WA’s Annabel Maclean brings the scares to Flickerfest 2024 with one-shot horror film Bad Vibrations

Australian short film festival Flickerfest returns to Perth this year, taking over Luna Outdoor Cinema for three nights of short films under the stars from Thursday, February 29 to Saturday, March 2. On opening night, the festival will shine a spotlight on homegrown talent, with a host of Australian stories honouring our unique identity and culture with the Best of Australian Shorts programme. One of the films featuring Western Australian talent this year is the one-shot horror film Bad Vibrations, where two housemates use a theremin to play an ancient incantation and accidentally summon a demonic force that torments its victims with sound. BRAYDEN EDWARDS caught up with producer and star of the film Annabel Maclean (pictured above, photo by Jana Johnston) to find out more.

Congratulations on the release of Bad Vibrations and its inclusion in the Flickerfest 2024 programme! How long has this film been in the works, and how did you come to be part of it?

Thank you so much! Nicole Delprado, the writer-director, and I became good friends during the pandemic through an Australian Women in Film and TV initiative over Zoom. We have similar tastes in film and love particular genres; Nicole is very much into sci-fi and horror, and I am into horror and comedy. Long story short, I knew I’d be relocating permanently to the States in mid-2023, and Nicole and I wanted to work on something before I moved.

Nicole wanted something fresh and fun in the horror space for her director’s reel, and I wanted the same for my acting reel. Nicole wrote the script, and I flew over to Sydney, where we rehearsed and shot the film over a weekend in May 2023.

What inspired the story of the film? Were there any other films or stories that shaped the idea for Bad Vibrations?

Nicole liked the concept of a sound demon and bringing in a unique instrument to explore this. The theremin was the perfect instrument for this, as it’s almost supernatural in the way it is played without touching it. She was particularly interested in a haunted theremin and mixing old-school horror with modern tech.

And how about yourself as an actor? How did you get into the craft? Were there any of your own inspirations or role models?

I have been acting since I exited the womb, I think (laughs). I was very involved with school productions and then went on to study at The Lee Strasberg Theatre & Film Institute in New York in 2013, right after I finished up working as the Dance Music & Features Editor at X-Press, actually! Small world! That experience at Strasberg really changed my life and steered me to where I am today.

In terms of inspirations and role models—for Bad Vibrations in particular—I was interested in creating a one-shot film. I’d previously been a part of a five-minute, one-shot film, and it was an exhilarating experience. I think coming from theatre, 'one-shots' are just the closest experience to theatre an actor on set will get. They are challenging, super-rewarding, and fun.

Nicole and I talked a bit about that incredible one shot in Children of Men ahead of the shoot. We are both obsessed with them and would love to shoot a one-shot feature at some point. If you haven’t seen Boiling Point, that is an incredible one-shot feature film worth checking out.

And how does this film compare to those you have been a part of before? Was there anything new and different for you or the team as a whole?

Bad Vibrations had a complete cast and crew, none of whom I’d worked with before, so that was exciting. I love meeting and working with talented folks and coming together as a community on set for a project we are all passionate about and want to see succeed. I’d never shot anything in Sydney before, so that was a first too. It was also mine and (maybe?) the majority of the cast and crew’s first experience doing a long, one-shot short film. I also had never acted in a film that had live lighting and makeup changes coordinated into the shoot—that was fun!

Who else was part of the team that brought this film to life? What was something that impressed or surprised you about being part of this production?

We had a lot of talented folks involved with Bad Vibrations. I was particularly impressed by our cinematographer Stephanie Furdek’s ability to hold a 12-kg camera on her shoulder for eight-minute takes for an entire rehearsal and shoot day. She was also walking backwards with the camera on her shoulder for a fair chunk of the shoot, up and down stairs too; it was unbelievably impressive. We shot at Erica’s parents’ house, which was perfect for the creepy tone of the film—old, creaky doors and floorboards.

Between Nicole, Urania Recchioni (lighting design and gaffer), and Sudevi Nath (production designer), the set looked absolutely incredible—like a Wes Anderson horror film—with a lot of fun geometric shapes and horror hues.

Our team was lucky enough to be sponsored by Moog Synthesizers who provided us with a theremin to use as part of the film. Our crew was fortunate to have Prudence Bernadette on the team. Prudence is a talented thereminist and the composer for the film. Prudence’s composition and Taren Smith’s sound design and mix really elevated the film, truly turning up the notches on the scares. I also had a theremin lesson with one of the world’s most revered thereminists, Dorit Chrysler. That was super special!

What’s next for you for the rest of the year? Any more exciting projects we can look out for? 

Who knows! I moved to Los Angeles mid-strikes last year, so it has definitely been an interesting time to be settling in over here. You can look out for news on my West Australian set horror feature Tanami, which has been in development for a while now, and more news on Bad Vibrations’ film festival circuit screenings.

Nicole and Erica both worked on the super fun new Screen Australia-funded web series Shippers, which is blowing up on YouTube right now and deservedly so. Go take a watch!