There’s a damn good reason adults choose to laugh off a kid’s terrifying bedtime story instead of entertaining the idea that it’s real: total self-preservation.
In ‘The Witchening’, filmmaker MK Kopp turns that arrogant disbelief into a fatal, bloody mistake. Her hard-hitting, eight-minute folk horror short zeroes in on a babysitter whose casual brush-off locks her into a brutal, gory showdown with a vengeful witch.
For Kopp, whose obsession with dark cinema caught fire during pandemic lockdowns, the film grew out of a purely tactical question: what could her crew actually build with their bare hands?
That relentless, practical mindset birthed a short grounded in sickening handmade creature FX, zero-bullshit performances, and a shared hunger to craft something that genuinely unnerves you.
In this interview, MK Kopp breaks down the tactical collaboration behind her nightmare witch, locking down the right cast, and how this lean short serves as the breaching charge for a much larger feature.
- MK, thank you for sharing ‘The Witchening’ with us. What first drew you to filmmaking, and how did horror become such a significant part of your creative journey?
MK: I studied acting in college and first made movies with my friends after I graduated to ensure I could get time on screen. I started with comedies and a drama actually, but during Covid, my partner and I began watching horror movies. Slowly at first, like only during October, one every night, spooky vibes only, but then it just transitioned into not only being all we watched, but the kind of movies I wanted to make.
- What was the first creative idea that sparked this film? Was it an image or a character, and how did you proceed to build your story around that?
MK: I actually heard on a podcast how Christopher McQuarrie and Tom Cruise always meet with their stunt team to find out what they can accomplish before writing the script. I think they were specifically talking about that scene where Tom Cruise drives a motorcycle off a cliff. So I met with my practical effects artist and co-producer, and we kinda did the same thing. Just chatted about what we could realistically do and went backwards from there.
- Also, you have described the film as a “spooky bedtime story.” What did that description help you decide about the writing, pacing, and way the horror unfolds?
MK: I honestly just asked myself, “What if this story were true?” the entire time I was writing. But I guess, who’s to say it isn’t?
- From the bone crown to the creature design, the film carries a great deal of handmade detail. How did you work with the artists to give the witch a coherent identity and history through her appearance?
MK: During pre-production, there were several meetings and makeup tests with Malevolence and Bernadine where we discussed the extended lore for the witch and brainstormed what prosthetic pieces we needed to purchase versus what they could DIY on the shoot day. As for the bone crown, I handed Bernadine a box of bones that I’d sourced from owl pellets and creepy online stores and said “show me what you got.” And boy did she!
- What stage of making this film would you say was the most challenging for you, and how did you overcome that challenge?
MK: The only real challenge we had on this project was needing to delay our shoot days due to an ice storm that hit Tennessee. My co-producer and I miraculously managed to find dates that not only worked for everyone, but that still gave us post-production time to hit festival deadlines. And I used the extra time to prep my storyboards even more, so that was nice.
- You had worked with Kiarra and Hunter before. How did that existing trust influence your direction, particularly when asking them to keep their performances grounded amid the more extreme moments?
MK: I mean, it’s so important to know your actors’ natural strengths. Kiarra is particularly excellent in comedy, so I knew she could stay real in the over the top moments. She’s also the type of actor to do serious script work ahead of time, so when we’re on set, she can stand by all of her character’s choices. With Hunter, he’s so versed in the genre that I could reference specific moments in horror movies, and he’d be like “Yep, I know exactly what you’re going for” and then knock it out of the park with every take.
- Also, what convinced you that Penelope was right for Jeanie, and how did you help her find the character’s relationship with the frightening story she tells?
MK: Penelope’s audition tape really blew me away. I just couldn’t keep my eyes off of her. She has the most lines in the short, and since she has a theater background, I knew she could handle the memorisation. It also turns out that she’s a horror movie fan, so she has an inherent fascination with recounting scary stories.
- When the immediate shock of ‘The Witchening’ wears off, what do you hope stays with audiences, and what does this film suggest about where you want to take your work next?
MK: I hope if nothing else the image of the witch stays with people. We put a lot of effort into making her as creepy as possible, and I’m so proud of the work that was done in such a short amount of time with limited funds. And for my future, I want people to expect more from me in this genre. I feel like I have barely scratched the surface.
- I am sure anyone would agree that this film is a successful proof of concept. What else would you consider exploring with a feature-length version?
MK: Thank you! So the short itself is the inciting incident in the feature. Jeanie’s mom comes home, sees the aftermath, and has to piece together what happened. It’s ultimately a story about how far a mother will go to save her child. That’s all I’ll say for now.
- Lastly, what advice can you share with any aspiring filmmaker looking to cut their teeth in the horror genre?
MK: Find a good practical effects artist in your town, and treat them like the royalty they are.
Kopp’s deep respect for horror shines just as brightly in how she backs her crew as it does in her raw ambition for ‘The Witchening’.
From the FX artists piecing together the monster’s visceral look to the actors grounding the supernatural bloodshed, this project was forged by craftsmen whose specific talents she knows how to weaponise.
The planned feature expansion aims to take the short’s violent fallout and fuel a mother’s relentless war to rescue her child, giving this dark mythology real room to bite. For now, Kopp wants her witch to rent space inside the viewer’s head long after the screen goes dark and with more horror on her horizon, she’s gearing up to give you plenty of reasons to sleep with one eye open.
