Horror Short Film THE QUEUE Follows a Content Moderator and the Disturbing Online Videos He Watches

I have a short horror film to share with you today called TailThe story centers on an internet content moderator who is confronted with a series of increasingly disturbing online videos that seep into his psyche.

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

The film was directed by Michel Richand we conducted an interview with him below which you can also check out.

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

“The Queue tells the story of a man named Cole who begins working as a content moderator for a video-sharing site. We follow him through his first night as he filters a series of increasingly disturbing online videos that seep into his psyche. The film explores themes of online violence and voyeurism.”

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

“I read an article a few years ago about the content moderators employed by the major social networks. Men and women responsible for removing violent and perverse content from users. I didn’t even know it was a real job!

“I always thought that AI or algorithms would remove offensive content, but – at least in some cases – a human has to review it. You can imagine the kind of stuff they have to look at. And it reminded me of my teenage years, when I would come across LiveLeak videos.

“I’ve seen some horrible things, a strange mix of emotions: disgust, embarrassment, but also fascination. I find what we have access to on the Internet frightening. And it’s very easy to forget that these violent videos feature real human beings who suffer the consequences in real life.”

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

“I grew up in St. Louis, Missouri with a father who worked in television news. Going to his station as a kid, I developed a fascination with cameras and production, especially the “behind the scenes” – because that’s what he did. I went to Chapman University to study directing and found my calling as a horror major. Since graduating, I’ve continued to try to hone my skills by writing and directing short films.”

What inspires you to work in genre cinema and tell these kinds of stories?

“I like genre cinema because it’s not afraid to tackle subjects that many others avoid. It’s a safe place where you can feel unsafe.”

What was your favorite part of the process of making this project?

“I loved working with our lead actor, Burt Bulos. We didn’t necessarily do rehearsals, but we got on the phone before shooting and talked about our vision for the character. Where does this guy come from? What makes this character tick? And Burt had so many great ideas that we incorporated.”

“The movie features a guy sitting in front of a fucking computer for 90% of the running time. It could have been a disaster if Burt hadn’t been able to captivate the viewer and convince them that they were watching the most horrific videos imaginable.

What are you most proud of in this film?

“During our run at the festival, we were programmed in blocks of short films called ‘Darker Than You Think’ and ‘Nightmare Fuel.’ I read a review online where a woman said the film made her feel nauseous. And it took about 50 people saying it for me to finally believe it – but some people find this film scary!

“It’s a miracle for me, because we show almost nothing. Obviously, the power of suggestion in horror is used all the time, but honestly, I didn’t know if it would work. When I was editing, I thought I had made a mistake.

“It was way too bland (and it might be for my Hostel fan friends). But when we did our first screening and I saw people covering their faces, I was like, ‘Holy shit, this works!’”

What is your favorite story or moment from the making of the film that you would like to share?

“We didn’t have an art director or a script to direct the film, so I had a huge amount of paperwork to manage to keep up with the schedule and shot list. Burt kept telling me I looked like Andy Reid with his shot sheet.”

What was the most difficult moment or experience you had while filming your movie?

“The hardest part was making sure we had enough coverage. I’m a huge hypocrite – I don’t think looking at computer screens is cinematic. I wanted to make sure we never used the same shot more than once or twice in the edit to avoid the viewer getting totally bored.

“So we tried to do a 12 Angry Men kind of thing where you gradually get closer to the character as the tension builds – which was difficult on such a small set.”

If so, how did your film change or differentiate from its original concept during pre-production, production, and/or post-production? How did this change the way you approach future projects?

“Going back to our lead actor, Burt, he really pushed me to dig deeper into the character. And I think we had a very open dialogue on set, which made it better. So I’m going to put a lot of emphasis on the performers that I work with in the future, because he set the bar really high.”

Who were your collaborators and actors on the film? How did you start working together?

“I trained in filmmaking with our cinematographer Dave Cortez. He’s by far the most important crew member in my filmmaking process. I send him pictures of what I want the film to look like. And he’s like, ‘Yeah, I’m going to do that.’ Then I show up on set and it looks exactly like my damn references.

“He’s serious and super cool. Another key collaborator is our sound designer Michael Cullen. We also went to Chapman U together and I believe he works in video game sound. Michael can make anything happen.”

“He sends me his news once a year or two, with a new short film, and he never lets himself get intimidated. Yeah, this one needs sex noises and a guy getting decapitated. And he goes right in and makes it awesome.

“Our producer was Rachel Collins. We’re married. 🙂 And our executive producers were Kory and Juliann Gammon Kleppe, who were very supportive of me during the making of this film. When they helped me put it together, they insisted that it be my vision and that I not let any outside influence or opinion influence what I wanted to do.”

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

“Trust your instincts. On set, or even during the writing or editing process, it’s easy to get distracted by things that don’t matter. You have to save your energy for the real battles.”

What are your plans for your career and what do you hope this film will bring to it? What kind of stories would you like to tell in the future?

“Before The Queue, I was mostly making funny horror movies, but most of my feature film ideas are straight-up horror movies, so I hope I can use this project as a calling card for a bigger project.”

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

“I’m writing a horror novel right now. It’s scary and completely crazy. :)”

Where can we find more of your work and where can interested people contact you? Do you have a website or YouTube/Vimeo channel? Social media accounts? Let us know what we can share and we will share it!

My website: https://michaelrich.me/

Bonus Question #1: What is your favorite movie of all time?

“The Sorcerer by William Friedkin. The tension is unreal.”

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

“Evil Dead. When you watched most movies as a kid, you had no idea how they were made. With Evil Dead, I felt like a participant because you could see some of the seams in the making of the movie. It really felt doable, like, ‘Wow, this is fun. I can do this.’”

Enjoy the short film!