"The Office" Meets Zombies, Werewolves and Vampires

An Interview with Patrick Prejusa, Director of "The Midnight Special"

"Hollywood is crap. I could make a better film than they could."

A lot of people are guilty of saying this exact line, but just how many people actually attempt it?

Not many. It's usually those that have a love of film and respect the medium that go on to make successful films. The ones who grow up loving both the good films and the "bad." A guy like Patrick Prejusa.

When I first "met" Patrick online a few years back, he was still working on his film, "The Midnight Special." Day after day he juggled filming his masterpiece with a real life job, his marriage and life's own nasty setbacks. Today, however, he finally has something to show for it all: a finished film.

Already receiving rave reviews from fans of underground horror and comedy, Patrick is just beginning to reap the rewards of all his hard work. As a result, it wasn't long until I nudged my nose into his business in order to find out just what it takes to persevere through life's hardships and a few camera malfunctions in order to realize one's filmmaking dreams.

So, first of all: When did you decide you wanted to make films? And better yet, why?

I was very young. I'm pretty sure it was around the time I had seen "Superman The Movie." It really made an impression on me. It made me want to fly and later made me want to make other people want to fly as well. I was hooked on all those movies around that time: "E.T.," "Star Wars," "Raiders," etc. It kind of became a joke in my family that little Patrick would be a filmmaker, then it just stuck through school until it was time to decide on a career. By that time, there wasn't anything else I was as passionate about.

Your first film, "The Midnight Special," is billed as the "ultimate no-budget, independent, horror, action, sci-fi, cult, b-movie, comedy." If you had to boil it down to one primary genre, what would you consider "The Midnight Special?"