By MICHAEL GINGOLD
The creator of this sequel has an updated book on fright follow-ups out as well.
Indie filmmaker Jason Paul Collum sent along stills and behind-the-scenes pics from his latest feature, SAFE INSIDE 2. Many of the cast of Collum’s original film return here, including NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD’s Judith O’Dea (pictured above), genre fave Brinke Stevens (1st photo below), Chris Harder (2nd photo, and 3rd photo with Collum), Darcey Vanderhoef (4th and 5th photos), Tina Ona Paukstelis and Karen Dilloo. Joining them are Michael Thomas Determan and Michael Oilar; the synopsis: “When Gibbs [Determan] rents the home where scream queen actress Crystal Lake [O’Dea] committed suicide and her son J.J. [Harder] went insane, he slowly realizes that the house isn’t empty. The question is, are the bizarre events spinning around him being caused by someone…or something?”
“Making a sequel to SAFE INSIDE–which was filmed in 2012, but not released until 2017–was probably one of the last things I ever thought I would do,” Collum tells us. “Then the opportunity to make, should I say, a quickie just came about–the right people in the right place at the right time. For whatever reason, SAFE INSIDE has continued to grow in popularity in the UK. About two years ago I noticed that as each month passed, the viewership on Prime just kept getting larger. I used to make all my profits on Prime UK from OCTOBER MOON and SCREAMING IN HIGH HEELS, but over the last six months, SAFE INSIDE has consistently surpassed them. So I decided making SAFE INSIDE 2 was a safe bet, at least for UK sales.
“I had so much fun making this,” he continues. “It’s one of those rare filmmaking experiences where there were a ton of happy accidents. So many things just fell into place. And now, watching the first 45 minutes of the cut, I think people are honestly going to enjoy it. It’s a traditional B-movie filled with likable characters, some genuine jump scares and suspense, a certain level of camp–it’s a popcorn movie. I’m always nervous about reviews, but I think this one will be even more favorably received than the original.”
Collum is currently wrapping up post on SAFE INSIDE 2 and is looking to begin screening it late this fall, followed by a streaming debut and an eventual disc release exclusively via Makeflix.com. Meanwhile, Rotten Rainbow Press recently issued Collum’s updated edition of his book THEY MADE HOW MANY?!: (MOSTLY) AMERICAN HORROR FRANCHISES OF THE 20TH CENTURY. The now 654-page tome covers every fear flick from 1900 to 1999 to have at least one sequel, updated with more than 50 titles (many of them no doubt AMITYVILLE movies). Collum covers the histories of these films, organizing chronological orders and timelines, with Fun Facts and interviews with more than 30 filmmakers and actors. It can be ordered at Amazon.com.
