Brian Hanson is a veteran and filmmaker who’s features include The Black String and most recently, The Bunker, an ultra low budget alien invasion horror/thriller starring Chelsea Edmundson, Tobin Bell and the late great Tony Todd. Brian and I get into how he made The Bunker during the height of COVID, how to build a credible sci-fi world on an ultra-low budget and how his military service shaped his filmmaking discipline on today’s episode of The Nick Taylor Horror Show. Please give it up for Brian Hanson.

Key Takeaways

The obstacle is the way.

The Bunker was born out of the darkest stretch of COVID, when Brian and his collaborators genuinely did not know when normal filmmaking would return. Rather than wait for ideal conditions, they reverse-engineered a story around what was actually possible: one actor on set at a time, a mostly empty institutional building, and remote communication like Zoom. That limitation led directly to the movie’s video-call structure and the film’s unique isolated sci-fi logic. The practical lesson is clear: when resources are limited, stop fighting the limitation and embrace it by building the premise around it.

Showing less causes more impact.

Brian knew they could not afford to show elborately concieved aliens so the film leaned into more original and frankly fascinating aspects of an alien invasion like telepathy, psychological breakdown, and mind control. That choice did more than save money; it sharpened the horror. The aliens become frightening because they invade thought, memory, and perception rather than simply appearing as creatures in frame, which has been done thousands of time before. It is a strong reminder that limitation often pushes filmmakers toward more distinctive, and sometimes more powerful, storytelling.

Attention to detail is a creative skill, not just an administrative one.

Brian’s military background sharpened his appreciation for systems, hierarchy, file naming, logistics, and precision. He connects that directly to filmmaking, where one mislabeled file or one overlooked production detail can cause disaster across departments and. His point is especially useful for younger filmmakers who romanticize spontaneity: professionalism and precision are not the enemy of creativity. They are often what allow the creative vision to survive contact with reality.

Show Notes

Movies and Shows Mentioned

The Bunker
The Black String
Host
Arrival
Communion
Fire in the Sky
Independence Day
The Nightmare
Room 237
The Shining
2001: A Space Odyssey
Event Horizon
Color Out of Space
Re-Animator
From Beyond
The Mist
The Endless
Stranger Things
Stranger Things: The First Shadow
Final Destination
Oz
Juno
Night Visions

TV and Paranormal Media Mentioned

Sightings
The X-Files
Rescue 911
Discovery+ paranormal programming, including ghosts, Bigfoot, and aliens
Coast to Coast AM with Art Bell and George Noory

Books and Resources

H. P. Lovecraft’s fiction
Arthur Machen, cited as one of Lovecraft’s predecessors
The King in Yellow
Stephen King’s The Shining
Arthur C. Clarke’s 2001: A Space Odyssey novel

Follow Brian Hanson at:

IMBd: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm6969909/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hanson375
X (Twitter): https://x.com/hanson375
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brian-hanson-00689890/