Indie Spotlight: ‘Jessica Forever’ Is The Latest Vampire Bloodfest

We receive a ton of tips every day from independent creators, unaffiliated with any major motion picture studios, television networks, new media studios, or other well-funded online video entities. The Indie Spotlight is where we’ll write about and shout out to a select few of them and bring you up to speed on the great (and sometimes not-so-great) attention-grabbing series you probably haven’t heard about until now.  Read previous installments here.

At its onset, Jessica Forever doesn’t feel like a vampire series. Within its first few minutes, it is bloody, dark, and horrific, but not in a supernatural manner. It’s only after a couple episodes that the web series’ personal mythology comes into full view–and it’s a grisly one.

Jessica Forever is helmed by Westley Cornwell and Luis Garcia, and while it’s a vampire series through and through, its creators were inspired by a different type of supernatural series. “If I had to compare the tone of our show to anything else, it would be The Walking Dead because of the realistic approach to the material,” said Cornwell in a press release. “A big part of this story is about drug addiction and how it affects lives. In the process of making Jessica Forever

, we did a lot of research on the subject and it’s a big part of the story that counterbalances the fantastical elements”.

Cornwell and Garcia use strong cinematography to engage viewers even when actual plot details are still unrevealed. Well-composed shots keep the viewer interested and invite him to learn more about protagonist Jessica Huberman (Kate Horn) as she undergoes an initiation into a macabre vampire underworld.

Of course, that doesn’t mean there isn’t any blood. On the contrary, there are pints of it in each episode, carefully spaced as to not exhaust viewers. This restraint makes Jessica Forever accessible to a wide audience, albeit one that doesn’t mind seeing some crimson from time to time.

OTHER UNDER-THE-RADAR SERIES TO CHECK OUT:

• Talent Freaks. A Vimeo series where artists talk about their respective crafts while their beautiful works are captured on film.
• Shut Yo Mouth. An upcoming web series about a 1970s detective who is really bad at his job.
• Headshots and Breakdowns. This is the latest indie web series about an aspiring actor who is tested by the trials of the big city.
• Shambles. A British web series that continues the proud tradition of merging a traditional sitcom format with stand-up comedy.

Got a series you’d like to see featured in the Indie Spotlight? Be sure to contact us here. For best coverage, please include a full episode in your e-mail.