Director Dale Fabrigar wins second “Best Director” Award for horror feature “D-Railed.”
“I haven’t even had the time to sit with everything that’s happened,” remarks Dale Fabrigar, director of the feature film, D-Railed, a horror thriller currently on the film festival circuit, starring film icon Lance Henriksen. Dale just returned from the Crimson Horror Film Festival in Charleston, South Carolina, where D-Railed was nominated for 6 awards including Best Director, Best Director Feature Film, Best Actress, Best Produced Screenplay, Best Special Effects, and Best Cinematography.
“The other films that were nominated were fantastic. I honestly thought they were inspiring and so well done, I didn’t even think about winning the award,” Fabrigar recalls. “I was sitting there in the dark taking pictures of the movie screen, and when they called my name, I was in shock for a full 20 seconds.” Thankfully, Logan Coffey, the actor who plays the character of Eugene in the film, nudged him to get up and accept the award.
“You have to be prepared for anything — on set and otherwise,” Dale says humbly. “It was a learning moment for me. I was prepared to lose — I also should’ve been prepared to win.”
It is precisely his go-with-the-flow, prepare-for-the-worst-while-expecting-the-best attitude that helped Fabrigar helm the challenging set of D-Railed. Principal photography of the period suspense/horror piece took place over 12 days with a very large cast in 2 locations (Los Angeles and Philadelphia).
It was an ambitious effort having to work with multiple period elements, a real vintage train, a water-filled “wet” set physically angled at 25° and a practical creature suit. He also worked with child actor, Shae Smolik, who plays Abigail, which posed restricted filming hours for minors on an already demanding night shoot schedule. “Shae is a pro and so talented, that it all came together in the end,” Dale fondly notes.
Although Fabrigar was sincerely dumbfounded with his win in Savannah, he had already garnered Best Director for D-Railed at the Toronto Spring of Horror International Film Festival and the film has won 5 Platinum Awards at the International Independent Film Awards. It also just picked up 3 more wins at the Independent Horror Awards (Best Sound Design, Best Monster and Best Kill) as well as multiple nominations.
Next up, Fabrigar and a few cast members will be representing D-Railed at the Days of the Dead Horror convention, June 7–9, at the Plaza Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. Several of the film’s horror memorabilia will be displayed.
D-Railed will also screen at the Festigious Film Festival and will have a North American release on August 6 by UnCork’d Entertainment.
