Erik D. Harshman

1. Personal Demons captures the classic horror trope of small-town teenagers facing an unspeakable evil. What inspired the story, and how did the setting in the Rocky Mountains shape its tone and narrative?

First and foremost the characters in Personal Demons are an amalgamation of both myself (as a teenager and, still, as a middle-aged man) and some of my students. My interests haven’t changed much since I was a pre-teen and the students who tend to gravitate towards me (and form an enduring rapport with me) are the counterculture students who are into things like graphic novels, gothic (and contemporary) horror fiction, horror films, survival horror video games, death metal music, etc.

The story was inspired by my love of horror films from the 80’s and 90’s, both the films that realized demons are a physical, bestial manifestation (like Pumpkinhead, the original Night of the Demons and the Tales from the Crypt movie Demon Knight) and the films that feature a distinct and identifiable hero who comes to save the day. This is seen in movies like Ghostubsters (1984), Monster Squad (1987), Critters (1986) and Evil Dead 2 (1987). The story was also greatly influenced by a series of books by Dan Wells (the John Wayne Cleaver series, that began with I Am Not A Serial Killer). The end of the third book (I Don’t Want to Kill You) had a very pregnant idea at the end of its third act that I felt I could realize in a different way, using ideas and characters similar to those of movies I grew up with and people I spent a significant amount of time with (friends of mine and students across my jobs as a college professor and high school English teacher).

I think the Rocky Mountain (which I’ve only been to once or twice in my life, actually) setting influenced the tone and the narrative by injecting a certain degree of small town ennui (of which I’m not wholly familiar with, but have seen it in others, having spent a lot of my youth visiting small Midwestern towns) and small town hopelessness. The idea that your entire world is encapsulated within the city limits of a town most people see framed in their rearview mirrors (if at all). My intent was for the setting to feel claustrophobic and a bit bleak, in that the Blackhand High Horror Club not only felt wholly unprepared for the task ahead of them (as everything they based their tactical strategies off of comes from pop and counterculture), but that no one outside the limits of their dust-speck town even knows of what was going on there. No one iscoming to help them.

2. The concept of horror-obsessed teens hunting a demon adds a meta-layer to the story. How did you approach blending horror fandom with an original monster-hunting tale?

At the end of the day, I can honestly say I don’t much care for meta-horror. I have never been a fan of the Scream franchise (and other films and franchises cut from the same cloth). However, in this story, as I wanted to tell it, it tended to make sense (to me at least). Really, I approached this as, first, a story of generational divide (the town elders: the principal and the teachers; as well as the parents) as well as a clash of ideals (myopic smalltown “logic” versus a supernatural occurrence far beyond their understanding… plus the theological clash that threatens to tear the group apart near the end of the second act) in an effort to ground the monster-hunt, so that it didn’t feel like the teenagers were trapped inside a horror film (if that makes sense). I wanted it to seem (to the audience, as well as to the characters) that perhaps these events (the demon’s killing spree) transpired (and directly involved these teens) almost as if ordained. As if these events couldn’t have happened to anyone else but a group of horror-obsessed teens that would recognize these events as supernatural and demonic, and have a plan (however haphazard) to deal with it. These events could not have happened to a co-opted “civilian”, who would just write the killings off as that of a rogue mountain lion (which is one of the running gags I have in the film). And, in a sense, the events of the story play out almost as if it were some form of Christian providence (which, again, harkens back to my love and admiration of the original two Ghostbusters films).

3. The mining town setting feels rich with atmosphere. Did real-life locations or history influence the creation of the town and its eerie surroundings?

I suppose I got this idea from meandering around towns like Monessen, PA. (where a friend of mine attended Tom Savini’s school for make-up FX) and St. Joseph, MO. (where I attended a horror con some years ago). Rust-belt towns that exist(ed) only for an industry that has since dried up and left them barren and the people inside them ensnared. America (and the Midwest specifically) is riddled with these towns. I could have set the story anywhere, but something about a forgotten mining town that is barely holding onto existence (and gave up on relevance decades ago) seemed especially grim for such a contained story. Plus having the Rocky Mountains (inside which anything could be hiding) looming over this innocuous little town is a bit daunting, I think.

4. Coming-of-age stories often blend personal struggles with external threats. How does Personal Demons explore themes of friendship, fear, and courage?

I think the answer to this comes down to the thesis of the film, which I’ve managed to encapsulate in two words: have faith. One thing the teenager characters in this story sorely lack (but find by the end of the film) is faith… not necessarily theological or spiritual faith, but faith in each other, faith in their familial relations, faith in the societal, and academic, structures that are theoretically in place to uphold and nurture them.

I think the theme of friendship is really exemplified when the Blackhand High Horror Club is torn apart by various troubles (parental intervention, religious differences, etc.) and the tie that binds them (their childhood friend turned priest, Timbo) is perhaps the godfather of their little group. Every circle of friends I’ve ever had has had a nucleus. Putting that social facet into this group seemed very true to me.

As far as fear goes, these teens' first and foremost fear is turning out like their parents. But, even worse, is their fear of losing one another (be it literally, in death, or figuratively, in the sense of a social falling out) and having no one to lean on in their ever-narrowing corridor to the future.

As far as courage, in this story it appears within the characters either as a facade, or is haphazardly invented (or found) on the spot because they (the character grappling with their lack of courage) are the only person knowledgeable, capable and willing to do what needs to be done. This is best exemplified, I think, at the end of the script, when the demon’s remains are pulled back into the dark corners of the cave (really a conduit to Hell) and Conrad (dolefully) starts back up his chainsaw and (in a line I stole from Predator 2) asks, “Who’s next?” At that point in the story, the Blackhand High Horror Club is all but defeatedly; they barely killed one demon (and have zero chance of killing a horde of them!), and were all nearly killed in the process. But they are all that stands between that cave and the rest of the world (as those teens know it), and sometimes that is enough to inspire even a whisper of courage.

5. What challenges did you face while crafting a screenplay that balances relatable characters, a terrifying antagonist, and compelling stakes?

Balance was one of my biggest weaknesses before writing this script. Before I wrote Personal Demons, my process for writing a script was very unorganized. I would literally make a bulletpointed list of cool scenes and ideas I wanted to incorporate into the script, and then just let the story fall into place as I was writing it. I think the only reason my scripts came out even remotely coherent, or with any sense of story momentum or pacing, is from my massive consumption of books, screenplays and movies… and all the training on story structure I had during my undergrad (where my major was, predictably, Creative Writing).

When I sat down to write Personal Demons in the summer of 2015, I had just attended my first pitchfest (in Burbank, CA.) and had two goals when writing this script: 1.) write with budget in mind (hence the small scale of the script) and 2.) write with marketability in mind (this was initially the reason why I chose teenagers as the leads and why I finally followed Syd Field's three-act structure to the note).

Making the teen characters relatable (and trying to keep them away from the dreaded stereotypes that even counterculture, “misfit” teens in horror films are likely to be freighted with) and (hopefully) three-dimension was difficult. This is why I felt I had to give each member of the Black Hand High Horror Club their own few pages of introduction so the reader (be it actor, director, or other member of the creative team) or viewer can see what their home life is like and how they behave behind closed doors. Again, I fashioned these characters partially off of teenagers I’ve encountered (whether it was working retail management when I was a twentysomerthing, or in my tenure as a teacher in my twenties, thirties and now forties), myself (at that age and now) and idealized imaginary characters, a friend I would have liked to have had when I was their age. Hopefully the audience will feel the same.

As for the antagonist and the stakes (which I think can be tackled in the same answer), I think they are both tied up in the antagonist themselves and their motivations. It wasn’t so much a conscious decision, but the demon itself only really starts to have character about halfway through the film. Its motivations, at first, are unknown (save for merely primal hunger and impetuous savagery). But after an incident with a watering can full of Holy Water and a dummy stuffed with raw meat (so that the Blackhand High Horror Club can discern whether or not they are truly dealing with a demon), the demon then starts to target them, and Timbo. But I think the audience is willing to accept that the demon is just pure evil and has no real motivation beyond that right up until the scene in the cave when Effie confronts and communicates with the demon. It is only then that the reader/audience understands that the demon has a greater purpose (not just in terms of story, but its own agency, as far as its role in the theological and cosmic balance of the universe) as well as inner thoughts, emotions and actions that go beyond just that of violence. This scene was born of several hero-villian confrontation scenes that really echoed with me as an adolescent: Nancy confronting Freddy Krueger at the end of the original, the first, Nightmare on Elm Street film, and Hayden Cale (Ely Pouget) confronting Jack Dante (Brad Dourif) under the shadow of the Warbeast in Stephen Norrington’s 1994 film Death Machine (my favorite horror film of all time).

Balancing all of these elements was a delicate act that I hope I made look easy, but I’ll let audiences (hopefully) judge for themselves.

6. Demons in horror have a long-standing history. How did you design your demon to stand out, and what qualities make it a unique threat in the story?

It’s funny you ask that. One agency (that requested to read the script) rejected it in part because the demon wasn’t “original” enough. My rebuttal to that was that we’ve seen demons done a million different ways, but sometimes the look of the demon isn’t as important as its function in the story, and what it actually does and why it does these things.

I think the look of the demon was (as I alluded to earlier) based on images I absorbed as a adolescent of cinematic demons: everything from Pumpkinhead, to the demon head that appears briefly in the original 1988 Night of the Demons, to the demons from Ernest Dickerson’s Demon Knight, the Terror Dogs in Ghostbusters and the Warbeast from Stephen Norrington’s Death Machine. Oddly enough, I think even the Cain droid from RoboCop 2 (my favorite sequel of all time) even heavily inspired the look (and behavior) of the demon I created. All of this combined with the creatures (demonic or otherwise) dreamt up by some of my favorite visual artists (painters, sculptors, etc.). Everyone from Clive Barker, to H.R. Giger, Hieronymous Bosch and with special mention to Catrin Welz-Stein, Gustave Doré, Wayne Barlow, Zdzisław Beksiński and Joshua Hoffine.

As for what makes the demon a unique threat in the story is that the demon is not just an indiscriminate burst of evil, blown out of Hell and directed (randomly) at humanity. It is not a shotgun blast, but a laser-sighted sniper rifle. When the demon reveals why it hates, and seeks to kill and consume, humans, I hope that resonates with audiences, whether they ascribe to a theological, spiritual or religious belief or not. Just that the demon has a justification (however tenuous) for its evil makes it infinitely more frightening (in my eyes) than a being that is merely evil for evil’s sake.

7. Can you share what’s next for Personal Demons? Do you see it evolving into a feature film, or do you have other horror projects in the pipeline?

I definitely see it as a theatrical film. The way I would pitch it to producers is: if you put the bulk of the budget on the (practical) FX (the creature and the gore) and the art direction (making the small, dismal town of Black Hand believable) and cast unknowns (who, like the kids in Stranger Things, will hopefully become names from this) and release the film in theaters around Halloween, it will be huge. I have definitely built a universe (franchise) around this mythology and these characters. I’ve already written Personal Demons 2 (which is a bit like Aliens to Personal Demons’ Alien) and have outlined (again, using the ironclad Syd Field method) Personal Demons 3. I plan to write it this upcoming summer (2026). I even have ideas for a Personal Demons 4. And while it may seem odd writing sequels to a spec script that hasn’t even sold yet, the bottom line is: I love these characters and I love the world-building that I’ve done. I want to spend time in this world with these characters (who are well into their 20’s in future stories), so much so that I’m doing so without being paid or asked to do it!

I also have a slew of other scripts (nearly 20 in total) that I’ve written just for fun and to realize some sort of creative impulse. Most of them have been horror scripts. The two monsters I love writing about the most are werewolves and demons. I have three werewolf scripts. One is an extended metaphor for divorce and how it tears children (who are stuck in the middle) apart called Cubs. The second is a period-piece that takes place in a monastery in 1600’s Germany and borrows heavily from Hammer films, called Hooded. Finally, I have a dystopian script called Wolves at the Door. I believe my obsession with demons springs from my upbringing as a typical German-American Protestant.

I also have a script that I am immensely proud of (the script I went to pitchfest in 2015 to sell) called Flatdog. I don’t want to tell too much about it, because it is a concept I love (that I don’t want anyone to steal), but it is essentially Child’s Play meets Lewis Teague’s Alligator (1980) and it takes place in post-Katrina New Orleans.

I also have ideas for about 10 Christmas horror movies (one of my favorite sub-genres).

Other than that, in terms of non-horror, I’ve written a dark drama (in the vein of P.T. Anbderson’s Boogie Nights and Aronofsky’s The Wrestler), and a feel-good buddy comedy about the ups and downs of my years as a teacher.

8. Lastly, where can readers follow your journey as a screenwriter and updates on your upcoming projects?

Well, first and foremost there is my blog: http://erikdharshman.blogspot.com/

Here I journal my endless search to find homes for my unpublished short stories, novels and poetry… and, of course, my (as yet inconclusive) search for an agent to help sell my screenplays to Hollywood.

And, if anyone if so inclined, they can grab some of my published (and self-published) work from my Amazon page: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Erik-D.-Harshman/author/B00JPJB8DK?ref=dbs_a_mng_rwt_scns_share&isDramIntegrated=true&shoppingPortalEnabled=true

Erik D. Harshman

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