Shadow People – Myth and Fact

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By Briege McGarrity

“Shadow People” is the big screen directorial debut of Matthew Arnold, a creative Sci-fi buff who claims to have experienced the scary phenomenon of “shadow people.” This supernatural thriller cleverly blends actual historical evidence and news footage with straight narrative in an attempt to explore divergent theories about shadow people, their power and mysterious nocturnal presence. Can the mind really kill the body with false beliefs?

Produced by Michael Ohoven (“Capote”), “Shadow People” stars Dallas Roberts (“The Walking Dead”) who plays a radio personality convinced that shadow people are responsible for a spate of deaths in his hometown and Alison Eastwood as Sophie Lacombe, who works for The Center of Disease Control (The CDC).

The film is well-directed, unsettling and compelling. Paranormal themed films seem to appeal to buyers and distribution deals are not as elusive as one might think. Released by Image Entertainment on DVD and Blu-ray, “Shadow People” has been well received by critics and audiences around the world even Premiered at the Marche Du Film in 2012. IFQ enjoyed chatting with Arnold about the catalyst for his film and his experience of translating his idea for the screen.

Independent Film Quarterly (IFQ): Pretty scary film – I’ll never look at my walls the same way again– what compelled you to make this film?

Matthew Arnold (MA): I had an experience one night when I awoke to see a dark shadowy figure standing beside my bed. When I sat up, it shot through the wall and vanished. I began studying the phenomenon in earnest and discovered that many people had such encounters all over the world, stretching back for centuries. But very little was known about what are dubbed “shadow people” – a very different entity than ghosts.

IFQ: For a newcomer, you managed to scare me several times– Is paranormal and supernatural genre more difficult to produce fear than a straight horror film?

MA: With straight horror you know exactly what you are aiming for – gore and jump scares. But I don’t think blood and guts really scare people. You don’t go home creeped out. It’s purely visceral and it gets a reaction in the theatre. But supernatural thrillers have to resonate somewhere deep in your gut. You have to take something home with you. Sometimes a good horror film can do that too, but Jason and Freddy never scared me; ghosts, aliens or creatures in the woods – things which, for all we know, could be out there – are much more frightening to me. The supernatural (which I believe is just mysteries that science has yet to explain) is always great fodder for the imagination and touches us to the core because we can’t so easily dismiss it.
IFQ: Tell me a bit about your film background

MA: I starting making short films in high school. When I went to college, I studied physics, but maintained my interest in film. I petitioned the college to let me shoot a 40 minute movie using their equipment. After that I moved to Los Angeles and got a job working as a set PA for Quentin Tarantino on “Jackie Brown.” That was the best film school you could get, really learning from this iconic director. I then attended USC’s School Of Cinema-TV and made a short film called “Resurrection Mary” staring Wilford Brimley. The film got me represented by agents and managers and I started writing my own material. I had a sci-fi script optioned while I was teaching at the New York Film Academy. While that was in development, I pitched the concept of “Shadow People” to Michael Ohoven at Infinity Films. He loved the idea and I went to work on the script. We went into production six months later. “Shadow People” is my directorial debut.

On location in Cambodia. Village boys imitate director Matthew Arnold as he lines up the next shot.

IFQ: These people could be scared to death literally but the movie implies humans may kill people in their sleep? Tell me how you worked this into the film and the research on experimental studies on shadow people and related SUNDS of the 1970’s (a real life disease: Sudden Unexplained Nocturnal Death Syndrome).

MA: I can never seem to get away from my background in science. When I take on a project like this I do extensive research. And in my research I made some conclusions myself as to what could have happened in the 1970’s and 1980’s to the victims of SUNDS. And I postulated that there were really two plausible explanations: the inverse placebo effect or an actual entity. I tried to present the viewer with both possibilities and have Charlie deal with the conflict of solving this mystery. I later discovered a research book which came out around the time we finished the movie. The book validated my own theory that the victims of SUNDS had literally scared themselves to death.  : I culled through everything I could find – books, articles and documentaries. I interviewed people. I even went to the CDC in Atlanta and spoke with a real Epidemic Intelligence Service Officer and read the actual CDC reports from 1970s on SUNDS.

 

IFQ: In a way this film is informative and occasionally amusing, which is unusual! What is your goal with “Shadow People”?

MA: I was fascinated with telling a story that was literally infectious. I’m interested in projects which have you talking and thinking after you leave the theatre. Most films leave you as soon as it’s over. But this is such an evocative real phenomenon that it can spur debate: What if what we think can really harm us? It’s a topical issue in the world and the darker side of the Law of Attraction. Ultimately all filmmakers aim to entertain, and that is, of course, my main goal. But I wanted to see if I could affect people deeper and have them jumping at shadows in the house days or weeks after the movie is over. “Jaws” made a generation of people scared to go into the ocean. “Shadow People” will make you afraid of the shadows on your wall. Even our own crew would come to set and report that the saw a shadow person. It is true that the more you think about them, the more you will see them. It’s an amazing and terrifying real psychological phenomenon.
IFQ: Definitely – Was the footage and visual aspects of the film a challenge especially in terms of the re-enactment of true events, and the documentary style and then straight narrative?

MA: It was the main challenge I undertook, to create this post-modern Mash up of styles and footage – almost like a research project. I know that found footage is a popular style and we considered it for this film but I said, we have an actual real phenomenon here and actual footage and interviews with people that I had found in my research. Instead of making something fake, let’s use as much of the real footage as possible and fill in the rest with reenactments. In this way, the authenticity of the idea will be preserved and will be all the more scary for it.

 

IFQ: How have audience and press reactions been so far – are people skeptical?

MA: We have had generally very favorable reviews. I think some people didn’t quite understand what we were trying to do my combining genres of documentary and fiction into one film. You get some criticism for that sometimes, but to me that’s what was exciting. The people who loved the film really responded to that as well. I was more interested in making something unique and pushing some boundaries than just doing a straight up fictional horror movie. The press tended to really respond to this avant-garde style and praised us for not relying on special effects and for taking the more slow build atmospheric horror approach, something which is less common these days.

Dallas Roberts in Shadow People.

IFQ:  I was impressed by the acting and liked Dallas Roberts performance. What were you looking for in your actors exactl

MA: Dallas’s character was a special case. I knew that Charlie Crowe wasn’t a real heroic guy. He was kind of selfish and not such a great father or husband. But, I needed the audience to sympathize with him anyway and see a flawed character that they could love anyway. Dallas has this really honest, genuine quality about him, which people respond to. There is no guile in that man. He is truly one of the loveliest people I know and that comes through on screen. So even when he’s doing something which might not be so heroic, we are still with him.

 

IFQ: Well good luck and let’s hope your viewers will sleep ok!