|
In the 1980s, college student Samantha Hughes takes a strange babysitting job that coincides with a full lunar eclipse. She slowly realizes her clients harbor a terrifying secret they plan to use her in a satanic ritual.
 Bloody-Disgusting: You’re now in post-production on THE HOUSE OF THE DEVIL, how is that coming along?
Ti West: I actually JUST finished the film a few weeks ago and am getting ready to start cutting a trailer and building the website etc.
BD: How was it working with MPI and Dark Sky Films?
TW: They have been great. Greg Newman really responded to my script and was very supportive from day one. They also kept a pretty respectful distance from the creative process which was a big deal for me. I really appreciated them letting me cast/hire who I wanted…as well as giving me most of the creative control to make the movie I wanted to make.
I wasn’t too familiar with them before this movie, although I had seen that French movie “Them” and liked it…So I figured they had pretty good taste in what they release. They are probably most famous for “Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer” which is another cool movie…and I’m pretty sure they owned GORGON VIDEO which I remember always being in awe of when I was a kid. That Medusa logo was pretty much burnt into my retinas from the amount of times I picked up the “Faces of Death” VHS box.
BD: Will this film see a theatrical release at all?
TW: It should hit most major cities at least. But we probably have six to eight months of traveling the film festival circuit before that…So be patient….
BD: The film is described as an ‘80s homage, what sub genre of ‘80s film is this?
TW: It’s not really an 80’s homage as much as it’s just a movie that takes place in the 80’s. It’s a period piece. It’s not poppy or kitschy. It’s more like “real” early 80’s…wood paneling, wallpaper, feathered hair etc.
As far as sub-genre goes…I mean, I guess it’s a mixture of a haunted house type movie and a crazy satanic cult movie. To throw out some stock issue influences or references I would say: Polanski’s Apt. trilogy - “Repulsion,” “The Tenant” and “Rosemary’s Baby.” As well as things like: “The Changeling” “Burnt Offerings” “Legend of Hell House” etc.
BD: Is it bloody? What are some big gags to look forward to?
TW: It’s very bloody. But only when it’s very bloody. If that makes sense…
It would be hard to talk about specific gags without giving things away. There are no crazy “Final Destination” type deaths or anything like that, it’s not that kind of movie…But it’s pretty graphic when it needs to be.
BD: Anyone who knows Ti West knows his films has a certain “stamp” on them, what did you bring to DEVIL that will signify the film as a Ti West feature?
TW: It’s very important to me not to repeat myself. “The Roost” and “Trigger Man” were VERY different films and I like that. I like that someone could really like my take on a goofy, drive-in, pulp horror tale but really hate my take on a hunting accident story or vice versa. “Cabin Fever 2” was VERY different from those movies just as “The House of the Devil” is VERY different from all of them.
BUT, as different as they all are…There is still this sort of underlying familiarity in the “style” of the filmmaking. That is what it’s all about for me. In my opinion, the best types of films are the ones that have a very particular voice to them. Films that whether you like them or not would have NEVER been made that way if anyone else had directed them…
For instance I recently saw “The Wrestler” and thought it was great. That movie is NOTHING like his other movies…In fact none of his movies are anything like each other…Yet you can still kind of tell that it’s Aronofsky making them somehow…That’s the best…Those are the kind of filmmakers who I look forward to seeing their stuff (even when I don’t always like their previous work).
 BD: After working on a studio film like CABIN FEVER 2, how was it going back onto the indie scene? Do you have a preference?
TW: Well, Cabin Fever turned out to be a pretty unique experience…So I’m not sure it’s really a fair comparison. I think I will always be more comfortable in an “indie” environment from a content perspective. Most of the time what interests me is not totally commercial and wouldn’t fly in this test screening day and age…That having been said, it’s not like I want to make “Trigger Man” for a studio…I’m not crazy. I have plenty of bigger Hollywood type movies that I look forward to making…But while I wait in “development” for the big-bucks to come through I might as well just keep shooting.
BD: Who cast DEVIL, because it’s quite impressive? Had you seen films like BAGHEAD and THE SIGNAL before you cast up the film?
TW: Lisa Fields cast the movie. I met her on Cabin Fever and we had a blast. I am very particular in who I want to make movies with. I have been friends with Greta and AJ for a few years now and it was great to be able to finally call them and be like “Yo, let’s go make a movie!” To me working with friends is the best thing you can do…Filmmaking is so personal that if you don’t get along with the people you work with you are just going to have a miserable time.
As for Tom and Mary…Well, Tom was in “The Roost” and it was great for us to work together again…and Mary Woronov is one of my favorite actors of all time (and it was pretty much one of my life goals to work with her) so I was beside myself when she said she would come out of “retirement” to do the movie.
But what Lisa really helped me with was finding Jocelin Donahue for the lead. She is in every frame of the movie and I really needed someone that you could relate to from the moment you saw her. I made Jocelin come in for like a million callbacks to make sure she really knew what she was getting into and that she really wanted to do it…and every time she was amazing…She steals most of the movie…Especially with her sweet dance moves.
BD: How did the shoot go, was it difficult or pretty smooth? Any fun stories?
TW: We were cursed from day one. The camera went down four times, the generator would just turn off by itself, lights exploded into giant fireballs and the tree next to the house got struck by lightening. I can’t recommend making a satanic movie…
BD: What’s next? More horror? Can you fill us in with whatever you can?
TW: I think I’m doing a web series next…Which will be cool. It will be nice to do something different and episodic like that. It’s a relationship story about a vampire call-girl and a broken hearted photo editor…So it’s horror-ish.
As far as my next feature goes though…I don’t think it will be horror. I have one other fantasy/horror script of my own that I would like to make called “The Last Rites of Sara Swan” but I don’t think that will be next...At least the money isn’t in the bank yet.
I have been fortunate to have made 4 horror features in the last 4 years…but that’s a lot of horror. It would be nice to do something different for a little while. Plus, I think the horror genre has pretty much hit rock bottom. Everything is either a remake or a re-hashing or a sequel and they all look exactly the same. It’s boring. “Let the Right One In” was great…But for every one of those there are like 15 “Prom Nights” or “Skin Walkers” etc.
I think it’s time for the genre to fail for a little while…So that it has to rebuild itself again with something fresh.
BD: CABIN FEVER 2, people wanna know, where is it? What’s causing the hold up?
TW: Ah, yes….This part of the interview…
Well, it’s complicated…But the gist of the hold up was a disagreement in post production over how to complete the film…Followed by a series of unfortunate events and bad timings that made finishing everything more complicated and difficult than it needed to be.
I’m not sure where it is right now…I’ve read online that it is coming out in April…Could be true but I can’t confirm that.
 BD: Do you know if it will get a theatrical run?
TW: I’m not really sure what the plan is right now.
BD: How bloody and violent is it?
TW: Outrageously bloody and gross…More than anything I will probably ever be involved with again. It was ridiculous how much blood we had on set. Full on “Dead Alive” style at times…Crazy.
BD: It’s nothing like Eli Roth’s CABIN FEVER, correct?
TW: I was making a really weird movie. It was meant to be an outrageously disgusting black comedy, not really a horror movie. It was like a Todd Solondz or a John Waters movie with lot of edgy and “questionable” content and social commentary. But like those movies, it had a really bizarre tone…Which was a bold new direction for the Cabin Fever franchise. I think that approach is both what made it something really special…And also what ultimately slowed it in its tracks.
It’s a bummer because from writing the script through handing in my cut was one of the greatest experiences of my life. It was truly awesome and I wouldn’t trade it for the world.
BD: Any talk of returning for CABIN FEVER 3, or screw that?
TW: Oh, man I had such a crazy idea for part 3 that everyone loved…It was a road movie with Winston and his cousin Herman (played by Mark Borchardt) traveling around the country in Herman’s airbrushed van looking for their last party. They were going to have the virus and be constantly losing limbs like lepers…It would have been nuts.
BD: CABIN FEVER 2 is on the top of many of our readers most anticipated list, is there anything you want to tell them about the film or release that you haven’t already?
TW: If I were to talk about everything that happened with that movie you would break the scroll wheel on your mouse…
I mean, it’s a tough spot to be in…I really like a lot of the people responsible for that movie. The investors were really cool guys and I hope it all works out for them. Same with the producer of the movie…I felt very supported and appreciated throughout the entire process in which I was involved. There is no animosity for me, because it wasn’t that type of situation. There was a disagreement during the editing of the movie followed by this “perfect storm” of events that struck post-production and it just snowballed into a big mess.
For me, as a director…It just got to a point where I felt there was nothing I could do to really “direct” the movie anymore…The possibility just didn’t exist. I was still encouraged and welcomed to be a part of the film…But nothing that I wanted to do could really be accomplished…So it was basically just like “accepting” and being along for the ride…And that was really difficult for me. There were just too many problems that put everyone in too many difficult situations…And good solutions were few and far between.
It’s not really my movie anymore…It hasn’t been for a long time. I don’t mean that from a disrespectful place…If I could go back in time and prepare for certain political things differently I would…But I can’t. So whenever it comes out…If you like it…I can’t take much of the credit. Though, I’m sure I will still buy the DVD with the rest of you.
|
