Ad-supported streamer Tubi quickly became a favorite among fans of obscure films and creators alike. But with so many choices, how do you find that deeply buried gem? This will be the first of a new monthly series spotlighting independent movies on the platform, and the people who make them.
Today, we are talking with Jordan Miller, the writer/director, and Matt Burns, an actor/producer/location coordinator of The Only Ones. The film follows a group of friends reuniting for a weekend at a secluded family home. However, an unfortunate accident derails their plans and quickly spirals into a series of deadly misunderstandings.
When and how did you first get involved with making films?
Jordan: Growing up, movies were always a happy place for my parents and I. We would have family dinners around the TV, and our special nights out were often spent at the movie theater. Movie magic was a real thing, and I was a creative kid eager to try any and every art form I could get my hands on. So, armed with my parents’ VHS camcorder, I started making short, little chaotic movies with my friends. I didn’t know anything about computers or editing, but I figured made a rig with two VCR’s wired into each other. I realized I could hit play on one and record on the other and could piece the shots together how I wanted. It wasn’t until late high school that I even started to grasp the concept of editing digitally. I never considered it as a real career option until I took my first film class in college, and they put names to the things I was already thinking about. There was no turning back from there.
Matt: When I met Conrad Brooks from the Ed Wood films outside a Food Lion in 2006. Then later, when I reconnected with some folks from the film a few years later, that I did with him, and the rest is history.
Background
To Jordan, a lot of your early work is in music videos. Are these mostly for your bands or for friends?
Jordan: It was both. My first life was centered around music. I toured with bands, recorded albums, and made ends meet by playing gigs. Now I do it with a camera. Music videos were always exciting to me as a kid because they were like bite-sized cinematic candies. When I started making films seriously, I focused on music videos both because my own bands needed them and because all my friends were musicians. They all had groups, so I made their videos. That allowed me to build my skills and shoot in a wide variety of styles before moving into short films and narrative work.
With your background in music, do you score your own films?
Jordan: It’s funny you ask, because I usually don’t! I mostly compose music for other filmmakers. When it comes to my films, like The Only Ones, I’m already doing so much. I’m writing, directing, shooting, and editing my films, so it’s always been important and rewarding to work with outside composers. In many ways, I’m too close to the story, so having someone with an objective opinion bring their musical point of view is great. I worked with Guillermo Pizarro as music composer on The Only Ones as well as my last three short films. I love his style, and I know what he brings to the feel of a picture. However, sometimes I still break that rule. My partner Raven and I wrote and performed the opening credits song for The Only Ones because we couldn’t find the right song anywhere else. It’s always a tool in my back pocket.
Changing Roles
To Matt, when and why did you move from acting to producing?
Matt: I still do both, but I like seeing the ideas come to life. It’s fun wearing multiple hats because I do a lot of the casting and music as well.
To Jordan, you started making features in 2017 with The Red Effect. How different was it to direct a feature film vs a short or music video?
Jordan: Making any film is tough, but a feature-length film is really tough. Shorts and music videos have a very brief time to do what they need to do, so the resources needed are a fraction of what a feature-length movie demands. However, features are what made me fall in love with filmmaking in the first place, and they are the most rewarding.
Is there anything you learned from The Red Effect that helped you out with The Only Ones?
Jordan: I learn so much on every project I work on. The Red Effect is a feature-length drama, and at that point, I hadn’t even made a short film yet. I had some music videos under my belt, but that was it. Luckily, I had great support from our producers and crew to make it happen. Diving into the deep end first was the best experience I could get. From there, I went back and made my short film Three (now on Crypt TV), which felt like a breeze compared to the marathon I just ran with The Red Effect.
Acting
A lot of directors cast themselves in leading roles to cut down on costs, or to indulge in a Hitchcock moment. But it looks like most of your work in front of the camera is for projects made by others. Do you prefer not to act when you’re directing?
Jordan: Yeah, when I’m directing, I don’t want to think about my own performance. I like to stay in it. So, I mostly only go in front of the camera when other people ask or if someone drops out last minute and the production needs it. I got offered a role recently where they said I would get to die on screen, so of course I took that without even reading the script first! I also love doing voice acting, so whenever that comes up I have quite a bit of fun with it.
To Matt, In The Only Ones, you play the role of Greg. Did you draw inspiration from anywhere for the character?
Matt: Nope, that was picked for me by the director Jordan Miller.
The Only Ones
To Matt, could you tell us a bit about all the work you did behind the scenes of The Only Ones?
Matt: Yes, helped a lot with that one, from casting to even helping raise some funds for it. Jordan is a great jack of all trades behind the camera, so he makes it easy.
To Jordan; What inspired The Only Ones?
Jordan: Semi-spoilers ahead. I had a discussion with our producer/actor Matt Burns about the concept of a character-driven slasher that appears on the surface like every other slasher, but without the killer. I loved the idea of having a cast of characters go out into a typical horror scenario and then self-destruct because of a series of bad luck and paranoia. After all, isn’t that more like life? We’re far more likely to destroy ourselves than have some external villain show up and do it for us.
Tubi
Is your work hosted on other streaming platforms? If so, how does your experience with Tubi compare to the others?
Jordan: Yeah, we’re also on Prime, Apple TV and Fandango/Vudo but we’ve gotten the biggest response from Tubi. Maybe that’s because it’s free, or because the Tubi audience seeks out more indie obscurities, but as I always say… Tubi is the people’s streaming service!
How do you feel about still doing physical media releases as an independent director?
Jordan: I love physical media. I collect Blu-Rays, VHS, vinyl, you name it. There’s something still magical about the process of selecting a movie off of a shelf and popping it in a player. There’s a ritual there that I still believe in. I actually had to really push for our distributor to print Blu-Rays of The Only Ones. They were resistant at first, but I fought for it, and the reports show pretty clearly that our audience still loves Blu-Ray and DVD. Plus, I was able to record a director’s commentary and cast commentary audio for the special features, which was a blast. Long live physical media!
The Future
To Matt, it looks like you’ll be making your directorial and writing debut with Head on the Writer’s Block. Is there anything you can tell us about that project?
Matt: It’s an anthology that should be out this year about a struggling writer and his new “source of inspiration”.
Is there anything you’ve learned as an actor/producer that helped you transition into writing/directing?
Matt: Oh, a lot of things. You learn what to do and what not to do on every set you are on or you should be learning all the time. Even the professionals are students of the craft.
Upcoming Projects
What projects do you have coming up?
Jordan: My production company, Future Phantoscope, has another feature film coming out later this year called The Black Hills Night Hike. It’s an anthology-style horror film based on the many myths, monsters, and legends of Maryland. I collaborated with four other directors to make all of the segments of the movie. I actually shot my parts of the film way back in 2019, so this has been a long time coming! We also have a new atmospheric horror short film I wrote and produced called Shutter Sound that will be coming out this year, and I am working hard on pre-production as I develop our next feature-length film. Oh yeah, if you are into podcasts, I put out regular episodes of our horror podcast, Camp Nightmare, across all platforms. We have an email newsletter you can join here to keep up with our new projects and screenings.
Matt: Yes, actually working on the Waynesboro Butcher with Blood Pact Films, Roxy’s Brutal Bits with Absurd Productions Pictures, Vicious Valentines with Future Phantoscope, and possibly another project starting by the end of the year.
We’d like to thank Jordan Miller and Matt Burns for taking the time out to speak with us today. Check out The Only Ones now streaming for free on Tubi!
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