Pulp Features

Lake Films is an independent film production company based in Staten Island, New York. Established in 1995 by award winning filmmaker Lance J. Reha, the company has consistently produced high quality entertaining films in the horror & thriller genres.

Through the years Lake Films has provided a creative atmosphere for artists interested in the world of independent filmmaking. Mr. Reha has always welcomed talented individuals with strong work ethics and unique visions.

Since its inception, Lake Films has lensed several short subject and feature length movies, each a twisted tale of suspense and the macabre. Many of these films have garnered high praise and prestigious awards.

Dale You operate Lake Films out of New York. When was it formed and what is the url?
Lance Lake Films was formed way back when I was 13 years old. I was born & raised on a street called “Lake Ave.” All of the “actors” I used were from my neighborhood, so I figured what better name then that. The URL is www.Lakefilms.com

Dale You were working on a film called On A Dark Street . Is it ready now and what is the plot?
Lance “On a Dark Street” (Written by Ben Fiore) is in Pre-production and will be shot during the summer. We did complete 2 films and are on our third. Their titles are “Fear of dying”, “Dead Man’s Hand” & “Underneath it all”. These films, as with all of my films are in the Horror/Thriller/Twilight Zone genre’s. They have that “Hitchcock” twist incorporated into them. I also have an ongoing series entitled “The Mind’s Eye” which is my version of “The Twilight Zone”. All the information regarding what we’re up to, trailers etc…are on my site.

Dale You also received some favorable remarks for Baby Doll. Rosemary Gore did a recent interview here. What is your opinion of her as an actress and what was working with her like?
Lance First off besides being a good all around person, Rosemary is very good at her craft of acting and is very professional. Rosemary, after receiving the script took some time to develop the many characters of “Baby Doll”. The character has many ‘sides’ to her and as any actor will know, it’s very difficult to successfully portray that on-screen. Not for Rose, she nailed the role. Rosemary is one of the only actors I didn’t audition. I saw her reel and knew she was the one for the role. Aside from being a professional, she was lot’s of fun to work with. We had many laughs on the set which made making BD a memorable experience.

Dale Baby Doll is a short film with some interesting twists, but focus is on an insane woman holding a man prisoner. A lot of Rosemary’s actions were similar to Betty Davis in “Whatever Happened To baby Jane”. Was this intended?
Lance Being a fan of that film I guess in some ways, yes it did resemble it. But, we didn’t intend on making it like that film. We compare it to “Whatever happened to Baby Jane”, meets “Misery”, meets “Monster’.

Dale There was talk of re-shooting this as a feature film and not just a short?
Lance Yes, that’s true. Thomas F. Bragg, the original writer from the short has completed an awesome script for the feature. We are currently seeking investors for it.

Dale Are there any interesting stories from behind the scenes concerning this film, that you would like to share?
Lance Let’s see…Well, there was the time we did the shots of “Baby Doll” in the field with her night gown on in the middle of the day. A ‘state’ worker approached us and wanted to know ‘what was going on’ and was demanding a permit. It was me, Rose, Tom and one camera, hardly Paramount pictures, and he wanted a permit. Luckily I had the shots I needed already and left quietly. Then there was the problem of where to get all the toys for Baby Doll’s bedroom. Luckily Tom hit up his niece’s & nephews and they supplied us! You know how hard it is to get a toy from a kid…

Dale There are other films you have done, right?
Lance Yes, in “The Mind’s Eye” series there are 9 to date. I also have done some before TME. Again, the site has all you’d ever want to know.

Dale Is the horror film genre your favorite?
Lance Without a doubt. As a matter of fact, as I write this interview, I’m listening to the “Dawn of the dead” commentary! I also love the Thriller genre.

Dale Future plans?
Lance To continue making movies, with one slight change, making a living from it! We will continue turning out films, and hope to never stop…I have been ‘toying’ around with the idea of bringing back the 80’s ‘slasher’ type films. Those were great! Any comments/suggestions?

Dale Did you study film someplace or just pick it up as you went along and dove into it?
Lance Proud to say, self taught. I took an interest in it as a kid and as that big sneaker company says “Just did it”. Yes, I had to bug my parents to get me a super 8 camera, but after I finally got it I was off & running. I have to admit though, lot’s of reading, watching movies carefully and with today’s DVD features like Directors commentaries, it all is very useful in learning the craft. And, the mot basic, trial & error, there’s no better teacher then that.

Dale How did you manage such good films on such a low budget? Something about the style just seems to work right.
Lance Thank you for that compliment. We have been asked numerous times what our budget was and people are usually very shocked when I tell them. Also, they are confused as to whether I shoot on Film or Digital. It’s all about having the ‘vision’ going into it, knowing what you want to end up on the screen. The first 2 things that are at the top of the list for a good movie are: Story & Acting. Then comes the technical aspects like lighting, sets, shots etc…Being an Editor also, I already know what shots I need, & what shots will or will not work. As for the style, I can’t put a finger on that, I go ‘with the feel’. Of course some films require certain ‘looks’, for instance in Baby Doll, I skewed the camera whenever the character was in the ‘Baby Doll’ mode and left it alone when she was the ‘normal’ Casey, so you felt uneasy when she was in the BD mode. As for low budget, I just use what I have to it’s fullest potential and that goes for locations, equipment, actors etc…I don’t focus on the fact that I don’t have a big budget, again…”Just do it”.

Dale Have you been hitting the film convention circuit or the horror fests?
Lance We have been in a couple of conventions. We are trying to get into “Chiller” but so far have had no luck as getting a table is very hard. But, yes we’d like to hit more in the near future as they are a great place to meet people and get new fans.

Dale Have you gotten European distribution for your films as this site is read internationally and has a big European fan base?
Lance No, but we’d love to!

Dale Do you have any favorite film directors?
Lance Romero, Hitchcock, Carpenter, Scorcese…

Dale Closing comments?
Lance I would first say, thank you for giving me this opportunity to talk independent filmmaking, it’s always fun. We’re in a new world as far as filmmaking goes. With digital camera’s coming down in price and computers also it opens up doors for all those that couldn’t do it before…If you have the passion that is filmmaking inside of you, get it out, make your movie no matter what…One more time, “Just do it”! See ya on the set…

Feed on comments to this Post