Interview with Abel Berry of Kodie

Abel Berry

Sometimes in order to break the mold, you got to go against the grain. Director Abel Berry is doing just that with his latest effort Kodie which is currently playing on the film circuit scene. In all honesty, after reading about the premise, my initial reaction was "WTF?". A film about a woman dressed in a teddy bear outfit that kills people? However, the premise alone has this ability to arouse curiosity as to if Abel Berry could pull off something that seems so outlandish. I mean after all there was the Hal Holbrook slasher Girls Nite Out from the 80's that had a killer in a bear costume that remains pretty obscure because the execution of the story was just so laughable. However, Berry was able to pull off the story with several interesting plot twists and turns. And most importantly, he was able to keep the story serious and intriguing throughout which goes to show that he's someone with some skill to be on the watch for. Abel Berry is breaking out by creating original and different films that push boundaries and that don't play it safe or boring and Kodie is a perfect example of this. Here's what Abel Berry had to say.  

Abel Berry (left)

Who is Abel Berry and what are you all about?

Lets see here, um… Abel Berry is a filmmaker. comic nerd, huge horror fan, and candy bar enthusiast. I'm all about creating, whether it be films, music, etc. I just wanna make art with our team here in Texas as long as I can.

How about a little piece of trivia we wouldn't see on another movie website? 

Jennifer Stone and I have been friends since we were kids. About 8 years ago, we made our very first short film where a doll makes a woman kill her husband with a shotgun and a knife. It didn't make a lot of sense, but it was the beginning of our journey. Also there was a music video we made with a Bart Simpson doll.

Kodie

Tell us about your film Kodie?  

I'm gonna quote a filmmaker who recently watched Kodie, because I feel like its the best description I've heard so far. "Kodie is like a cross between Evil Dead and Donnie Darko." I love that quote because I am heavily influenced by Sam Raimi. Kodie. That was something that I needed to get off my chest. I grew up loving the weirdest films from the 80's, and I always wanted to make a movie like that. 

What were you trying to go for tone wise, stylistically & visually?  

I wanted Kodie to be a fun film. I think people would be surprised to see how much thought went into the look and colors of the film. In the outside world there are only cold muted colors, everything is desaturated. Yet, when we go underground into her lair, everything is red and saturated. The only red above ground is the character 'Jasper' because I thought subconsciously it would tie him to other things. The entire film is about contrast. The contrast of innocence and disturbing violence and the big mean looking protagonist going against a tiny cute villain.

Kodie

What was the inspiration behind the bear costume? 

I used to collect sanrio dolls…. yep. So anyways, one of my favorite ones was a Hello Kitty that had a teddy bear costume on, but it didn't cover her little face. When I decided to make a film contrasting innocence and violence, it seemed to be the perfect image.

This could have came across as laughable. How did you go about trying to make sure it didn't? 

Well in all honesty, I wanted this to be a fun film. I remember the first day on set, Jennifer and I couldn't stop laughing hysterically at how she looked. That goes back to the theme of something that shouldn't be scary, doing terrible things. Also, sound design has a lot to do with it. We have a pretty amazing score I think. And lets not forget that I was counting on a lot of horror fans wanting to see something they've never seen before…. something original.

Kodie

What kind of on screen carnage can horror fans expect of Kodie? 

Well I don't wanna give away too much, so I'll just say, that we went thru about 25 gallons of blood while making Kodie.

Why did you also star in the film? What was it like balancing the two? 

Well first off, I like to act. Second off, I asked Jennifer, who also co-produced with Andrew Rose and Justin Powers, and she said if I was right for the part. I think it fit pretty well in the end, but it was definitely hard. I always say I won't do it again, but it's kind of a similar thing with Devotion.

Abel Berry (center)

The obligatory what was your favorite part about making the film?  

Watching the story that has played out over and over again in your head come to life in front of you. There's nothing cooler than that.

And then the most difficult moment or part? 

The most difficult thing on a film like this is just trying to hold it all together. When you make a movie with almost no money, it can be very stressful seeing it thru to the end. I was lucky to have such an amazing crew to help.

Devotion

You are also at work on another film called Devotion. Tell us about that? 

Yes, Devotion is a drama. Very different than anything we've done before. We're all very excited about it, because it's on a whole new level - bigger budget, amazing actors. It's a love story of sorts. It's not a horror film, but it's one of those darker films that horror fans will love watching. 

What are you hoping to achieve with the film?

When you make an independent film, you're hoping to achieve the same thing a cook achieves when someone enjoys their pie. There's not that much money in this game. You really are slaving over something so people will enjoy watching it. Also, we wanna show people what we're capable of doing and that we're versatile.

Abel Berry (left) behind the scenes of
Kodie

Now that you've done some work in the horror genre, what elements can we say are a trademark of yours that would make people go "that is an Abel Berry film"?

You'll know it's a film of mine, because there will most likely be a person dressed as some furry animal, doing strange things. I can promise it will always be different.

What do you hope to achieve over the next few years? 

As corny as it may sound, I just wanna grow artistically and keep working with friends.

Any final comments?  

Actually yea, Kodie will be on DVD in a few months. So keep up with us on http://www.youtube.com/BSEntertainmentFilms and http://www.bsentertainmentfilms.com/ 
Thanks!!

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