LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA
by Dir. Ryan Patrick
Ever since watching Josh Fox's 2010 documentary Gasland, I've been fascinated by the controversial practice of fracking. The image of people lighting their tap water on fire due to methane contamination is one I could never shake—it seemed so sinister, almost supernatural in its implications.
Of course, nearly 15 years later, fracking remains an ever-relevant topic in our national discourse. We keep seeing studies linking fracking to increased earthquake activity, with Oklahoma experiencing a nearly 900-fold increase in earthquakes since 2008. Other studies suggest that infants born within 2 miles of fracking sites face a 25% higher risk of low birth weight. It’s wild stuff!
These realities, coupled with fracking's prominence in election-year debates, made it clear to me that this was a story that needed to be told through the lens of horror.
Deep Down Low was truly a labor of love, reuniting the team that created my previous short film, Gremlins: Recall. From Isaac Bauman’s (Loki, Servant, Channel Zero) cinematography to Eric Fox’s (Face Off, Sharknado) chilling creature design, every crew member poured their passion for the genre into this project. We spent two long overnights filming on the runway of a small airport in Riverside, CA, transforming it into our eerie fracking site.
I've always believed that a fracking site is ripe for horror—both real and imagined. The tangible dangers of earthquakes and contaminated water provide a foundation of unease.
But it's the question of what ancient, unknowable things we might be disturbing beneath the earth that’s truly scary.
Ryan Patrick, Director and Writer
With Deep Down Low, we aimed to explore both these aspects, crafting a tale that's as much a warning about our real-world environmental concerns as it is a descent into supernatural terror.
