Found a horror video. Do you love it? Do you hate it? Do you consider this its own genre, or do you lump it in with the overall tone of slasher, supernatural, monster, etc.? Love it or hate it, this convention is here to stay because it offers a realistic and relatable approach to horror. It blurs the lines between reality, cinema, empathy, and voyeurism.
So when I received an email asking if I wanted to screen the feature DEVON, written and directed by Jenny “JWoww” Farley, I said, “Of course I do!” My wife is a Jersey Shore fan and has been since day one, so I made this film primarily for her, but I’m curious to see what this singular star brings to the horror pantheon. I was also very interested in The logline read:
Devon’s parents never stopped searching for answers after she disappeared from a notorious psychiatric hospital. Years after the incident, a mysterious website draws five adventurers to the abandoned asylum where she was last seen. They dived into the darkness with cameras in hand, never realizing they were filming their own horror and never intending to return.
I had a chance to talk with writer/director/producer Jenny “JWoww” Farley about being part of the feature film, serendipitous locations, and her crew.
Eric McClanahan: Hi, Jenny! How are you?
Jenny “JWoww” Farley: Great. Nervous.
EM: Are you nervous? why are you nervous?
JJF: This feels like starting my career all over again (for me). It’s a different world, a different element. I’m a big fan of horror movies. I’ve been like that since I was a kid, stealing my dad’s BetaMax and watching all the 80’s and 70’s horror movies. But it makes me so nervous to think that I’ve turned my fandom into my own little piece of art that will premiere tomorrow. I get criticized all day long for being on a reality show, but I think it’s different to be criticized for how I look at psychological thrillers. Yeah, I’m a little nervous.
EM: So, is this your first film? Did you make some short films first, or did you make a feature film right away?
JJF: The best part is that it’s on my Instagram, so if you have it, check it out. I woke up on February 8, 2020 and my friend had saved the text. I woke up and texted my best friend. I want to make a horror movie. ”And he said, “You mean like a feature film?” Like full functionality? ” And I said, “Oh, I think so.” And I wanted him to say things like, “You’re crazy,” or “Let’s stop,” but he really meant it, too. He was like, “Yeah!” It’s like, “Okay, but I have no idea what I’m doing.” This is my first film, no shorts, I didn’t know what to do, I just knew what I wanted the ending to be, I knew I wanted to shoot something very similar to Jersey Shore. I knew, in a way, on the spot, I wanted a loose script, because I had thought there was something beautiful about Pennhurst when I had been there before. Because natural environments can bring out the scariest parts of you, rather than “middle of frame, acting, cut, wide here, over your shoulder…” I just wanted to put it on the fly, and I wanted to give the crew, the cast, my own camera and capture their true emotions, and I loved that. It was the best week of my life.
EM: Well, that answers one of my questions, but I’d like to know more about it: Did you decide on the location first and then the script came from there, or did you just write the script without doing anything? Did you find a place to write and know it’s perfect?
JJF: This place came from “Snooki and J-Wow” in 2011 or ’12. We filmed there, and even though I didn’t believe in the supernatural at that point, I loved the landscape, the aesthetic, and everything about Pennhurst. And I said at the time that if I were to make a horror movie, this would be the location. I came up with the following concept. “This is an abandoned mental hospital. What happened in the asylum? Why did the children really go missing? Because things like that happened in real life. I started writing the script, and as you can see, the ending was my starting point. Then I had to work backwards based on the location. I decided to do this based on reality. I know a lot of friends who subscribe to bullshit all the time, and so did I! “Jersey Shore”: I signed up! It was like a casting call, and it was like, “Let’s put five cast members out to find the missing girl.” Because that’s what I did in 2007 to go to “Jersey Shore.” It’s like just signing up for something and knowing if it’s real or not. So I took a lot of elements from my real life and put them into the movie. Then we incorporated a lot of physical place elements. I didn’t want it to be a slasher movie, I didn’t want it to be monotonous, I didn’t want it to be over-the-top with lots of goblins and ghouls and demons. I wanted that natural area and natural heart-pounding moments, based solely on the color of the building, and it worked, thank God. We could have gone in a different direction.
EM: I noticed that the script included a lot of musings about parenthood. Is that also from your personal experience?
JJF: Yes, I empathize deeply with Kat, and that actually weighed heavily in my life filming “Jersey Shore.” I have to leave the house for work, I have to leave the house to provide food. If I find myself in a situation where I’m desperate to find one of my friends or find answers for someone, that’s just part of being a parent. And then the other part of me is like Carly, it’s more like a hollow reality, and it’s like, “I have to shoot this!” This is perfect for Snapchat. Let my fans join in on this too! ”So I think there’s a lot of things[in the characters]that are very relatable to people in my life and myself.
EM: I think we have time for one more question. I was watching a movie and when I saw the end credits, I saw a lot of names repeating, so I knew there was a small crew. Please tell us about the interpersonal relationships on set.
JJF: That was awesome! There was a show on Awestruck called “Moms with Attitudes: Snookie & JWoww” and I brought the staff there to film with me. Because I literally love, “Oh, we’re all stuck during Corona.” Since we were in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic, there was nothing to do. “Let’s go shoot a movie.” I tried to outsource editors, but no one saw the vision the same way I did. Then Tara (Rule), who plays Kat in the movie, said, “I know how to edit.” So I asked, “Could you edit it from the cast’s perspective?” It worked out really well because she was a cast member. So she and I sat down together on Zoom and edited the film ourselves. That was your perspective. Are we good editors? no. But I feel like I want the cast members who have been there, lived and breathed that world, to understand the tone that I was trying to convey on screen? Best scenario!
EM: That’s great. Well, it’s our time. Thank you very much for speaking with me today.
JJF: Thank you.
Jenny couldn’t be more adorable and her passion comes through in a genuine way. I admire her courage to jump into a feature film and appreciate her grounded take on the horror genre, where set and tone suffice more than CGI or exaggeration. but…
Devon is not a good movie. It’s not even a movie. I was surprised that the press release included still images, since most of the 72-minute running time was darkness and screaming. The acting is bad, the story is flimsy, and the pacing is terrible. I want to find a ray of hope, but I can’t find it. Screams are good. No matter what direction I gave her to make a convincing blood-curdling scream, she nailed it. There is at least one interesting choice in the death scene, but the “twists” throughout the film are predictable and the lack of visual excitement makes this short film feel interminably long. With her passion and eye for great locations, I think Farley has another film that gets her closer to the goal she’s aiming for, but this isn’t the only one.
DEVON is currently in theaters and available for purchase through all streamers and will be available to stream on Screambox on November 26, 2024. Until next time, keep scaring me!
-Makerrick, aka Eric McClanahan-
