WWU Film Production Club premiered Bellingham’s first feature-length horror film, “Knife of Glass,” on Oct. 14 in the Performing Arts Center.
The film was in production for several years as Troy Schulz, the director and writer, perfected his vision. His first production was brainstormed nearly 10 years ago.
“It sort of started in middle school and I think it was seventh grade. But the idea of making a horror film kind of followed me around for a while,” Schulz said.
“Knife of Glass” started production in 2021, when Schulz was working on a script and pitched it to the WWU Film Production Club. Filming started in April 2021 and Alexandra Larson Freeman and Albert Gregorio joined as producers.
Schulz’s vision was to create a giallo, an Italian horror mystery film. This style was very popular in the late 1960-70s and Schulz was captivated by the unique and surrealist genre.
This process took lots of editing to match Schulz's intended vision, as well as some creative and innovative methods.
“He has almost killed his laptop multiple times,” said Larson Freeman. Schulz went through a layered editing process, she added.
This project was created on a micro-budget, relying on renting equipment from Western and volunteer actors to film on campus.
One of these actors was Cora Marchewitz, who played Dahlia in the film. She was involved by replying to an audition tape request. This was her first role in a film.
“It took like two years to complete, each scene is like months apart. So they’re all just different points in my acting learning experience,” Marchewitz said.
This simple style of filming also required other do-it-yourself techniques.
“A lot of the sound effects in the film are custom," Larson Freeman said. "Occasionally, we hit food with hammers or knives.”
Once all filming and editing was finished, WWU Film Productions premiered “Knife of Glass” in the Performing Arts Center, with about 100 students and crew in attendance. The film was met with laughter, shock and applause from those in attendance.
Films like these are important to student culture, creative expression and the clubs that produce them. The University of Washington has a film production club of its own called LUX.
“It definitely provides an outlet for people to creatively express themselves. It's also a place where you can get support from other people,” said Megan Joyce Jamora, co-president of LUX.
Small-scale productions provide opportunities to make connections and develop skills, said Jamora. Any student can start to learn how a movie is made and learn on-the-fly production skills.
WWU Film Productions is open to anyone who has a desire to learn the skills needed to make a film.
“Pick up a camera and make something, you have no excuse not to,” Schulz said.
On Oct. 25 at the Blue Room, another screening of the film was held. Follow @wwufilmproduction or @glass.knife on Instagram for more information and upcoming screenings.
“‘Knife of Glass’ is a film that was made by the community for the community,” Schulz said.
Olivia Marty (she/her) is a campus life reporter for The Front. She is a sophomore majoring in public relations journalism. In her spare time, Olivia loves going thrifting, watching documentaries, and crafting. She can be reached at oliviamarty.thefront@gmail.com.
