Confessions of a Creature Feature Preacher Interview: MAN FINDS TAPE Writer/Directors Paul Gandersman and Peter S. Hall
The powers that be here at Screen Anarchy, after much arcane ritual, have agreed with me, your lowly unholy servant, that nothing could be more anarchic than a bi-monthly column from yours truly.
I have emerged from my Creature Feature Preacher Substack to comb the world for filmmakers and creatives who want to talk about the spirituality of all things spooky, kooky and ooky. To kick things off, I got ahold of Paul Gandersman and Peter S. Hall, the writers and directors of Man Finds Tape, which recently enjoyed its world premiere at the Tribeca Festival.
When YouTuber and conspiracy theorist Lucas is drawn to back to Larkin, the small Texas town of his youth, his dark discoveries force his estranged sister to follow suit. All evidence points to the involvement of beloved local pastor/evangelist Reverend Endicott. But what exactly is going on? Does it involve demons? Aliens? Secret C.I.A. shenanigans? The resulting film plays like a gory gooey cross between science fiction and horror ala The X-Files and also plays with slippery questions about what constitutes being human and being a monster.
But before you listen, please keep reading. I just want to share a bit about what I mean when I say "spirituality." We all have our dogmas and mine will be kept on short leash. I'm a liberal Christian booger-head with master's degrees in both Theological Studies and Public Ministry. I'm in not interested in dialogue or conversation about who's "right." I'm interested in how we all find a sense of purpose and meaning and hope.
As a lifelong fan of all things horror and genre related I'm always amazed at the beautiful community of people exploring the human condition through art. I suppose I believe God shows up somehow in most of it, but mainly through people connecting with other people connecting to art, to beauty, through trauma, and to truth. So don't look for judgement here; I ain't selling.
One last bit of housekeeping. You'll notice my audio, unlike the guests here, is muffled (but still understandable). Igor has been messing with the controls of my podcast equipment again. No worries though. I beat him until he confessed and set things back in order. That should be the end of that. Look for crystal clear audio clarity to flood your orifices in the future and if that isn't enough incentive to keep tuning in, then I just don't know what is.
