Indie Interviews: In Conversation with Ari Groobman on His Short Horror Thriller, ‘Projection’

Recently, I reviewed “Projection,” an eerie and effective short horror film from filmmaker Ari Groobman. Horror might be the wrong word for it. While the short film contains many elements of classic horror, it’s really about trauma and survival of it, using horror as its mechanism. And it succeeds well in this approach. With a scant budget ($30,000), trials and tribulations on-set, and practical effects in lieu of CGI, Groobman has made a good horror film that’s about so much more. 

The Movie Buff was recently able to talk to Groobman about his film via Zoom. We discussed his inspiration for the film, getting the movie made, difficulties, the casting process, and more. 

The following interview had been edited for clarity. Social media links and link to movie follow the interview. 

The title of Groobman’s film — “Projection” — is apropos for the material. It follows a young woman and her sister who move into a bad neighborhood to escape their abusive parents. The film’s opening includes lots of artistic renderings of the trauma that’s going on inside its lead’s head (Katie, played by Mikey Gray). Suspicious neighbors lurk and stare, and the film is scored with an ominous, droning feeling. When I asked Groobman what prompted him to make this film — and make it in this way — he was vocal. 

“I feel like a lot of creative people have mental health issues,” he stated. “And I have mental health issues. I came from an abusive home, and I grew up and escaped that in my teens. And because that happened in my formative years, I developed a lot of PTSD. I also have a condition called ‘nightmare disorder,’” Groobman continued. “These were things I had lived with for a very long time and I started working with a wonderful therapist. And this kind of story [“Projection”] was an expression of very internalized rage.” 

Groobman shared he’d been working with his therapist on these issues and talking to others who’d gone through similar traumas. They all seemed to suffer from guilt and shame from what they carried. And he knew he wanted to express that somehow. He added, “we wanted to be the end of the cycle. We didn’t want to pass on the abuse we had experienced to other people within our lifetimes. I wanted to explore that internalized rage and almost offer a catharsis.” 

I feel like a lot of creative people have mental health issues. I have mental health issues.”

Ari Groobman

Those who have seen “Projection” will know exactly what that catharsis is. It’s not pretty. And I think that’s the point of Groobman’s film — getting over these things is possible. But it’s never easy or cookie-cutter like some people expect. 

The way Groobman explained this internalized rage in the interview was — and what he told friends and others when the film was in pre production — “have you ever had a really bad day, and you think to yourself I wish someone would mug me right now, and I could beat the absolute hell out of them.” He continued, “I thought about what that would be, especially for someone who had gone through strong abuse who could experience a catharsis that could sort of like alleviate that.” However, Groobman was right to say that that might not be a ‘happy ending, but leads to emotion and sadness due to its depleting nature. He wanted to explore not just the catharsis but also the aftermath of that as well. 

While in life Groobman mostly went through trauma on his own, in “Projection” he gives his lead a sister. Played by Preslea Elliott, she acts as a two-fold narrative tool. On one hand, it helps Katie not feel so alone, and abuse happening to her younger sister is the straw that broke the camel’s back in forcing her to leave so someone else wouldn’t endure what she did. “It’s a lot easier to do an action when you’re doing it for somebody,” he said, “rather than when you’re doing it for yourself.” Groobman talks about Katie’s sense of learned helplessness and reflex to “sort of just take this. “But when she thought it was going to affect someone close to her, she’s like ‘I have to step in.’” 

Having the sister/sister relationship became integral to the film. And when I asked Groobman how he came to work with both Preslea and Mikey, he was quick to share. “I had done sort of a favor project for a friend of mine who ended up being a producer on this short film,” he said. “I had directed a film for him, and we ended up casting Mikey and I really enjoyed working with her. And I found out that she was trained in Shakespearean theatre.” This worked out for Groobman, who shared that since “Projection was not dialogue-heavy, he needed someone who could perform complex emotions and also project outward — “past the camera,” he said — to reach the audience. “Mikey was really able to project those emotions.” 

Groobman shared that he connected with actress Preslea Elliot via Actors Access and felt she did a great job. “I really hope to work with her again,” he said. “All the actors did a fantastic job.” 

The production is even more impressive as Groobman shared that due to the film’s budget and constraints, they only had time for one take per shot. Groobman joked for a minute: “The whole shoot itself was it’s like its own error story.” He shared that the place they rented was scheduled for demolishing — and then wasn’t — there was water damage, etc. “There was so much that went wrong,” he said. This included beef between the owners of the building and the tenants above them, leading Groobman and Cinematographer Marc Parroquin having to get tenant permission for certain shots. “We were flying by the seat of our pants,” he finished. 

Talking about some of the other aspects of the film led to some interesting conversation. This is especially true in the casting of Katie’s mother. She is voiced by Director Groobman’s wife, Elisabeth Parroquin, who is his DP’s sister. Given how good Groobman’s wife was at the dialogue she has — and how utterly scary and traumatizing she comes off — it says something about Groobman’s ability to craft a story that it worked as well as it did, especially given his own trauma. He shared that the role was “cursed.” They went through several actresses who all fell through before his wife agreed (some cancelled, some didn’t work, and several said the material was too upsetting to read). However, when Elisabeth did the part — herself with acting and casting experience — many on set were chilled by her performance. 

The unspoken question I had for Groobman — aside from what he hoped viewers will get from this film — was if it was negatively affecting for him to make given his past. 

“Making anything is really hard,” he joked. “I’m happy where it’s at, but I’m so grateful that it’s done.” He continued, “I’m happy that it’s out there and I’m happy I was able to put a version out there of the kind of horror I like. My goal was, I wanted to show a range of stories that I like telling.” Groobman also shared that part of what he learned making this film that he hadn’t while filming an earlier film was in using his budget to get good post production. Groobman talked about the score and sound design (both of which are well done) as being the result of that. 

I wanted to be a stickler. I love practical effects and I wanted to show that practical effects are really good.”

Ari Groobman

Some of the rest of the budget went to practical effects (there’s little if any VFX here). “I wanted to be a stickler,” he said. “I love practical effects and I wanted to show that practical effects are really good.” He added, “there’s things you can’t cheat,” referencing older movies from the ‘80s and ‘90s, and surmised that’s why people liked this year’s “Frankenstein” so well. A fun bit of trivia here: for the facial effects of the intruder — whom Katie essentially eviscerates towards the end — they couldn’t afford an actual cast of the actor’s face so they used a Tom Cruise mask. It reminds one of John Carpenter’s “Halloween” and how Michael Myers’ mask came from warping a Captain Kirk mask. A makeup artist friend of Groobman’s helped make the finished product what it was. “She did a great job,” he said. 

We talked about the future of “Projection” and what’s next after this. While short films aren’t usually rented or purchased like full length films, Groobman is proud to have his film available for free to watch on YouTube. He shared “Projection” — along other horror shorts like “Curve” and “The Other Side of the Box” — is great exposure. It can lead to better things (we need no further evidence of this than the success of “Backrooms,” which started on YouTube). Yet Groobman was quick to mention the unspoken thing understood in the indie film industry: “A lot of it is luck.” And while a feature film may be in Groobman’s future, he’s content to see where this film takes him first. 

For those who wish to follow more of Groobman’s work, you can follow him on Instagram, YouTube, and his official website. Groobman shared that he’s working on a new film, which will be a dark comedy. You can watch “Projection” for free on YouTube by clicking the following link. Follow The Movie Buff for more content from the filmmaker as it becomes available.

Movie Stills from ‘Projection’

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