Everybody has some idea about a conspiracy, either their own or somebody has offered a belief that there is a hidden meaning (or Easter Egg) in manner of things. Brad Abrahams’ new film CONSPIRACY CRUISE attempts to tap into the weird and wonderful perspectives that some of these mindsets try to accomplish – with a little twist within.
Film and TV Now recently interviewed the director, as he reflected on the film and its meanings and production.
FILM AND TV NOW: Conspiracy theories have been quite prominent in culture and society and it was the subject of a Mel Gibson / Julia Roberts film back in 1997. What fascinates you about them?
BRAD ABRAHAMS: I have an out-sized (unhealthy?) interest in conspiracy culture, and the history and psychology behind the beliefs. There’s real historical precedent to the beliefs (Tuskegee experiment, Gulf of Tonkin, MKULTRA, etc.), so it’s understandable where this mistrust in power structures comes from.
The interesting angle is how this beliefs then spiral into the more outlandish theories about Reptilians, massacre false flags, and others. Like other fringe beliefs, they can reveal a great deal of hidden truths about our minds.
FTVN: Tell us a bit more about the article that inspired the short film.
BA: What led to this particular idea was the real “Conspiracy Cruise” that set sail from South Florida in 2016, ferrying a cadre of about a hundred conspiracy theorists among thousands of normies on a cruise through the Caribbean.
Journalist and author Anna Merlan wrote a fantastic article about it for Jezebel. While no Reptilians or Illuminati revealed themselves (to my knowledge), the IRS did indeed arrest one of the keynote speakers under various articles of tax fraud upon docking back in Florida.
The article made my imagination run wild, paying out what it’d look like if the conspiracies started coming true.
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FTVN: Tell us about your cast.
BA: film’s star, Henry Zebrowski, is one of the hosts of a wildly popular true crime and paranormal podcast, The Last Podcast on the Left (https://www.lastpodcastontheleft.com/ , Spotify).
They cover many of the topics in the short. I had been interviewed on the Podcast for my previous film Love and Saucers, a feature doc about a man and his inter-species romance with an ET woman. I kept in touch with Henry, and practically wrote the character with him in mind. I think he’s fantastic as Gordon, and who may just be his not-so-alter ego.
FTVN: Tell us about your Director of Photography.
BA: My DP was Ava Benjamin Shorr, who was recommended by doc director Jodi Wille. I come from the doc world, so Ava’s narrative experience helped immensely. She’s an obsessive planner, just like me, but also super flexible when on set. She’s also incredible with handheld photography, of which 90% of the film was shot.
FTVN: Tell us about the ship you shot on.
BA: The conference room, cabin, and hallways were all shot in a hotel. Only clips from the promo video and Gordon’s POV were shot on a cruise ship, which I went on alone. I’d have loved to film it all on location, but the cost and logistics were near impossible.
FTVN: How did you raise finance and how long did you shoot for?
BA: A chunk of the budget came from the film being commissioned by Borscht Corp, an indie film org in Miami. A chunk more was from a production company I work with. But mostly it was out of pocket.
FTVN: Tell us about the reptilian make-up created for one scene in the film, which reminds one of the aliens in V – THE SERIES from the 1980s. Tell us about your make-up team.
BA: Robert Lindsay, a former dental technician from Germany and contestant on Face Off, was my one-person SFX team. He threw himself at it with aplomb. Everything was custom, including the pointy reptilian teeth. I call him the Udo Kier of SFX make-up.
FTVN: Has the film been entered into any festival so far and how has the COVID-19 crisis affected your creative plans?
BA: The film was just starting its festival run when the lock-downs started hitting. Thankfully I was able to make Cinequest and Miami before that happened, but it was still very depressing to read about cancellation after cancellation. I participated with a few festivals that went online, but I didn’t enjoy the experience. And with conspiracies (and cruise ships) being so present in the zeitgeist, this was the “perfect” time to release.
FTVN: Finally, what are you most proud of about CONSPIRACY CRUISE and would you like to expand the short into a feature film?
BA: I’m most proud of the world-building, given the limited time and budget. I’d love to see it either as a feature or as a little mini-series, with each episode being another day and another conspiracy theory coming true. More screen-time is needed to really sink in the feeling of being trapped on a boat at sea.
