A Woman Feeds People To Monsters in This Horror Short Film THE NIGHT COURIER

Here’s a great horror short film for you to watch titled The Night Courier. In the film, “a single night offers a suffocating glimpse into the life of a woman whose occupation is feeding people to monsters. When one of her victims escapes, the story escalates into a hellish cat and mouse chase.”

This short film is shared in collaboration with the FilmQuest Film Festival, where we are looking to expose some of the awesome indie genre films and shorts that filmmakers are creating.

This movie was directed and produced by Tabitha and Mason McDonald, and we also included an interview that you can read as well, to get to know them a little more.

Without spoilers, tell us what your film is about, its characters, and its themes. Is it a proof of concept, or a standalone story? 

A blood courier's night spirals into a harrowing cat-and-mouse pursuit after one of her victims escapes. This short is proof of concept for a series of the same name, as well as a feature screenplay called 'Never See the Sun Again'.

What was the inspiration for your film? How did you come up with the idea?

Originally it was just a COVID isolation-spawned idea of creating an experimental short film based on some interesting and inventive shots, but it just kept snowballing until it was a larger story. Also inspired by stories such as 'Only Lovers Left Alive' and iconic films such as "You Were Never Really Here' the portrayal of vampirism in 'The Night Courier' takes a less fantastical and more grounded approach.

While they are immortal, sensitive to sunlight, and sustain themselves solely on blood, the more fantastical traits such as transforming into bats, vulnerability to garlic, and sleeping in coffins are omitted. The aim is to create a race distinct from humans yet closely resembling them.

This deliberate choice mirrors real-world prejudices where even when someone resembles us closely, we still find reasons to distrust or oppress them. This theme forms a significant aspect of 'The Night Courier' as vampires face discrimination despite legal protections.

In the short, the comparison is drawn between the Courier and her prey, as she realizes vampires are not the only ones who experience discrimination, causing her to rethink her path forward.

Tell us about yourself. What is your background? How long have you been a filmmaker?

We have been making films and commercials together for over ten years, Mason writes and directs, and Tabitha produces and edits.

What inspires you to work within genre cinema and tell these kind of stories?

Horror allows us to open doors, explore, and ask questions that no other other genre does as effectively. Horror can be brooding, or it can be funny. It can be social commentary, or it can explore our worst fears. It is the most malleable genre with an incredibly supportive audience and fan base. What's not to love?

What was your favorite part of the filmmaking process for this project?

Our favorite part was building the world! The world of The Night Courier was incredibly collaborative and has taken on a life of its own. The lore runs deep.

What are you most proud of with this film?

We are most proud of the visual language of the film. Prior to this film we hadn't developed a clear style, but when we made this we knew what we wanted and that feels really good. We are also proud of the stories that this world has influenced us to create after the fact.

What is a favorite story or moment from the making of the film you'd like to share? 

On the last day of the final scene of our short film The Night Courier, we were in a parking lot in the middle of the night just about to call action when all of a sudden, our key grip, Regina, who was standing next to a glowing Aputure lantern said “Guys...”. We all looked at her, and flying around the lantern was a huge luna moth.

Everything stopped and everyone just surrounded her and watched this luna moth dance around this glowing globe of light in silence. It was surreal, and to this day, one of our favorite set experiences ever. We later read up on luna moths. They only have a lifespan of 1 week. We felt so grateful that the luna moth gave us a little time in its short, but beautiful life.

What was your most challenging moment or experience you had while making your film?

On day two the production was set back several hours due to torrential rains, as happens in North Carolina in the spring. We decided to wait and see if things would clear up, and sure enough they did, with a double rainbow at that.

From there we proceeded with a night of filming the scenes with the cops. While it wasn't pleasant to work in, the rain left us with a heavy fog that persisted the ENTIRE night, which made the lighting absolutely beautiful. It didn't dissipate until we wrapped!

If it did, how did your film change or differ from its original concept during pre-production, production, and/or post-production? How has this changed how you'll approach future projects as a result?

The characters evolved significantly based on the input of the actors to develop the characters and their interactions. Since then we have made character development with the actors a pivotal part of the process and have been very pleased with the results.

Who were some of your collaborators and actors on the film? How did you start working with each other?

Emily, The Courier, and Drez, The Man, were a part of the story from its inception. We had worked with each on other projects, and bringing them together on this was an absolute dream.

What is the best advice you've ever received as a filmmaker and what would you like to say to new filmmakers?

Make movies for only one audience member - yourself. -- Denis Villeneuve Be prolific. Don't try to make just one thing, work on a lot of things, in a lot of roles. The more you create, whether in your ideal role or not, and the more you collaborate and work with others, the more doors will open for you.

What are your plans for your career and what do you hope this film does for it? What kind of stories would you like to tell moving forward?

We are constantly developing new stories. Mason has since written five feature screenplays, as well as the pilot for The Night Courier series. We are working on bringing that series to life as well as our eco-horror feature, Decomposer, and Jennifer Trudrung's screenplay The Biting Time. We want to continue to use horror as a medium to explore humanity, and we will see where it takes us!

What is your next project and when can we expect to see it? 

We have two other shorts that will be landing in festivals later this year! The Biting Time and I Carry Them Wherever I Go.

Where can we find more of your work and where can interested parties contact you? Do you have a website or YouTube/Vimeo channel? Social media handles?

darkredhorror.com is where our work (as well as our horror film festival Dark Red Film Fest) lives. You can find us on instagram @darkredhorror, @tabby.makes.movies and @mason.makes.movies. And our email is darkredhorror@gmail.com

Bonus Question #1: What is your all-time favorite film?

No Country for Old Men

Bonus Question #2: What is the film that most inspired you to become a filmmaker and/or had the most influence on your work?

No Country for Old Men and Under the Skin.

Enjoy the short film!