Read a new Interview about Kat Lehmer by William Rigler

WR: What scares you?
Kat: Are you going to enter my dreams and turn my greatest fears on me, William?
Seriously? Nothing and everything. I have a brain that is constantly creating worst-case scenarios, for instance, if I'm driving behind a truck carrying sheets of plate-glass, I automatically go to a scene in my head where the glass slides off the truck cuts off the roof of my car, and decapitates me. I can't help it.
WR: What cinematic scenes linger in your mind?
Kat: The one above. lololol
Well, so very many. I watched "Let the Right One In" recently even though I swore I would not watch any vampire movies while I was making a vampire movie.
There are many scenes that linger from that one. The scene where the little girl vampire climbs up the side of the hospital is pretty creepy, even though I could tell that it was an adult who was doing the stunt, but, of course I look for that sort of thing. That whole movie has an icy, deathly, cold atmosphere about it. I guess it helps that it was shot in Sweden.
WR: What led you to filmmaking?
Kat: I discovered my dad's old 8mm movie camera when I was about twelve or thirteen years old. Before that I always had a running movie in my head so the neighborhood kids and my sister and I acted out the parts, had daily shows. After I found the camera, I started taking movies of my friends and family, doing commercials and stuff.  I did a lot of experimenting before I actually made my first film. When I was in my twenties I had a more sophisticated version of my childhood shows. My friends and I had improv night at my apartment at least once a week. By then I had a video camera so we taped every episode. Now I do a similar thing with the kids that I teach in my film class.
WR: What are your influences/inspirations?
Kat: I am inspired by people, art, music, other films, books, a walk, a drive, the movie in my head never stops.
My friends and my sister always say that the weirdest things happen when they are with me. I think it's just that I see things kind of weirdly, so they start to see it that way too. lol
My influences are so many. Right now I'm watching nothing but foreign films because they look different than American films.
WR: What was the first production you worked on?
Kat: The first film I produced, but not directed or wrote was a low-budget horror movie called Internet Fear.
WR: What's your most recent production?
Kat: A vampire film called "Mortal."
WR: What's its budget?
Kat: Zero. I'm trying to make it look like a lot more. lol
WR: How many people were involved in the various aspects of production?
Kat: My credit list will be longer than the movie. We have a very large cast, a tiny crew, and soooo many people who donated time, locations, props, money even!
WR: What do you feel is the attraction of horror films?
Kat: For one thing, with some obvious exceptions, any horror you're experiencing in real life will never be as bad as the horror in most horror movies. It allows us to feel the fear and experience the adrenaline rush without getting hurt.
I also think people who have had terrible childhoods often enjoy the horror genre because it's a way to overshadow and in some way diminish the real horror they have experienced. Just call me Dr. Kat.
WR: What are the positive/negative aspects you face in the location where you work?
Kat: So far nothing but positive. Philadelphia is fantastically photogenic and cooperative. I have found that people almost always try to help when you ask them.
I've asked for actors, crew members, cameras, lights, theaters, cars, extras, warehouses, swimming pools, restaurants, even an airplane hangar!
So far I've got everything except the airplane hangar and that's pending.
I want to shoot on the Ben Franklin Bridge. We'll see if we run into any trouble there.
WR: What's been your most rewarding moment as a filmmaker?
Kat: Finishing "Mama and Damian" the first film I wrote and directed.
What are the favorite effects you've created?
Kat: I did an effect where two characters appear separately running down steps, merge together, and then separate and end in the same spot. It looks pretty cool, fools your eye, but you know it's not really possible. We also did a nice gunshot effect. My cameraman, Mike Knapp, can pretty much do anything you ask for. He had this homemade blood exploding machine that made a nice spray. I called it "The JFK Effect." I know, very bad taste.
WR: How do you feel about the genre's more graphic elements as opposed to suspense?
Kat: Well, gore has its fans and place, but I will always believe that what you don't see, what you have to imagine, is usually more enticing than seeing it spelled out for you. Suspense is useful in making the big splashy gore scene seem more heinous. Still I like my karo syrup and food coloring used sparingly.
WR: Do you think there's a stigma attached to the genre as in the old days?
Kat: Horror will always be horror and classics come in all budgets and genres. If there is a stigma, there are a lot of people who like being stigmatized.
WR: Where do you see the genre headed?
Kat: I think 3-D gore all the way, baby! lol
I remember seeing a 3-D version of Andy Warhol's Frankenstein when I lived in New York many years ago. There were kidneys and hearts jumping out at you. I got a bit queasy.
I think horror will continue to develop and will always be a favorite.
I think the genre will continue to become more sophisticated or at least more gorey.
I think in the future there will be a lot more "crossover" horror movies. Maybe one will win an Oscar.
WR: What are the challenges for women working within the genre?
Kat: No different than anyone else working in the genre. If you want to make a film, find a way to make it, don't sit around and complain. lol Seriously, there is no doubt that more men than women make horror films and every other kind of film. I think eventually that will balance out. I think women just have to make the very best films they can make and wait for the world to catch up. Hey, it's only been 90 years since we got the vote! ha
WR: What's your opinion of the scream queen phenomena?
Kat: I love it! I want to be a scream queen!