is way RedFall is dead." RedFall is dead, because I say it is dead. However, I would like to thank my friends Chris O’Brocki and Dan Houser, for joining me on this project from the beginning and providing their services for free in hopes of finishing this film. (Or hopes of shutting me up about it.)

Here is some information about the film, if you are interested.

RedFall was a horror film being shot in the Found Footage style, similar to Paranormal Activity or The Blair Witch Project. Unlike most mainstream Found Footage films that usually have a ghostly element; RedFall was about a serial killer. (Pictured above.) I always described the film to people as Halloween meets The Blair Witch Project.

The visual look of the film was supposed to appear as though you are watching a digital transfer of a VHS tape. Once filming had finished and the edit was locked, we planned to add small visual effects to achieve this VHS look by doing such things as degrading the quality of the footage and adding tracking errors. We filmed two scenes featuring my niece to have breaks in the film that appeared as though the main characters were recording over old footage.

Only 7 scenes were completely filmed, out of the 21 total scenes. Every shoot we had was a blast. We were always having fun, but were serious and got things done in a reasonable fashion. As we completed scenes, I began work on a rough edit of the film. My edit, as it stands today, is 14 minutes and 16 seconds long.

Below are a few still frames taking right from my rough edit.
These frames appear without any visual effects.


My niece running down a pier. This was the opening shot for the film. The main footage came in as she was running down the pier. Acting as though it was being recorded over.


My niece looking for turtles. This appeared later in the film after a particular scene. Also appearing as old footage on the tape. (The date and time in the corners are also a bit of trivia. Can you figure it out?)


Dan Houser as Corey in a scene where him and Brandon are talking. The scene starts with him fooling around with the camera.


Chris O'Brocki as Brandon. This appears later in the film as the power goes off in the house and they have to rely on the camera's light.


Me as The Ghost. The killer of the film lurking in the basement as they searched for the fuse box. This was meant for the audience to notice and not the characters.


Me as The Ghost, saying hello to Corey as he attempted to fix the fuse box.


Brandon lays unconscious in the back of The Ghost's van.

In conclusion, I learned a lot doing RedFall. Good things and bad. Other than the fact that the film wasn’t completed or released, I don't regret anything. I would have never learned how to do certain things, like paint a rubber knife to look real.

I now have a new found respect for anyone who is an independent filmmaker, because making a movie is hard. I hope to one-day make a horror film of my own. If that day will come, I do not know, but I will damn sure give it my all.

On to the next project.

- Matt

RedFall Filming: Day 5

Well Day 5 of filming came this past weekend. We tried to get 2 scenes knocked out, but only finished one. Hey, it's still a step forward. The footage we captured looks great. I can't wait to see what others think of it. We filmed in a small little basement most of the night and we kept hitting our heads on the ceiling and pipes. It was fun though! Below is the diary video we shot, but keep in mind we are all tired. Enjoy!

RedFall on Facebook.

RedFall Filming: Day 4

Day 4 is done! It was actually a quick night, but we managed to get another scene and a half filmed for the movie. We are moving along rather nicely. I wish we were moving faster, but at least it is something, right? Anyways, enjoy our Day 4 diary below.

RedFall on Facebook.

RedFall Filming: Day 3

I realize we are moving along very slow, but that's how it goes sometimes. Day 1 of filming was back in October and Day 2 was in November. Day 3 was supposed to be knocked out back in December, but things with Christmas came up so we decided to take a short break for the holidays to pass.

Now that it's 2013, we are going to be filming a lot more. My goal is to be done filming by the end of May. Which would give us five good months to get everything filmed. We are also working on editing the film as we finish filming days. This way post-production will go by very smooth.

Anyway, that is all I can say for now. Enjoy the Day 3 video diary below.

RedFall on Facebook.

RedFall Filming: Day 2

 Day 2 is down. Enjoy.

RedFall Filming: Day 1

RedFall is finally happening. Day 1 of filming is in the can. We will be filming video diary's after every shoot so please enjoy the Day 1 diary below. Trust me, they will get more entertaining as the shoot goes on. Stay tuned for more RedFall news and videos.

RedFall: The Hunt for a Retractable Knife

I have been searching online for a retractable knife to be used in the film for about a month now. I began searching for a company that already has retractable knives made that I could buy or possible even rent. I found some websites that rent or sell retractable knifes. However they charge you about $2,000 for them and some also require you to have insurance. That’s just something I really couldn’t afford.

After that failed, I tried searching for special effects companies, in hopes of getting a retractable knife created. I did find some big time special effects companies and some small time companies. Some had no clue of what I was asking. You’re a special effects company for films, how do you not know what I’m talking about? Others said they could make one for me; however they were all charging considerably more than what I could afford. Prices ranged as low as $450 to over $1,000. I know that doesn’t seem like too much, but keep in mind that we are making this film independently. If we had a studio backing us, then this hunt would have ended weeks ago.

The hunt continued and I kept searching. After sending out 40 plus emails, I finally found a guy at a special effects company that will make us the retractable knife for $250. That’s a great price for an independent filmmaker to afford. Thus the hunt was over. The retractable knife is being made as I write this and should be ready in time for the scenes it will be used for.

As I was searching, I found a lot of people online that were also searching for retractable knives for their projects. Some seemed to always be talked out of it by someone telling them to film the scene in a way so a retractable knife isn’t needed. I myself even had a special effects artist tell me to film around the actual knife stabbing someone. This really pisses me off. I feel that the scene that I wrote only works if you see the knife stabbing the person. If you didn’t see it then the whole scene isn’t as effective. I would rather re-write the scene completely then film around it. Which I’ll admit I was about to do as I felt that finding a retractable knife was like finding the Holy Grail.

I want to end by saying that even though it was hard to find someone to make us a retractable knife, I still did it. I searched, and searched, and searched. And that searching finally paid off. If you’re an independent filmmaker and you really want to use one for your film then you need to get out there and search. Don’t change your scenes or film around it.

RedFall Update: 2012!

2012 is now upon us, so I thought I'd bring you all up to speed on what's going on with RedFall. Production was set to begin last October, but we due to some unforeseen circumstances we had to set it back. We are a very small crew, so things are taking a little longer than anticipated. Thanksgiving and the Christmas season set us back even more as people involved with the film were busy with family plans and work. However, now that the new year is here, we are set to go full swing into RedFall, starting now.

There are a few small things we need to tweak before filming begins. I will keep you posted on when filming starts and how things progress. I've been thinking about starting a YouTube account so I can post videos from the set to keep you all up-to-date faster. Stay tuned for that! 2012 is going to be a huge year for RedFall, so stay tuned to my blog and DeepDarkThoughts.com for updates.

Also be sure to like us on Facebook if you haven't already.

RedFall Update: 10-23-11

I know there has not been an update in awhile. The truth is that things have been pretty slow. October was going to be the month we started shooting the film, but now it might not happen until November or December. We are a very small crew and there are so many things we need to get in order and it’s taking longer then expected.

Today Dan Houser and I had a fun photo shoot for the film. (Dan is also the co-producer, editor, camera operator, and he will be playing Sam in the film.) We took over one hundred pictures of me dressed as our masked killer, “The Ghost.” We are working on turning some of them into posters; other photos will be revealed when the time is right. Keep a look out for them. We also filmed some test footage for the film so we can try out some ideas we have.

Check out the RedFall page for official news, and like us on Facebook.

In the mean time, enjoy our already released Teaser Poster.

Update: Dead links removed.

RedFall Update: Synopsis, Info and Pics

The following was posted over at HorrorBid.com...

Pre-Production has begun on a new independent horror slasher. The film, currently titled RedFall, is slated to start filming later this summer in Maryland and will be shot in the style of The Blair Witch Project and Paranormal Activity.

Written by Chris O’Brocki and M. T. Smith, RedFall will follow a group of young college students making a documentary for their film school class about the bizarre and unexplained dead bodies that keep popping up in their neighboring county. After traveling to the nearby country to capture their footage, they accidentally film a mysterious man dumping a body in the woods. Scared, the group must decide quickly what to do with their footage. Unfortunately, before they can do anything, this mysterious man shows up to silence them.

RedFall is set to star Chris O’Brocki (Fear of Clowns 2, Bounty), Chris Clark (Deadlands 2: Trapped) Jemma McDime (Jebediah), and Erin Chaney. M. T. Smith is also set to direct the film while also portraying “The Ghost,” the films mysterious serial killer.

Below is an exclusive behind the scenes progress picture of The Ghost's mask.

The following pics are for my blog readers...

Welcome

Hello to everyone reading this. This is Matthew Smith, also known has M.T.Smith, and this is my official blog. I did away with the website, because it was just too much to handle. I can keep track of everything right here on this blog a lot easier and for free. Hell, if Rob Zombie can do it, I can do it too.

I'll try to update this blog as often as possible with updates of my movies, or any other projects I have going on. Plus personal rants and anything else I feel like writing about. Hopefully I could post about one entry a week, but we will see how things go.

Here is a quick update on my current film...
The mask for our currently untitled movie arrived in the mail yesterday and it looks sweet. We are still working on the costume that the killer is going to wear, but I think we are on to something. We should be having a small photo shoot before filming begins, if all goes well. So perhaps a teaser poster or image will spring up soon. That's all that I can say now.

Feel free to follow me on Twitter (link on right) as I will also be giving more updates on there. For more detailed updates stay tuned.