Fragment 1890 is a gothic tale and a filmic adaptation of the short story “The Thing in the Moonlight”. It’s the second film in a series of three H.P. Lovecraft adaptations by german director Sascha Alexander Renninger.
H.P. Lovecraft, the dream master
The film is based on one of Lovecraft´s dreams that he wrote down in a letter to fellow author Donald Wandrei in November 1927. Later, that dream was turned into the short story “The Thing in the Moonlight” by J. Chapman Miske.
Lovecraft enthusiasts worldwide agree: the essence of that story remains PURE LOVECRAFT. Miske didn´t alter anything from Lovecraft´s dream tale, he mainly added a wraparound plotline.
„His dreams were a major inspiration for Lovecraft, so I think it´s absolutely legitimate to base a movie directly on one of them. The fragmentary nature of the story gave me the opportunity to expand the surreal setting with my own ideas and turn it into an even more chilling vision of cosmic horror.“
Sascha Alexander Renninger
“The Thing in the Moonlight” has been considered by many to be part of the Dream Cycle. The Dream Cycle refers to a series of stories directly based on Lovecraft´s dreams.
Materializing the Dream
Sascha wrote the first draft of the screenplay as an exercise during his studies at the renowned University of Applied Sciences Würzburg. Years later, after the very positive reception of his previous film “Shadow of the Unnamable” by festivals and critics around the world, he decided to take another look at the script. For several months he expanded it and did a lot of historical research on period architecture, clothing, science and technology. For as “Shadow of the Unnamable”, Fragment 1890 is set in America in the 1920ties…
While his first film was still touring festivals, he began the extensive casting process, looking for the right actor to portray the role of the down-and-out pulp writer Robert Blake.
The character is loosely based on the protagonist with the same name in Lovecraft’s story “The Haunter of the Dark”.
At the beginning of 2013 he found the perfect choice, Konstantinos Nireas.
And equally important, he found his director of photography, Sven Latzke. Fragment 1890 is Sven´s second foray into the horror genre, following the cinematic release of Svens first feature film as D.O.P., “Bela Kiss: Prologue”.
Around easter time 2013, Sascha finally found the perfect location for the reed choked nightmare world that was essential to the story. Then time was of the essence and Sascha assembled the rest of his small but dedicated crew.
In may, after a very short preparation span, all required shots were filmed in a just five days, in spite of very unpredictable weather conditions. And many of those shots included chase scenes, fights and creature effects… On the best day, the crew achieved thirty-three shots that were all found worthy to be used in the final edit!
A month later, construction of the indoor sets started in the town hall of Arnstein. In only two weeks, four sets were built and then shot in five days.
ABOUT THE FILMMAKERS
Sascha Alexander Renninger / Director, Producer, Screenwriter, Production Designer
He graduated from the university of applied sciences in Würzburg with a diploma in communication design. His main focus was animation and experimental film.
From his twelve years of experience, working as associate producer, production designer, researcher and storyboard artist for many commercials and feature films, Sascha knows how to get splendid results even from limited resources.
Fragment 1890 is Sascha’s second film in a series of three H.P. Lovecraft adaptations, following his award-winning 2011 short film, “Shadow of the Unnamable”.
Sven Latzke / Director of Photography
Sven earned his Master of Fine Arts Degree in cinematography from Ohio University School of Film, USA. His approach to cinematography combines broad technical knowledge and true craftmanship with a strong sense for style and visual story telling.
Sven’s work, which includes promos, documentaries, short and feature films, was screened at film festivals worldwide. His feature film debut “Bela Kiss: Prologue” was critically acclaimed for it´s outstanding camera work. It was theatrically released in Germany and is now available for sale and rental in various countries, including the U.S. and Canada.
www.svenlatzke.com
www.bela-kiss.com