Five FrightFest Facts with Andy Chen from ‘Another’

A high-concept sci-fi thriller built around grief, identity and the terrifying possibility that reality itself can no longer be trusted, Another arrives at Tubi FrightFest carrying considerable buzz. The feature debut from writer-director Andy Chen, the film takes a sprawling multiverse concept and strips it back to its most intimate form, focusing on a woman whose world is turned upside down when her deceased husband suddenly returns home as though nothing has happened.

Chen is already a familiar name to horror fans online. An award-winning filmmaker whose work has amassed millions of views, he won Best Short Film at the 2023 Fangoria Chainsaw Awards for Close Your Eyes, while projects such as Fiona and The Spider generated significant attention across the internet. Now making the leap to feature filmmaking, Chen brings that same ambitious DIY spirit to Another, a fully independent production created outside the studio system with the support of friends, collaborators and a shared passion for storytelling.

Starring Bob Morley, India de Beaufort, Doug Jones, Heather Langenkamp and Anna Akana, Another makes its UK Premiere at FrightFest and marks a major milestone in Chen’s filmmaking journey. Ahead of the screening, we caught up with him for our latest Five FrightFest Facts.

Andy Chen, writer-director of Another

Tell us about your film

Another was an idea that originated after I saw 10 Cloverfield Lane. I loved how Trachtenberg placed the entire movie in one bunker, relying only on great performances and the character drama to keep the audience engaged. Even though there was a bigger world outside and talk of aliens and sci-fi elements, we don’t really see them until the end.

I had half of this script written that sat untouched in a folder for 7 years. I loved the idea of doing something with multiverses but condensing the story to the most intimate and smallest scale. Budgetary reasons also drove this decision, of course.

I brought the half written script to my co-writer, Alex Hernandez-Maxwell and we went back and forth with it over a couple months. Then pretty soon, we were on set. Shot over 18 days and with the support of some of my best friends, we made this movie ourselves with no studio or outside help. I’m very proud of what we accomplished.

How did you get into making movies?

I’ve always been a huge fan of movies. I grew up going to the VHS rental store with my parents and renting tons of sci-fi films, e.g., Star Wars, Back to the Future, Planet of the Apes, and more. I think that really inspired me to want to make movies as a kid.

I actually originally thought I wanted to act. But after taking an acting class in community college and realizing I didn’t have the personality for it, I switched to being behind the camera.

I took classes in cinematography, editing, VFX, music production and other fun creative subjects that interested me, not expecting to use all those skills in the future. I got more into making music at first. Then I made some music videos for my own band and for the bands we played with. I quickly got into the music video scene and then making short films.

Fast forward 10 years, and now I’m premiering my first feature at FrightFest!

What films would you love to see screened at FrightFest and why?

It’s my first time at FrightFest so I’m not entirely sure! I think I would love to just see different indie projects from around the world and hopefully get inspired to make something even more ambitious next time!

If you could create your own award to give at FrightFest, what would it be and why?

I don’t know the awards they give out at FrightFest because this is my first year going, but I would love to see an award for Most Inspiring.

This could be a film that looks and feels huge on a tiny budget or with minimal resources, or something that’s just so out there or crazy that it’s insane that it got made. Or even it could be an award for something that’s really, really difficult to make, but somehow they pulled it off.

If your life was made into a horror film, what would it be called and who would play the starring role?

Actually I used to be a tattoo artist before I got into film and I had a script written about my time as a tattoo artist, but fictionalized, where a tattoo client gets a gnarly infection that morphs into a body horror thing.

I didn’t have a title for it but I could call it something like Flash or Flesh.

And for an actor, I would love Steven Yeun to play me.