From generating buzz for its trailer online to purchasing tickets for complete strangers, a dedicated group of horror fans is committed to supporting Michael Leavy ‘s “ Stream ,” now playing in theaters.

While genre enthusiasts have been steadfast supporters of Leavy since his appearance in “Terrifier,” their dedication was more crucial than ever for his latest independent horror film. After rescuing the production from potential collapse due to COVID, Leavy acknowledged their efforts by granting them producer credits as a token of gratitude.

“COVID hit us right in the middle of production and we had used all of our funds for PPE and the HEPA filters,” Leavy explained. “So we ended up saying, ‘Let’s bring this to the horror community.’ And we offered producer credits and things like that for anybody who wanted to get involved.”

“Stream” centers on a family of four who embark on a vacation to mend their fractured relationships. However, after settling into their hotel, they soon realize they are trapped and become unwilling participants in a terrifying game of cat and mouse broadcast to the world.

Prior to the release of “Stream” on Aug. 21, Leavy sat down with Variety to discuss independent filmmaking, his passion for gore, and how he assembled a formidable team of horror enthusiasts.

Where did your love of gory, transgressive horror come from?

It's funny - that started for me later in life. Growing up, I was a big horror fan, but it was more the classic stuff like “Halloween.” I like fun movies. I'm a big comedy fan too. But it wasn't until I met Damien Leone , director of “Terrifier,” when I was in my mid-20s, that I was exposed to this more graphic, gory subgenre. Working with him and being a part of “Terrifier,” I really came to appreciate it, and I saw how much fun it can be. Because it's gory, it's crazy, it's absurd, but really, it's fantasy. It's not like the Dahmer stuff where you feel like you need to take a shower afterward. You can have fun with it, and I got to see how our fans had a blast with the kills. So it was later in life that I really developed an appreciation for this kind of horror.

The trailer got tons of buzz, especially for an indie production. What was your reaction to the attention? Why do you think the response was so strong?

It was surreal. You never know if something will catch on. As horror fans and cinema enthusiasts, we want to put stuff on screen that we enjoy, that we want to see. We're always true to that, and I think if you're honest with your filmmaking, people will connect with it. So when we started seeing this thing take off, it was very reminiscent of what happened with “Terrifier.” And our “Terrifier” fans are incredible. There's this whole movement going on online, where our fans are buying tickets for people who can't afford to see “Stream” in theaters. For strangers . It just shows how powerful, strong, and passionate our fanbase is. But it also shows that there's a demand for creative, new, fun, entertaining movies, something they feel the studios aren't giving them right now.

How did you come up with the story for “Stream?”

My brother and I wanted to do a slasher, and I kept saying, “I want to modernize the slasher genre.” You'll see the classic vibes. It's got an ’80s feel, it's got a ’90s feel - but it also deals with technology, which is something new. We kept asking ourselves, “What worked in those horror films we love?” For “Jaws,” it was a day at the beach, turned on its head. You take safe spaces and make them dangerous. “Halloween” was about the neighborhood. With “Nightmare on Elm Street”, it was dreams and the sleeping cycle. “Friday the 13th” was the camp. So we said, “What's something everyone has a connection to, something everyone uses?” And that's technology. Their phones, their computers, the internet. So that's where the idea came from, but we wanted to make it a true slasher at its core, not reliant on technology. There are movies where everything's shot with a phone, found footage style. We didn't want to do that. We wanted to create a classic film, where you still get that nostalgic feeling like you're watching a movie from the ’80s, but with more modern themes.

You brought together an all-star crew of horror filmmakers for “Stream,” reuniting with Damien Leone and David Howard Thornton and recruiting Jeffery Combs and Danielle Harris for the cast. How did this team come together?

Fans are calling it the Avengers of horror, or the Expendables of horror. We never set out to do that. Our goal was to find the best actors for the roles. There were a few we had our eye on, obviously, being horror fans. Jeffrey Combs is unbelievable. I'm biased, of course, but I think this is one of his top three performances. And, of course, Danielle Harris. It was pretty amazing how it all came together. We ended up with this really incredible horror cast. The fanboy in me was delighted. And we even got Tim Reed from “Sister, Sister” and “WKRP in Cincinnati.” He doesn't do horror. He's only done one horror film in his entire career, Stephen King's “It” in the 1990s, when he was a big TV star. But he read the script, and he really liked it. He said, “There's some heart to this story. There's some character development you don't usually see in slashers. I'm in.” And that's how we got him. The story convinced a lot of people to jump on board.

You’ve directed, written and starred in several indie horror features. How do you balance out the fun, schlocky, camp moments with the horror so that the film is still taken seriously?

You need people you can trust, people you can lean on for advice, and you have to know when to listen and when to trust your gut. Coming from a background where I love horror and comedy, I always try to inject a bit of humor into our films. But I have a rule: the characters have to take themselves seriously, or the scares and the comedy won't work. If they're self-aware of their situation, it can get nauseating, it becomes too silly. If that's what you're going for, great. But it's not my style. I like my films to be a roller coaster ride. I like to make people laugh, I want them to be scared, I want them to jump out of their seats. I want them to cheer, I want them to boo. I want them to feel excited, invigorated. I want action, good dialogue, and romance.

How d id you come up with the kills for “Stream ?”

You try to do things that you haven’t seen before, or at least try to do them in a slightly different way. Also having Damien Leone in your corner, you can bounce things off him. He has a twisted mind and he’s a lot of fun to talk with. Damien always did this with “Terrifier”: researching medieval torture or serial killers. You got to put yourself in a strange place, for sure, but then you got to pull back and say, “Okay, how can we do this in a tasteful way?” Even though it is gory, we do try to do things tastefully, if that makes sense. There’s still respect for it in a certain way. You don’t go too far.

So once you have the kills planned out, what is it like actually executing them on set?

That’s where you start getting the real pros like Damien and Phil and Steve Della Salla with the camera. It’s everything in unison. It’s the lighting, it’s the camera, it’s the effects, it’s the body parts, it’s the pieces. It’s really an art form. No one understands how difficult it is to pull off stuff like that. So there’s that process, and then you start seeing it come together and you start getting excited because you’re like, “Wow, this is working.” Then the editing room is another process too. Should it be faster? Should it be slower? But the best part of it all, I have to tell you, is when the audience reacts to it. If they get a reaction like you want, that’s the most satisfying thing right there. And you can say, “Wow, we did it.”

In what ways does the indie horror scene differ from the mainstream movie industry?

It's a world apart from big-budget studio films. You have to get your hands dirty, connect directly with the audience. It's all about grassroots efforts. We love being out there, engaging with our fans. It's inspiring, it pushes us to keep evolving, to keep raising the bar. You have to do that because you don't have the luxury of a huge marketing budget to reach a mass audience. The only way to do it is to forge real connections, sit down and talk with them. They're just as passionate about this as we are. I think the studios don't get that. They just see dollar signs, they see numbers. We're incredibly accessible to our fanbase. We listen to them, and we try to incorporate their input into our work.