{"id":19053,"date":"2024-04-26T17:24:59","date_gmt":"2024-04-26T17:24:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mattshorroraddiction.com\/?p=19053"},"modified":"2024-04-26T17:25:01","modified_gmt":"2024-04-26T17:25:01","slug":"leaving-d-c-plus-an-interview-with-director-joshua-criss","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mattshorroraddiction.com\/?p=19053","title":{"rendered":"Leaving D.C., Plus an Interview with Director Joshua Criss"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full is-resized\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"800\" height=\"445\" src=\"https:\/\/mattshorroraddiction.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Leaving-DC-2012-3.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-19090\" style=\"width:238px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/mattshorroraddiction.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Leaving-DC-2012-3.jpeg 800w, https:\/\/mattshorroraddiction.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Leaving-DC-2012-3-300x167.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/mattshorroraddiction.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Leaving-DC-2012-3-768x427.jpeg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 706px) 89vw, (max-width: 767px) 82vw, 740px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p><strong><em>LEAVING D.C. <\/em><\/strong><em>(2012)<\/em> Desperate to leave city life behind him, Mark Klein (writer\/director Josh Criss) takes the plunge and moves from hectic Washington D.C. to serene Anole, West Virginia. Isolated country life agrees with Mark as he shares a semi-daily video diary with his friends to show off his seventeen acres of woodland\u2014but his quiet homestead is interrupted when he finds a totem of animal bones in the nearby woods. This is followed by visitations of someone (or something) banging on trees and even playing a flute in the dead of night. Mark finds the strange incidents fascinating\u2014until the noises increase in proximity, seemingly getting closer to his bedroom window. Criss wisely avoids the jump-scare cliches that have come with many found footage films in the wake of <em>Paranormal Activity<\/em> (2009) and instead places a lot of focus on Mark as a trustworthy character\u2014a smart move considering Mark is only one of two people in the entire movie. Much like <em>The<\/em> <em>Blair Witch Project<\/em>, <em>Leaving D.C.<\/em> remains grounded in reality and uses backstory, mystery, and a reliance on the viewer&#8217;s imagination to create an atmosphere of isolation and dread. A smart and suspenseful slow burn. <strong>B<\/strong>+ <em>(Currently available to rent on Prime.) <\/em>         <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Below is a link to a Zoom interview I had with filmmaker\/writer Joshua Criss in early 2021. He discusses his inspiration for <em>Leaving D.C.<\/em> and his love for truly unsettling horror films. Criss&#8217;s novel, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Moving-Soul-Joshua-Criss\/dp\/1517435196\"><em>The Moving Soul<\/em><\/a>, is currently available on Amazon. <\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe title=\"An Interview with Joshua Criss, Director of Leaving D.C.\" width=\"525\" height=\"295\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/mfSSOHj6Oss?start=26&#038;feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>     <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>LEAVING D.C. (2012) Desperate to leave city life behind him, Mark Klein (writer\/director Josh Criss) takes the plunge and moves from hectic Washington D.C. to serene Anole, West Virginia. Isolated country life agrees with Mark as he shares a semi-daily video diary with his friends to show off his seventeen acres of woodland\u2014but his quiet &hellip; <\/p>\n<p class=\"link-more\"><a href=\"https:\/\/mattshorroraddiction.com\/?p=19053\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;Leaving D.C., Plus an Interview with Director Joshua Criss&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7,6,19],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-19053","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-capsule-reviews","category-found-footage","category-interview"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Leaving D.C., Plus an Interview with Director Joshua Criss - Matt&#039;s Horror Addiction<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/mattshorroraddiction.com\/?p=19053\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Leaving D.C., Plus an Interview with Director Joshua Criss - Matt&#039;s Horror Addiction\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"LEAVING D.C. (2012) Desperate to leave city life behind him, Mark Klein (writer\/director Josh Criss) takes the plunge and moves from hectic Washington D.C. to serene Anole, West Virginia. Isolated country life agrees with Mark as he shares a semi-daily video diary with his friends to show off his seventeen acres of woodland\u2014but his quiet &hellip; Continue reading &quot;Leaving D.C., Plus an Interview with Director Joshua Criss&quot;\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/mattshorroraddiction.com\/?p=19053\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Matt&#039;s Horror Addiction\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-04-26T17:24:59+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-04-26T17:25:01+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/mattshorroraddiction.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Leaving-DC-2012-3.jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Matt\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@mattpdalton\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Matt\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mattshorroraddiction.com\\\/?p=19053#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mattshorroraddiction.com\\\/?p=19053\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Matt\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mattshorroraddiction.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/963374033c704317dd22b06dae0b054b\"},\"headline\":\"Leaving D.C., Plus an Interview with Director Joshua Criss\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-04-26T17:24:59+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-04-26T17:25:01+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mattshorroraddiction.com\\\/?p=19053\"},\"wordCount\":271,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mattshorroraddiction.com\\\/?p=19053#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mattshorroraddiction.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/04\\\/Leaving-DC-2012-3.jpeg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Capsule Reviews\",\"Found Footage\",\"Interview\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/mattshorroraddiction.com\\\/?p=19053#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mattshorroraddiction.com\\\/?p=19053\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mattshorroraddiction.com\\\/?p=19053\",\"name\":\"Leaving D.C., Plus an Interview with Director Joshua Criss - Matt's Horror Addiction\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mattshorroraddiction.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mattshorroraddiction.com\\\/?p=19053#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mattshorroraddiction.com\\\/?p=19053#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mattshorroraddiction.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/04\\\/Leaving-DC-2012-3.jpeg\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-04-26T17:24:59+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-04-26T17:25:01+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mattshorroraddiction.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/963374033c704317dd22b06dae0b054b\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mattshorroraddiction.com\\\/?p=19053#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/mattshorroraddiction.com\\\/?p=19053\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mattshorroraddiction.com\\\/?p=19053#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mattshorroraddiction.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/04\\\/Leaving-DC-2012-3.jpeg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mattshorroraddiction.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/04\\\/Leaving-DC-2012-3.jpeg\",\"width\":800,\"height\":445},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mattshorroraddiction.com\\\/?p=19053#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mattshorroraddiction.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Leaving D.C., Plus an Interview with Director Joshua Criss\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mattshorroraddiction.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mattshorroraddiction.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Matt's Horror Addiction\",\"description\":\"Horror movie reviews. Period. \",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mattshorroraddiction.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mattshorroraddiction.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/963374033c704317dd22b06dae0b054b\",\"name\":\"Matt\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/e727c1ac302c3d03fcad8363d85aa93b818710d799b0d6690592dc0ee8c99206?s=96&d=blank&r=r\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/e727c1ac302c3d03fcad8363d85aa93b818710d799b0d6690592dc0ee8c99206?s=96&d=blank&r=r\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/e727c1ac302c3d03fcad8363d85aa93b818710d799b0d6690592dc0ee8c99206?s=96&d=blank&r=r\",\"caption\":\"Matt\"},\"description\":\"I've been obsessed with horror movies since I was two years old and staring wide-eyed at all the hypnotic VHS covers at the local video store.\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/mattshorroraddiction.com\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.instagram.com\\\/matts_horror_addiction\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/mattpdalton\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.youtube.com\\\/channel\\\/UCcSu1TqdcQBoUeyKREgsh9A\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mattshorroraddiction.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Leaving D.C., Plus an Interview with Director Joshua Criss - Matt's Horror Addiction","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/mattshorroraddiction.com\/?p=19053","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Leaving D.C., Plus an Interview with Director Joshua Criss - Matt's Horror Addiction","og_description":"LEAVING D.C. (2012) Desperate to leave city life behind him, Mark Klein (writer\/director Josh Criss) takes the plunge and moves from hectic Washington D.C. to serene Anole, West Virginia. Isolated country life agrees with Mark as he shares a semi-daily video diary with his friends to show off his seventeen acres of woodland\u2014but his quiet &hellip; Continue reading \"Leaving D.C., Plus an Interview with Director Joshua Criss\"","og_url":"https:\/\/mattshorroraddiction.com\/?p=19053","og_site_name":"Matt's Horror Addiction","article_published_time":"2024-04-26T17:24:59+00:00","article_modified_time":"2024-04-26T17:25:01+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/mattshorroraddiction.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Leaving-DC-2012-3.jpeg","type":"","width":"","height":""}],"author":"Matt","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@mattpdalton","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Matt","Est. reading time":"1 minute"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/mattshorroraddiction.com\/?p=19053#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/mattshorroraddiction.com\/?p=19053"},"author":{"name":"Matt","@id":"https:\/\/mattshorroraddiction.com\/#\/schema\/person\/963374033c704317dd22b06dae0b054b"},"headline":"Leaving D.C., Plus an Interview with Director Joshua Criss","datePublished":"2024-04-26T17:24:59+00:00","dateModified":"2024-04-26T17:25:01+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/mattshorroraddiction.com\/?p=19053"},"wordCount":271,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/mattshorroraddiction.com\/?p=19053#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/mattshorroraddiction.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Leaving-DC-2012-3.jpeg","articleSection":["Capsule Reviews","Found Footage","Interview"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/mattshorroraddiction.com\/?p=19053#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/mattshorroraddiction.com\/?p=19053","url":"https:\/\/mattshorroraddiction.com\/?p=19053","name":"Leaving D.C., Plus an Interview with Director Joshua Criss - Matt's Horror Addiction","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/mattshorroraddiction.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/mattshorroraddiction.com\/?p=19053#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/mattshorroraddiction.com\/?p=19053#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/mattshorroraddiction.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Leaving-DC-2012-3.jpeg","datePublished":"2024-04-26T17:24:59+00:00","dateModified":"2024-04-26T17:25:01+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/mattshorroraddiction.com\/#\/schema\/person\/963374033c704317dd22b06dae0b054b"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/mattshorroraddiction.com\/?p=19053#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/mattshorroraddiction.com\/?p=19053"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/mattshorroraddiction.com\/?p=19053#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/mattshorroraddiction.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Leaving-DC-2012-3.jpeg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/mattshorroraddiction.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Leaving-DC-2012-3.jpeg","width":800,"height":445},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/mattshorroraddiction.com\/?p=19053#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/mattshorroraddiction.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Leaving D.C., Plus an Interview with Director Joshua Criss"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/mattshorroraddiction.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/mattshorroraddiction.com\/","name":"Matt's Horror Addiction","description":"Horror movie reviews. Period. ","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/mattshorroraddiction.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/mattshorroraddiction.com\/#\/schema\/person\/963374033c704317dd22b06dae0b054b","name":"Matt","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e727c1ac302c3d03fcad8363d85aa93b818710d799b0d6690592dc0ee8c99206?s=96&d=blank&r=r","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e727c1ac302c3d03fcad8363d85aa93b818710d799b0d6690592dc0ee8c99206?s=96&d=blank&r=r","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e727c1ac302c3d03fcad8363d85aa93b818710d799b0d6690592dc0ee8c99206?s=96&d=blank&r=r","caption":"Matt"},"description":"I've been obsessed with horror movies since I was two years old and staring wide-eyed at all the hypnotic VHS covers at the local video store.","sameAs":["https:\/\/mattshorroraddiction.com","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/matts_horror_addiction\/","https:\/\/x.com\/mattpdalton","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UCcSu1TqdcQBoUeyKREgsh9A"],"url":"https:\/\/mattshorroraddiction.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mattshorroraddiction.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19053","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mattshorroraddiction.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mattshorroraddiction.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mattshorroraddiction.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mattshorroraddiction.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=19053"}],"version-history":[{"count":32,"href":"https:\/\/mattshorroraddiction.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19053\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19493,"href":"https:\/\/mattshorroraddiction.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19053\/revisions\/19493"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mattshorroraddiction.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=19053"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mattshorroraddiction.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=19053"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mattshorroraddiction.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=19053"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}