Ever been creeped out by the tall, menacing look of EVGR? Or the seemingly endless and impossible-to-navigate corridors on each of the staggeringly numerous floors? Or maybe the fluorescent illumination of each hallway which gives an eerie look to the paintings?
If you’ve ever felt this way, you’re not alone. “Second Nature,” a horror film produced and filmed on campus this past summer, centers around both this high-rise dorm and a mysterious painting that captures far more than just a landscape. The film, available to watch on YouTube, has amassed over 25,000 views and was featured at Stanford’s FLiCKS.
The project was brought to life by filmmaker Steven Songqi Pu ’24 M.S. ’25, who found his muse in the building’s unsettling architecture.
“When I went to EVGR, I was like, ‘Wait, this place is too scary for anyone not to make a horror movie in here,’” he said.
Videographer and filmmaker Cyprien Fasquelle ’24 M.S. ’25, who served as the film’s cinematographer, also recounted his own challenging experience living in the dorm.
“I actually hated it so much — being so far away and taking so long to get in and out — that I started going to therapy,” Fasquelle said. “In a dorm of 1,000 to 2,000 students, you barely run into anyone except at that first-floor elevator. There’s no rhythm to it, unlike other dorms where people are constantly moving in and out. It almost feels like a hospital.”
The film’s storyline revolves around a mysterious painting in EVGR. The artwork appears to have wet paint dripping down its canvas, luring unsuspecting characters into its depths. “When you touch it, you start to hear the sounds of nature within the painting,” Pu said. “As the paint spreads onto your body, the sounds grow louder, until you’re eventually consumed.”
Creating the painting itself was an elaborate process. “It was completed just the day before shooting,” said production designer Ivery Chen. “We also had to keep adding new figures to it on set as each character ‘disappeared’ into the painting. I’d quickly add a figure and step back so the scene could be shot.”
Andy, the protagonist (played by Andre Brilliant ’24), falls victim to the eerie phenomenon. The film follows his descent into madness as the invasive paint begins to take over his entire being, until he is eventually consumed.
Brilliant was previously featured on “Twin,” another film produced on campus. His involvement caught Pu’s eye, who had worked on a similar film named “Doppelganger.”
Brilliant himself was thrilled to take on the intense horror role. “I was out near Tresidder, and Steven asked me if I’d like to be involved with the project,” Brilliant said. “I said, of course!”
“Second Nature” being a student-produced and directed film was something that had a significant impact on the whole experience. Brilliant, who has experience in professional acting, reflected on the differences between student and professional films.
“Everyone’s so busy, so we had a very limited amount of time to do things,” Brilliant said, referring to the fact that Fasquelle, Pu and many others in the cast were participating in summer internships and other activities. “There’s a certain kind of magic that happens when people improvise with limited resources and make things work on the spot that is lost in professional studios.”
Beyond the thrill and improvisation of the project, “Second Nature” highlights a unique specialty among Stanford students, who often pursue creative passions alongside their STEM-focused studies. For Pu, a computer science student, these two seemingly opposite objectives actually reflected the same impulse.
“In my observation, I’d liken our passion during the creation of this film to how a mathematician or physicist writes an amazing research paper, or how a computer scientist creates an app,” Pu said. “It’s always this same feeling when people get into their flow state, which I think is incredible to witness.”
Brilliant shared a similar enthusiasm for the production and its fun nature. “It was a fantastic experience because everyone was so incredibly committed,” Brilliant said. “From the production team to my fellow actors, they were all such good sports and made it such a fun experience.”
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