proud purveyors of underground film since 1983

Home

Design

Filmmaking

Films

Ensemble

Erik Larson

I’m Erik Larson, and I guess you could say that I am the guy. After all, I am the guy who writes, directs, shoots, edits, fixes wigs, does makeup, picks costumes, makes posters and flyers... and is making this website. My fingerprints and my name are on everything on this site. Yep, you could say I am the guy.

 

I’m lucky. I come from Chicago, from a family of artists; my sister Linda is a fine artist, my brother Scott is a comic book artist, my dad was a wonderfully talented illustrator and painter. I have always been surrounded by art, I have always been encouraged to create. I seem to have a unique view of the world. I’ve always been inspired by colors and textures and shapes that I was surrounded with in my youth, everyday objects that were great little works of art unto themselves. They have presented a sort of idealized existence to me, an escape from dull reality. I guess it comes as no surprise then that I have found my professional life overlapping - I have worked in graphics for print and television for my entire adult life.

 

But that has enabled me to indulge my true passion. Since I was a kid, I longed to make films. Even before I had a camera, I would be planning, reading endless books, studying old movies long after I should have been fast asleep. When my Uncle Keith gave me my first Super-8 camera in the late 70s, I would enlist my friends and the neighborhood children and make stories. Superheroes, Oz adventures, and so on. I'm not saying they were necessarily good per se, but we made them as often as I could afford film and processing. And they were not only my education but also my escape.

 

When I got older and started working full time, I could afford a (slightly) better camera, I could afford more film and we set about making a string of wacky adventures, again with my friends. Nobody got paid. It was never for profit... it was all for fun. And what fun we had. We made a string of projects together that showcased our talents and my unique vision. I moved from Chicago to Los Angeles in the early 2000s, but the story continues.

 

So yes, I am the guy, the ringleader who makes the calls and rallies our band of renegade film family. But I do not do this alone. There are many people who have contributed their talents and passions into our collaborations. What I hope to share here is a glimpse into what we have created together over the past three decades, my friends and I. Again, I don't promise that the films are blockbuster award-winning masterpieces or anything, they have always been and have remained firmly in the underground. But these works are filled with heart and creativity, they represent the time in which they were created and are very meaningful to the people involved. I want to celebrate the people who created them with me.

 

We still get together to create things. I have reluctantly moved from Super-8 to HD video, but the spirit and candy-colored vision remain the same. I wouldn't want it any other way.

The Players

Back to Home

All content on this page ©2021 LarsErik Films. ©2021 Erik Larson. All Rights Reserved.