Horror Secrets: Director John Isberg on Final Summer

The film’s location, a remote campsite, adds a unique and eerie atmosphere to Final Summer. How did you choose the setting, and how did it contribute to the overall feel of the movie?

I was looking for locations that were isolated and near Champaign-Urbana, IL.  We were filming during the pandemic so it was helpful to find a location where we could stay inside that “covid bubble” and minimize any exposure and safely get through filming.  When I visited the camp in the winter, I saw a lot of great locations within the camp, the pool, forest bridge, ravines, huge fields, cabins and dining hall and started to write to the locations at the camp.  The camp felt timeless, so that helped with the period aspect of the film.  The camp could do a lot of the heavy lifting for the setting and the cast could inhabit that world without needing a big budget to accomplish the period feel.

Final Summer has received praise for its practical effects and creative kills. Can you share some insights into the process of designing and executing these memorable death scenes?

We didn’t have much of a budget so I took a lot of inspiration from John Carpenter’s “Halloween” for the kills.  That film relied more on tension and suspense, atmosphere and that’s what I was interested in for our film.  I also worked with stunt performer/coordinator Luzzo who was under the skull mask.  They choreographed a lot of the fight scenes and kill sequences and we worked together later in the edit to make sure that the hits were coming across.  My favorite sequence was the screen door sequence.  I never really considered kill scenes in slasher movies to be intimate but that particular scene had an intimacy to it and a real life and death struggle that stood out to me.  I thought that Ren Farbota (“Ronnie”) and Luzzo did fantastic work in that scene.

The film also features a killer with a distinctive and terrifying look. How did you come up with the design for the antagonist, and what kind of reaction were you hoping to elicit from the audience?

I wanted a classic 80’s feel to the killer, an emotionless mask that could evoke the other classic villains, Jason and Michael Myers.  It was surprisingly really difficult to find a skull mask that looked emotionless.  I finally saw a $9 mask online and reached out to the company. Thankfully they agreed to have the mask in the film. I did some screen tests of the mask and as soon as I saw it on camera, I felt it was the one.  Also, in keeping with the time period, lycra was a pretty huge trend in the early 90’s so it made sense to me that the killer would have a form fitting, lycra style mask.  I added my old Army jacket, shredded it with a razor and then black boots, black pants and black shirt.  

The sound design and music in Final Summer play a significant role in building tension and atmosphere. Could you tell us about your approach to creating the film’s auditory elements?

I wanted the camp and the night forest to be a character in the film.  I wanted the audience to feel like they were alone in the forest with those characters.  We spent months working on the sound design, adding wind, layers and layers of crickets, creaking tree branches, all manner of ambient sound.  I ended up doing a lot of the initial sound design and wrote a lot of music for the film.  I used to play in a lot of electronic bands and did a lot of programming with sequencers and ambient synths, so I looked at it in a similar way.  Using ambience and tones to create soundscapes.  I layered in some subtle delayed electric guitar as well but took more of a John Cale “drone guitar”/John Cage “prepared piano” approach.  One huge influence on the feel of the film was the song “Souvlaki Space Station” by Slowdive.  That song became the emotion of the film, dark, lush, atmospheric, haunting. By the time it was done, I think we had 900 tracks of audio in the film.  

Final Summer explores some classic horror themes, such as isolation, fear of the unknown, and the concept of a “final girl.” What drew you to these themes, and how did you put your own spin on them?

Isolation played a big part in the film as it has a lot to do with how you feel when you are being gaslit, and also why someone can gaslight you.  They isolate you so they can create this alternate world for you that isn’t real, yet becomes real because there is no truth coming through to shatter that illusion.  That illusion is how they can control you.  Abusers can feel free to continue abusing you because that isolation keeps you from the truth, from reality, from seeking help.

The “Final Girl” character was an interesting challenge because of what she’s going through when you meet her, she’s not totally accessible to the audience.  Over the course of the film, she starts to warm up and open up to the audience.  I put a lot of my own experiences with PTSD into her character.  We knew it would be a challenge because to be true to PTSD and what it looks like wasn’t going to be easy for the audience to relate to her and what she’s going through.  But because that was the focus, that was behind a lot of the decisions we made, why she would run away, why she would lash out at another character, why she seemed in a fog early on in the film.  

I think that take on the final girl has made it difficult for some audiences to relate to her, but I think that’s also the challenge of understanding PTSD.  It’s very difficult, very challenging and it takes a lot of time, empathy and healing to get through it.  I think one of the most interesting scenes in the film is that last hospital scene when she is with another character who has been through hell.  Everything in the film leads to that moment and that scene to me was the heart of the film.

As a filmmaker in the horror genre, what advice do you have for aspiring writers and directors looking to make their mark in the industry, particularly within the slasher subgenre?

The slasher audience has a lot of expectations coming into a film.  I think the tropes of a slasher film can be both helpful and an obstacle at times.  There are so many slasher films and we have come to expect certain things from them, so there’s a lot of expectations and perceptions of what these films are and or what we think “They aren’t”.  Sometimes what’s under the surface can get overlooked.  It’s been a really interesting and insightful process to see the feedback on the film and see where I can improve, what audiences are looking for, see where they get hung up on their own expectations of certain tropes and where I can grow as a filmmaker.  

I think your first time out, you are still learning, you are still growing.  There will be so many obstacles, hurdles, things that go wrong, and you have to find it in yourself to get past all of that and see your film to the end.  At no point was this ever easy.  A completed film is a miracle.  And when you get to that point, then you face the gauntlet of opinion and you need to learn to take the good with the bad, understand it’s all part of the process and try not to take anything too personally, which is understandably difficult when you’ve fought yard by yard to bring your film to completion.  It can feel personal but when you see people hate or love the same thing, you realize that film is an artform and an art and it’s completely subjective.

There are three miracles in film.  The first is finishing your film.  The second is getting distribution.  The final and most difficult miracle is getting people to watch your film, lol.  And they are all extremely challenging but not impossible.  Understand that it will often be just you who is moving the film forward.  There will be many times when you feel imposter syndrome, but always protect the integrity of your film, never judge the quality of it by your emotional reaction to making the film. So keep your head on, your ego in check and be aware of how your stress impacts you and others around you.  Don’t be afraid to fail.  

Final Summer has a dedicated fanbase who appreciates the homage to classic slashers. Can you share any interesting anecdotes or fan interactions that stood out to you during the film’s release or screenings?

We screened at a drive-in opposite Halloween Ends back in 2022.  My cousins Doug and Tim came down to the screening.  I grew up listening to them talk about slasher movies and would always hear them quote lines from the movie or laugh about funny scenes from the film.  It was to me, the greatest moment of the whole crazy experience to hear them after the screening laughing and talking about certain moments in the film.  “Oh dude, when that guy hit the killer with the pool noodle…” things like that.  That was my favorite moment.

I’ve had great moments talking with other fellow survivors who went through similar situations and could relate to the film.  That’s really special to me because that’s a big part of what I wanted to show people, that you are stronger than you realize.  They didn’t get the best of you and you’re still standing.  So that’s been a great part of it, but I also love horror movies so it’s been great to connect with fellow horror fans and laugh and share on our favorite films.  There is a great community there in the horror scene.  We might not always agree on films but I think we all appreciate that these films are special to us and to see the impact that they have on people is amazing.  Community is the best thing you can build so to be a part of that is one of the greatest things about this whole experience.

Horror movies often have memorable taglines. If you were to create a tagline for Final Summer, what would it be, and why?

Don’t go in the woods.  Just kidding.  I think they already made that movie.

Are there any upcoming projects or genres you’re interested in exploring as a filmmaker after Final Summer? Can you give us a hint about what’s next for you in the world of horror or cinema in general?

I’m starting prep on Final Summer Part II.  I learned so much on the first one and I’m excited to take a lot of the lessons into the second one, let it be more of its own thing and really develop its own voice.  I’m really excited about the story.  When I started on the story, I could see why sequels are so difficult and quickly spiral into a ton of narrative threads and characters but we found a fun way to tie a lot of loose ends together while building on the story of the first one.  There’s so much the audience doesn’t know about the first film and that’s been a fun place to start from.  We are launching an indiegogo in mid-October for that and we are filming late summer of 2024.  

I’ve got a couple other films on the backburner that are more indie drama inspired.  I love movies like Martin Scorsese’s “After hours”, “Breaking Away”, a lot of Gus Van Sant, Coen Brothers, Wim Wenders films, so eventually I’d like to branch out from horror but I think I’ll always love the look and feel of horror movies.  

For more horror reviews and recommendations, check out our Horror Section! Here’s our review of Final Summer!

Many thanks to, Polly at Aim Publicity for assisting with reviews and interviews!