Interview - "Lake Alice" Director Ben Milliken

Lake Alice is a new independent horror film currently in production and the film makers have begun a crowdfunding campaign to help finance the remaining costs of production. The film's director, Ben Milliken, took some time to answer a few questions about Lake Alice and the campaign.

Could you begin by giving us some background on yourself? What was it that made you decide to pursue a career in film and how did you get started?

I was born in the U.K and raised in Sydney Australia. Ever since i can remember i have always been mesmerized by film and television. It seemed to be the only direction that i could go. I tried many other jobs and potential career paths but none of them stuck.

I originally started out as an actor. Any time i was on a set i was always very curious about what the director was doing and why. I didn't realize it at the time, but that was my education that brought to where we are now.

You began your career as an actor in various television and feature film projects with Lake Alice being your first film as a director. How did you become involved with this project?

Lake Alice was actually brought to my business partner Lamar Billups and I by producer Scott Miller. We sat down and had lunch one day and he told me about the project, asked if we would like to be involved and we jumped at the opportunity. It's always good to begin a project with people you already know and trust.

Can you provide some background on Lake Alice? What is the premise of the film and what do you believe sets it apart from other films in the genre?

Lake Alice, written by Stevie Jane, is about Sarah Thomas, a girl in her mid 20's, who brings her boyfriend home to Wisconsin for the first time over the holidays. The family head to their cabin on Lake Alice, a body of water in the northern woods of Wisconsin. While there, strange occurrences begin to happen around the cabin, and the Thomas family soon find themselves being hunted by a masked figure, and are forced to fight for survival against the harsh environment of the Wisconsin winter.

I really wanted to make a different kind of horror thriller with this film. I want to focus on the characters and the relationships that are taking place. Allowing the audience to really get to know and love our characters, making the audience experience much more engagement as they will feel as though they are right there with our characters, fighting for survival themselves.

Finally, crowdfunding can be a controversial topic for some. Can you explain why you are crowdfunding Lake Alice, what the donated monies will go toward, what donors can expect and when you predict the film will be complete?

I think crowd funding is a fantastic way to bring your audience into the film making process. At the end of the day, we make films for audiences, not ourselves, so it only makes sense to have them a part of the process. Everything that we raise through the campaign will be put right into the production and post production of Lake Alice. We will have finished principle photography just before christmas, and then will start post production in January of 2015. We plan to release the film this time next year.

You can visit the crowdfunding page and show some support for Lake Alice at https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/help-us-shoot-horror-film-lake-alice. You can also check out the campaign video and trailer below.