Utter Trash--Brian McCollum

True Crime Cleveland Style

An interview with filmmaker Brian K. McCollum

By Bob Ignizio

The so-called "torso murders" that took place in the Kingsbury Run area of Cleveland from 1934 to 1938 have fascinated generations of morbid minds. Not only were the murders exceptionally grisly, but the quest to find the person responsible was spearheaded by the renowned Elliot Ness. Ness may have brought down Al Capone, but the torso killings (at least officially) remain unsolved to this day. Now area filmmaker Brian K. McCollum has set out to turn this colorful bit of local history into a feature film called 'Kingsbury Run' that will mix documentary footage with a fictional framing story about a young reporter simply referred to as “kid” who delves into the case. The film stars area stage actor Dan Folino (‘Hedwig and the Angry Inch’, ‘The Rocky Horror Show’) as “kid”. Playing the role of “kid’s” friend “girl” is McCollum’s wife Nina. She is a veteran of NE Ohio’s stages as well and has also been in several films including such Utter Trash-worthy titles as Wayne Allan Harold’s ‘Bride of Killer Nerd’ and ‘Girlfriends’ and the J.R. Bookwalter produced ‘Bloodletting’. I sent Brian some questions by email and you can read for yourself what he has to say about this intriguing project which will begin filming in Cleveland soon.

Utter Trash: What drew you to the story of the Torso killings as a subject for a film?

Brian McCollum: I was making my last film, “Sixes,” and investigating a possible link between Satanism and serial killers (i.e., Richard Ramirez, but it turned out he was really the only one who mixed the two) when I stumbled onto the story of the Torso Killer. It was perfect: Local, unsolved, brutal, mysterious. Everything you could possibly want in a story to make into a great movie. And then I found there were no good movies (and no feature efforts, just shorts) about the killer and his unsolved murders. So I decided to make one.

UT: It looks like you'll be mixing truth and fiction in your film. How much liberty are you taking with actual events?

BC: None, none and none. The documentary portion of the film will be factual, and will only contain facts about the case and expert opinions based on those facts. Those experts will not be actors, but real police, medical experts, etc. On this project, altering the facts of the Torso case is strictly prohibited. The fiction side of the film will be totally invented, and relate to the facts of the Torso case—the filmmaker is the fictional lead character.

UT: Are you approaching this movie more as a drama, a mystery/suspense story, or a horror film? Or are there elements of all three?

BC: We call it a suspense/thriller. But it’s also a drama/mystery in that it’s (hopefully) put together intelligently. We do think it’s creepy and scary, but it really is a far cry away from the horror/slasher genre.

UT: Are you actually referring to your characters as "kid", "girl", and "man" in the film, or are you just waiting to come up with good names for them? If you are using those names, why?

BC: We absolutely are using the generic “Kid,” “Girl” and “Man” as character names. Naming them “Bob” or whatever would be irrelevant. These characters are just like the people you run into on the street everyday. And you don’t know those people’s names, and yet they are still real to you. These characters were created so the audience can crawl inside them and go on this crazy journey with them, giving them a name only if they want to. I feel it strengthens the character’s “Everyman” qualities, which is important in this project.

UT: Are you financing this film yourself or do you have investors? How hard was it coming up with the money to make the film?

BC: Self-financing, and it’s the worst way to make a feature film. But in Cleveland, there’s really no other options. I don’t care if it’s your first movie or your fiftieth, we haven’t found Cleveland to be at all financially supportive of filmmakers (unless they’re from Hollywood, then they’ll get the red carpet). There’s just no financial support for the independent, and I just think that’s so goddamn sad. There is ancillary support for the independent, in free locations, free crew (if you look hard enough), free actors (and good ones if you have a good project to offer them), and so on. So I don’t want to paint a doomsday picture. It’s just very bleak as far as cold, hard cash. That being said, we will be holding a fundraising concert this month. It will be September 24th at 7pm at Abbasso, 1222 Prospect Avenue (under Bottom’s Up). It’ll be $10.00 to get in (at the door only). There will be three local bands playing, featuring “VanityCrash” with Hedwig’s Dan Folino. Dan, incidentally, is our leading actor.

BC: Digital video. And we won’t be doctoring it to look like film. If you want your movie to have a film look, then shoot film. What we will do is create a very unique look—not the flat video that everybody has seen a hundred times before.

UT: You're background is mostly in nonfiction films. Is it hard to adjust to (semi) fictional material?

BC: Not really, because I make movies about truth. The story itself is fiction, but everything about its origins and themes is truth-based. It’s all about the search for the truth.

UT: Tell me a little about 'Sixes'. What was that about, and what kind of distribution did it get?

BC: “Sixes” was a short—it was 40-minutes, so that’s right on the border. It was an experimental documentary about teenagers who are into Satanism. I interviewed two people, one a former Satanist, the other a practicing one. Their stories were completely different. One was the Satanism that horror movies are made of (animal sacrifice, etc.), the other was taken literally from the teachings of Anton LaVey (non-violent, worship of the self). The video was refused a slot at the local OIFF fest, due to its harsh subject matter. Additional Ohio festivals were also approached, but none were interested. So not many people have seen it.

UT: Aside from the part of "girl" which is being played by your wife Nina, how did you find your actors?

BC: I searched long and hard for all the parts. Dan Folino (“Kid”) is a friend of Nina’s (they did “Rocky Horror” together at the Beck Center). I met with him and thought he was the best actor in town, and perfect for this part. We finally found “Man,” Jeff Grover, in a stack of headshots loaned to me by Larry Nehring of the Cleveland Shakespeare Festival. One of the few examples of local support—artists will help other artists. Most of the rest of the actors we have found by advertising on Fred Sternfeld’s list, “NEOHPAL” (Northeast Ohio Performing Arts List).

UT: Will your film attempt a solution to the Torso killings, and is it one you personally believe in?

BC: We won’t try to name the killer. It’s not really about that, and besides, I disagree with most of the theories out there—I don’t think Sweeney did it. But in the end viewers will understand him a little more, which is scary. That’s what I believe in.

BC: We’re still looking to interview people with unique, true stories and experiences about the Torso Killer for the documentary portion of the film. Anyone who wants to share his or her story should contact me at bkmkingsbury@yahoo.com. Don’t delay, as we start shooting this month...