By MICHAEL GINGOLD
Skip Shea, the independent genre filmmaker behind TRINITY, has unveiled the trailer for his latest feature, SEEDS. He also gave us some words on the movie, which, like his previous production, has a personal side.
“As TRINITY was about my life as a survivor of clergy sexual abuse,” Shea tells RUE MORGUE, “I felt the need to put a bit of myself in this one as well, so it starts with grieving parents. There is a point in that grieving process that is surreal. One can feel like they are going mad.”
Shea tapped those emotions to tell the story of Macha (Emma MacKenzie), a grieving mother who has been having visions. “Her husband Andrew, played by Patrick Bracken, is called off to visit a small cult in New England under mysterious circumstances. Their leader has passed away, and they need to find the replacement. It’s a cult that worships the magic properties found in apples; there are people who still believe this, and point to The Beatles’ record label or Steve Jobs’ company both using the apple for their logo. A subplot revolves around Cardinal Sinibaldi [played by Kip Weeks, who also helped produce], who wants to infiltrate the cult because he also believes in these magical properties, but has a more profitable reason for learning them. He sends a priest, Father Tom [David Graziano, reprising his role from TRINITY], to meet with them. I wanted to explore the business side of the Church and the Vatican Bank, and the things the Church invests in—the corporate side. Macha, Andrew and Father Tom all end up deep in the woods with this cult, and it becomes a deadly game that ushers in the end of the patriarchy and the rise of the matriarchy.”
The cast of SEEDS also includes Rick Johnston, Aurora Grabill, Nicole Watson, Bella Medeiros and Italian horror veteran Barbara Magnolfi (pictured above, from SUSPIRIA and THE SUSPICIOUS DEATH OF A MINOR); the score is by Shawn McPherson, a.k.a. Shootie HG, who worked on the music for the video games DEVIL MAY CRY 4 and FINAL FANTASY XIII-2. Shea recently completed postproduction on the movie, and plans to send it out on the festival circuit later this year. “I’m a huge fan of the folk horror tradition from way back–things like THE WICKER MAN and [the BBC movie] ROBIN REDBREAST–so I wanted to go for that older feel,” he says. “As I wanted to make it all about New England, I even used locations like the same ferry that was seen in LET’S SCARE JESSICA TO DEATH.” For more on SEEDS, head over to the official website and Facebook page. Shea is also offering TRINITY for free on-line viewing on Vimeo, using the code Trinity.
