With last year’s Raw Feed release Sublime, Director Tony Kranz and writher Erik Jendresen delivered an intense psychological thriller exploiting most people logical fear of hospitals to extreme circumstance. With their latest collaboration Otis arriving on DVD this June, the pair has upped the ante, delivering an acerbic horror film that’s as vicious in its satire as it is with its violence. On the morning after the films midnight premiere on the opening night of the SXSW film festival, Bloody-Disgusting had a chance to chat with the pair about what audiences can expect from this twisted torture film.

Bloody-Disgusting: Compared to other Raw Feed films, this seems bigger than the other films. Why is that?

Tony Krantz: The budget for the movie for not much bigger than the one for Sublime. I don't want to say what it was but it was small. The budget for Otis is small-plus. I also think we've just gotten better. Sublime was the first movie me and Erik did together, the first thing I had ever directed. I think we produced this better and had a better production scope and people. We also had more famous actors in this, which was the function of what kind of movie it was. People respected Sublime so they were more willing to come on board with this one. As you make more films and they become respected, it'll be easier for Erik and I to get actors and talent involved.

Erik Jendresen: The other thing, on our part of Raw Feed, was to do anything but take advantage of this opportunity from Warner Brothers. Here's a budget, here's how many days you have to shoot to do what we wanted to. It was always our intention to do something different and twist the genre a little bit. Do something fresh. And also, to elevate this notion that DTV means its a piece of shit because it didn't get a theatrical release. The whole idea of this thing came from an agent, who thought DTV was such a huge market. You don't have to equate the medium with the quality. We always had the intention to do things that were a little bit different and subversive but Sublime really was blatantly everything there was. The stakes are much bigger on a theatrical in every way and here, the stakes are a lot lower. Here, we're flying under the radar and the financial risks are a lot lower. From the Warner Home Video side, they look at our credits and say, “These guys seem to know something. Let's give them a shot.” They're also on the home video side, they're not in the development business, so they don't get into the details of what you're doing, which I think is fantastic. We have freedom. I think if other studios emulated the way Warner deals with us, they'd get better, more original work. I think that's why so much of the stuff in the entertainment business is so homogenized. It gets developed into meatloaf. With us, we developed it into whatever we though was interesting.

BD: How did that development happen? You said it started as horror and then the comedy became ingrained, more and more.

EJ: Horror is a broad term. What's horrifying about this story is that it could be funny. That's what’s horrifying. The genre is so broad, there are so many sub genres and this whole new wave of gorno films, which I'm not a fan of. I think it’s fascinating to see the phenomenon. We won't go watch a movie about Iraq but we'll watch something where someone gets their eyes ripped out by some crazed killers. We flock to this stuff and I find it fascinating.

We wanted to, from day one, look at this story and develop stuff that was reflective and socially relevant and just have fun with it. And the other thing that has to be said about this opportunity with Raw Feed is that it really is kind of genius. Tony and I work together like a playwright and director work. From the inception of the project on, there’s a triumvirate on the set. The guy who writes it, the guy who’s in charge of the whole thing and the guy whose shooting the picture, the DP. What that creates on set, in those 15 to 18 days days, is such a sense of security. The actors feel secure, that their movie is taken care of. That's when they take chances and you get a good performance. I think it also must be said that the practicality of this kind of filmmaking is attractive to creative people in this business. Real A-list talent. I don't know a writer up in Sundance, who wouldn't jump at the chance to make a genre film in 18 days, write it and make the film. It was six months ago, yesterday, that we started production. It’s so true, for directors, for writers, for actors to want to have immediate gratification. Let's go do something, we have a barn and musical instruments. Let's put on a show.

BD: The casting on the movie is key, because you're treading such a fine line between the reality and the super reality. How exited were you about the casting in this film?

TK: There were two levels of casting: name actors and actors who came in for auditions. The younger actors were the ones who came in. Boston Christopher came in, we thought he was the type and perfect. But, it’s a really challenging role. You have to fear him, have sympathy for and like him at the end of it it's a complicated role. He went through a lot of casting sessions, to convince us he was right for the center of the movie. Ashley and Jared also came through the casting calls. Before Danny [Stern] and Illeana [Douglas] and Jere [Burns], we put together lists of actors.

In the case of Danny and Illeana, which was like a dream, they came in and met with me and liked what I had to say. Erik had a personal relationship with Kevin Pollack and I didn't even dream that Kevin would do it. Erik called him up and got him to do the movie, through their friendship and respect for Erik's writing. Jere is someone I knew through television; I think he's hilarious. I think in many ways, he's an under sung and under appreciated actor. I think everyone of these guys steal the scene their in. Boston's performance at the end of the day, as Otis, is great.

BD: B-D: The character of Otis, to me, it was like part and parcel with Vincent D'Onofrio's character from Full Metal Jacket. He played that same kind of psychotic intensity but in reality he’s ultimately tragic.

TK: I think there's a physicality that’s reminiscent [to D’Onofrio] but I think the performance is wholly unique. He's sort of lumbering, semi-retarded sort of serial killer. He's a serial killer pedophile and he's the guy you love to hate.

BD: B-D: I think that is especially true during the Car/Make out scene; you almost want to cry for Otis and Riley. It's awful on so many levels.

EJ: Otis's actual psychopathology is my version of real from the DSM-VI. It's a diagnosis of a sociopath. With this particular brand of psychosis, you are a different person. Otis, in the way he relates to the parents on the phone, he's a different man than how he relates to his brother. He's a different man than how he relates to the girls in person and when he talks to them on the phone. Boston brought all those shades to this.

TK: In the reviews coming in, they're singling him out with an incredible performance. I just think its fantastic for him. He's a guy who has a Masters in Fine Acting from the University of Alaska. He's been struggling for a while.

BD: In another bit of casting—with a sly wink to Sublime—when the character of Riley arrives at the hospital, she passes Mandingo (Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs). I thought it was a fabulous bit for him to be in the hospital. Would you consider using him again?

TK: Sometimes, director's put themselves in movies and I was a little embarrassed and not a good enough actor. So, I thought to myself who was the alter ego. I don't know if Mandingo is the alter ego but we love Larry and his performance. Erik and I talked about it and convinced Larry to show up to the set. So, hopefully fans will notice it.

EJ: The fact is Larry never left the set. He's still there right now!

BD: Otis is scheduled for DVD release on June 10th. What can we expect on the disc?

TK: With the DVD release, there's extra content which show what would've happened if Otis got the family together again. It's not quite an alternate ending, it doesn't exactly link up with the end of the film but it's its own stand-alone piece.

BD: What's next in the Raw Feed pipeline?

TK: We have Rest Stop 2, a sequel, and another movie called Inhuman, which is a purely sci-fi movie we've done. Otis is going to be the first one that's out. Hopefully, more stuff after that!