Christopher Bickel is an independent filmmaker, and record store owner, whose new indie horror film PATER NOSTER AND THE MISSION OF LIGHT is a wild ride that must be seen to be believed. I recently had the opportunity to ask Chris a few questions about the new movie, and his filmmaking career.
MAD: Thanks so much for taking some time with us today. Your new film, Pater Noster and the Mission of Light, was the most fun I’ve had watching a horror movie in a long time! It’s psychedelic folk-horror, meets cursed object, meets comedy-musical, with a healthy dose of grindhouse splatter and practical effects. Before we dive into Pater Noster, please give us a little background as to how your journey into film-making began?
CHRIS: Thanks. I had wanted to be a filmmaker my entire life and studied film in college. At that time, the entryway into making a personal feature film was very far out of my price range because everything was still shot on film. You'd be looking at $30,000 just for the film and printing. And no crowdfunding back then! I ended up opening a record store, as music is my other great love. Over the years, I let the filmmaking dream get away from me as I was content to work around music. Eventually, I came to realize that the price of cinema grade gear was well within my means and I set about purchasing modest gear and making the time to do movie stuff on weekends. I still work 40-hours-a-week in a record store, but am able to make the time to write, produce, direct, shoot, and edit movies. At this point I've made 3 features within the past 8 years.
MAD: Pater Noster is extremely creative and eclectic, dabbling in a few different genres. How did the idea for the film first come about?
CHRIS: When you are shooting on such low budgets, you have to write to the sets, props, locations, and actors you have available to you for free or cheap. In this case, my friends who supplied all the cars for my second film, BAD GIRLS, let me know they had acquired an old school bus which they intended to paint like an old hippy bus -- like the Ken Kesey Further bus. So I started with that and started writing the movie. I knew I would be able to use the record store as a set, so I went with a killer hippy cult that put out records in the early 70s. The cult was loosely based around The Source Family, who I'm obsessed with. Most of the record store dialogue came from actual experiences. The "Bahadu" story has been a favorite told over and over in the store for years.
MAD: I love (or at least appreciate) many of the micro-budget horror films that have come out in the past few years. Truly independent and low-budget DIY horror seems to be making a resurgence on streaming channels, almost akin to the 1980’s VHS boom. As a filmmaker, how are you balancing the platforms of streaming, and physical media, on a very slim budget?
CHRIS: There is almost no money in streaming and it's extremely difficult to make back even a tiny budget like the $21,000 we spent. So ANY physical media we can sell is a HUGE help. Luckily there is still a great fandom for Blu Rays in the world of genre film. We can make a decent profit on a Blu Ray sale. If it weren't for crowd-funding we wouldn't be able to do any of it. Most streaming sites are paying either pennies or FRACTIONS OF PENNIES per complete view. NightFlight has been super kind to us with their payout and timeliness of the checks on BAD GIRLS, such that I offered them a one-month exclusive just because they've been nice to me. Being nice goes a long way with me. We'll seek out other platforms after the first month on NightFlight. We're doing everything ourselves because I think by-and-large indie film distributors are all predatory ripoffs.
MAD: The film is currently streaming exclusively on NIGHTFLIGHT+ . I’m a huge fan of NightFlight, and have been a subscriber for a couple of years now. How did your creative relationship with NightFlight come about? Also, please give us a little introduction to another film you currently have streaming on the platform, entitled Bad Girls.
CHRIS: I was a HUGE fan of the original NightFlight TV program on the USA network and it is SO responsible for shaping the music and movies I became interested in as a teenager. I wouldn't be the me that I am without their tastemaking programming. So it was really an honor to be invited to be a part of their streaming service. BAD GIRLS was the first of my films they brought on board. It's a crazy girl gang road movie -- something like FASTER PUSSYCAT KILL KILL meets DOOM GENERATION. It's a fun movie, but ultimately I found it's harder to promote a "road movie" than a horror movie. Luckily horror is my first great love. But the fact of the matter is that there's a thousand blogs that will write about a new horror film and very few who are interested in writing about a road movie.
MAD: Pater Noster also features its own original soundtrack and a great deal of musical accompaniment. You’ve also released a soundtrack album for this film? How did that originate?
CHRIS: I had the idea to do a soundtrack immediately when I started writing the film. I got a bunch of musician friends together and we wrote/recorded an album's worth of songs to create the world of The Mission of Light. This was done before the final script was even finished. Only 2 of the songs from this album made it into the movie, but all of it is on the 2xLP we released. That's available through www.paternostermovie.com .
The songs turned out crazy good. I figured right away that even if the movie sucked, at least I'd have produced a GREAT album!
MAD: What are some of your personal horror influences, both old and new, literary and cinematic?
CHRIS: Literary-wise, I'm a basic bitch. Stephen King and Lovecraft. Cinematically, 80s slasher movies are my favorite. I tend to go for the more "off brand" stuff than the big franchises. To me, a movie like PIECES (1982) is a perfect movie. I gravitate toward the extremes of high brow and low brow. French Art films and Italian Cannibal movies! Anything that shocks the soul into submission.
MAD: Do you have a favorite horror film of 2024 so far?
CHRIS: THE SUBSTANCE without a shred of doubt. One of the best movies I've seen in the last ten years. A masterpiece.
MAD: Who are some of your favorite filmmakers?
CHRIS: Scorsese, Kubrick, John Waters, HG Lewis, George Romero, Jack Hill, John Carpenter, Todd Solondz, Joe D'Amato, David Lynch.
MAD: What is your advice for other independent filmmakers and creative types in general?
CHRIS: My main inspiration came from DIY punk rock record labels from the 80s. Dischord, SST, Alternative Tentacles, Touch and Go. Learn to do more with less. Don't let money be the thing that compromises your vision. Scream out into the void.
MAD: I have to ask… Tim Cappello (the iconic “Sexy Sax Man” from The Lost Boys), also appears in the movie, and does a really good job with his role as a late night radio show host. How did Tim Cappello get involved with this production?
CHRIS: I used to write for a website called Dangerous Minds and I interviewed Tim for that site several years ago. I was struck by what a down-to-earth, kind-hearted, and smart guy he was. We sort of kept in contact over the years. He's just a great dude. I just asked him out of the blue and he graciously said "yes." He's really fun to work with. I hope he can be in every movie I ever do!
MAD: You’ve got a great cast here, and an impressive ensemble. What was the casting process like for a movie with such a wide array of characters?
CHRIS: I'm somewhat limited living in a small(ish) Southern town and not having a really great pay rate. The actors DO get paid -- it's just not exactly "union scale." Most of my actors come back movie after movie because they like working with me on these projects. Adara and Josh, my female and male leads, were new to the fold. They submitted reads to a casting call we put out on Facebook. I always bring potential actors in for a meeting where I just sort of feel out what kind of people they are. I excel at few things in filmmaking, but finding good people to work with is one of them.
MAD: Once again, Christopher, it’s been a pleasure getting some brief insight into your very cool new film, Pater Noster and The Mission of Light…! It’s one of my favorites of the year, and I appreciate your time. In close, is there anything else you’d like to leave readers with today?
CHRIS: Just to try and support at least a couple underground no-budget movies a year. You'll be surprised at what's out there when there are no focus group or IP constraints. If you can forgive the technical limitations of the budgets, there's a lot of fun to be had. Thank you for the kind words and for checking out the movie. I appreciate it very much!
