The most harrowing genre films are those that serve as a balancing act between creative vision, collaboration and the challenges of bringing a story from the page to the screen. The new horror comedy short, ‘Terroir,’ efficiently does just that in its efficient run time of 13 minutes and 45 seconds.
Casey Rogerson wrote, directed, produced and edited the movie. The short stars popular influencer and up-and-coming scream queen, Madison Hu. She’s joined on screen by Leenya Rideout, Naomi Rubin, João Santos and John R. Howle.
‘Terroir’ had its Los Angeles County Premiere on Sunday, October 12 at 11:30am PT at the TCL Chinese Theatre in Hollywood during Screamfest 2025. The project won Best Student Short at the festival for Rogerson, who’s a directing fellow at the American Film Institute (AFI) Conservatory.
‘Terroir’ follows a young wine critic, Kirsta (Madison Hu), who returns to a French vineyard one year after giving it a bad review. There, she and her friends become the target of a masked killer.
Rogerson generously took the time to talk about making the short during an exclusive Zoom interview several days after the film screened at Screamfest. Among other things, he discussed the challenges and rewards of writing, directing, producing and editing the horror comedy, highlighting the support of his cast and crew, and the joy of sharing the finished project with festival audiences
Film Factual (FF): You wrote the script for the new short film, ‘Terroir.’ What inspired you to pen the screenplay? How did you approach scribing the script for the horror comedy?
Casey Rogerson (CR): Growing up, my parents were always been huge wine people. I went with them to a wine tasting, and the person who was running it described one of the wines as having a bloody flavor. Immediately, because I’ve loved horror my whole life, my wheels started turning.
I started to imagine this setup where a group of wine lovers are being targeted and put in danger, but they are so focused on the wine that they sort of don’t care. That was the seed for ‘Terroir.’
I’ve been calling it ‘Scream’ meets ‘Sideways’ throughout this process. I feel like that sums it up.
FF: Besides writing the screenplay, you also directed the movie. How did you approach helming the feature after you pen the scrip?
CR: This was my first time directing a project of this scale, and there was so much learning happening. It was wonderful to have a cast and crew filled with people that I had collaborated with on other projects, whether they were classmates of mine or we had interned together.
I felt incredibly supported by the cast and crew. When it came time to actually film, we had a job to do. But there was still room to play around and find it, which was great.
We filmed on this beautiful vineyard called Amalfia Cellars in Atco, New Jersey. They let us film there for free for a crazy weekend. We were there for these long days and some nights filming the movie. To have them really believe in me and in the project also made it a wonderful experience.
FF: Like you mentioned, you shot ‘Terroir’ at the vineyard Amalfia Cellars in Atco, New Jersey. How did you decide where to film the project and create the production design?
CR: As you saw in the film, the vineyard is just a stunning property. What was really wonderful about it was that it was run by the kindest, most generous people, and it had so many distinct spaces.
The script has us in a barn, a tasting room, a wine cellar, out on the vineyard and then on a road. It was going to be a really special property that would have all of those features. When I went to Amalfia Cellars and met with the team, I couldn’t believe that this place existed. It was exactly what the project needed.
Filming there was incredible. It felt like we were on this wonderful playground. Like I said, the team really gave us the space to play around, and it was incredible. It was so much fun.
FF: ‘Terroir’ stars Madison Hu, Leenya Rideout, Naomi Rubin, João Santos and John R. Howle. What was the casting process like for horror comedy?
CR: When I was writing the film, I imagined the three main parts. The actors in those roles are all good friends of mine. I have a theater background, so I also had acted with them on other projects. I just knew that I wanted it to be the three of them.
Thankfully, all three of them agreed to do it. Their work really speaks for itself. They were just so great.
Finding Leenya Rideout, the actress who played Madame Laurent, was a really interesting challenge. I couldn’t just cast a friend in that role. I was putting out feelers to friends and professors to see if they knew anybody who could play the part. I described the role as “Laurie Metcalf in ‘Scream 2,’ but French.”
A friend connected me with Leenya, who absolutely understood the assignment. She walked this really delicious line between being very intense and a little bit goofy. I feel like she was always really in on it.
I feel really lucky that all of these people agreed to do it. I think the performances in the film are spectacular.
FF: When you were preparing to film and working with the actors on set, how involved were you in developing their characters and the story? Did you have much opportunity to rehearse with them beforehand?
CR: I met with everybody individually, and then the whole cast and crew stayed at my family’s house in New Jersey. We took a bus from New York City because most of us were students at the time. We took a Greyhound to Atlantic City and then went to my house.
On the Friday night before shooting, we started rehearsing. Throughout the weekend, any time there was a spare moment, we were rehearsing. The whole thing had a really scrappy energy to it. We were figuring things out throughout the weekend.
Thankfully, each of the actors was such a professional. We had a shared language because we knew each other going into it. That allowed us to communicate very clearly with each other. We understood each other, and it didn’t take much
I feel like the actors really knew what to do. That’s especially in the film’s first scene, which is so dense and dialogue-heavy and fun, everybody was so on it and so excited to play around. It was great.
FF: When working with the actors, how did you find the balance between the horror elements and the more lighthearted comedic moments? Was that something you were really interested in working with them on?
CR: The tone of this was, and still is, somewhat tricky to articulate. I think this movie is a comedy first, but the comedy really only works if these characters are in danger, and if the stakes feel high. It was really about having conversations with all of them to get us on that page.
‘Scream’ was always the guiding light for ‘Terroir,’ as it always is for me. It’s such a masterpiece. I think it was a useful comparison because that movie is far scarier than ‘Terroir,’ but everybody’s really doing it with just the slightest wink.
That helped me understand the tone of this film. It’s silly and goofy, but when you’re running from the killer, it has to feel like you’re really in danger. I think they totally got that.
FF: Besides writing and directing the movie, you also served as a producer. While you were making the short, how did you approach producing and helming the project simultaneously?
CR: I really wanted to make this film, so I assumed that meant I had to wear every hat. I learned over the course of making ‘Terroir’ that this is not always the best approach because you’re constantly having to split your focus.
I’m so glad I did it, though, because I learned so much about what goes into producing, especially during pre-production. That includes the paperwork, SAG agreements, equipment insurance, transportation and all of those things. I now have a much deeper appreciation for what a producer does.
This film was a lot of work. I’m very proud of all the work I did on it, and I learned a lot. I’m excited to apply that knowledge to my upcoming projects.
FF: You also served as the editor on ‘Terroir.’ What was the editing experience like on the short, especially in figuring out what you wanted the final version of the story to look like?
CR: I’ve always edited my own project. You make something and think, “Okay, I’m going to edit this.”
We filmed the movie in the fall of 2023, and then I took some time away from it. I felt like I needed some distance from the project. Then that summer, I sat down at my computer, put on headphones and really locked in.
I found that the process of editing the film was a process of recalibration for myself. There’s that quote that films get made three times: in the writing, the shooting and the editing. I really learned that while working on this.
When I was looking at the footage, I had to remind myself of what the story was, what I had originally envisioned and what we had captured. I then had to figure out the best way to fuse those things together and find something new.
It was a challenge. I can be a bit of an overthinker, and I find that with editing, that can be tricky because there are a million choices you can make. There are a million different ways to cut the movie. I had to really force myself to be decisive about cuts and where things go.
Since I filled so many of those roles on this film, I started to get tunnel vision. So it was also really important for me to get tons of feedback once I had a rough cut. I shared it with the AD and some of my mentors to get their perspectives.
It was really valuable to have people say, “That moment doesn’t really make sense,” or, “This part feels strange.” Feedback was a huge part of it for me.
FF: ‘Terroir’ had its Los Angeles County Premiere at Screamfest this past Sunday, October 12. What does it mean to you to be able to share the film with audiences at the festival?
CR: It was such a joy and honor. We won Best Student Short at Screamfest, which was such a beautiful surprise. I was so honored and thrilled.
This is my first time really being on the festival circuit, and I’ve been really inspired by the whole experience. At Screamfest, we screened in a block of student films, and I thought the films were spectacular and moving.
I’ve found this whole experience to be really affirming, inspiring and invigorating. Sharing ‘Terroir’ with people and hearing their reactions at the festival was been so meaningful to me.
