Trent Haaga (born 1971) is an American actor, screenwriter, producer, and director. He is best known for his work on

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...

horror film Horror is a film genre that seeks to elicit physical or psychological fear in its viewers. Horror films often explore dark subject matter and may deal with Transgressive art, transgressive topics or themes. Broad elements of the genre include Mo ...

s, such as ''

Deadgirl ''Deadgirl'' is a 2008 American horror film written by Trent Haaga and directed by Marcel Sarmiento and Gadi Harel. It stars Shiloh Fernandez and Noah Segan as teenage boys who discover a naked female zombie, portrayed by Jenny Spain. When on ...

'' (2008), '' Cheap Thrills'' (2013), and '' 68 Kill'' (2017).

Career

Haaga came to the attention of the horror community after co-starring in the

Troma Troma Entertainment is an American independent film production and distribution company founded by Lloyd Kaufman and Michael Herz in 1974. They are the longest running independent film studio in the world. The company produces low-budget inde ...

film ''

Terror Firmer ''Terror Firmer'' is a 1998 American comedy horror film directed by Lloyd Kaufman, written by Douglas Buck, Patrick Cassidy, and Kaufman, and starring Will Keenan, Alyce LaTourelle, and Kaufman. The film was produced by the Troma Entertainmen ...

''.Interview with Haaga
for horror-asylum.com He went on to fill the role of

screenwriter A screenwriter (also called scriptwriter, scribe, or scenarist) is a person who practices the craft of writing for visual mass media, known as screenwriting. These can include short films, feature-length films, television programs, television ...

as well as

assistant director The role of an assistant director (AD) on a film includes tracking daily progress against the filming production schedule, arranging logistics, preparing daily call sheets, checking cast and crew, and maintaining order on the set. They also have ...

on the fourth film in the Toxic Avenger series, '' Citizen Toxie: The Toxic Avenger IV''. Due to also playing the leader of the Diaper Mafia in this film, he was forced to direct many scenes in the film while wearing a baby bonnet and an adult diaper. He relates many of these experiences as co-author of the book ''

Make Your Own Damn Movie! ''Make Your Own Damn Movie!'' is both a book and a DVD set about Troma Entertainment and independent film in general. Book ''Make Your Own Damn Movie!: Secrets of a Renegade Director'' is written by Lloyd Kaufman (with Adam Jahnke and Trent Ha ...

'' written with

Lloyd Kaufman Stanley Lloyd Kaufman Jr. (born December 30, 1945) is an American film director, screenwriter, producer and actor. Alongside producer Michael Herz, he is the co-founder of Troma Entertainment film studio, and the director of many of their featu ...

of Troma. He has worked in many aspects of filmmaking (writing, producing, acting) and enjoys them all. Haaga works in

independent film An independent film, independent movie, indie film, or indie movie is a feature film or short film that is film production, produced outside the Major film studios, major film studio system in addition to being produced and distributed by independ ...

and has stated that he likes the advances made in

digital cinematography Digital cinematography is the process of capturing (recording) a film, motion picture using digital image sensors rather than through film stock. As digital technology has improved in recent years, this practice has become dominant. Since the 200 ...

. Haaga has praised the speed of digital filmmaking. Haaga directorial debut ''Chop'', which stars Will Keenan, Tanishaa Mukherji and Billy Bakshi, was released in 2011. He wrote the script for the independent thriller alongside Adam Minarovich. The movie is a revenge thriller within the tradition of '' Fargo'' and '' Oldboy''. Haaga narrated the Indie thriller flick ''Fetch''. Haaga has also written for video games; he worked on the DLC for the survival horror game The Evil Within and was the lead writer on the game's sequel. The story for The Evil Within 2 was created by the Japanese developers and Haaga was tasked with fleshing out the characters in the game.

Filmography

Acting credits

Directing credits

* ''Deathcember'' (2019) * '' 68 Kill'' (2017) * '' Chop'' (2011)

Writing credits

*'' Citizen Toxie: The Toxic Avenger IV'' (2000) (writer) *''Hell Asylum'' (2002) (V) (writer) *''Feeding the Masses'' (2004) (V) (writer) *''

Damage Control In navies and the maritime industry, damage control is the emergency control of situations that may cause the sinking of a watercraft. Examples are: * rupture of a pipe or hull especially below the waterline and * damage from grounding (run ...

'' (2005) TV series (unknown episodes) *''Raving Maniacs'' (2005) (screenplay) *''

'' (2005) (book) *''

'' (2008) (writer) *''

Poor Things ''Poor Things: Episodes from the Early Life of Archibald McCandless M.D., Scottish Public Health Officer'' is a novel by Scottish writer Alasdair Gray, published in 1992. It won the Whitbread Award and the Guardian Fiction Prize the same yea ...

'' (2008) (screenplay) (story) *''Fetch'' (2009) *'' Cheap Thrills'' (2013) (writer) *Killing Mommy (2016) (writer) (TV Movie) *'' 68 Kill'' (2017) (screenplay) (director) *'' The Evil Within 2'' (2017) (video game) (writer) *It Came From the Desert (2017) (writer) *Girl on the Third Floor (2019) (writer) *Deathcember (writer) (2019) (segment "Operation Dolph)

Producer credits

*'' Killjoy 2: Deliverance from Evil'' (2002) (line producer) *''Dead & Rotting'' (2002) (producer) *''Hell Asylum'' (2002) (line producer) *''

The Ghouls ''The Ghouls'' (also known as ''Cannibal Dead: The Ghouls'') is a 2003 independent American horror film that was written and directed by Chad Ferrin. Plot Eric Hayes (Timothy Muskatell) makes his living as a news stringer finding gruesome atro ...

'' (2003) (associate producer) *'' Easter Bunny, Kill! Kill!'' (2006) (producer) *Chop (2011) (producter) *The Dead Reborn (2013) (producer)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Haaga, Trent 1971 births Living people American male film actors American male screenwriters 21st-century American male actors 21st-century American screenwriters Male actors from Los Angeles Film producers from California Film directors from Los Angeles Screenwriters from Los Angeles 21st-century American male writers