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After Jacob Seltzer posted videos of himself on a ski trip, he and his collaborator, Benjy Steinberg, were inspired to create a snowy isolationist horror narrative in the same found-footage tradition as The Blair Witch Project. With the emergence of streaming apps and social media platforms, Jacob and Benjy, along with Mary Dwyer and Erin Russoniello, knew they had a unique opportunity to reimagine the found-footage genre of horror and introduce it to a new generation of viewers.
Mountain Murder Tapes was born out of this vision, and episodes, or “tapes,” told in found-footage-style, were distributed on the TikTok platform. The endeavor was as scrappy as indie filmmaking gets, with the filmmakers and actors banding together to film and create scenes. We spoke with Jacob, Benjy, Mary, and Erin to learn more about their vision for Mountain Murder Tapes, and how its release is helping to redefine how we tell stories and get them in front of audiences.
Can you each tell us about your roles on Mountain Murder Tapes?
BENJY: I wrote and directed Mountain Murder Tapes with Jacob.
JACOB: I wrote and directed Mountain Murder Tapes with Benjy.
ERIN: I produced Mountain Murder Tapes.
MARY: I produced Mountain Murder Tapes.
What was your favorite scene to work on or moment from the set of Mountain Murder Tapes?
BENJY: I absolutely loved working on the climactic, scrappy three-way fight scene between Skye and Allie, and the series’ killer, Maddy. Because we had to shoot the scene in two locations due to our tight budget, we had to reverse engineer it. We storyboarded how we wanted the final product to look, then cut it up into a bunch of little pieces tied together by whip-pans. Then, at our two shoot locations – a ski mountain in Mammoth, and a beach in Santa Monica, both nighttime exteriors – we improvised the choreography, seeing what blocking was the scariest and most believable in the actual physical spaces. It was an insane challenge, but a worthwhile one, and I’m really proud of how it came out, helped in no small part by the absolutely chilling sound design of our sound editor and mixer Jared Fellows. On top of it all, I can feel the emotional core of the sequence as I watch it – the bond between two best friends fighting for their lives, against their tormentor. Also, who knew that with a night vision filter, sand looks identical to snow?!
JACOB: We wanted to make sure that we could utilize some high budget ski-infrastructure set pieces like the gondola, but we were constrained by our extremely low budget. So, we borrowed season passes from friends and snuck all the actors onto the gondola, our hearts beating fast that we’d get caught and have the passes confiscated. We didn’t want to push our luck, so we needed to get the shot in one gondola ride. Fortunately our incredible actors Caroline Deery, Spencer Levin, Nova Chez, and Kendrick Kirk over-delivered, providing our favorite moments of character and relationship development. And at the top of the gondola, Tahmus Rounds immediately transported the kids into their new world with his portrayal of the eccentric and volatile gondola attendant.
ERIN: We had a homemade family-style dinner with the cast and crew each night of filming. This became the highlight of the day, whether we were returning from a day shoot or prepping for a night shoot. Spending time as a team and sharing a meal became a crucial check-in point, and created space for everyone to refocus. We were able to laugh, talk through highs and lows of the day, discuss upcoming scenes, and re-center ourselves to continue creating the best product possible while building strong relationships with one another. Mary and I made a conscious effort to create a positive and open environment on set, and we felt that extra effort reflected in the team’s performances and the final product.
MARY: I loved shooting Tape 13, when all of the characters are fighting amongst themselves during apres ski, not realizing that a killer is breaking into their house. Scenes like this are essential in horror movies because they expose something so natural about human behavior: we often worry more about our relationships than we do about some external physical threat. That type of dramatic irony really makes me laugh, and I think the actors and directors did such a great job making that scene suspenseful, character-driven, and funny. I can really see the magic of movie-making in this episode: the acting, directing, writing, and editing built an authentic and relatable world on-camera that was so much more than the reality off-camera and the words on the page. This episode takes the audience on a journey with a group of friends as they are having a very subtle fight amidst a vibrant bar scene, when in reality the group was being directed and acting in a nearly-empty bar. Caroline Deery, who played Skye, masterfully holds the camera in this scene while delivering a nuanced performance and creating moments for every actor and the beautiful set pieces to shine.
How did you decide on Tiktok as the medium for this project? What were the advantages?
Last winter, Jacob posted a bunch of videos of him skiing. Benjy found one video of Jacob skiing through the woods really spooky and compelling. If someone disappeared in a remote place while filming themselves, the only thing left of them would be what they filmed.
This inspired us to make a found footage horror story for an audience that didn’t grow up with The Blair Witch Project or Paranormal Activity. We wanted to meet a younger audience on their platform using their format to scare them the way that camcorder found footage scared us. If Heather Donahue were a 24 year old today, she’d reach for her iPhone to capture what was happening to her, and that footage would find its way onto TikTok.
TikTok lent itself to an entirely new style of story-telling for us. During the writing process, we had to make sure that every shot was motivated by something, constantly asking “Why is the camera on?” and “Does this scene accurately reflect how this character would use her phone?”
Distributing on TikTok was also different from film & TV because the person editing and uploading these videos also needed to be a character herself. Getting in the head of our distributor, who is also the stalker/killer in our story, added a fun element not only to the writing, but also to the production, and to the distribution.
We learned from the platform as we distributed the project. By releasing short episodes each day on TikTok, we were able to learn how to better shape the story as we shared it with the world. After every release, we’d evaluate how the episodes performed and incorporate those lessons into the next day’s episodes – what were the most effective hooks, how to gain the most followers, how to get people to click through to our page. We’d then incorporate what we learned into each new episode. This led to a really thrilling all-hands-on-deck approach to distribution, with the whole team revisiting all of the footage for Jacob and Benjy to reshape the episodes on a daily basis. It was really cool to be able to learn from our audience in real time and make adjustments based on what resonated with them the most.
What is a dream project that you would like to work on? (Existing or to be made!)
BENJY: In the future, I’d love to work on a TV show with Donald Glover (Atlanta, Swarm) or Rian Johnson (Poker Face). I think they’re making some of the most groundbreaking television of the past ten years that’s also right up my alley – combining genre elements with smart social commentary.
JACOB: I’m always looking for any opportunity to learn from great writers and directors. I’d love to work with Craig Mazin, Jesse Armstrong, and Bill Lawrence.
ERIN: Producing projects envisioned by young, hungry filmmakers and finding inventive ways to shoot and distribute these stories is a dream for me. I’d love to continue partnering with collaborators who are interested in experimenting with new formats and processes.
MARY: Whenever I get to tell stories with my friends, I am working on a dream project! I am inspired by empathetic, introspective, and open-hearted people who are looking to better understand the world and each other through storytelling.
What do you have coming up next as a team or individually?
Right now, we’re focused on supporting our fellow writers on the picket lines. But once there’s an amicable solution, Benjy has a Sundance Fellowship spy thriller TV pilot that he’s developing, Jacob has an action-comedy spec feature that he’s taking out, Erin is working on a horror feature spec, and Mary is developing work with Jacob Seltzer and Reid Hensen, who consulted on this project and whom she also worked with on The Virgin Jamie short film.
In the meantime, check the series out – @mountainmurdertapes on TikTok!
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