Connect with us

Exclusives

[Sundance ’12]: ‘V/H/S’ Filmmaker Ti West On ‘The Innkeepers’ And Reinvigorating Found Footage!

Published

on

VHS

Ti West has been building himself up as a brand name the past few years by writing and directing (and editing) a series of horror films that pull you into their unique atmosphere and let you spend time with their characters before turning the scares up to full volume. House Of The Devil gained him a new loyal fan base and The Innkeepers (which hits theaters on February 3rd) is sure to expand it.

As one of the writers and directors of V/H/S – a found footage movie that reinvigorates the stagnant genre – he was able to challenge himself yet again by eschewing his more traditionally formal cinematic aesthetic.

In the film, “When a group of misfits is hired by an unknown third party to burglarize a desolate house and acquire a rare VHS tape, they discover more found footage than they bargained for.

Hit the jump to check out the interview! I really liked the The Innkeepers. I know some would call it a deliberately paced film –

“I believe the term you’re looking for is ‘slow burn’ (laughs).”

Yeah but I’m not using it as a pejorative.

“I agree. That’s the sort of buzz word people use to describe my work, I think it’s sort of a silly phrase but I can’t escape it. I looking forward to them calling my segment of V/H/S slow burn and I’m really looking forward to when they call my one minute and 45 second ABC’s Of Death entry slow burn. Then I’ll know I have truly peaked”.

And the idea for The Innkeepers came to you while you were working on your last feature?

“When we were making House Of The Devil we were staying at the Yankee Pedlar Inn because it was a cheap place to live. When we were making that movie, weirder stuff was happening at the hotel than was happening onset of House Of The Devil making a satanic movie. So it was all these goofy real life things happening to us. And then when it came time to make a ghost movie, it occurred to me that I had already lived one. So we called to hotel, they said “okay”, and we went back there to film. It was a really bizarre experience.”

The things that struck me about The Innkeepers were how assured it was visually and the performances you got out of Sara Paxton and Pat Healy. They’re people you don’t mind spending an hour and 45 minutes with.

“I know how to make movies and I know how to do minimum wage jobs. I can’t do anything in between. If I can’t make movies I’ll have to go get a busboy job or a retail job because I don’t have another trade. I have no middle. My whole life from 15-26 I had every crappy minimum job you could imagine, and I find that to be both depressing and really charming. So in terms of those characters, the fact that you have these people who are working in this hotel where there’s this big traditional ghost story is amusing to me. Because those kind of characters don’t typically belong in this kind of story. We wanted a charming vibe between the two characters that everyone could relate to and enjoy. And when they get in over their head, it has some emotional relevance.”

Yeah, I liked spending time with the characters.

“I know. People bring that up as a unique thing, but shouldn’t that be the goal of every movie? I think lately it has not been. And to my own fault, on my first film it was not my focus, I was focussed on my effect as a director and not thinking about the depth of the characters. But I think a lot of people are focussed on the ‘coolness’ factor and not the validity of the story or the characters. And that’s what I was trying to do.”

You avoid the common misstep of adding a lot of “cool” moments or lines that look good on a page when you’re writing in the moment, but actually destroy the character.

“People trying to establish something cool come up with so much contrived, derivative stuff. It gets in the way and which is a shame. I wanted to make a movie where, if you took out all of the horror elements, you would have just been watching this awkward romantic comedy and you would have been okay with it.”

You also act in You’re Next and Silver Bullets. Is that something you really want to do more of or does it come about because you’re a part of that community and helping out?

“It’s case by case specific. Silver Bullets was two years ago and came about because I was finishing House Of The Devil and Joe was in New York finishing a movie. Then his movie fell apart. I was having a hard time finishing House Of The Devil and was really stressed out because I’d come off Cabin Fever 2 and I was in a bad mood and trying to prove that it wasn’t my fault. I had gotten gypped of an opportunity and wanted to make sure House Of The Devil came out better. I was in a bad mood. Joe was in a bad mood. We were all sort of over it and ‘version b’ of Joe’s movie was Silver Bullets and we were all hanging out and just kind of did it. But then it took over two years to make that movie, a few days in Chicago, a few days in New York etc…”

You’re Next was a situation where Adam emailed me and asked me to play a small part. I told him I might be a bad actor and it might be a terrible idea. Then it kind of went away and then he emailed me back saying Joe, Amy, AJ… everyone I knew was in it. So I figured it was a small role and I’d give it a shot. But both of those came out of people sending me emails or inviting me to do it. It wasn’t something I pursued. But I like that kind of collaboration.”

How did you get involved with V/H/S?

“I knew it was happening because I knew Adam Wingard had shot the wraparound stuff with Calvin and Ken Tucker. They had done that before You’re Next. I was at Calvin’s house and that was the first I’d heard about it. Then I think I got an email from Roxanne.”

Are you a fan of found footage though?

“I’m not a huge found footage fan, or I should say the 8 billion derivative ones that have come out since Paranormal Activity, so I was kind of wondering how it would be different. I didn’t want to do it. But then I went on a road trip to the Grand Canyon and hung out in Arizona and thought of an idea [based on that trip]. So I sent them an email saying, “what about this?” And they liked it. And I had total creative freedom. So I got Joe Swanberg and Kate and Sophia who are three really good friends of mine and we went back to the pace where I had just been on a weird vacation. It was a weird, bizarro, personal way to make a movie. Which was appealing to me.”

V/H/S premieres at the Sundance Film Festival as part of their Midnight Programming On January 22nd.

Exclusives

Brazil’s Fantaspoa Film Festival Announces Second Wave of Titles for Epic 20th Edition This April

Published

on

Azrael SXSW 2024
Pictured: Samara Weaving in 'Azrael'

Brazil’s Fantaspoa film festival is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year, and the festival is breaking numerous records, presenting an impressive total of 114 feature films, 22 of these as World Premieres, marking the largest number of feature films in Fantaspoa’s long history.

The final selection of feature films for Fantaspoa’s highly-anticipated 20th edition has been exclusively presented to Bloody Disgusting, so read on for everything you need to know!

The festival tells us this week, “With a diverse selection, the feature films screening at Fantaspoa XX have been divided into seven distinct competitive categories: International, Ibero-American, National, Documentary, Animation, All-Nighter, and Low Budget, Great Films. These categories promise audiences a variety of cinematic experiences, from the fringes of horror and fantasy to the depths of the human imagination.

“In addition to feature films, Fantaspoa will screen 123 short films, totaling 237 participating works, making this edition of the festival the largest in its history.

“The stunning lineup of competition titles includes the International Premiere of E.L. Katz’s SXSW charmer AZRAEL and the World Premiere of The Butcher Brothers’ new Devon Sawa-starring thriller CONSUMED, and Fantaspoa is also proudly presenting a diverse selection of special screenings, including Demián Rugna’s recent Argentinian hit WHEN EVIL LURKS with the writer/director in attendance. The fest will also feature special screenings of two Argentine films, 2014’s JORGE & ALBERTO VERSUS THE NEOLIBERAL DEMONS, Fantaspoa’s first original production which is celebrating its tenth anniversary, and TRENQUE LAUGUEN, which was selected as the best film of 2023 by Cahiers du Cinéma.

“Fantaspoa XX will also have the honor of presenting a special screening of Robin Hardy’s classic British folk horror film THE WICKER MAN (1973) in the presence of the director’s sons, Justin and Dominic, who will be also attending the festival for the previously-announced World Premiere of their stunning new documentary, CHILDREN OF THE WICKER MAN, which offers a very unique perspective on the lasting legacy of this cinema masterpiece.

“Among the confirmed guests for the festival’s second wave of films are Alejo Rébora and Daniela Jimenez (7 Lives), Paulo Caldas (Atmosphere), Jaco Bouwer (Breathing In), Karim Lakzadeh and Arash Jooyandeh (Dark Matter), Ryan Ward and Mackenzie Leigh (Daughter of the Sun), Nando Martínez (Fantastic Golem Affairs), Mike McCutchen and JJ Weber (A Game in the Woods), Mario Mayo and Jaime Arnaiz (I’ll Crush Y’all), Roger Elarrat (I, Nirvana), Mike Hermosa (The Invisible Raptor)Gonzalo Quintana and Hernán Quintana (Jorge & Alberto Vs. The Neoliberal Demons), Benjamin Pfohl (Jupiter), Gabriel Papaléo (Liminal Space), Igor Bastos (Motherboard), Armando Fonseca (Remind), Julio Cesar Napoli (Road to the Mouth of Hell), Gonzalo López-Gallego (The Shadow of the Shark), Máncel Martínez (Shit Happens and Miracles too), Guto Parente (A Strange Path), Juliana Muras (Trenque Lauquen), Kenichi Ugana (Visitors – Complete Edition), and Demián Rugna (When Evil Lurks).

The 20th edition of Fantaspoa takes place between April 10 and 28, 2024, and is presented by the Ministry of Culture, Fantaspoa Productions, and Instituto Ling, with sponsorship from Crown Embalagens, America Embalagens, and Banrisul.”

Below is the full second wave of feature films to screen at Fantaspoa XX:

  • 7 LIVES (dir. Alejo Rébora. 2024, Argentina, World Premiere)
  • ALBERT PYUN: KING OF CULT MOVIES (dir. Lisa D’Apolito. 2023, United States, International Premiere)
  • ANNA’S FEELINGS (dir. Anna Melikyan. 2023, Russia, Latin American Premiere)
  • ANOTHER CURSED MOVIE (dirs. Alberto Andrés Fasce and Mario Gonzalo Varela. 2023, Argentina, Brazilian Premiere)
  • ATMOSPHERE (dir. Paulo Caldas. 2023, Brazil/Germany, Regional Premiere)
  • AVIVA (dir. Boaz Yakin. 2020, United States, France)
  • AZRAEL (dir. E.L. Katz. 2024, United States/Estonia, International Premiere)
  • BA (dir. Benjamin Wong. 2024, United States, International Premiere)
  • BABY ASSASSINS 2 BABIES (dir. Yugo Sakamoto. 2023, Japan, Latin American Premiere)
  • BEYOND THE INFINITE TWO MINUTES (dir. Junta Yamaguchi. 2021, Japan)
  • BREATHING IN (dir. Jaco Bouwer. 2023, South Africa, Latin American Premiere)
  • CLARICE’S DREAM (dirs. Fernando Gutierrez and Guto Bicalho. 2023, Brazil, Regional Premiere)
  • THE COMPLEX FORMS (dir. Fabio D’Orta. 2023, Italy, Latin American Premiere)
  • CONSUMED (dir. Mitchell Altieri. 2024, United States, World Premiere)
  • DARK MATTER (dir. Karim Lakzadeh. 2023, Iran, Latin American Premiere)
  • DAUGHTER OF THE SUN (dir. Ryan Ward. 2023, Canada, United States, Brazilian Premiere)
  • DEMIGOD: THE LEGEND BEGINS (dir. Chris Huang Wen-Chang. 2022, Taiwan, Latin American Premiere)
  • DIE NIBELUNGEN: KRIEMHILD’S REVENGE (dir. Fritz Lang. 1924, Germany)
  • DIE NIBELUNGEN: SIEGFRIED’S DEATH (dir. Fritz Lang. 1924, Germany)
  • EIGHT EYES (dir. Austin Jennings. 2023, United States/Serbia, Brazilian Premiere)
  • ENCOUNTERS (dir. Dmitry Moiseev. 2023, Russia, Latin American Premiere)
  • ENTER THE CLONES OF BRUCE (dir. David Gregory. 2023, United States, Latin American Premiere)
  • THE FANTASTIC GOLEM AFFAIRS (dirs. Juan González and Nando Martínez. 2023, Spain/Estonia, Latin American Premiere)
  • THE FUNERAL (dir. Orçun Behram. 2023, Turkey, Latin American Premiere)
  • A GAME IN THE WOODS (dir. Mike McCutchen. 2024, United States, World Premiere)
  • THE GLASS HOUSE (dir. Taras Dron. 2023, Ukraine/Cyprus/Romania/Germany, Latin American Premiere)
  • THE HANDS OF ORLAC (dir. Robert Wiene. 1924, Germany, Austria)
  • THE HYPERBORIAN (dir. Jesse Thomas Cook. 2023, Canada, Brazilian Premiere)
  • I’LL CRUSH Y’ALL (dir. Kike Narcea. 2023, Spain, Brazilian Premiere)
  • I, NIRVANA (dir. Roger Elarrat. 2024, Brazil, Regional Premiere)
  • THE INVISIBLE FIGHT (dir. Rainer Sarnet. 2023, Estonia/Greece/Finland/Latvia, Latin American Premiere)
  • THE INVISIBLE RAPTOR (dir. Mike Hermosa. 2023, United States, Latin American Premiere)
  • JORGE & ALBERTO VERSUS THE NEOLIBERAL DEMONS (dirs. Gonzalo Quintana and Hernán Quintana. 2014, Argentina/Brazil)
  • JUPITER (dir. Benjamin Pfohl. 2023, Germany, Latin American Premiere)
  • KIM’S VIDEO (dirs. Ashley Sabin and David Redmon. 2023, United States, Regional Premiere)
  • THE LAST SPARK OF HOPE (dir. Piotr Biedroń. 2023, Poland, Latin American Premiere)
  • LIMINAL SPACE (dir. Gabriel Papaléo. 2023, Brazil, Regional Premiere)
  • M (dir. Vardan Tozija. 2023, North Macedonia/Croatia/France/Kosovo/Luxembourg, Latin American Premiere)
  • THE MONSTER WITH MANY NOSES (dir. Abigail Schaaff. 2023, Spain/France, Latin American Premiere)
  • THE MOOR (dir. Chris Cronin. 2023, United Kingdom, Brazilian Premiere)
  • MOTHERBOARD (dir. Igor Bastos. 2023, Brazil, Regional Premiere)
  • THE MUTATION PROTOCOL (dir. Marcelo Leguiza. 2024, Argentina, World Premiere)
  • THE OTHER SHAPE (dir. Diego Felipe Guzmán. 2022, Brazil/Colombia, Regional Premiere)
  • PANDEMONIUM (dir. Quarxx. 2023, France, Brazilian Premiere)
  • REMIND (dir. Armando Fonseca. 2024, Brazil, World Premiere)
  • RESTLESS WATERS, SHIVERING LIGHTS (dir. Ángeles Hernández. 2023, Spain, International Premiere)
  • ROAD TO THE MOUTH OF HELL (dir. Julio Cesar Napoli. 2024, Brazil, World Premiere)
  • SATRANIC PANIC (dir. Alice Maio Mackay. 2023. Australia, Latin American Premiere)
  • THE SHADOW OF THE SHARK (dir. Gonzalo López-Gallego. 2024, Spain, Latin American Premiere)
  • SHIT HAPPENS AND MIRACLES TOO (Dir. Máncel Martínez. 2024, Colombia, World Premiere).
  • THE SLEEPING WOMAN (dir. Laura Alvea. 2024, Spain, Latin American Premiere)
  • A STRANGE PATH (dir. Guto Parente. 2023, Brazil, Regional Premiere)
  • THE TENANTS (dir. Eun-kyoung Yoon. 2023, South Korea, Latin American Premiere)
  • TRENQUE LAUQUEN (dir. Laura Citarella. 2023, Argentina, Germany)
  • VISITORS – COMPLETE EDITION (dir. Kenichi Ugana. 2023, Japan, Latin American Premiere)
  • THE WAIT (dir. F. Javier Gutierrez. 2023, Spain, Latin American Premiere)
  • WAKE (dirs. Thom Arizmendi and Austin Parks Stewart. 2024, United States, International Premiere)
  • THE WEIRD KIDZ (dir. Zach Passero. 2023, United States, Latin American Premiere)
  • WHEN EVIL LURKS (dir. Demian Rugna. 2023, Argentina)
  • THE WICKER MAN (dir. Robin Hardy. 1973, United Kingdom)

Head over to the official Fantaspoa website to learn more.

Devon Sawa in ‘Consumed’

Continue Reading