Jeremy Berg: Going Deeper into “The Device”

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (29.0MB)

Writer/Director Jeremy Berg of The October People joins us this week to talk about their most recent release, The Device, an alien abduction scifi-horror indie movie, filmed entirely in the Pacific Northwest.

The Device (The October People) — Behind the Scenes on “The Device” (l-r: Matt Medisch, Jeremy Berg, John Portanova)

Next, Summer reviews The Device, and her impression is mixed.

The movie isn’t horrible, but I believe it isn’t intense enough to be called a suspense-thriller, and it definitely isn’t scary enough to be a true horror film, even though it makes a distinct effort to harken back to the days of classic horror tales that are more focused on the psychological and less enamored with the splattersational gore.

I’m not sure if it’s a good thing or a bad thing if the music in the trailer made the film seem more suspenseful than it turned out to be upon the actual viewing.

Given the budget they were working with, it’s not a bad final product (it’s nowhere near being a terrible film), but I wish a little more time had been spent on building out the story.

There is a hidden gem on this DVD however, a supplementary audio track with producer John Portanova interviewing screenwriter Tracy Torme. The description of it on the DVD jacket is misleading, since it implies that he’s doing commentary on the movie and I really only listened to it because I was curious what his connection to the film had been.

The track is actually a separate interview with Torme, with producer John Portanova conducting an insightful and detailed history of his involvement with the alien abduction subgenre, and his long journey to get the movie Fire in the Sky made. I encourage fans of filmmaking to check out this interview, and it’s a true shame that this interview wasn’t done on camera and made as a second disc for the set… that would have elevated this DVD to a “must buy” in my book.

The Device is available now on VOD and DVD.

The October People:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/october_people
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheOctoberPeople
Website: http://www.theoctoberpeople.net

Want to add your comments? Call in and leave a voice message at 602-635-6976, or just email Summer with a comment you’ve recorded!

Watch more Slice of SciFi!!
Do you enjoy different variations of Slice? Slice of SciFi TV is the place you can watch additional Slice of SciFi programming, from convention coverage to exclusive interviews, any time you want:
Slice of SciFi TV (YouTube) www.youtube.com/Sliceofscifi
Slice of SciFi TV: www.sliceofscifi.tv

Go Social with Slice of SciFi
iTunes: Leave a Review! http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/slice-of-scifi/id73331296
Twitter: Chat with Summer! @sliceofscifi, @SliceofSciFiTV, @SliceofSciFiUK
Google Plus: plus.google.com/113032745928846446855
Facebook: www.facebook.com/Sliceofscifi