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“VOLUME 1 is scheduled to come out in the spring, VOLUME 2 [which we previously reported on here] in the fall, and VOLUME 3 starts shooting this summer,” explains writer/co-director/co-producer Jeff Monahan (who also stars in VOLUME 2’s segment “WeT”). “Our distributor, Showcase Entertainment, really liked what they saw in VOLUME 1. Then when they got so much interest from territories all over the world so quickly, they said it was apparent we have a hot item on our hands. So instead of waiting, they wanted to move forward.”

Like its predecessor, the second collection of three shorts is being jointly produced by Monahan’s 72nd St. Films, Christine Romero’s Sanibel II Films, 555 Films and independent producer Marty Schiff. The stories include “Quota,” about monsters in a small town; the aforementioned “WeT,” in which a lonely man living in a cottage on the beach meets a mermaid; and “Valley of the Shadow,” telling the story of a woman searching for her missing husband in the Amazon jungle. For the first time, the joint production found itself far from their collective homes in southwestern Pennsylvania; while “Quota” was lensed in nearby Connellsville, the other two set up shop to Hunting Island, South Carolina (though the plan was originally to film in Hawaii!).

“One of our executive producers is there [in Hawaii],” Monahan tells Fango. “He really wanted to be able to be on set and still keep his normal life going. So for a while, we were going to go Hawaiian. In fact, I wrote ‘WeT’ and ‘Valley of the Shadow’ with that in mind. Then the costs of production there skyrocketed, and it became apparent that a lot of money would be spent on things that wouldn’t go on the screen. So we opted for Hunting Island for the more tropical stories. But we’re still talking Hawaii for a future volume.”

Moving so quickly into the second DEADTIME—with the first still fresh in their memories—provided its own unique challenges in addition to the brand new locales. “Not [finding] a new rhythm as much as a more solid way to play the old one,” Monahan explains. “Things just moved more smoothly. We not only knew more about what we were up to, but we knew more about each other, and could rely on that team-player thing. The biggest difference…I don’t know if I’d call it a challenge, but the playing field on this one was different because we were away from home, traveling, living in beach cottages and motels.

“The first story was actually done in my home town; I was two minutes from set to bed,” he continues. “But the others felt more like when I’ve worked away as an actor. And while I appreciate the convenience of a local shoot, I really like to get obsessive and immerse myself in experiences, and that whole ‘getting out of town’ thing really feeds that and allows you to be someone else for a while. Really, as far as challenges, it was just more of a logistical shuffle,” he continues. “Plane tickets, rental trucks, a trailer for the actors. But these are good things to have to deal with.

”George is executive producer [as well as] the series host,” Monahan adds. “We went to Toronto last week and shot his stuff. He’s been great.”

As on the first anthology, the directing duties are being shared: The PA-bound “Quota” was helmed by Matt Walsh, Michael Fischa took on “WeT” (with Monahan starring) and Monahan himself guided “Valley of the Shadow.” The wraparound segments with Romero were directed by Marty Schiff. The cast also includes a number of talented locals as well as EVILUTION’s Tim Colceri (first photo above) in “Quota,” BLACK CHRISTMAS’ Nick Mancuso (second photo) in “WeT,” MULBERRY STREET’s Antone Pagan (third photo with Amy Marsalis) in VALLEY and Schiff himself (fourth photo) in “Valley.”

While VOLUME ONE deals with zombies, aliens, ghosts and cannibals, this second installment—small-town creatures aside—focuses a bit more on the psychological aspects of horror (while still not skimping on the gore). It’s also more expansive in its scope. “We had more money to work with this time, and we believe we put it to very good use,” Monahan says. “Whereas the first volume was all shot in Pennsylvania, we had more freedom to go where the stories took us this time. So we have one small Midwestern town story, one at a beach house and one in the jungle. Our shooting schedule was still pretty tight on VOLUME 2, but it was better than it was on VOLUME 1, and we had a bit more time for things.

“The idea of creating a family with our team has come a long way as well,” he continues. “We were very, very fortunate on the first one to have solidified so many players then, and we got even more solid on the second. We had a lot of interns on VOLUME 1, and so it’s been gratifying to establish a policy whereby if someone does that once, they can come back as a paid employee next time. So it has really been about building that family that we hope to work with on as many DEADTIME STORIES as we can, and on all of 72nd St. Films’ projects in the future. [Since] Steve Tolin, our FX guy on VOLUME 1, was working on another movie when we were scheduled for production, we had to go with a new team who brought a whole ‘nother energy to the show. They came from Tom Savini’s school [at Douglas Education Center in Monessan, PA], and Tom, as you know, is quite the innovator.

“Again, it’s a matter of seeing what works best and tweaking it all in the right directions for future shows. One thing we strive for is different types of effects to be going on in every story. If things go according to plan, VOLUME 3 is going to be more extreme than ever. But what’s most important to me is the story. All the effects in the world don’t mean a thing if we don’t care about the people involved in a situation. Sure, there’s a certain amount of rollercoaster fun to be had, and I’m all for it, but my main interest is trying to get under the skin emotionally as well as literally. I remember seeing a Lanford Wilson play where there’s a gunshot offstage at the end, and I couldn’t sleep all night. Then there are movies where 97 people get blown up and I’m out making popcorn. So I guess my ideal situation is to satisfy both halves of that equation. We not only want to ‘get ya,’ we want to ‘get ya’ all over.”