VAL profile picture

VAL

I am here for Friends and Networking

About Me


"I’m a child of the eighties.... My film school consisted of slashers, ghosts, demons, monsters, zombies, madmen, werewolves, vampires,.... and freaky little kids who live in the corn."
My name is Val and I make films. I like horror movies and Barry Manilow. How often do you hear that?! Child’s Play and Monty Python and the Holy Grail were my first inspirations as a child with a video camera. It’s been a life long dream to make movies. In 2007, my husband, Craig Morris, and I finally got serious with writing/filming movies. What you find here amongst my ramblings are the results.
I won a poetry contest in 5th grade, so I must be a writer. But my real job consists of bookkeeping/accounting for a small company. So, how do I unwind after a day of numbers? I write horror movies and dream up ways to kill my characters, of course!
*****
Announcing: Degree of Blood
Degree of Blood will commence filming in the Spring ’08. Be sure to check out the MySpace page for the teaser trailer, photos, cast info, and more!
View our first short "Legion" in my videos above!
Legion was filmed during the summer of 2007. We wanted a project that would introduce us to the craft of independent filmmaking and with a lot of determination and a little help from friends/family, Legion was born.

My Interests

Craig - love of my life and partner in making films / Horror films / music / ghost stories / the macabre / monsters / vampires / werewolves / slashers / playing piano / riding my motorcycle / animals / my two Labrador Retrievers / Macs / pizza / Coke / popcorn / relaxing on the beach / The Howard Stern Show

Video Games Castlevania, Silent Hill, Devil May Cry, Guitar Hero, Rock Band, God of War, Mortal Kombat, Mario, Legend of Zelda, Onimusha, Tales of Symphonia, Shin Megami Tensei, Wii Sports, Burnout, Resident Evil, etc.

I'd like to meet:


Other indie-horror directors and screenwriters who like to have fun while being creative. Actors and actresses who want to expand their resume by participating in no-budget to low-budget indie-horror films. My heroes (Joe Dante, for one). And of course, other horror fans!
------------------------------------------------------------ ----
In my senior high school yearbook I am quoted, "Achieve your goals; Become your dreams."

I'm working on it!!!

------------------------------------------------------------ ----

Music:

My iPod is loaded with all sorts of music. You'd either be frightened or amazed. A taste of my favorites:

Manilow, KoRn, Heart, Buffet, The Supremes, Sabbath, Ozzy, Chopin, Dean Martin, Soil, The Rolling Stones, Whitesnake, Mowtown, Frankie Valli, The Four Seasons, Sinatra, Journey, Tchaikovsky, Strauss, Poison, Elton John, Godsmack, George Strait, Guns 'n Roses, Tantric, Smokey Robinson, AC/DC, Anne Murray, Stone Temple Pilots, Disturbed, Beethoven, Dionne Warwick, The Beatles, George Harrison, Bread, The Hollies, Evanescence, The Guess Who, Rod Stewart, The Cars, Gary Puckett, etc.

Movies:

Horror & Indie Horror: Halloween, Children of the Corn, Poltergeist, Killer Klowns from Outerspace, A Nightmare on Elm Street, The Fog, The Wolf Man, Fido, Severence, Brainscan, A Nightmare Before Christmas, Puppet Master, Critters, Pet Sematary, Hatchet, The Howling, Hellraiser, The Thing, Underworld, Underworld: Evolution, The Others, Piranha, The Birds, Witchboard, House on Haunted Hill, House on Haunted Hill (remake), The Mothman Prophecies, Silent Hill, Popcorn, In the Mouth of Madness, Sleepy Hallow, Dog Soldiers, Child’s Play, Ginger Snaps, Subspecies, Nosferatu, Black Sunday, The Monster Squad, Fright Night, The Exorcist, Jaws, Dracula, The Changeling, Night of the Living Dead, Hammer films, House, House II, Prince of Darkness, The Last Man on Earth, House on Haunted Hill, Evil Dead, The Host, Black Sheep, In the Mouth of Madness, The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Slither, Feast, The Comedy of Terrors, Event Horizon, The Black Hole, Resident Evil
Other: The Burbs, Young Frankenstein, Christmas Vacation, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Secret Window, Edward Scissorhands, They Live, Thelma & Louise, V for Vendetta, Harry Potter, American Beauty, Signs, Unbreakable, Orange County, The American President, Jurassic Park, Indiana Jones, As Good As It Gets, etc.
Anything with Gene Wilder, Alan Rickman, or Kate Beckinsale

Television:

I don't watch much TV these days, but here are a few of the shows that I do like. The Munsters, Reaper, Tales from the Crypt, The Addams Family, Masters of Horror, TBS, MonstersHD, Seinfeld, South Park, Friends, Everybody Loves Raymond, The Golden Girls, Tales from the Darkside, Rosanne, Andy Griffith Show, George Lopez

Books:

Diaries of the Family Dracul, Jeanne Kalogridis, Harry Potter, J.K. Rowling, Books of Blood, Clive Barker, Stephen King, Edward Gorey

Heroes:

My Parents (all 4 of ’em!), Grandparents, Joe Dante, Shigeru Miyamoto, Adrienne Barbeau, Mary Lambert, John Carpenter, Barry Manilow, Vincent Price, Dracula

My Blog

the greatest feeling as a writer

I imagine fame and fortune would be fun, at least for a little while.  But I had something happen to me during one of our shoots for Degree of Blood that could give those two aspects a run for th...
Posted by VAL on Mon, 09 Jun 2008 12:59:00 PST

re-shooting blues

Doing things over again goes against everything I believe in, but sometimes I just have to.  And this is one such time.  I've decided to re-shoot a certain pivotal scene in Degree of Blood.&...
Posted by VAL on Thu, 05 Jun 2008 11:08:00 PST

Update: Degree of Blood Filming

Filming has begun on our latest movie "Degree of Blood".  Head over to the Degree of Blood page for a production update!Click on the blog titled "DOB - First Day of Principle"....
Posted by VAL on Wed, 30 Apr 2008 08:17:00 PST

I will make my own damn movie

After a tip from a friend, I found myself a copy of Lloyd Kaufman's book, "Make Your Own Damn Movie" and am very happy I did.  Not so much a how-to book, but rather an offering of insights and an...
Posted by VAL on Wed, 16 Apr 2008 08:32:00 PST

Announcing: Degree of Blood

Our next film project will mark my directorial debut. It is a film that was conceived from the notion of making a bigfoot movie. From brainstorming the idea of "a man in a suit" came Degree of Blood. ...
Posted by VAL on Thu, 13 Mar 2008 07:41:00 PST

Readings for wussies....

Not really, but I once believed that. Growing up watching my sister lounge around the pool or house with book in hand, I never understood why someone would want to spend their time reading. I felt t...
Posted by VAL on Sat, 23 Feb 2008 07:51:00 PST

Legion -- our first short

So, I finally have a MySpace page. Never thought I would. It's kinda neat, though, because not only is it allowing me to showcase my work, but I've also caught up with some old friends. Speaking of...
Posted by VAL on Thu, 17 Jan 2008 12:55:00 PST