Film: The Internet Remains Undefeated
Director: Robbie Gibbon
Writer: Robbie Gibbon
Starring: Adam Bernet, Amal Khalidi, Megan Rose McCarthy
In a new interview on Blazing Minds ahead of the Horror-On-Sea Takeover at the Southend Film Festival, I got a chance to ask Writer-Director Robbie Gibbon a few questions about his film ‘The Internet Remains Undefeated‘
You can watch The Internet Remains Undefeated at the Horror-On-Sea Takeover on Saturday, 6th June at 18:30hrs.
Q. Your film The Internet Remains Undefeated has been selected to play at the Horror-on-Sea Take Over Day at the Southend Film Festival. Can you tell us what we can expect from the film?
A. I’m very excited to share our lil’ slice of madness with the audience at the Southend Film Festival. The Internet Remains Undefeated (TIRU) is a comedic short horror film that takes a very silly internet trend and throws it into real-life, showing you exactly how terrifying it would be if you were confronted by a floating head dancer.
Q. What were your inspirations when writing the script?
A. I had stumbled across the internet trend where people danced on camera, and then in post did crude cut outs of themselves that slowly float across the screen. It was as baffling as it was oddly satisfying. I started to wonder what it would be like if you were to take a cliché horror stalker villain, think Michael Myers or It Follows (2014), and present this unstoppable monster as a TikTok dancer and here we are with TIRU.
Q. Did you have any of the cast in mind for the characters when writing the script?
A. Adam Bernet, who plays the dancer, is a director in his own right and during the lockdown, I edited one of his short films My Great Funeral Movie (2022). As we couldn’t meet in person, we edited remotely together. During the edit I had a small screen that I used for Zoom calls so as we edited, his face loomed over me. I had recently written a version of TIRU so once we wrapped his short, I sent him a script and hoped for the best. Megan Rose McCarthy, is a talented actor and improv comic who I knew from The Free Association. With her strong comedic sensibilities, I knew she could absolutely ace all aspects of the role. I had worked with Amal Khalidi many years prior as part of the Old Vic Community Company. Being such a warm presence and talented actor, I didn’t hesitate in reaching out to Amal as I knew she would be perfect for the role.
Q. What were some of your influences for the look and style of the film?
A. We really wanted to lock in the feeling of this being a callback to classic stalker horror movies. I was very lucky to meet Ash Connaughton as the Director of Photography for this short. He pushed me to bring all my visual references to the forefront & helped us achieve the perfect look for the film. Halloween (1978), Them (2006), It Follows, Happy Death Day (2017), I really wanted to bring a strong style that immediately placed the audience with the feeling that they were in Horror territory, so that we could then mess with this with our ridiculous floating faces.
Q. Did you make any changes from the original script during filming?
A. We shot TIRU over one night and a lot of the team were working together for the very first time. I was so proud of what we were able to pull off, relying on huge favours when it came to the team offering their time and kit for free. There were a few small moments that needed to be dropped due to time constraints but we managed to achieve all the major moments from the script. I loved how well the team worked together and would continuously throw in fantastic suggestions that got the most out of everything we had. This is a silly example, but our excellent Production Designer Joanna Shears was so incredibly resourceful that there was one moment she suspended a pillow on fishing wire so that we could cast floating head shadows that really sold some of the reverse shots.
Q. What were some of your favourite moments during filming?
A. I hope this doesn’t sound too saccharine but my favourite moments of any production are when the team is able to enter flow state. It is really important to me that when working on a production, everyone should feel comfortable enough that they can fully take ownership of their role and feel empowered to throw in suggestions where they can see it would benefit the shoot. A short film is always produced as a calling card so it is important that everyone contributing should be getting something out of it. I love when you wrap the shoot, everyone still ends up hanging around for a while after as they enjoyed the creative energy of the team. This and watching Adam dance a lot!
Q. Did you experience any issues during filming?
A. We made this for essentially no money. All the kit was kindly offered to us for very little. Everyone generously offered their time. This was all incredible, but we were also looking to achieve quite a lot with very limited time and resources. We had to drop a more complicated introduction shot for the Dancer. We were also shooting at my flat, so I was very keen to not piss off any neighbours. We also discovered that when trying to destroy our 1980’s Boom Box, they are built a lot stronger than my floor…
Q. What makes The Internet Remains Undefeated stand out as something different in the horror genre?
A. Several reviews have described it as a “bizarre and oddly hypnotic horror short” that “Tackles the surreal absurdity of modern content creation and internet culture, focusing on a nightmare scenario where memes and GIFs come to life” – Bloody Flicks.
It’s now down to your to come see the film to decide whether you feel the same.
Q. What do you hope people take away after watching the film?
A. I hope that TIRU works as both an unnerving and comedic horror short. We worked hard to ensure that the comedy does not come at the expense of the horror tone. We think that an audience ill be equally as creeped out as they are tickled.
Q. Do you have any other projects which you are currently working on?
A. I am lucky enough to make my living working as an Editor in Film and Television. In October, the
absolutely huge stop-motion animated feature Wildwood will be hitting screens and I had a blast playing a small part in the editorial production. I continue to produce work with my comedic partner in crime Jordan Murray at Pigwash Entertainment, where we produce shorts and viral content. I have had a few shorts playing the festival circuit including my musical comedy Never Give Up (2025) and my accidental murder farce Burgled (2024). I have written several more and am trying to get funding to do them justice. I have also written several features and am currently working on another right now which I’m very excited about. In a nutshell, I’m trying to get more of my own stuff made so if you like what I do and want to see more, please tell more people about what I do.
Q. If someone was looking to write and direct their own film what advice would you give them?
A. We live in a world where generally, no one believes you can do something until you prove them wrong and go ahead and do it. We also live in a world where we have never had more access to equipment to get making. This is equally a blessing and a curse as there is now so much made that it can be incredibly difficult to get people to care about what you just made.
As someone who is yet to receive funding for their own projects, I can fully emphasise with how crushing the rejections from film festivals, funding opportunities or low view counts can be. I tell myself this everyday but make sure you stop to appreciate the small victories. Hell, we’re screening at the Horror-on-Sea Take Over so I really appreciate that this team took the time to consider us and are now giving us the opportunity to screen to an unsuspecting audience.
I also really appreciate the relationships I have built along the way in this adventure to make more work. I’ve had some incredible experiences meeting some incredible people and if nothing else, I will continue to appreciate how lucky I am, getting to build warm memories doing silly things.
You can watch The Internet Remains Undefeated at the Horror-On-Sea Takeover on Saturday 6th June at 18:30hrs.
You can find out more about the festival and purchase tickets here.
Published in various websites, Philip is a reviewer who is best known for his interviews and media coverage of independent projects including; films, books, theatre and live events. Always on the lookout for something different to cover!