Get Your First Look at Daniel Ray’s Killer Doll Film Heidi
Filmmaker Daniel Ray dropped us a line to let us know that his new found footage haunted doll film Heidi is an official selection of the 2014 PollyGrind Film Festival with its world premiere set for October 17th. He provided us with a few stills, a teaser trailer, the synopsis, and more details on the project, which has been in pre-production since early 2013.
Ray told us that the film is presented documentary style with everything seen from the viewpoint of the characters’ individual video camera.
He said, “The importance of integrating common video technology with everyday cameras, such as iPhones, GoPros, webcam chats, and nanny cams, is critical to creating a truly disturbing and believable horror film and also in making it relevant to today’s media-savvy audience.”
Heidi is Daniel’s feature film directing debut; he previously worked with Albert Pyun on Road to Hell as an editor and cameraman. He and his older brother and legal representative, Joseph Gutierrez, have formed a collaborative director-producer team known as The Gutierrez Brothers in association with their new film production company, Neon Mirage. Joseph serves as executive producer on Heidi with Mary Solis and Joe Frank being associate producers.
Dozens of actors auditioned for the lead role, but none of them could convincingly play a teenager. The director decided to audition his own nephew, Samuel Brian, who was 16 years old at the time and fit the teenage role perfectly. Samuel’s natural ability to improvise as well as handle a professional camera immediately landed him the part. Once the lead was found, Ray was able to build a solid supporting cast around him with newcomers like Joey Bell, Joei Fulco, and Eva Falana. Their co-stars include Elizabeth Callahan, Michael Monteiro, and Ava Gianna.
Heidi was shot in various locations in Las Vegas, Nevada, including Lake Mead and Summerlin, but most of the shooting was done in Southwest Las Vegas within a rural neighborhood that was completely isolated from the city and surrounded by desert, making its seclusion the perfect fit for this type of film. Writer/director Ray covered all aspects of post-production, including editing, visual effects, sound mixing, and Foley.
PollyGrind 2014 runs October 16-18; click the link for additional info, including the full lineup.
Synopsis
Two high school friends, Ryan (Samuel Brian) and Jack (Joey Bell), are hoping to be the next YouTube stars with their series of prank videos, spending their summer break terrorizing friends and loved ones, all to get a laugh. When Ryan is hired to do a housesitting job for a neighbor, their curiosity to explore an abandoned attic takes a terrifying turn after discovering a mysterious doll: Heidi. Suddenly tormented by a string of unexplained events, Ryan believes the doll is more than just haunted – it is alive, and he intends to capture everything on camera to prove it. But the worst has yet to come as Heidi’s deadly idea of playtime is just getting started…
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