Hugh Flesher and Thérèse Hansell wear multiple hats as they help bring Edmonton-based Brimstone Pictures film to fruition
You may know him from the Rutherford Manor Haunt. Or his day job as a Surface Safety Systems whiz.
Now, get ready to see him bite the big one numerous times in the action-packed sci-fi indie film Contamination, which sees a team of black ops soldiers sent to destroy a top-secret lab in the wilderness have their ranks infected with a deadly alien virus.
“I died four or five times,” Hugh Flesher revealed in outlining the extra role(s) he played in the film, set for its Edmonton theatrical release on Nov. 14 at Landmark Cinemas Edmonton City Centre. “Whether they all get in there, I don’t know.”
Hugh Flesher (before he dies) during the filming of Contamination. (Brimstone Pictures)
In addition to his extra role as a dying pro, the Stream-Flo Surface Safety Systems Product Manager also took on the roles of second grip and prop master for the film.
‘There was blood everywhere’
When it comes to the latter, setting up squibs — the special effect tool that simulates someone getting hit by a bullet — was the coolest thing Flesher says he got to do in that position.
“I had about six squibs on this guy,” said Flesher. “It was in a big shower room and I went in there after to clean up and there was blood everywhere, all over the ceiling, the walls, it was a mess in that shower, it worked really well.”
The cleaning up he had to do fell squarely under the category of Flesher’s second grip position.
“The first grip makes sure the cameras are in place, the second grip can do whatever,” explained Flesher. “Sometimes I’m doing the boom mic, sometimes I’m running around with gaffer tape blanking out windows, sometimes I’m running for batteries.”
And sometimes, especially for a small budget film such as Contamination which was made for under $500,000, you have to clean up the mess you just made.
Luckily, Flesher had help in that department, as his partner and Stream-Flo Valve Business Unit Inside Sales Manager Thérèse Hansell was serving as assistant director as well as makeup assistant for the movie, and was there to help him clean up the bloodbath he had just detonated.
She also had the unique experience of watching someone she cares about pretend to die multiple times.
“That guy, man,” said Hansell with a laugh about watching Flesher sell his death scenes. “He had many where he had to just wipe out, it was good, he did well.”
Just the right ‘assertive’ touch
From keeping everything on schedule to managing the actors and even craft services, Hansell says her assistant director role had her acting as the interface between the producers and directors of the film.
“It’s a lot of juggling,” said Hansell of the challenging position.
But, given her experience and expertise in executing a similar function for the Rutherford Manor Haunt for many years, the producer of the movie, Preston Ewasiuk, thought Hansell would have what it takes to help keep the filming of Contamination running smoothly.
“He felt that I was ‘assertive’ enough to get people into position and get going on what they need to get done,” explained Hansell. “And yeah, I can do that, for sure.”
Thérèse Hansell, walkie talkie at the ready, is seen in this behind-the-scenes snapshot during the filming of Contamination. (Brimstone Pictures)
Indeed, the Rutherford Manor Haunt, which just seems to keep coming up, as you may have noticed, played a central part in getting the ball rolling when it came to the creation of the Edmonton-based company behind Contamination, Brimstone Pictures.
And, plot twist, it’s all thanks to soccer.
Hansell’s son and Ewasiuk’s daughter are the same age and were playing on their respective boy’s and girl’s teams at the time, connections were made, and the rest is history.
“We just wanted a fun activity for the girls so we actually helped out with Rutherford Manor Haunt one year and that’s how we all got to know each other,” said Ewasiuk, who in addition to being the producer of Contamination, is also a co-founder of Brimstone Pictures along with Neil Chase and David Heacock. “I guess the safe way to put it is we kind of hit it off.”
They sure did. Then, in filming a trailer tease for Rutherford Manor [WARNING: Not for the faint of heart], further pieces of the Brimstone Pictures puzzle fell into place, while a pandemic solidified things further says actor, director, and screenwriter Chase.
“COVID had a lot to do with it because film production in this province pretty much ground to a halt for almost a year,” explained Chase. “We really just started working together more out of a sense of let’s just have some fun and do something creative.”
After making some short films and finding out that they work really well together and create really good work together, Brimstone Pictures was formed and they set their sights on their first feature film, which ended up being the post-apocalyptic psychological thriller Spin the Wheel.
Success ensued, and the story of Brimstone Pictures continues.
“We’re movie fans first and foremost, period,” said Ewasiuk about the driving force behind their production company.
From left to right: Neil Chase, Preston Ewasiuk, and Dave Heacock, collective co-founders of Brimstone Pictures.
Story-first philosophy
That means Brimstone Pictures always aims to put the story first and provide a rewatchable escape, as movies used to, in their opinion.
“We want people to come to our film, have a good time, and enjoy a character-driven story that immerses them in this world,” said Chase in outlining their core principles. “We want the audience invested in these characters and their journeys, so after when they come out of the theater they’ll want to talk about it with their friends, recommend it to other people, and hopefully want to come and see it again.”
Contamination has been making the film festival rounds ahead of its Canadian theatrical release on Nov. 14 in Edmonton. Winning awards along the way.
The latest success they’ve experienced, as it has been from the very start, underpinned by the people involved, like Flesher and Hansell, and the multiple hats they wore in helping make the film.
“It is interesting, I never thought I’d be involved in film production,” said Flesher. “But it’s such a nice group of people, there’s no egos involved, everyone gets along, there’s some heated discussions on how things should look and be and so on as you’d expect between the directors, but it’s a lot of fun.”
Hansell expressed much the same sentiment as she reflected on her time spent on set.
“It was great,” she said. “Overall, the team was just so fun, there was a lot of good friendship and camaraderie that went on, and I mean some of these people will be friends lifelong.”
So, why should you go and see Contamination?
“Because it kicks ass,” says Ewasiuk.
Fair enough.
Some ass-kicking, character-driven, story-first escapist entertainment sounds good to us.
For more about Contamination, including where and when you can see it in theater before it hits streaming platforms in the spring, head to Brimstone Pictures’ Facebook page here: https://www.facebook.com/brimstonepictures
