The Vision
Without giving it away, what IS "The Catalyst?"
Alan Fine, the writer and director explains his vision:
My reason for writing and directing “The Catalyst” series was to breathe new life into the classic ghost story. The "look" and "feel" will flow from the realistic dramas of Sidney Lumet, to the grounded thrillers by Roman Polanski (“Rosemary’s Baby”) and William Friedkin ("The Exorcist").
Commercially:
A good thriller needs to create “transference.” Does an audience take the film home? Transference is what happened to us when we saw “Psycho” and then took a shower.
"To err is human." Okay, but what if normal accidents (dropping things, bumping into each other) trigger increasingly horrifying hauntings in common everyday places? The hope is for "The Catalyst" to generate or - if already out there - capture the zeitgeist of fear already in our world.
In the first installment, a family unknowingly sets off a catalyst in their house that awakens an evil presence. As the entity gains power and learns to be a poltergeist, the family becomes increasingly afraid to do anything in their own home.
This series proposes that every place is haunted, and we are just waiting to find out what accident will unleash the terror. Hopefully that idea will release a Zeitgeist of fear and cause a lot of people to look over their shoulders anywhere and anyplace.
Artistically:
"Heart" has been sorely missing in horror films (unless it has been ripped out, beating and bloody). I believe for a thriller to work, we have to care about the characters; their realistic and affecting stories should just happen to be interrupted by the paranormal. (In the first "The Catalyst," a couple who lost a child when she was five are now overprotective as their second daughter has reached that age.)
Through the use of camera, we will visually juxtapose the human drama of these stories with that of evil spirits as they awake, learn, and finally understand how to wreak havoc. To do this, our camera people will be cast no differently than actors, because our camera will need to express -- without words and through carefully choreographed movement -- the growth and development of unseen entities.
To put it another way, here's the crass elevator pitch:
Think “Poltergeist” meets “Paranormal Activity” or "Jaws" in a haunted house.
SOUNDTRACK
The musical soundtrack of a film is never even a consideration until the film is locked, but on an independent film, funds could run low before paying a composer and musicians. On a thriller, this could be a deadly omission. Not wanting that to happen, writer/director Alan Fine is creating and orchestrating thematic music for "The Catalyst" which is already being used in "The Catalyst True Ghost Stories Archive."
MUSIC FOR THE OPENING OF THE FILM...
As you listen, please imagine a quiet and peaceful morning in a New England village. Shopkeepers opening their stores. Children walking to school. We zoom in on a perfect house on a serene street. Once we enter, things turn sinister as we are flung headlong into an attempted possession.
Attempted Possession - from The Catalyst Score
LOCATIONS - Click here to see a slideshow
Hastings-on-Hudson, NY is within 25 miles of Manhattan, so travel from the city will not cause production overages.
Alan Fine is on the Hastings High School Alumni Association Board and is friends with many city officials who say Hastings will be very friendly to our production.
THE SCREENPLAY IS AVAILABLE FOR QUALIFIED INVESTORS.
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