Indie filmmakers are a special breed.
What happens when a husband and wife and their two young daughters choose to ditch Hollywood and load everything into an RV to make movies entirely on their own terms? You get The Adams Family — no, not the ones that probably first comes to mind. Toby Poser, John Adams and their daughters Zelda and Lulu, have built one of the most fiercely independent filmmaking operations in the history of American cinema. Under their Wonder Wheel Productions banner, they literally handle every aspect of production themselves: writing, directing, acting, cinematography, editing, producing, costume design, practical special effects, drone operation, post-production and even original music. Much of the musical score uses music from their metal band, H6LLB6ND6R. If this doesn't fit under the idea of a Creative Asylum, I don't know what does.
Beginning with their 2012 road-trip debut movie, Rumblestrips — shot out of an RV on a 20,000-mile cross-country odyssey with two young kids in tow — Toby and John have built an extensive filmography, one that is deeply revered in the world of DIY horror. Their titles include The Deeper You Dig, Hellbender (Shudder), Where the Devil Roams (a perfect 100% on Rotten Tomatoes), Hell Hole, and their Fantasia Film Festival prize-winner, Mother of Flies, their most recent film at the time that this conversation was recorded.
In this episode, Toby and John talk about their life as a self-taught, self-financed, fully DIY filmmaking family — from the organic chemistry of co-directing with your spouse and children, to the discipline of wearing every crew hat on set, to the raw, personal stories (including real-life illness and loss) that drive their work. We go deep on their evolution from indie drama to supernatural horror, the punk ethos that runs through every frame they shoot, and how building their own creative ecosystem — outside Hollywood, outside the rules, deep in the woods of the Catskill Mountains — has earned them a devoted cult following that grows deeper with every new film. If you have a fondness for independent filmmaking, DIY horror, family collaboration, practical special effects, or just stories about creative people who have no interest in waiting for permission from the established industry — this one's for you.
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