Meet our Alumni: Conor McMahon, from Dublin (Class of 1996).
Currently making an impact as a Director and Teacher, Conor’s journey from DIY horror trilogies to feature films is a testament to staying true to one’s passion.
We caught up with Conor to talk about his journey and insights since graduation. Here is his story, in his own words.
WHO YOU ARE
Conor McMahon from Dublin. I won back in 1996 for a trilogy of horror films called Tales of Terror. That included Day of the Wolfman, Night of the Vampire and Maniac. Originally Day of the Wolfman was called Night of the Wolfman, but when I tried filming at night some local kids kept throwing stones at my lights… so I decided to shoot it during the day.
Find Conor’s work: Some more recent shorts are up on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dJpPsroZiQ8. You can also find the old Fresh films on Facebook: MANIAC and DAY OF THE WOLFMAN. Sadly, Night of the Vampire has been lost in the mists of time.
HOW IT STARTED
I think I heard about Fresh Film through a teacher at school about 30 years ago. I had a video camera and the whole film was edited in-camera as I didn’t have any editing software. So I started the film by shooting the first shot and then lined up the next shot. When I filmed the last shot, the film was essentially finished. I learned a lot from shooting this way as I couldn’t just shoot a lot of stuff and edit it later.
All three films followed the same formula: a different monster chasing my brother through my mother’s house. It was very much influenced by films like Evil Dead 2, Halloween, and Indiana Jones. I had learned my first lesson of low-budget filmmaking: “Take your actors to one location and chop them up.”
THE FRESH FILM MOMENT
My favourite memory was one of the following years when I got to be a judge and see all the other film entries and hang out with the organizers. It might have also involved someone singing a Bono song.
The experience gave me the confidence to keep making horror films. I thought early on that maybe I should be making more serious films, and winning an award for something that came directly from what I loved gave me the belief that I should keep doing that.
WHERE YOU ARE NOW
I’m still making films. My last feature, Let the Wrong One In, was released in Irish cinemas in 2022, starring Anthony Head from Buffy the Vampire Slayer. And it was once again set in a house with a monster chasing people around. Some things never change. I am continuing to develop other horror films as well as teach acting in Bow Street, and direct sketch comedy for RTE.
I’ve also written a horror film that’s about my experience with Long Covid. I ended up sick for about a year and really thought I might not be able to make films again. But I slowly recovered and came up with an idea about that real-life horror experience. Making that film would be a way of turning that into something positive.
FOR THE NEXT GENERATION
I don’t think you ever feel ready. I’ve been directing for 30 years now and I still feel there’s so much to learn, and I still feel challenged by every project. I’ve learnt that this nervous feeling is a good thing. It means you’re still growing and there’s something new to discover.
I would say showing your work to the right people is important. People you can trust to give good advice and steer it in the right direction. It’s amazing the difference between something sort of working and something really clicking together. Often an outside observer can give you that perspective you can’t see when you’re too close to your own material.
To be honest, I often look back to my younger self for advice as he was doing things the right way. Making films from pure joy. Not influenced by money or other people’s opinions. Not concerned by what anyone else was making. So my advice would be: don’t lose that.
QUICK FIRE
A filmmaker who inspires you: Steven Spielberg. Watching his camera work and blocking is a constant source of inspiration to me.
Your next big challenge: Getting the funding for the next film. That’s never easy.
