In an era saturated with digital perfection, a new horror film is digging up the grit and grain of analog terror. “Vlogcam,” which premiered this past October 15 at the indie Downtown Festival in New York City, pulls audiences into a nightmare where the villain isn’t a slasher, but rather, a seemingly innocuous VHS camera. At the heart of this chilling narrative is lead actress Kris Prihodova, whose performance is already making waves in the indie horror scene.
Prihodova, a rising star who has recently relocated to New York and graduated from the New York Film Academy, found her way to the lead role in “Vlogcam” through a familiar online casting platform. “I got an audition on Backstage.com and sent a self-tape in,” Prihodova recounts. “Literally 20 minutes after sending, the director Danillo called me and right away told me he wants me to be the lead.”
This rapid response came as a welcome jolt to Prihodova, who was experiencing a period of audition burnout. “It gave me courage and energy to continue auditions again,” she admits.
The script for “Vlogcam” presented a unique challenge: embodying a character grappling with loneliness who finds an unsettling solace in the old school technology of a VHS camera. Pre-internet analogue tech like VHS camcorders, which were big in the 1990s, was a key character. It’s also something we don’t see everyday.
“What I really wanted to bring to the script was a sense of authenticity and emotional depth, especially around the theme of loneliness that my character struggles with,” Prihodova explains. “She’s this quiet, isolated girl who suddenly discovers a new source of excitement through the old VHS camera and I wanted that to feel very real and relatable.”
The experience of shooting with an actual VHS camera proved to be a significant departure from traditional filmmaking. “Shooting on a VHS camera was also a completely different experience from working with standard film equipment,” she notes. “It has this raw, imperfect texture that becomes a part of the storytelling itself. I wanted to lean into that and capture the spontaneous, playful energy of someone discovering a new obsession.”
When asked about the film’s exploration of the “ghost in the machine” concept (that a VHS camera could, in fact, be haunted), Prihodova offers a nuanced perspective. “You know what, I actually do believe in the idea of the ‘ghost in the machine,'” she explains. “Of course, in Vlogcam, it’s represented literally through an evil camera that possesses a person, but I also see it as deeply metaphorical.”
As the lead actor of the film, Prihodova draws a parallel to the pervasive influence of modern technology. “In today’s world, we’re all a little possessed by our own devices, the phones in our pockets, the watches on our wrists, the earbuds in our ears,” she adds. “Technology has become such an inseparable part of our lives that even the thought of putting a phone away for an hour can make people anxious. That’s a kind of possession too, not supernatural, but psychological.”
In our digital-dependent times, Prihodova explains how technology mirrors our own dual dependence on it. “It can be used for connection, creativity, and good – but it can also isolate us, manipulate us, or even control, with an addiction,” she said. “So, while Vlogcam tells a horror story on the surface, it’s also a reflection of a modern kind of horror we all experience: the one where we slowly lose control of the machines we created.”
Prihodova’s collaboration with acclaimed director Danillo Parra, whose credits include cinematography for “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” and “The Vice Guide to Travel,” was a highlight of the production.
“I absolutely loved working with him,” she said. “When he offered me the role, I checked his other movies and saw his creativity right away.”
She fondly recalls a short film “Mushroom” by Parra about mushroom foraging, describing it as a “cinematic masterpiece” that stuck with her a year later. Parra’s improvisational style also provided a fresh perspective for Prihodova, who prefers meticulous planning.
“Danillo loves to improvise and he’s not afraid to do changes during a shooting day. It was a learning experience for me to be working with a creative mind like this, because I personally work in the exact opposite way – I need to have planned everything ahead, so this was a fresh new approach for me.”
Filming on the bustling streets of Manhattan, often in areas around 30th Street, presented its own set of challenges. “We filmed around 30th Street and other few areas, all of which were full of people who didn’t know we were actually filming, because the camera was often hidden or a little further away,” Prihodova explains.
Despite an initial shyness about acting in public, she embraced it as a growth opportunity. “I will be honest, I’m often shy and insecure about acting in public exactly because of this reason and feeling the looks of strangers makes me uncomfortable,” said Prihodova. “But I took it as a challenge and learning experience from which I can only grow. I pushed myself to go through with everything and just do my best there even though I might look crazy to some people passing by.”
Indeed, the candid nature of the filming led to some amusing encounters. Prihodova confirmed that passers-by mistook the fictional terror for genuine distress. “There were several people who stopped and asked what was going on,” she laughs. “It was in a scene where Peter Bonilla, who played a business man who I later killed, lay on the ground between my legs with a bloody face and I was hitting him with a VHS camera. During our filming, our main camera was shooting from the van and wasn’t visible, so it just really looked like a bloody scene. My face went several times from a raging killer into a pleasant smile explaining ‘I’m sorry, we are just shooting a movie here, all is fine,’ it was hilarious.”
When it comes to channeling the “possessed” persona, Prihodova relies on a combination of physical preparation and emotional exploration. “I’m the opposite of an evil person, so playing a dark possessed character is absolutely out of my personality,” she admits. “First I need to get my physical energy up, simply running around or jumping will always help. I don’t think many people realize how these simple tricks will help you get into character. When I feel the adrenaline, I start to focus on the inner work; channeling anger, letting go of judgment and just try a few takes with a different approach. Acting really is the process of becoming another person entirely, whether you agree with their actions or not. It’s your job to play them.”
Over time, many actors have each mastered the art of demonic possession onscreen, but Prihodova points to an unnamed actor in “The Conjuring,” a 2013 supernatural horror film directed by James Wan.
“If we are going into full possession and exorcism, The Conjuring is definitely one of the best,” she said, acknowledging the immense difficulty of such roles. “These scenes are extremely difficult, they are also physically very challenging with odd body movements and stunts. Emotions are out of control, and I cannot even myself imagine how one gets mentally ready for shooting scenes like these.”
The premiere of “Vlogcam” at The Downtown Festival underscores Prihodova’s commitment to independent filmmaking. “If there is no indie filmmaking, the creativity will die out,” she said.
While everyone dreams of high profile red carpets and celebrities, filmmaking has to start somewhere and that’s what makes the Downtown Festival so important. It supports independent filmmakers, actors and production teams.
“Most directors, filmmakers and actors come from indie filmmaking, that is how we get experience, contacts and value,” she said. “The creativity there is richer in indie films, than in big budget movies. Commercial movies are made for one and only reason – to make money. That is why we haven’t seen an original movie in a very long time.”
She expresses hope that audiences will eventually tire of remakes and franchise films and crave more original stories, a sentiment that independent cinema endeavors to fulfill, which is how indie films thrive, and are essentially important in the spotlight.
With a diverse background that spans six countries and a recent surge of activity in the horror genre, including lead roles in upcoming films like “Drug Of Choice” and “Anya” (for which she won Best Supporting Actress at the New Jersey Film Awards), Kris Prihodova will continue to act in indie films onscreen. “Vlogcam” is her latest testament to that, proving that sometimes, the most terrifying stories are the ones that are retro, raw, and unnervingly real. The audience at Downtown Festival attending the premiere loved it, too.
“After Vlogcam finished and the credits started to roll, we heard the first cheers and applause. The applause during the credits usually dies out, but when the credits finished, people started to cheer again, showing us that they greatly enjoyed the movie,” she recalls.
