Embarking on a meaningful search for identity is a powerful journey that many people take, but don’t often share with the world. The new horror short, ‘Faces,’ is one such genre project that fearlessly conquers that topic. The film delves into the things that people think will turn them into a more complete version of themselves, even if they’re forced to face their fears along the way.

Blake Simon wrote and directed ‘Faces.’ The drama stars Cailyn Rice, Ethan Daniel Corbett, Natalie de Vincentis, Emily Gateley, Hanna Eisenbath and Olivia Lee.

In ‘Faces,’ after the disappearance of a local girl on a dark October evening, Judy (Rice), a college student visiting for the weekend, is invited to a fraternity party. For Judy, what could have been a night of fun and drinking spirals out of control when she encounters a mysterious, deadly entity. As the night unfolds, the entity’s uncanny quest brings violent consequences to those who cross its path.

‘Faces’ is having its World Premiere in the Small Gauge Trauma – Short Film Selection of this year’s Fantasia International Film Festival. The movie’s festival screening will be held this Wednesday, July 31 at 9:30 pm ET at the Salle J.A. De Sève theater in Montreal.

Simon generously took the time yesterday to talk about penning and helming ‘Faces’during an exclusive interview over Zoom. Among other things, the filmmaker discussed his inspiration in scribing the script; his approach to directing the short after creating the story; and what it means to them that the drama is having its World Premiere at Fantasia.

Film Factual (FF): You wrote the script for the new horror short, ‘Faces.’ What was your inspiration in penning the screenplay for the film?

Blake Simon (BS): Whenever I’m writing, it’s not something that’s really planned. For me, it’s more just like an idea strikes, and then I run with it and try and keep up with it.

I had this idea that there is this dark side of the search for identity, until you get to where you’re trying to go. It can be really scary. People often try things out that don’t work. The dissatisfaction that comes with that, and sometimes even the fake praise that comes with trying those things out, was really terrifying.

I wanted to see what would happen if we explored the embodiment of that fear, and that’s where the idea came from. I’ve experience certain things like that, which inspired me to start writing.

FF: In addition to scribing the script, you also directed the drama. What was your overall approach to helming once production began?

BS: Well, I had made another horror, short less than a year before ‘Faces.’ What was nice about that was we had just worked with the same crew on that film as we did on this one.

We all worked really well together, and the film turned out well. Half the battle of filmmaking is starting the momentum of getting your team together and getting a project set up.

So when that first project went well, I basically called the producers back. I was like, “Get everyone back. I don’t want to lose this momentum.”

Upon finishing writing, we went into pre-production and filming very quickly, in about a few months. We spent a lot of time on casting. Casting the two pivotal roles was very challenging, and then beyond that, it’s kind of an ensemble cast. I really wanted it to feel real and lived in, like you’re really with people of this age in this environment, especially when those changes happen in the film.

So we spent a long time casting. I was so thrilled with the people we put together, with Ethan and Kayla in particular.

Then as far as our approach for filming, stylistically, I really wanted it to feel like an homage to classical ’80s horror films. I didn’t want it to be too clean and perfect or feel too modern. I wanted it to have this older look to it that feels nostalgic, despite being told in the modern day. I think often times horror filmmakers, myself included, try to stray away from modern day, because modern technology can lead toward unmistifying things, and can often make things less scary.

FF: You mentioned working with the movie’s cast, which includes Cailyn Rice and Ethan Daniel Corbett. Once the actors were cast in the drama, how did you work with them to build their characters throughout the production?

BS: Casting was very tricky, especially for the two lead characters of Judy and Brad’s characters played by Cailyn and Ethan. Obviously the characters are on different ends of the spectrum. So one of the most important things with casting was figuring out if the actors could do these different things because they hadn’t read the script yet.

Asking them to play something so totally opposite can be very confusing. So coaching them through that and then seeing that they could do it was very important.

But there are also so many similarities between certain parts of their performances. So it was essential for me that the three of us sit down in a room together and just talk about those overlapping scenes. I wanted to discuss what I wanted them to feel like and get them on the same page.

So for the vanity room scenes, I actually had both of them on set for each other’s scenes, watching behind the monitor as we were filming. Both Ethan and Cailyn wanted to be so on the same page that they would get inspiration from what the other was doing.

So there are a ton of little things that you can draw connections between in the beginning and the end that were intentional. There were things that I fostered, as well as things that they came up with on their own. So I could not have been more happy with that.

Also, just to also talk about the bathroom sequence, which obviously is a stand out for a few reasons in the film. Cailyn used to be a dancer. I remember asking her what kind of dance she did when we were first casting, and she described it as witchy sh*t. (Simon laughs.) I got a kick out of that answer. I immediately thought, I know what to do with that.

As a result, so much of that bathroom sequence is all her, as well as tricks with filmmaking. But 90 percent of it is all her performance.

So the cast was incredible. I couldn’t have been luckier.

FF: In genre films, in addition to the actors’ performances, the score is also an integral part in creating the tension in the plot. How did you work with the short’s composer, Daniel Ciurlizza, to create the music for the project?

BS: Daniel Ciurlizza is a wonderful composer, and is some who I’ve worked with on many films. The score is really odd in this movie.

It’s funny – the score’s not entirely what I set out to make. When I first started making it, I thought that we would lean into the classic ’80s synth, Carpenter type of score, just by the nature of the tone and atmosphere of the movie.

But Daniel was the one who really convinced me we could do something a bit more original and less expected. We leaned into the synth in some of the sound. A good friend of mine, Max Besterman, did a handful of those party tracks in the film. He also worked on the background things that are playing that give the film an eerie throw-back feeling of horror.

But for the score itself, Daniel really wanted to do something unusual and unsettling, particularly for the score in that very first vanity room scene. I think that score really catches people off guard because it’s so guttural. It’s not what you would expect, especially in a scene that’s otherwise kind of elegant.

So Daniel did an amazing job from the very beginning of the film. The score makes you feel very unsettled and like there’s something brewing under the surface, which was essential for the movie.

FF: ‘Faces’ will have its World Premiere at the Fantasia International Film Festival next Wednesday, July 31. What does it mean to you that the drama is premiering at the festival?

BS: It’s been amazing and so exciting. Everyone from Fantasia, including Mitch )Davis, the festival’s Artistic Director), has been so unbelievably supportive of the film in such a huge way, even ahead of us being there. So that’s been amazing.

It will be our first time seeing it with an audience. Everyone who’s already seen the film, which is a very small group, has loved it. But seeing it with an audience will be a very different experience, and we couldn’t be more excited. We could not have asked for better place than Fantasia to world premiere, so it’s truly an honor. It’s just under one week from now, so I can’t wait!