This tense psychological thriller tells the story of a woman unable to conceive a child with her husband, despite years of trying. In a desperate and drunken mistake, she sleeps with a young stranger. Determined to prove his paternity, his intentions soon become terrifyingly psychotic and the young woman finds herself at the centre of a psychological and brutally physical battle which she must win if she is to survive and have the family she longs for.

Bloody-Disgusting: How did Coffin Rock come to be?

Rupert Glasson: Since the inspiration came from my wife being pregnant I’m a bit embarrassed to admit that the script started life as a really bloody supernatural/monster movie about pregnancy. Unsurprisingly she wasn’t too pleased with that so I shifted it to be in real world – not that a film about infidelity, pregnancy and murder made her a whole lot happier but she came round in the end. In fact both she and our daughter have cameos in the film.

I worked very closely with the producers David Lightfoot and Ayisha Davies for almost two years developing the script. I don’t know how many drafts I did and I probably don’t want to know but Ayisha and Dave were really good at pushing me to go harder, faster, deeper. We work really well together. We were in Cannes in 2007 looking for money and we had some success there but the finance didn’t finally lock in until April 2008. We started shooting in July of that year. The first day of shoot was two years to the day from the first idea for the film.

BD: What films or filmmakers inspired you and this film?

RG: The story influences of Fatal Attraction are pretty clear. Coffin Rock is kind of Fatal Attraction with a tennage boy psycho instead of a woman. But I also drew from relationship thrillers like Cape Fear where a family with it’s own problems is set upon by a psycho. The presence of that psycho brings the thriller aspect of the story and family dynamic provides for quality drama.

The film is mostly made up of master shots. This is partly because of the very limited time we had to shoot the movie and partly because it’s a reflection of a Spielberg way of shooting – shooting a bit wider and keeping the frame dynamic either through moving the camera or moving the people or both. It’s a very efficient way of story telling.

BD: If you were to compare Coffin Rock to one movie, what would it be?

RG: I think it would have to be Fatal Attraction.

BD: Coffin Rock is a place mentioned in the Blair Witch movies….

RG: Apart from the name there isn’t any relationship between the two places or stories. It’s just a cool sounding name.

BD: Just how violent and bloody is Coffin Rock (if at all)?

RG: Well we beat to death a baby kangaroo, use a fish as a phallus on which to perform fellatio (before biting off it’s head), we set a guy on fire, jam sticks through eyes, run people over with cars and throw men off cliffs but other than that it’s a family story.

BD: What are some of your favorite gags?

RG: Despite the very real drama that plays out between a couple desperate to have a baby, I think the film will be most remembered for the fish fellatio scene. It’s pretty special.

BD: Did you have any trouble with the FX?

RG: There aren’t any big digital effects to speak of. We did have to move faster than we wanted to when setting the guy on fire as once the water gel goes onto the stuntman you only have a very short time to shoot before he gets too cold and you have to pull it all off him, warm him up and start all over again.

BD: What were some of the highs and lows of the shoot?

RG: The high point happened about nineteen times a day when we would nail a piece of performance or a stunt or I got a cup of coffee. The vibe of the whole cast and crew was really good, really positive. Nobody got paid decent money but everybody wanted to be there and they gave it their all.

The low point was standing on the edge of a cliff overlooking the ocean. It was four in the morning, just below freezing and a storm of biblical proportions was sweeping in from Antarctica. I had a dozen shots to complete the sequence and every piece of equipment was blowing across the carpark.

BD: When can we expect to see the film?

RG: It’s selling well internationally so hopefully some time in 2009.

BD: What’s next? More horror? Can you reveal anything?

RG: I’m writing again - working on a thriller with a patriotic psycho. For me it’s hard to imagine doing anything without some blood in it.