Body Terrify

Article by Lew Antonie

While most indie genre films vie for a few moments of glory, Brandon Keenan’s independent horror film, BODY FARM, is answering fan’s call for a sequel.

A devotee of the “too real” type of horror films, like Saw, Hostel, and Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Keenan’s has built a cinematic portfolio of claustrophobic explorations into medical-style ghoulishness with films like The Dead Double Crown, Confessional, Assertions, Soliloquy, and Voz.

The film in question, BODY FARM continues this theme with some engaging twists. Grabbling page out of the Found Footage subgenre of horror films, is relates the tale of an indie film company (of course) sending a videographer to cover an institution where human decomposition is researched. The footage she sends back leads her cronies to a grisly, gory, medical abyss filed with mad doctors, ghoulish experiments, and some impressive gory-effects.

Oh yeah, and there’s a surprise ending.

Guess there had to be in order for a sequel to be in the works.

The company, like so many indies, pulls double-duty on both ends of the camera with a cast that features Keenan himself, co-director Nick LaMantia, along with David Ogrodowski, Brett Hollabaugh, Dave Petti, Tom Mirth, Mike Reeping, Kristin Cirillo, and Genevieve Weiss.

InD entered Brandon Keenan’s chamber of horrors for a few words on the first and soon to be second film.

“I am a filmmaker from Pittsburgh, Pa. who graduated from the University of Pittsburgh with a Bachelor’s Degree in Communications. I started writing and working in film right after I graduated. I opened a business specializing in film and video production in 2006 and have been producing different video and film projects. I love horror films but most importantly I love filmmaking. Start to finish. The writing, pre-production, production, and post production. I saw others doing it and decided I wanted to take one of my screenplays and make it into a film from beginning to end. It was my dream to make a movie and I’m proud to say I had the chance to make that happen.”

“The sequel to Body Farm is currently titled Decompose. It showcases the original film’s medical facility but presses into a new technology that could change the landscape of Forensic Anthropology. It has fresh characters and the story line is intriguing. And of course it brings the gore like the first one.”

Who was the most instrumental to you?

My mother. She purchased our family a video camera when I was in 6th grade and it basically became my start in recording motion picture. I remember the moment I walked down the stairs and saw her holding it with the red light on Christmas morning. It essentially became my camera as I couldn’t stop using it. She has supported me and all my life endeavors and not just in film. There are many people who have helped me along the process but my mother was the first and is my biggest supporter since I was a little boy.

What’s the “hidden message” or parable in the film?

Humans will sacrifice a lot to save the life of someone else. When it’s family, they will go to drastic measures. Family is everything.

What was the biggest obstacle in creating or maintaining this film?

Assuming this is about Body Farm and not the sequel, the biggest obstacle was tackling the finances to make things happen and not compromise the quality of the film. We had very little money to work with so when we spent money it was on all the things to make the movie look and feel like a real film. On paper the script felt like it could carry itself but it had to have all the hard workers and components to make the vision look good. I learned so much from our crew and cast. It was amazing to see what we could accomplish on such a small bare bones budget. It was the greatest learning experience of my film career.

How will the film industry – especially indie films – change after pandemic?

When this pandemic is over the film industry will be changed forever in so many ways. You will see more creative films. The personal effects this has is already creating new ideas that can be written on paper and made into a motion picture. I wrote the sequel to Body Farm during the pandemic. I contracted Covid-19 and actually put the finishing touches to the ending of it. Not that it has anything to do with Covid-19 but it was a major influence on my emotions and feelings while I was writing. I even get chills thinking about it because it’s a special screenplay to me.
Indie films are now being watched because we can’t go to the movie theaters. Even after the pandemic ends many will still have concerns of going out in public. Indie films already have become a hot commodity as they are the unknown. I personally like to watch films that no one knows about.
Other effects: Video editors can work remotely. (I have been since the pandemic started) Meetings now can be done remotely. Money can be saved in so many ways and we were forced to see that from the pandemic. The period of time that the film industry was shut down no one worked so no films were being produced. Many were delayed or canned all together. This may get people motivated and encouraged. I hope it does because I believe we have a chance to see some of the greatest movies ever written.