Céline Roustan
At some point, everyone has dreamt about a different version of one’s self. This is precisely the situation faced by Sam and Mark, a couple who find themselves stuck in a rut and growing apart. For several days, their bodies have been splitting into copies and now they have to deal, together, with all these new versions living under the same roof. With Variations on a Theme, writer/director Peter Collins Campbell returns to the short film format to craft an unsettling yet sharp and playful genre film, which not only raises questions about identity and authenticity, but also delivers a dose of body horror.
“Everyone wanted to do something cool”
“This idea had been simmering in my head for a while,” Collins Campbell shared with us. Initially conceived as a feature, the project came to life when he realized that he wanted to collaborate with friends, spurred on by lead actress Sophia Dunn-Walker, who is also credited with the story. After quickly penning the screenplay, everyone then came together with the idea of wanting “to do something cool”. The director also noted that, as a short film with lower stakes, the project allowed everyone to feel safer trying out things and being more playful. “I would never have actually acted in it if I thought down the road it was going to have a big festival run or anything,” he added.
Collins Campbell is indeed the lead actor, playing Mark, while Dunn-Walker portrays Sam, or should I say the various Marks and the Sams. The chemistry between them is loaded, without having to rely on an exposition and through the cleverness of the screenplay, we understand the layers of their relationship and where it currently stands. Collins Campbell uses the specific situation in his short to explore the many different versions of this couple, explaining that “if the self is a cluster of evolving traits, then a relationship is the interaction of multiple communities”. Adding that this provided “a huge sandbox to play in visually and thematically”. Also, as actors, it must have been really fun to play different versions of the same protagonists.
“In the ‘split’ sequence, every single shot uses a different effect” – director Peter Collins Campbell discussing the FX work in Variations on a Theme.
With this original premise, the visual aesthetic had to deliver to make the film come together compellingly and so the team employed various different VFX techniques to achieve their desired look. From “old-school split screens” in the beginning, they progressed to practical effects using body doubles, slime and prosthetics, before using digital compositing for the actual split. Collins Campbell, who also did the VFX, wanted to try all the available techniques to throw the audience through a loop. While DP Brandon Hoeg (BJ’s Mobile Gift Shop) framed the protagonists to echo how they are adapting to their new environment and the sound design by Tamara Johnson makes that split all the more convincing and visceral.
Ahead of its online premiere as a Vimeo Staff Pick, Variations on a Theme made its way around the festival circuit with notable stops at Overlook, Leeds, Seattle and Chicago International Film Festivals. Collins Campbell is now working on his second feature, Grind, a black comedy-thriller that follows a food delivery gig worker at the end of his rope as he tries to make all of his rent in one night, to disastrous results.