Interview with 'Mister Serial Killer' creator Steven Cerritos

Charles Lo Manto among the remains in Steven Cerritos' 'Mister Serial Killer'

Steven Cerritos is a ball of nervous energy and a popular one at that. We navigate our way through the filmthrill crowd that has filled Pauper’s Pub in the Annex to find a place to talk and along the way many familiar faces greet Steven. “This is the third meeting I’ve gone to,” he says. “It’s awesome.”

Steven is the creator, illustrator and director of an innovative yet grimly themed web-serial titled “Mister Serial Killer,” which he plans on developing into a multi-part, multi-season project.

“It is a web series about bizarre serial killers. It starts with an overly stylized animation (which to viewers seems oddly inspired by Roger Hargreaves’ Mr. Men children’s books). Then we get into the live action which is psychedelic, surreal and full of bizarre characters,” explains Steven.

The first installment reflects an incredibly dark, violent and twisted reality in which every character is seriously flawed. Within the first few minutes, the viewer finds himself surrounded by degenerates, weirdoes and very twisted people with very few redeeming human qualities.

The Happy Face Killer, played with Heath Ledger-esque creepiness by Charles Lo Manto, wastes no time in wreaking havoc. Lo Manto eerily manages to churn out some comedic moments out of gruesome situations and does a fairly credible job of acting through a crude mask with a smiling face.

“Happy Face Killer is the catalyst and the face of the web series,” Steven explains while promising to introduce more disturbing characters for the first season and setting them up for more conflicts in the second season.

The first webisode, ‘The Happy Face Killer’, is a ‘long’ twenty-two minute piece. future webisodes will be five to ten minutes long.

“The plot lines are out of this world. It is, after all, an exploration of serial killers,” Steven says. While stressing that he is in no way glorifying serial killers or the grisly nature of their crimes or the evil that they represent. He adds that a lot of the violence occurs off camera and is implied rather than shown.

“The characters in Mister Serial Killer are irredeemable human beings,” Steven points out. “Their story is like a tragedy. My vision for the web series is to have different characters interact. They are all going to have different masks and methods for murder. Serial killers are all very complex.”

While some aspects of the Mister Serial Killer, webisode appear farcical, one will notice that the direction is tight and the pacing of the story is well timed. As an independent filmmaker, Steven adheres to production schedules and swears by storyboards.

“You have to be organized, you can’t go over time limits so definitely we use storyboards,” Steven says.

Steven has also learned from past failures, a fact that he is quick to share with up and coming filmmakers.

“You need to get as much experience as possible. Even if your first work is garbage, you need to keep at it. Network a lot, do a ton of research. The Internet makes everything a lot easier.”

Steven stresses that locations are the most difficult and elusive resource and often the ones that can make or break a film.

“Locations are the hardest things to get in independent filmmaking.” Steven says. “There’s a great community of actors in Toronto, but locations are the hardest things to find.”

Undeterred and determined, Steven has done his best to find the proper locations for his films by actively scouting around the city. “The good thing about Toronto is that there are a couple of abandoned places you can use. The bad thing is a lot of them are being bought up by corporations or are being turned into lots or condos.”

Steven laments the Toronto Brick Works, which he had scouted recently only to learn that it is nearly completely demolished.

“I also scouted this massive greenhouse project in Vaughn, it was huge and all the vegetation has died so there is all his urban decay that is perfect to shoot in.”

As for the process, what makes him tick as a creator, Steven says immediacy and motivation are key. “Whatever gets to my mind, I’ll document it and I’ll immediately get on it. When motivation strikes, I attack it. That is particularly my process,” he shares.

His earlier films, 'In Darkness' and 'Cerritosis,' have gained Steven notice and cult following, especially in experimental, horror and obscure film circles. His easy manner and collaborative nature has also allowed him to work with many talents in the business.

Steven is currently working on the second episode of Mister Serial Killer as well as developing ideas for a new web series that will no doubt go viral once it streams on the Internet.

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Mister Serial Killer
Written, animated, edited and directed by Steven Cerritos
Produced by Anthony Colantonio
Director of Photography Blair Streeter
Composer (Ep. 1) S. Peace Nistades

Cast (Ep. 1):
Charles Lo Manto as The Happy Face Killer
Katherine Scott as The Mistress
Christopher Lee Grant as BJ Randalls and The Narrator
Frank Von as Duncan Watters
Gabriel DiFabio as Bert Martins
Jerry Potter as David Richardson
Doug Millar as Wilfredo Cromwell
Kasia Dyszkiewicz as the News Anchor

To learn more, visit:
http://enityfilms.com/
http://enityfilms.com/misterserialkiller/