How utterly ironic that on the day I was all set to interview actor and producer Osric Chau about his latest project Superhost – a Horror film loosely exploring the dangers of our modern technology – that my iPhone telephone recording APP would utterly fail! (Curse you, modern technology!) Fortunately, it wasn’t a total loss as the two of us were eventually able to connect, though your faithful correspondent was forced to conduct the interview old-school style … with pen and paper!
Chau is certainly no stranger to the world of genre entertainment. Fans likely recognize him most from his time as the prophet ‘Kevin Tran’ aboard The CW’s long-running and popular Supernatural, a role that saw the character suffering a grim fate at the hands of the angel Gadreel. Though it’s always sad to see a fan-favorite player exit a show, Chau has nothing but fond memories and praise for his time aboard the Horror serial.
“I’m nothing but grateful for the time I spent on Supernatural,” he says. “I’m a Vancouver native – born and raised here – and Supernatural brought me back home so that I could stay instead of traveling around for work. It was a great opportunity. I love that show and its fans.”
Still, his time exploring things that go bump in the night isn’t his only experience with Science Fiction and Fantasy. A quick perusal of his IMDB.com profile proves his flexibility as a talent as he’s secured screen time in such projects as Roland Emmerich’s 2012 (2009), Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn, The 100, Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency, Demon X, DC’s Legends Of Tomorrow, Nancy Drew, and The Flash. And – as a creative person – Chau’s begun expanding his net worth by branching out with screenwriting, producing, directing, and more.
“I wrote and directed my first short film recently,” he confirms, “so I’m looking at opportunities to do more of that in the future. That, and I’ve opened a couple of restaurants!”
Indeed, expanding his creative portfolio is front-and-center with the young entrepreneur as 2021’s Superhost appears on IMDB.com to be his first foray into producing a full-length feature film. The film premiered at Miami’s Popcorn Frights Film Festival in 2021 before release for streaming in the U.S. via the Internet. As of today’s date, RottenTomatoes.com has the flick with an 87% Tomatometer rating (with critics) while dipping a bit to 57% with audiences. IMDB.com scores the film with a 5.7 on its 10.0 scale. (For the record: my review is embargoed until January 31st, but I’m excited to write about it already so watch our MainPage for coverage.)
Chau is certainly no stranger to the world of genre entertainment. Fans likely recognize him most from his time as the prophet ‘Kevin Tran’ aboard The CW’s long-running and popular Supernatural, a role that saw the character suffering a grim fate at the hands of the angel Gadreel. Though it’s always sad to see a fan-favorite player exit a show, Chau has nothing but fond memories and praise for his time aboard the Horror serial.
“I’m nothing but grateful for the time I spent on Supernatural,” he says. “I’m a Vancouver native – born and raised here – and Supernatural brought me back home so that I could stay instead of traveling around for work. It was a great opportunity. I love that show and its fans.”
Still, his time exploring things that go bump in the night isn’t his only experience with Science Fiction and Fantasy. A quick perusal of his IMDB.com profile proves his flexibility as a talent as he’s secured screen time in such projects as Roland Emmerich’s 2012 (2009), Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn, The 100, Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency, Demon X, DC’s Legends Of Tomorrow, Nancy Drew, and The Flash. And – as a creative person – Chau’s begun expanding his net worth by branching out with screenwriting, producing, directing, and more.
“I wrote and directed my first short film recently,” he confirms, “so I’m looking at opportunities to do more of that in the future. That, and I’ve opened a couple of restaurants!”
Indeed, expanding his creative portfolio is front-and-center with the young entrepreneur as 2021’s Superhost appears on IMDB.com to be his first foray into producing a full-length feature film. The film premiered at Miami’s Popcorn Frights Film Festival in 2021 before release for streaming in the U.S. via the Internet. As of today’s date, RottenTomatoes.com has the flick with an 87% Tomatometer rating (with critics) while dipping a bit to 57% with audiences. IMDB.com scores the film with a 5.7 on its 10.0 scale. (For the record: my review is embargoed until January 31st, but I’m excited to write about it already so watch our MainPage for coverage.)
“Superhost was a fun project that was perfect to produce during the COVID pandemic,” Chau explains. “I got involved with it very early on as Brandon Christensen (screenwriter and director) and I were rooming together at the time, and he had this great idea for a Horror film. I was able to talk about it with him and Kurtis David Harder (producer), and I even gave some writing suggestions and feedback. But it was Brandon who pulled it all together, and I’m glad it all worked out the way it did.”
For those unaware of the story, Superhost explores the tale of two social media influencers – Teddy (played by Chau) and Claire (Sara Canning). In their bid to recover from their web show’s sagging ratings, Teddy finally secures what he believes will be the dream destination for their airBnB vlog: this remote villa has finally become available, and he secures it for their stay, also secretly planning on using the opportunity to propose to the love of his life. As fate would have it, their host – Rebecca (Gracie Gillam) – has decidedly darker intentions behind inviting them to stay, and it just might prove to be their ultimate undoing.
When asked about the heavy weight social media influencers have on the modern world, Chau grows a bit reflective.
“I am not a social media personality,” he confesses. “There was a time when I did engage more, but I reached a point where I didn’t want that to dictate my life. As an artist, I’m always trying to find my ‘authentic self,’ and I just found that difficult when trying to balance time on social media. I don’t really gravitate toward sharing my life the way others do. I commend those who do it. There are many who do it and are great at it. It’s just not a skill set I possess.”
Superhost’s script definitely revolves around its central characters being tied closely to the age of Twitter, YouTube, and TikTok. Teddy and Claire’s relationship experiences some highs and (bloody) lows in the 90-minute feature as the story explores how both vloggers have invested their separate and shared identities in hit-and-click programming to the point of risking some financial collapse. Though some might find Christensen’s particular take a bit cynical, others will more likely see it as a cautionary tale about the dangers of taking unwarranted risks.
“Horror is a great genre to tell this story,” Chau expands as we talked about the enduring quality of films engineered to scare us silly. “Horror doesn’t rely on known commodities the way that all other genres do. That’s what makes it unique. And Superhost is a great ‘what if’ story. There’s the added benefit that all of this could be real. Is it found footage, or did all of this really happen? So there’s always an audience for Horror. It doesn’t have to be expensive, and it can be made on almost any budget. People will pay money to see that. That’s what makes Horror different than drama or comedy.”
Superhost (2021) is scheduled for home video retail on February 1st. The film is up for pre-order on Amazon.com and other retailers. It was produced by Superchill, and it is being distributed as a Shudder Original. Bluray.com reports that the Bluray will include some behind-the-scenes shorts, bloopers, and a few other surprises.
-- EZ
For those unaware of the story, Superhost explores the tale of two social media influencers – Teddy (played by Chau) and Claire (Sara Canning). In their bid to recover from their web show’s sagging ratings, Teddy finally secures what he believes will be the dream destination for their airBnB vlog: this remote villa has finally become available, and he secures it for their stay, also secretly planning on using the opportunity to propose to the love of his life. As fate would have it, their host – Rebecca (Gracie Gillam) – has decidedly darker intentions behind inviting them to stay, and it just might prove to be their ultimate undoing.
When asked about the heavy weight social media influencers have on the modern world, Chau grows a bit reflective.
“I am not a social media personality,” he confesses. “There was a time when I did engage more, but I reached a point where I didn’t want that to dictate my life. As an artist, I’m always trying to find my ‘authentic self,’ and I just found that difficult when trying to balance time on social media. I don’t really gravitate toward sharing my life the way others do. I commend those who do it. There are many who do it and are great at it. It’s just not a skill set I possess.”
Superhost’s script definitely revolves around its central characters being tied closely to the age of Twitter, YouTube, and TikTok. Teddy and Claire’s relationship experiences some highs and (bloody) lows in the 90-minute feature as the story explores how both vloggers have invested their separate and shared identities in hit-and-click programming to the point of risking some financial collapse. Though some might find Christensen’s particular take a bit cynical, others will more likely see it as a cautionary tale about the dangers of taking unwarranted risks.
“Horror is a great genre to tell this story,” Chau expands as we talked about the enduring quality of films engineered to scare us silly. “Horror doesn’t rely on known commodities the way that all other genres do. That’s what makes it unique. And Superhost is a great ‘what if’ story. There’s the added benefit that all of this could be real. Is it found footage, or did all of this really happen? So there’s always an audience for Horror. It doesn’t have to be expensive, and it can be made on almost any budget. People will pay money to see that. That’s what makes Horror different than drama or comedy.”
Superhost (2021) is scheduled for home video retail on February 1st. The film is up for pre-order on Amazon.com and other retailers. It was produced by Superchill, and it is being distributed as a Shudder Original. Bluray.com reports that the Bluray will include some behind-the-scenes shorts, bloopers, and a few other surprises.
-- EZ
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