Directors Joseph Kolean and Zach Gutierrez, also known as PERRY HOME VIDEO, had two screenings of their debut feature, “Soft Liquid Center” at the Denver Film Festival (DFF). The screenings took place on Nov. 10-11 at the SIE Film Center, with post-screening Q&As afterward. Both screenings were sold out with positive audience reactions. 

The film was written by Kolean and Gutierrez along with Steph Holmbo. Holmbo also plays the main role of Steph in the movie. Roberto Garza composed the film score.

“Soft Liquid Center” is a psychological horror film. It follows Steph, who has moved into a new house after leaving her ex-boyfriend. She soon realizes that her house is filled with indescribable horrors, driving her to a paranoid and frenzied state. 

“Soft Liquid Center” was a part of the Colorado Spotlight at DFF this year. The Colorado Spotlight honors and highlights Colorado-based filmmakers in their journey to create. 

Sitting down with Kolean, Gutierrez, Holmbo and Garza, they discussed the three-year process it took to make the debut feature, working on a micro-budget and the story of “Soft Liquid Center.”

The idea for “Soft Liquid Center” came from “a culmination of personal experiences and experiences people I know went through with situations where people are not believed,” said Holmbo. “We started the script in 2019. It felt like the right time.” 

“Soft Liquid Center” carries a theme of navigating life in abusive relationships and unbalanced power dynamics. These situations can make people feel so helpless and hopeless. The feeling of losing yourself when not being believed about these situations is channeled through the grief and stress Steph is put through in this house of horrors. 

Sound, and lack thereof, is an important aspect of “Soft Liquid Center.” The score is ominous, building tension with dark synthwave-inspired tracks. There is a heavy emphasis on diegetic sounds such as television noise, water and telephones ringing. 

Garza wanted to have songs build off of one another like a staircase. He found himself noticing “[that] some of the songs had the same beginnings but different endings from other songs to work with the scenes,” explained Garza.

Another fascinating aspect of the score is that Garza used unconventional methods to work with the genre of the film. He found household objects around his studio to create music. “I dragged a chair across a floor for one of the tracks,” he said.

The filmmaking process faced some challenges as the script was started in 2019 but the film didn’t premiere until 2023. “I thought it was going to take six months to make,” Kolean recalled. Gutierrez remembered he thought it would only take about a month to make. Unfortunately, filming for the movie went on pause in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Shooting was up and running once again around six months after the pandemic started. The crew behind the film worked on a $6k micro-budget, while working full-time jobs. They didn’t venture out of Colorado to shoot for the film at all. “The film was shot in our [Holmbo & Kolean] house,” Holmbo stated on the location of filming. “At one point, we stuck red gels on all the windows for two days for a shoot. I had to go outside to gulp down fresh air.” 

When asked about what the audience takeaway from “Soft Liquid Center” should be, Holmbo, Kolean, Gutierrez and Garza shared various answers. 

Kolean and Holmbo had a similar takeaway; they hope people realize that they are able to create anything they put their minds to despite the challenges and potential obstacles. 

Gutierrez went a slightly different route with his answer: “I want people to understand the message we are getting across…the story. I want them to feel what the movie is saying.” 

“Soft Liquid Center” is a powerful directorial debut. It does not have the feeling of a first feature-length film. It is able to evoke anxiety and unease in their audiences and tell a compelling story while balancing style and substance. Holmbo delivers a gut-wrenching and aching performance as Steph. 

“Soft Liquid Center” announced a distribution deal with their producer, Karl Kister, at the Nov. 11 screening. The film will be available for purchase on Apple and Amazon Prime Video on Dec. 12, 2023.