THE HAPPY PILL
Written and Directed by Kayla King
SYNOPSIS
The Happy Pill is a story of one woman's
struggle with depression and the terrible lens it puts on life. Neglectful family and abusive work relationships beat Amy into trying every pill under the sun, until she finally takes the revenge that some may find hard to swallow.
The Happy Pill Teaser
DIRECTOR STATEMENT
The Happy Pill is the first film I've ever Written and Directed. I initially wanted to prove that it's possible to create a movie with a low budget, as long as you have the resources you need. I knew that in order to convince talents to create a movie pro-bono, I had to write something that most people can relate to while minimizing the cost of production, yet still make a huge impact. Born a visual artist and self taught in digital photography, horror has always been my main interest and focus. Personally nothing is more horrific than witnessing human tendencies that the world turns their heads away from. In my movie, I wanted to reflect on the horrors of today's society using the phrase "kill them with kindness" quite literally by portraying images that I have been burdened with through personal experience. From toxic work environments, depression, sexual harassment, neglectful family members, drug addiction, and battling daily demons, all of these elements are things that everyone can relate to. Writing the script with passion and clear intentions allowed me to connect on a particular level with our small cast and crew. The biggest challenge was to continue cultivating enthusiasm and creativity among the team for such a dark premise. In just a total of 5 days on set, we managed to create a heavy dose of content that we all hope will make victims feel empowered and turn them into vindicated victors. Making this film was a great way to conquer my own demons, and I hope to send the message that fear is not something you can forget, but it is something you can continue to fight. You are never alone.
CAST & CREW
Who’s Who
KAYLA KING
Writer and Director
Kayla King is a 30 year old professional photographer in Tallahassee, Florida. She specializes in dark beauty photography with intense visuals and contrasted colors using fantasy, sci-fi, and horror themes for her concepts. 'The Happy Pill' is her first film she has Written and Directed, after her first experience on a feature length production set with award winning Director, Fred Rabbath. Kayla had the role of First Assistant Director. Helping Fred create 'A Brilliant Monster' was what allowed her to emerge as a multifaceted creative talent comfortable behind the camera directing as well as photographing! With her 8 years of experience as a visual artist, Kayla can tackle any aspect of the creative process, from set design and scouting locations, to costumes, continuity, and special effects. Kayla aspires to create many more films with the endless inspiration from TROMA, John Carpenter, David Cronenberg, Frank Henenlotter, David Lynch, and of course the Trash Cinema Elder himself, John Waters. Kayla and her husband also hosts a filmmaker meeting once a month for local independent filmmakers and students to gather and execute collaborative ideas, in hopes of bringing more recognition and success to the Floridal film industry!
HUNTER BLACK
Director of Photography and Editor
Hunter Forrest Black graduated from FSU's Digital Media Production program. Currently, he is a commercial producer for the North Florida/South Georgia CBS station at WCTV. Although trained in documentary film making, his real passion in for narrative film making. He was thrilled to accept the challenge of being both the Director of Photography and Editor for 'The Happy Pill'.
HEATHER HOUGH
Amy Sanders
Musical theater actress, Heather Hough, makes her picture debut in the 2019 short film 'The Happy Pill'. Formerly starring in local productions to the Bay Area such as 'Little Shop of Horrors' and 'You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown', this is surely just the beginning of her film career. When asked in an interview regarding her role in the Kayla King picture 'The Happy Pill' she was happy to divulge and she was more than ready to play the lead part of Amy, a character that is not only relatable but also familiar. “I loved the script immediately and the director was someone I had always hoped to work with and so I got prepared to take on the role and kill em’ with kindness”. We look forward to see what projects lay ahead for this young tall starlet.
MATTHEW CRAVENER
Original Score
Matthew Cravener is a 25 year old professional film scorer living in Tallahassee, Florida. Matthew has written original scores for 17 films as well as audio books, documentaries, etc. Matthew is also a concert pianist who performs locally in Tallahassee. His scores and contact information can be accessed via his website: ScoresByMatthew.com.
JOHN DAVID STEVENSON
Mr. Moody
John Stevenson is excited to appear in Kayla's latest cinematic endeavor. He has appeared in several local theatre productions in the Tallahassee area, including DRACULA (as Van Helsing), JULIUS CAESAR (as Cassius), and RACE by David Mamet.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
WHAT INSPIRED 'THE HAPPY PILL'?
'The Happy Pill' is inspired and created by the problems that women face in today's society. The images portrayed in the film are based on true stories and situations that unveil just how damaging life can be and really speaks for itself.
WHERE WAS 'THE HAPPY PILL' FILMED?
Independent filmmakers tend to struggle with finding locations to film their movie. It wasn't difficult securing The Other Side Vintage in Tallahassee, Fl. after director Kayla King pitched the idea to the female thrift store owner.
HOW WAS THE POOP MADE?
All of our special effects were edible and non toxic! We used a doughy paste like substance made of cornmeal mixed with brown food coloring. After mashing it to perfection and a snip on the corner of a ziploc bag, it was simple enough to funnel the now poo like substance naturally. The vomit was made of vegetable soup. And the blood was Ben Nye's stage blood with a zesty mint flavor!
WHAT WERE THE PILLS MADE OUT OF?
It was important to find a yellow pill that would really stand out when using it. We ended up using the bright yellow caffeine pills called Vivarin. These pills were not actually consumed on set. The bottle was designed by Steve Leacock, who even included a fun phone number on the warning label that calls the "Hall & Oates" hotline.
WHAT KIND OF EQUIPMENT DID YOU USE?
Being the Director of Photography, Hunter Black was also the editor! He used his own camera, a Panasonic GH5, and when we didn't use existing light, we had a portable LED and stand to fill in.
The sound guy, the score guy, and the video editor all used different platforms for editing, which led to a few timing issues, but never quality!
HOW WAS THE PROCESS OF CASTING FOR THIS FILM?
First time director, Kayla King held her first auditions ever for 'The Happy Pill'. Due to the intense content, it wasn't easy asking people to read the script, let alone act it out. There was only one submission for Mr. Moody, John Stevenson, who has worked on other films with Kayla and knew exactly what to do when asked to fulfill such an awkward and dehumanizing role. It was important to find a girl to play Amy who could work well with John on and off set. He insisted on helping audition the girls to where we both agreed that Heather pertained all of the qualities that Amy needed. Small, scrappy, and damaged. When Heather showed up with her own pill bottle to prove that she could relate to this film in so many ways, we even became best friends ever since!
HOW MUCH BLOOD DID YOU END UP USING?
Kayla King has had many years of experience using blood and special effects for her art. Ben Nye Makeup has always been a trustworthy brand for realistic and reliable effects. If it wasn't for Heather's amazing capabilities to hold blood in her mouth for long periods of time, we would have gone through three times as much blood as we did.
WHAT WERE THE BIGGEST CHALLENGES YOU FACED DURING PRODUCTION?
One of the biggest challenges was shooting in a 100 degree warehouse. It did result into a natural rawness that adds even more grit to an already grimy concept.
For some reason it was difficult casting an "old lady" to shoot, which required a 5th day of shooting. Mike Hollowell was such a trooper wearing a track suit, a wig, and makeup for his first appearance in a movie, ever!
I think the most obvious challenge was filming the final scene. We had three takes total to edit from. Things got messy quick, forfeiting continuity. The space was small for the amount of action we had written in the scene. And as you can imagine, egos were emasculated due to obvious implications.