Hayden Geiger wants to make you squirm. The 2011 Hillbrook graduate is studying film at the Tisch School of the Arts and the business of entertainment at the Stern School of Business at New York University with the goal of making horror films. Hayden is passionate about her path and boldly working her way into a creepy genre of the entertainment industry where making audiences scream and shiver can mean big bucks at the box office. Hayden’s fearless pursuit is even more impressive when you consider Hayden Geiger was once afraid of the dark.
As Hayden describes it, she was afraid to fall asleep as a girl because she was “creeped out” by the thought that world carried on while she was unconscious. She insisted her parents check in on her during the night and record their visits on a whiteboard by her bed. But somewhere along the way, Hayden’s fear turned to fascination. Instead of turning away from what frightened her, she began to embrace it. Hayden says, “I decided to dive in and I found I liked being scared at the movies. I discovered that fear is fascinating because it is so universal and yet also so personal”. She decided she wanted to be more than a consumer of horror films, she wanted to make them, too.
“More than zombies or ghosts,” says Hayden, “I like realistic horror films, the kind where the evil is human because I think it gets to people more because there’s no disputing that it can happen”
Now a junior at Tisch, Hayden is on track to graduate a semester early from NYU at the end of the 2018 fall term. She hopes to land a job in New York or Los Angeles and appears to be well on her way. In addition to her studies, Hayden has been getting real-world experience through a series of internships. She’s currently interning for the Producer’s Guild of America in New York, where she has been asked to write and present an introduction at the industry screening for the new Strangers: Prey at Night film. She spent a summer interning for Blumhouse Productions, the company behind such creepy hits as Get Out, Sinister, Insidious, and Paranormal Activity., She also interned at NorthSouth Productions, Screen Media, and Guerilla Wanderers Films in the Bay Area. In addition, Hayden spent a semester studying abroad in Germany last year.
This industrious spirit was evident in Hayden even at Hillbrook. Hayden played sports, was busy in student council, a top-notch student and also yearbook editor her 8th grade year. And though she loves dark films, Hayden is anything but creepy. She says Hillbrook’s motto of “Take Risks” encouraged her to be brave, not only embracing the monster in the closet, but being gutsy about her ambitions, “Hillbrook gave me such a solid foundation academically and emotionally. I left there believing I could do anything. As a woman in the film industry, I need to be fierce and willing to take risks.”
Hayden’s former teachers fondly remember her intelligence, quick wit, and engaging personality. For a few years she had a recurring Talent Show comedy act, “Hayden the Hilarious” and as a little girl, she greeted nearly everyone at school with a hug. “Humor has always been key to Hayden’s great personality”, says former teacher, Greg Stamos. “Hayden never takes herself too seriously. As yearbook editor, she led with a kind heart and respect for her peers. Hayden is an original and unabashedly 100% herself always.”
Hayden’s dream is to head her own horror production company, and she’s willing to put in the work to make it happen. By embracing the dark and facing her fears, Hayden found her future. Now, she looks forward to the day when a Hayden Geiger horror film keeps people up at night.
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