1) Can you talk briefly about your background, and how you first got interested in filmmaking?

I grew up around the corner from a video store in Rumson, New Jersey. I was in there so regularly, by 9 years old I announced I wanted to own this store one day. In the early 2000’s they converted their entire inventory to DVD and sold off their tapes for pocket change. I think I bought close to 400 VHS - pretty much buying all of Rumson Video. The collection was extensive; every genre and era from weird 70’s sci-fi and 80’s dramas, to soap operas and action movies. They were all blended together in one experience that for me was the closest thing to a formal education and background in film. My mom still can’t get rid of my tapes.

2) What was the initial idea for this project and how did it evolve from there?

The film is based on a quintessential Joyce Carol Oates story read in many American high schools. It was originally inspired by a serial killer who would pick up on young girls. When I read it in class, it was the first time I fully grasped that someone could hold power over me solely based on their physical presence. That because I am a woman I’m inherently vulnerable in this type of exchange, and whether or not the situation is threatening, there exists this covert sense of terror. It really stuck with me.

As a classic stranger-danger story, the structure has a fairytale-like simplicity which seemed like a good way to address larger issues I wanted to talk about without being confined to the details of a complicated plotline. I was thinking about the illusions and false values that arise from the devotion to pop culture, music, movies and especially the internet and how teenagers are at the heart of the agony of our contemporary world. I brought that updated aspect to her story and also liked the idea of a modern serial killer being more of an emotional terrorist.

On a whim, I reached out to Joyce about permission to do an adaptation and got an email back 15 minutes later. So then I felt like I had to follow through.

3) What was the biggest challenge in making this film? And the easiest part?!

Finding a good rhythm in the dialogue was difficult. Because the physical threat isn’t at the heart of what’s going on, Jack’s character ultimately uses the power of his words to get her to give up everything. So the dynamic had to be subtly shifting the balance of power between the two characters at different times. There’s also a duality in both characters and what they represent. He’s the incarnation of her dreams and desires, but he’s also a nightmare. She’s wavering at the boundary between childhood and adulthood, projecting a rebelliousness and maturity that’s contrary to the reality of her innocence. To be believable, neither one could be too dominant. If he was too aggressive, she might not engage and if she was too strong then his words might not have an impact.

Everything else was made pretty easy by working with some close friends and collaborators who are all artists in their own right and each brought something special beyond what I could’ve imagined.

4) What’s a film you’ve seen recently, new or old, that you really loved and why?

Last year at the Maryland Film Festival I screened with the film Ham on Rye, directed by my friend Tyler Taormina. Like my film, it’s also a sort of study in ritualistic teenage behavior (we’re in a very niche sub genre!). I think many films about that particular era of life are written from the perspective of an older person that has placed every event in perfect context, allowing the viewer to watch from an ironic distance: Oh, those silly kids and their prom. But they miss the ability to project the actual sensation of being young. Tyler created this uncanny world full of codes and opaque rituals you only half understand, and it totally captures what it feels like to be seventeen in all it’s terrifying confusion.

5) What’s next for you?

I suppose quarantine bought us all some extra time, which I used to finish another short film called Young Forever. But I’m challenged to be productive writing a feature while my personal feelings are at odds. The continual breakdown of our systems has created a very different environment to make work in, for better or worse.

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5 Questions with Stevie Szerlip ("The Follower")