Actor Jack Wade takes his sick wife Frankie, a former Hollywood studio executive, to an isolated cabin in the mountains-a place where a man once murdered his entire family. Poor Jack was a kept man. Now he must care for Frankie alone, because they have run out of money. This dilapidated cabin is all they have left. The redneck father and son that live nearby are pretty eccentric, but seem harmless enough. Jack flirts with Kate Eidson, the local constable, a woman who has such bad memories of the war in Iraq she won't even carry a gun. Jack is a fish out of water. Everything in nature scares him. He starts to imagine things and comes to believe Frankie is up and moving around. She's rude, crude and taunts him relentlessly. Jack starts to come unraveled--and eventually decides to smother his wife. But Frankie won't die. Is Frankie some kind of monster, or is Jack just insane? Is the cabin haunted, or is it all of the above?

BD:It has been a long time coming, so take us through your trip in getting DEAD and GONE to the DVD shelf.

YOSSI SASSON: Well we started working on the script in late 2004 and began placing some of the elements together in early 2005. We really started pre-production in July of 05. Principal photography took place over October of 05’ and when that was done all hell broke loose. In post we realized that all our exterior shots where technically un-usable due to a human technical error with the HD equipment. You can imagine what a nightmare that was.

Finally we went to re-shoots in May of 06’ and postproduction immediately after that. We finished the movie on July 13th 2007 – I remember it very clearly since it was Friday the 13th. The last year was a combination of finding and negotiating a deal as well as delivering the movie for distribution.

BD:When did you first conceive DEAD and GONE?

YS: Sometime in 2004, way before the movie was written, I had the feeling that I was ready to direct my first feature. My wife and I decided to put our money where my mouth was so to speak. Harry Shannon and I were talking, and I had an image in my mind. He started to expand that into a story, and things took off.

BD:How did that idea come about, did anything in particular inspire you?

YS: The original idea came to me after a few people we know went under the knife for some “rejuvenation” procedures and I remember having a few general talks with my wife about that. Surgery is scary. Not waking up is scary. That’s the real seed for the original concept, which was basically about a couple where one of them becomes comatose and the other one needs to take care of him and how that could mess someone up. I

As for general inspiration, anything and everything around me. Mostly that I grew up watching indie horror favorites like the early work of Sam Raimi Peter Jackson and others. The guys with black humor and micro budgets that really did their own thing.

BD:What’s DEAD AND GONE about?

YS: The basic story line deals with Jack, who’s a Hollywood trophy husband. He who takes his comatose wife to an old cabin somewhere out of state (and thus out of reality). There he is trying to survive while waiting for some insurance money to come in, cash to help him get out of the financial mess he is in. Naturally he picks a place that is haunted by evil spirits. Beyond that the movie deals with someone gradually losing their mind.

BD:How bloody or gory is the film?

YS: You know, I never intended “Dead and Gone” to be that bloody. It still leaves a lot to the imagination, especially with the amazing score that Harry Manfredini did and the very cool sound effects from our friends at “Widget Post”. But Harry Shannon got a bit carried away writing the last act, and then Dan Crawley’s makeup was so amazing…anyway, turns out a lot of people find it quite gory near the end. Or maybe I am just a little de-sensitized …

BD:Tell us something that happens in the film that would make us go rent it immediately.

YS: Let’s see...You can check out Gillian Shure’s lovely nude body. Trust me, that is reason enough, although a lot of people also think Quentin Jones is eye candy. Kathryn Bates as a black humored, foul-mouthed zombie, Harry Manfredini’s great musical score, Evanescence guitarist Ben Moody as a dumb hillbilly getting chopped to pieces, Kyle Gass of the “Tenacious – D” as Reverend Grass lots of stuff like that.

BD:How does it feel to finally see your film on DVD shelves?

YS: It’s just amazing! I keep snapping pictures of the DVD on store shelves! And I keep getting pictures from friends and crew members of it on shelves in different places and cities around the U.S – it was a labor of love for everyone involved so we all pretty much share the excitement.

BD:What’s next?! More horror? Any details you can reveal?

YS: YES! More horror, more action, more gore and a lot more of that really dark and twisted humor. Our next project is called “Pain” (that’s the title so far anyway) and we are now in the process of raising funds for it. It’s another exciting script by Harry Shannon. “Pain” really goes to the next level as far as filmmaking, as well as expanding on our very twisted, funny and very disturbing sense of humor in new directions.

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