Up-and-comers in horror film

McCain, a Yuma-born actress who called Tucson home for 11 years, has appeared in eight films, including "You're Next 3: Pajama Party Massacre," "Poultrygeist: Night of the Chicken Dead" and "Splatter Movie: The Director's Cut." She recently executive produced and starred in "Jessicka Rabid." McCain, who is seeking a distribution deal for the movie, moved to Los Angeles in September.

The advantages of being a scream queen: "People often come to me asking my opinion of all things horror. It's a great platform to speak my mind and let everybody know what I really think. Another advantage is getting to work with people in the scary movie business who I look up to and admire. It's fun, too!"

Why she loves horror: "Watching horror films is similar to riding a roller coaster. There are extreme highs and lows and you go through a range of emotions. You can go from being completely relaxed to scared to death in a matter of moments."

Her favorite film experience: "I would have to say that I am very proud of making 'Jessicka Rabid.' I feel like I have done something that will hopefully make me stand out from the pack of scream queens. I have created a movie, and made it happen against all odds. It was a difficult task, but extremely fulfilling as an artist."

Jillian Murray, 24

Murray, a Catalina Foothills High School grad who moved to Los Angeles in 2002, is determined not to become a scream queen, but she'll take roles in horror films when they appeal to her. She has a lead in "The Graves," an as yet unreleased movie about two sisters who battle supernatural evil in a mining town.

Her highest-profile role so far came is in a movie hard-core Democrats might regard as horror — "An American Carol," as the assistant to liberal filmmaker Michael Malone (Kevin P. Farley).

What it takes to get her to do a horror film: "Unless a name is attached to it or the budget is something significant, I really look the other way. There's really no reason to go backward. Two years ago I might have thought about it a little bit differently, but now I'm a little bit more comfortable. I can't just outright throw offers away."

The type of films she'd rather make: "I want to do drama. But for my age the scripts just aren't out there for drama or period pieces. Everything you really want to dig into goes straight to A-list actors. Kind of all that's available is mostly comedy or horror films."

The problems with horror movies: "It's kind of sad. Most horror films are oversexed, with women — running away from a killer — in a bra. It's so cliché. It's kind of hard to get away from that. You want to pay your bills but don't want to be typecast."

Tiffany Shepis, 29

A native New Yorker who lives in Tucson when she's not traveling the world to star in and promote her films, Shepis has 68 movies to her credit, including "Nightmare Man," "Nympha," "Dorm of the Dead" and Patrick Roddy's "Good Boy." She's a fixture at horror movie festivals and routinely signs pictures at San Diego's Comic-Con International.

Living the good life: "I got lots of free bad horror movies. I usually get in to cons and horror-related events for free. When other little girls wanted to grow up to be ballerinas I wanted to kick some serial killer ass, so what better way to do that safely than being a scream queen?"

Why horror is the greatest: "I have always been a fan of the genre. Since I was a kid, my brother and I would rent every horror movie in the shop and do horror movie weekend marathons. Yeah, we were geeks. So besides loving the movies themselves, they are the most fun to make. Everybody loves to be scared. I mean, isn't that why people love Halloween? For me and my job, it's Halloween all year round. What's not to love?"

The coolest people she's gotten to meet: "I got to work with Brad Dourif, who was in 'One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest' and the voice of Chucky (in 'Child's Play') on 'The Hazing,' and he actually would come to my house to help me with my English accent. How awesome is that? I got to work with some horror vets in 'Abominable' — Jeffrey Combs ('Star Trek: Deep Space Nine' and 'House on Haunted Hill') and Lance Henriksen ('Appaloosa') — and 'Dark Reel' with Henriksen and Tony Todd ('24'). So for a fan-girl like me those moments are priceless. Not only am I getting to meet some of my horror movie heroes, but I'm starring in a movie with them. That's rad."

Chris McCaleb, 30

A Catalina Foothills High School grad, McCaleb moved to Los Angeles and his company Big Fantastic produced the Internet mystery/thriller Web series "Sam Has 7 Friends," "Prom Queen" and the now-unfolding "Sorority Forever," a mystery set at a sorority haunted by dark mysteries. His first two series drew millions of downloads.

His new series: "Just wrapping up post-production on 'Sorority Forever,' the first original Web series for Warner Bros.' all new TheWB.com. As for what's next, we are writing and starting preproduction on our next project, but unfortunately it's not public yet."

Why he loves the horror genre: "My favorite type of film is one that invokes a visceral response in you — makes you jump, makes you scream, whatever. An image or a sound or a moment that actually makes your body react — that's the ultimate film moment, one that transcends the form and becomes, for a moment, real. Consequently, horror films make great date movies, too, so maybe that's part of it."

What makes a good horror film: "One that inspires a sense of dread — like you almost want to stop watching, but you can't. You're caught in the tractor beam of the film and spellbound. I'm not scared of noisy, gory movies — those don't interest me very much. The movies that truly terrify me, and stick with me to this day, when I'm alone in the dark, are the smart films that turn the ordinary and regular situations in our lives into something horrific."

The scariest show ever: "The final episode of 'Twin Peaks' is the single scariest piece of work I have ever seen. I watched it when it originally aired. I was in junior high school and couldn't sleep for days."

Joseph Heslinga, 25

A graduate of Salpointe Catholic High School and the UA, Heslinga worked as a boom mic operator for Roddy on "Red 71" and wrote, directed and produced an as-yet-untitled independent horror film that's now in post-production. He moved to L.A. in 2007 after earning a media arts degree.

Biggest influences: "My biggest influences have been other people who have made films. And I'm not just talking about big directors — local people in Tucson who were writing scripts, finding financing and actually producing films."

Staying motivated: "There are a million reasons not to do something. But to overcome those reasons and actually act on your desires is a very liberating experience. On a creative level, I am influenced by films that stick with you. When the visuals and score match so perfectly, it's haunting. 'There Will Be Blood' is a perfect example."

The toughest part about breaking into the biz: "The biggest roadblock was actually getting out of Tucson and moving out to L.A. And that's no jab at the Tucson film scene by any means. But there is just a lot more opportunity out here. So I would say the act of saving up money and moving to the second largest city in the country with no job lined up or family to stay with was a pretty big obstacle."

Being the little guy: "If you try to make a film outside of the studios, which you basically need to do unless you have tons of contacts and a brilliant script, you run into a million obstacles. How do you pay for the movie? How do you get people to be involved if you don't have enough money? How do you find time to work a day job to support yourself and still try to make movies when you're not getting paid to? These are all questions that every aspiring filmmaker has asked at least a thousand times."

What makes a horror film tick: "Horror films are a lot like comedy — they thrive off our primal emotions. People scream when they are scared and laugh when they are happy. If you are able to tap into these emotions as a filmmaker and have the audience continue to think about their experience weeks after they have seen your film, that is a cool thing."

Tobias Canto Jr., 22

A media arts student at the UA, Canto worked as a production assistant on "Red 71" and does his own short films. The Salpointe Catholic High School grad is now making a zombie flick called "Dorm of the Dead."

Making "Dorm of the Dead": "Currently I'm working on post-production for my first feature-length film, 'Dorm of the Dead.' . . . . It's one of the best learning experiences I've had while attending this school. It's the story about a young slacker college student who is forced to take up some responsibility by protecting his brother and a group of quirky students during a zombie invasion on campus. We're hoping to have everything done by the end of the school year and then take it to some festivals."

The toughest part about getting the job done: "Not enough hours in the day is definitely one. But another has to be finding people who are seriously committed to making films. You're always going to find people who say they want to be a part, and they'll help out with this or that, but it's not until you're ready to go that you'll see who's really dedicated. I was really lucky working on 'Dorm of the Dead' because my entire class helped to make this movie from the script up and loved the process along the way. I'm so grateful because they helped make this one kooky idea in my head into a reality."

His dream project: "I've been working a personal heist flick and vigilante story for some time. Also, I'm a big comic book fan, and one of my biggest dream projects, if I got the money and the star power, would be to adapt Mark Millar and Bryan Hitch's work for Marvel, 'The Ultimates.' "

Career goals: "A steady job, writing and directing films, independent or studio-based. I would also like to own a theater and help the Tucson film scene grow similarly to what Austin is doing with the Alamo Drafthouse."

Why horror rules: "True horror involves rich characters and powerful stories with strong moral or political undertones. One of the biggest inspirations for 'Dorm of the Dead' was seeing how George A. Romero (director of the 'Dead' trilogy) used social and political issues as backdrops to his films: racism and isolation in 'Night,' affluence in 'Dawn,' and military control in 'Day.' The genre is totally overlooked as nothing but popcorn flicks you watch when you're bored, but if you take the time to look, there are some incredible stories out there that have the power to scare the crap out of you as well as move you."

Jesse Baget, 26

Baget moved to Hollywood at age 18 and has had quick success. His debut film, "Wrestlemaniac," about a lucha libre wrestler who's a serial killer, debuted on DVD in March. The Canyon del Oro High School graduate is now in preproduction on the grindhouse-style revenge film "Bunny in Wonderland" starring Billy Zane. He'll shoot the movie in Tijuana later this year.

Why he sticks to horror: "As a director, the horror genre has always been one of the most appealing to me. With comedy or drama it's all about the script and the performance. You cannot play around with elaborate steady cam moves, weird angles, distorted lenses as you would in a horror movie because it takes away from the actor's performance. 'Evil Dead,' 'Dead Alive,' 'Halloween' — the stars of these movies are really the directors, not the actors."

The best horror films: "A good horror film is any that will take you on a roller-coaster ride of emotions, from fear to hilarity to debating whether to get up and leave the theater or grit your teeth and stick around for the journey. A unique concept, interesting camera work, a kick-ass bad guy, anything that makes the movie stand out. When films like 'Texas Chainsaw Massacre,' 'Friday the 13th' or 'Halloween' get made, they will influence movie makers for generations."

Horror films made here

"Desperation" (2006)

Adapted from the Stephen King novel, the ABC miniseries starred Ron Perlman and was nominated for art direction and sound editing Emmys. The story involves a group of strangers who are jailed by a small-time sheriff and forced to battle for their lives. The movie was shot in Tucson and Bisbee. A fire during shooting at the Tucson Convention Center in 2004 caused $250,000 in damage to the TCC and the movie set.

"Night of the Lepus" (1972)

Janet Leigh stars in this schlock-fest about giant mutant rabbits who terrorize the desert. The film was shot at Old Tucson, the UA and in Ajo. Many regard it as a cult classic.