We’re speaking today with Timothy Chen, the filmmaker and co-writer behind The Decoding Game. This is an action-packed thriller that keeps us on the edge of our seats at all times. But it is also a film with a mystery at its heart. The film revolves around a contest in which players must unlock a code in order to win, but they’re also being pursued by a deranged and masked killer. Thank you for taking the time to answer some questions for us.
Chris McClure, UniversalCinema Magazine (UM): First off, can you tell us about the background to this film? Where did the idea come from?
Timothy Chen (TC): The background of this film is someone creates a game and he invites people to come to play and the last winner can get a lot of money. when the first start of the game people are still joking around until they found someone dead and there is a killer tried to kill players then they’d realize wasn’t just a game, if you want to survive you need to crack the password to open the gate and get out of this place. this part doesn’t show up in the short film but it’s the part of the story.
About how we wrote this script. we need to go back to 2018, my friend and I worked in AU and live together, One day we download a mobile game called identity V, which’s a horror game and that we were playing crazy about this game, and I thought why don’t we film this? this is a good type for short film and we like this thriller and horror material, so we started this project until now.
(UM): Would you be willing to let us know the rules of the game we’re watching?
(TC): So the rule is simple 16 players total and I need to crack 10 coding machines to get codes, but in the meantime, there is a serial killer try to kill everyone here. And looks like he has a split personality so things go more complicated.
(UM): The actual book of codes looks very interesting. Who made the book? What are all those drawings?
(TC): Well, the actual ball belongs to Johnson he is a journalist and one of the players that you can see the last guy in the short film. And after Jack killed him he took Johnson’s book and as you can see Jack is actually the detective, he is his another split personality, so that’s how he gets the book. And those pictures and clues are for the detective, he doesn’t even know Jack existed, until the end of the short film… Boom…
(UM): What is the machine they’re typing on?
(TC): It looks like a steampunk cross between a typewriter and a morse code machine.
Well, I’m a big fan of steampunk and cyberpunk, so I was thinking maybe we can decide the coding machine looks like a steampunk machine, but basically, this is more like a computer and you have to listen to the morse code sound and you can get the digital number. after you creak 10 different code machines, you will get 10 different numbers and that will be the final password for the emergency exit. but remember you have to finish it in 30 mins.
(UM): The setting – the gardens – seem to be a character of its own. Where was this filmed?
(TC): There are the two gardens actually and I’m not sure which one you talk about, the first Garden we shooting in Australia Melbourne and there’s a huge park next to our home and kinda spooky during the night, and another Garden shooting in Taiwan Taipei, that’s a museum garden with a pretty amazing little garden maze and it looked like the garden in Melbourne so that’s the final choices.
And before we choose these places we went to an abandoned theme park and old school, we literally meat something like a ghost situation, that’s how I believed because Jimmy, he is another producer, he can see something like spirits, anyways we went there he told me he felt extremely uncomfortable and feel dizzy and then he saw a shadow moving there and looks like broken tv noise but with the human body shape, sounds cool right? but that’s too dangerous so we can give up using that places and choose the one you saw in the show film
(UM): The masked killer seems not to be in control of his own actions a lot of the time. Can you give us any hints about his back story?
(TC): Ok, I try not to be spoiler, about the killer he has split personality. that’s why he seems like he’s out of control and in the end of this short film that you can see the serial killer is actually detective himself, because someone killed his wife so he split another personality, he wants to revenge. but the detective doesn’t know he has another personality and he lost his memory, after the investigation then he realized he was the killer.
(UM): Are the players willing participants or were they brought to the gameunder false pretenses?
(TC): Yes, everyone was willing to participants. Because when the beginning everyone thought it just a game and if you won the game you’ll get a lot of money, that’s why people came here. but it’s actually a trap, and these participants has some connection between detective his wife, so Jack which is detective his another split personality, he created the whole thing and invited everyone here that’s a part of his plan and then he started to do his revenge
(UM): Can you tell us about the production? Did it take a long time? Were there any surprises on set?
(TC): Well, it take really long time to make this short film, we started wrote the script on late 2018 and we separate to shooting short film one part is in Australia Melbourne, and another part is in Taiwan Taipei so it’s quite a long journey and we don’t have that much budget to make this it everyone is volunteer that actually surprise me the most.
And I remember another thing, that was the second day we shooting but that day is also my birthday my crew set an act to me and I wasn’t know at that moment, two of my friends they pretend they are arguing something then they started to fight each other, I was quite mad because we are working and already delayed what the fuck are you doing? And then other people shows up with the cake saying happy birthday, at that moment I was still quite mad actually, because you know we are delayed and we are not supposed to be celebrated at that moment but yea, now I feel that was a good memory and I’m still appreciated.
(UM): Is this meant to be a standalone film, or do you have plans to make it into a TV series or a longer film?
(TC): Yes, the entire project itself and more like a feature film project, but as you know we don’t have that much budget so we only do this short film and this is actually apart of the story. And actually right now we are writing the future film script, the story is basic after “The Decoding Game”, it would be different character but basically it’s a same story line and we hope we can finish this script soon then maybe someone will had interesting to support and sponsor this project, that we can make this movie.
So if you have any question will leave comments below, if you wanted to watch “The Decoding Game” that you can check on our YouTube channel and make sure subscribe, Bye.
© 2021. UniversalCinema Mag.