Editor’s Note: This was originally published for FANGORIA on September 4, 2012, and we’re proud to share it as part of The Gingold Files.
With her 20th birthday arriving next month, Emily Hagins has only a little while longer to enjoy (or endure) the label of “teen filmmaker.” She has by now earned the simple designation of filmmaker, with three features (all horror-oriented) under her belt, including her latest, the vampire comedy My Sucky Teen Romance.
Distributed by Dark Sky Films, Romance stars Elaine Hurt as Kate, who’s about to head off for college but first goes with her friend Allison (Lauren Lee) to the SpaceCon genre convention. She’s hoping to run into her crush, supermarket cashier Paul (Patrick Delgado), at the con, and does—but unfortunately, he has recently been vampirized by Vince (Devin Bonnée), a bloodsucker dating back to the ’50s. When Paul accidentally “turns” Kate, her friends have to figure out how to cure her condition before it’s too late. Romance, which follows Hagins’ ghoul opus Pathogen, made when she was 12 (as chronicled in the documentary Zombie Girl: The Movie; see review here), and her ghost story The Retelling, balances teen courtship rituals and gentle satire of the convention scene with a surprising amount of bloodshed given the lighthearted tone. And of course, Romance touches on that teen-vampire franchise that has been so conspicuous in recent years…
Is My Sucky Teen Romance a response to Twilight-mania?
In a way, but without negativity. I don’t think there’s anything productive about maliciously making fun of someone else’s creative endeavors, but we do acknowledge that Twilight exists within our universe too, since the timing of our film was important.
What was the initial inspiration for the movie?
It came from a combination of wanting to do a teen vampire film from a real teen perspective while the genre was still prominent in pop culture, and to place that film in the setting of a homemade sci-fi convention.
How was the production put together?
We had a very short shooting schedule—only about 14 days. We created the layout for the convention within an actual hotel, and the “movie-world” layout of the con. Our shooting schedule was predominantly determined by the geography, and our shooting days were long. But I’m very lucky and thankful for our extremely talented and hard-working crew, who seemed to be running on enthusiasm throughout the shoot.
Has the attention you’ve received from Pathogen and the Zombie Girl documentary helped in putting together your subsequent projects?
Probably in some ways, but I like to think I’ve grown a lot as a filmmaker since those movies. I think they help communicate to people that I will finish my projects.
How much of Romance’s script was inspired by your experiences at real conventions?
A lot of the layout and teen awkwardness came from a sci-fi convention I go to every summer in Minneapolis called CONvergence. It has a real homemade feel, unlike Comic-Con. It’s more of a celebration of geekdom by geeks, rather than an advertisement for all the new movies, TV shows and games coming out. There’s definitely a cool place in the world for that too, but CONvergence is where I had the most experiences to draw from.
Was it a balancing act, setting a comedy at a convention without poking fun at conventiongoers?
That was a big factor for me. I would consider myself a geek, and staying respectful of congoers was just as important to me as staying respectful of the teen voice in the film. I think there are some easy stereotypes you could poke fun at with a movie like this, but ultimately I believe that style of humor would add up to a shallow film.
Did you aim to create your own vampire lore, or just riff on the established mythology?
I mostly riffed off of established mythology, and made up a few rules to fit my story. But since the characters use what they know as geeks to figure out how to make things right, I wanted to create vampires they would already be familiar with, without much of a library/research/figure-it-all-out scene.
As a teenager yourself, what advantages do you think you have over others making “teen films”?
I love the awkwardness of that age, and I think there’s a lot of humor there that’s often glossed over in some mainstream movies and TV shows when they’re caught up in an unrealistically heightened sense of drama. I hope the teen experience in this film can be relatable through its awkwardness and humor, and that the kids feel like real kids.
Were any of the leads cast from among your pool of friends? Have you established a “stock company” at this point?
They’re all actors, but I did know some of them beforehand from various places. Some of them were more theater-oriented, and we had to balance their techniques with the kids who were more comfortable with improv. But they were all very professional and dedicated, and I think we’re all open to continuing to work together on projects.
Where did you film the convention scenes, and how tricky an undertaking was that?
It was all staged in the hotel, with some rooms doubling for others—and some extras doubling for others. Almost every crewmember makes a cameo appearance [laughs]. But there are a few clips of B-roll from CONvergence in Minneapolis for some of the very large crowd shots.
You’ve tackled zombies and vampires so far; any other horror characters you’d like to tackle in future films?
There are a couple of other monsters I’d like to explore; we shall see!
What happened to your previous feature, The Retelling?
It is around; I’ve just been kind of sending it to anyone who asked for it. It was very much a transitional film for me, a necessary step between Pathogen and My Sucky Teen Romance. And it’s very, very dark. It was a huge part of why I wanted to move to comedy.
What can you tell us about your next movie, Grow Up, Tony Phillips?
It’s a Halloween coming-of-age story about 18-year-old Tony Phillips, who doesn’t realize he is too old to be trick-or-treating. Nothing supernatural, just a growing-up story in the vein of John Hughes.
Have you taken film classes, or are you completely self-taught? Do you feel one has any advantages or disadvantages over the other?
I have taken a couple of classes, but they were mostly experience-oriented. I met some good friends there and made a couple of fun short projects. I always love learning, though. I think everyone has a different path, and for me it has mostly been self-taught.
