Three Houses Down: A Frankenhuffer Jib

I recently had the opportunity to talk with Ty Huffer. Ty Huffer is the grass roots indie filmmaker behind the Frankenhuffer production team based out in Washington state. His latest film Three Houses Down recently won the Washington’s Best Sasquatch Award at the 2023 Cabin in the Woods Film Festival, Best Gore & Makeup at Dredfest, and most recently won 6 awards at Bleedingham including Best Story.

Three Houses Down

As an artist he is known to be a resourceful, quick witted, friendly individual who utilizes his vivid imagination to the fullest. You can’t help but feel completely at ease around him, which makes the spectacle of his work all the more impressive.

Frankenhuffer

Nessk: Hello Ty Huffer! Thank you so much for taking the time to join us this evening to talk about your short film Three Houses Down!

Ty Huffer: Thank you! This is exciting!

Nessk: Before we get into it I just want to say that Three Houses Down was a thrill to watch. Everything about it from the acting, pacing, cinematography, sound design, and most especially that lighting, it was a truly immersive experience. I swear I could smell the tree & tinsel.

Ty Huffer: THANK YOU! My producer Jenn George Hunter killed it. She decorated the entire set. We went to Goodwill and bought every Santa we could find. We went to WallMart a few days after Christmas to buy the closeout decorations and pajamas. The set is my brother’s house in North Bend, so theat HUGE 14 foot tall tree is there every year.

Nessk: She did an exceptional job. That set design was killer! It seems to have been a fruitful endeavor too, as congratulations are certainly in order for winning the Cabin in the Woods Best in Washington State Sasquatch Award! How many awards has it won thus far?

Ty Huffer: Yeah, Winning the 1st Sasquatch Award at Cabin in the Woods was awesome. That was a tough festival to get into. Right now we’ve won two awards. The Sasquatch Award at Cabin in the Woods and Best Gore Makeup at DredFest! We’ve been lucky enough to be nominated for best short at four other festivals. We get the results from two of them this weekend! (Since the interview Three Houses Down won six more awards at Bleedingham)

Nessk: That’s wonderfully exciting! I’m sure you & your team must be thrilled to see your hard work thrive.

Ty Huffer: I’m freak-show lucky to have my team. We’re super small. More than half the crew from the shoot was my family. My brother, sister-in law, teenage niece and nephew were a huge part of the movie. It was midnight and my niece is out there with a slate calling out scene numbers. I LOVED IT! They thought I was joking when I told them our movie was screening in Barcelona at InFest Film Festival. The current success has been fun!

Nessk: That is beautifully wholesome. It really speaks to the truest form of indie spirit. But to come out with such quality to boot. Wildly impressive. Speaking of your team, could you tell us about Frankenhuffer? How did it come about?

Ty Huffer: I’ve been making movies since I was 19 and since then I’ve only had one project with any type of budget. So basically from day one every project has felt like a Dr. Frankenstein lab attack. I make movies with what I have access to. I hope that make sense. I’m just a no budget filmmaker trying to make fun movies!

Nessk: That makes perfect sense. Do you have any advice for aspiring filmmakers who are getting ready to start their no/low budget journeys?

Ty Huffer: YES! Start by making movies with what you have access to. I was a few films in before I even hired an actor that wasn’t a friend. Help other filmmakers. You are not above holding a boom mic. You don’t have money so you gotta think outside the box, don’t be scared to get weird. Remember it’s not a competition. If you’re not having fun making your movie, you fucked up. I hope that makes sense. I only know low to no budget filmmaking.

Nessk: Wise words indeed. It’s about that time for us to wrap, but before we say goodbye to everyone is there anything that you would like the readers to know?

Ty Huffer: I’m proud of what we did with what we had. Every now and then my brother mentions there’s still glittery green blood in his kitchen’s grout. Also I hope everyone watches and enjoys our 7 mins of holiday hysteria! Honestly your kind words towards the movie are so rad. It was a tiny untrained crew. We just ran games!

Nessk: Your film Three Houses Down deserves all of the praise. Thank you again for speaking with me this evening. I have been an admirer of you & your work for such a long time. It is truly an honor to know you & I cannot wait to see what you create next.

Ty Huffer: Thank you so much!

Ty Huffer of Frankenhuffer

Three Houses Down will be touring various festivals, so be sure to check out your local haunts to see if you have the opportunity to screen it. It’s a fun filled holiday gorefest that has swiftly been added to my annual watch list.

Thank you for joining us & of course…

Happy Halloween!