Kahler’s Corner

Chris Kalher does it all — and if he doesn’t it’s only a matter of time. This movie-mad Chicago native is primarily known for his wonderful work scoring indepdendent horror with credits that include ‘A Spider Beside Her’, ‘The Shrieking’, ‘Midnight Snack’, ‘Slumber Party Murder Mania’, and ‘Disincarnate’. However Chris’ solid talent extends to other sectors of the indie film world as well. He’s directed the vampire flick ‘To Walk The Night’, edited the chapter horror flicks ‘After Midnight’ and ‘Around Midnight, acted in ‘Spring Break Massacre’, and shot part of the upcoming chiller ‘The Chubby Killer’. This guy knows and is respected by most everyone in the independent horror world. He’s busier than ever but not to busy to pass up the chance for a racks and razors interview.

Chris, start us off with a visual and describe the room where you are answering these questions.

If ‘Sanford and Son’ and ‘Pee Wee’s Playhouse’ converged in a dungeon with movie posters, props, makeup fx, guitars, set pieces, computers and ashtrays, I would feel right at home LOL Most people are creeped out to even step foot in here. Can’t say I blame them.

Looking over your career credits in horror, I see you’ve directed, been a cinematographer, performed, edited, and composed. Which do you consider your greatest strength, which gives you the greatest personal satisfaction, and which is like pulling teeth?

Hmmmm Greatest strength is probably the composing just because not everyone can do it. They might have ideas about what they’d like to hear when filming a scene, but can’t express it. I pretty much have finished music in mind before I even grab the camera. I love directing. Usually I get a lot of blank stares and “what does that have to do with anything ?” questions during shooting, but when finished, there’s a collective sigh since everything makes sense finally. At least I hope it does LOL. Getting me to do anything in post production is like pulling teeth, especially if I have no schedule. I’m a pain in the ass about footage since I would’ve shot it differently or edited a scene differently or a million other things. I’m obsessive over details that nobody in their right mind would likely notice, but I cringe every time I see or hear it. It’s even worse if I’m working on someone else’s movie that I have no control over since it’s “not my department”. Read more »