Local artist Emil Novak on the debut of a locally made horror film anthology

Buffalo area residents may be surprised to learn that there is a passionate and persistent community of independent filmmakers following their dreams in our weather-beaten city. “In economically depressed towns like Buffalo, folks rely on escapism through art to stop the hurt in their hearts and pocket books, so they do creative things like make movies,” says Emil J. Novak, one of the principal creators of Something Dark, a feature-length film premiering this Saturday.

Emil Novak

Novak is known to many Buffalonians as the proprietor of Queen City Books, the Main Street comic book shop which celebrates its 40th anniversary next year. A family business, he took over in 1978, three years after his father’s death. Novak made short Super 8 films and created his own independent comic book, Tesla the Accumulator, before moving into the realm of digital video and forming Buffalo Nickel Productions. His first feature film, like his comic, is a fantastical biopic of Nikola Tesla, which will be completed early in 2009. His second film, the monster fantasy Banshee, lensed in Buffalo’s Central Terminal Station, is also in post-production.

“I’m drawn to the failed artist, or that troubled genius that loses in the end,” the filmmaker says of his fascination with Tesla, who discovered AC current and is known to some as the father of science fiction. You may have seen his statue on Goat Island, honoring his contributions to the Niagara Falls Power Station when it was built in 1895.

“Nikola Tesla was without a doubt the most important creator in the world and almost nobody knows who he really was,” Novak says. “Tesla was more interested in his art than his business sense, and sadly he was taken advantage of for being such a nice human being. I love the biography movie. Someday I hope to make a movie on the sad death of William S. McKinley.”

Novak’s films, which tend to celebrate the science fiction, fantasy, and horror genres, benefit from strong art direction reminiscent of the gothic Hammer films, ambitious for such low-budget fare. “When I began making movies, I decided if I couldn’t obtain the funding I wanted, I would at least have control of what I do best, and that’s my art. For me, art is everything, from illustrating to moviemaking, so why not give the audience the best visuals possible?”

Something Dark, like the 1970s anthologies Tales from the Crypt and The Vault of Horror, consists of four short tales linked by wraparound segments. Novak wrote, produced, and directed the framing sequence, “Mr. March,” and one of the shorts, “Bleeder.” He also collaborated on “Miracle Nectar” with Don Gallo. “Fast Forward” was directed by Jason Holler of Full Circle Studios, another local production entity, and “Perfect Candidate” was co-directed by Michael O’Hear and Michael Bohatch, who contributed many of the film’s digital effects.

“Anthology movies have always been a favorite of mine and so have the famous EC Comics from the 1950s, which are also anthology-based and my earliest influence in realistic comic art,” says Novak. “With Something Dark I wanted to do something lighter, with less blood and guts, more like what my favorite directors had done in the past, which is basically to be more suspenseful than shocking. And the workload would be easier, and so would expenses, if the responsibilities were shared.”

A loyal supporter of local artists and craftsmen, Novak is the current president of Buffalo Movie-Video Makers, an association which began in 1935. “I’d like everyone interested in moviemaking to know our group is the best support system for experienced and amateur movie makers. Networking with members happens all the time and the end result is—movies! We meet every second Sunday of the month, from seven to 10pm at the Screening Room.”

Something Dark premieres this Saturday, November 22, at the Screening Room, 3131 Sheridan Drive, in the Northtown Plaza. The horror-suspense anthology screens at 7pm and 9pm, with the second showing followed by the premiere of another local horror show, Resident Horror, produced by X-strike Studios. The website for Something Dark is http://www.myspace.com/somethingdarke. You can follow the progress of Novak’s other projects at www.buffalonickelproductions.com.