''Claustrophobia'' (retitled ''Serial Slayer'' for home video release) is a 2003 horror thriller written and directed by

Mark Tapio Kines Mark Tapio Kines (born 1970, Danvers, Massachusetts) is an American film director, writer, producer and owner of Los Angeles-based Cassava Films. Kines is perhaps best known for being the first filmmaker to employ crowdfunding to partially fi ...

. The film stars

Melanie Lynskey Melanie Jayne Lynskey ( ; born 16 May 1977) is a New Zealand actress widely known for her portrayals of complex women in several independent films and television shows and also known for her command of American dialects. Lynskey is the recipi ...

Sheeri Rappaport Sheeri Rappaport (born October 27, 1977) is an American actress. She is most famous for portraying lab technician Mandy Webster on ''CSI: Crime Scene Investigation''. Rappaport made her television debut with a guest role on ''Clarissa Explains It ...

Mary Lynn Rajskub Mary Lynn Rajskub (; born June 22, 1971) is an American actress and comedian who is best known for portraying Chloe O'Brian in the action thriller series '' 24'', and the character Gail the Snail in ''It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia''. Rajskub ...

, Will Collyer, and

Judith O'Dea Judith O'Dea (born April 20, 1945) is an American actress. She portrayed Barbra in the 1968 George Romero classic horror film ''Night of the Living Dead''. Career In addition to her signature role, O'Dea has appeared in the television movie '' ...

Plot

In a quiet neighborhood outside of

Oakland, California Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast of the United States, West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third ...

, the residents are being held hostage with terror when a serial killer armed with a crossbow begins to stalk and kill the residents from their rooftops.

Casting

''Claustrophobia'' has only three main speaking roles. Kines first invited

to take part in the film, as the two had worked together previously on his debut feature ''Foreign Correspondents''. The search then began for the two remaining leads, with Kines receiving over 1,000 headshots during the auditioning process.

and

were cast soon thereafter. After a brief rehearsal period,

and

were set to star in the film. Kines was also able to cast

, star of the classic 1960s horror film ''

Night of the Living Dead ''Night of the Living Dead'' is a 1968 American independent horror film directed, photographed, and edited by George A. Romero, with a screenplay by John Russo and Romero, and starring Duane Jones and Judith O'Dea. The story follows seven peop ...

'', in a small role.

Filming

Principal photography began on June 3, 2002, and wrapped on June 13. Most of the film was shot in a single house with only a few exterior scenes. The film was shot entirely in daylight, something Kines felt added a surreal and nightmarish quality to the story.

Post-production

Kines drafted his friend Christopher Farrell to score the film. Farrell had previously scored Kines' first film, ''Foreign Correspondents''. The titles for the film were done by William Lebeda, whose credits include '' The Village'' and ''

Drag Me to Hell ''Drag Me to Hell'' is a 2009 American supernatural horror film directed and co-written by Sam Raimi. It stars Alison Lohman, Justin Long, Lorna Raver, Dileep Rao, David Paymer, and Adriana Barraza. The plot, written with his older brother Ivan, ...

''. The film was fully completed on May 31, 2003 – 364 days after the first day of production.

Reception

''Dread Centreal'' said of the film, "What it is is a complete and utter waste of time, money (both yours if you rent it and whatever small amount the filmmakers spent on making it), and crossbow bolts, which I’m sure could’ve been put to better use hunting innocent woodland creatures or something."

References

External links

*. *{{Amg movie, 314915, Claustrophobia *
Claustrophobia
' official site at Cassava Films 2003 films 2003 horror films American slasher films 2000s English-language films 2000s American films