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Your new movie Senseless
- in a few words, what is it about?
Senseless
is about trying to run away from your problems and walking into a
situation that you have no control of. In this case that involves Jason,
our protagonist walking into a supernatural forest that wants his soul.
What were your sources of inspiration when writing Senseless?
Due
to it being the Covid-19 pandemic we found ourselves unable to shoot Terror
At Black Tree Forest so we were drawn to telling a story that was journey-focused and could be done with limited location, cast and crew. We thought
about survivalist films like Evil Dead
2, Mandy, and how one character can
keep your captivation. I've also always wanted to tell a story about
someone walking into a woods that's evil, and this seemed like the perfect
opportunity. I also really wanted to make a film that relied on primal instincts
during anxiety and panic attacks in particular fight or flight, and how we
deal with that when we're faced with horrors. Do
talk about your co-writer on
Senseless, Jackson
Batchelor [Jackson Batchelor
interview - click here], and what was your collaboration like? Jackson
is co director of Trash
Arts. I'm fortunate to work with him on most of our
projects. With
Senseless
we were trying to make sense of how to make films
during the pandemic. We were actually working on a comedy idea but then
got driven by the idea of one person focused horror piece. We also really
wanted to experiment with narrative and special effects, pushing for a
more surrealist piece.
Senseless
is very associative when it comes to narratuve and seems to follow the logic
of a nightmare - so what was the idea behind telling your story that way, and
how easy or hard was it to not literally lose the plot in the process?
We knew we wanted it to be a film that did not focus on dialogue to drive the
narrative forward, we knew there was a three act structure but it didn't
naturally have to follow it through plot. I always describe the film as a
walking nightmare, and what is a nightmare if not a series of horror setpieces? I also really wanted the audience to feel for Jason, his actions
have led him to the forest but he's not a bad guy, it was very
important to stay with the emotions of Jason after seeing horrific sites. What
can you tell us about your movie's approach to horror? The
horrors are definitely seen through Jasons eyes, seeing the evil play with
his darkest desires or fears. We wanted the horror to be fantastical and
trippy. Using dopplegangers of Jason showing the scary side of who he
could be, but also literal monsters and to have that very maniacal Evil
Dead vibe, they love the torture they're creating for Jason. A
few words about your overall directorial approach to your story at hand?
For
me it was key to let the emotions build up, to feel the fear, the loss
through physicality rather than dialogue. I didn't want Jason chatting
away to himself, his memories, the forest hallucinations can do that. The
film was shot over 5 days in the woods but the post production and the
extra footage grabbed for the ghosts was the most complicated part. We
utilised working with green actors due to lockdown and hosted a green
screen session in our garden. We were very fortunate to work with Craigus
Barry on the score and sound design, a lot of that was so important to the
narrative, we would tell Ryan what we'd be hearing what he'd be feeling but
none of this was created. Craigus worked to bring the surrealism and folk
horror elements perfectly. Do
talk about
Senseless's key cast,
and why exactly these people? We
designed the film to be minimalist on cast and really didn't want Jason to
have many interactions beyond doppelgangers and monsters. Ryan Carter I've
been lucky to work with on many films, he has the most intense eyes and
totally understands how to express how he's feeling instead of needing to
force through dialogue. We've worked on numerous projects together so we
knew he'd be comfortable with the improv, it took some time for him to
adjust to not expressing through words but he got there! Ella Palmer who
plays Diane wanted someone who could also show empathy in the final
moments but have that rage for all of his inner paranoia and anxieties.
The rest of the cast on the actual shoot were myself and Jackson. I've
always wanted to play a skeleton and Jackson always wanted to play a
monster so it worked out nicely!
You of course also have to
talk about the forest
Senseless
was shot at, and what was it like filming there? Hollybanks
Woods is a beautiful woods, it was the most ideal location you could
imagine during lockdown. Quiet and thankfully dry! We quickly realised
bugs loved to attack Ryan though which he wasn't a fan of! A
few words about the shoot as such, and the on-set atmosphere? It
was an interesting shoot as it was mostly all night times as
Senseless is
only set over one night. We barely had any crew on most days outside of
me, Jackson, Omar Jose Mahmood Lagres and Katie Johnson so it was very
hands-on with lighting, fortunately Jackson became a bit of an expert
lighting the woods! We stayed quite close to the road knowing it would be
quiet, not wanting to get lost. It's ironic as a year later we went to the
same woods for Terror
At Black Tree Forest and got losed numerous times!
After the first 5 days we did a few extra green screen sessions, and then a
year later I felt it needed more so we got Chris Mills and Simon Berry
doing some extra moments of the ghosts, I'm so glad we got to have them
involved adding to this horror experiment!
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The
$64-question of course, where can
Senseless
be seen?
Senseless
is now out on Blu-ray via Darkside Releasing.
Any future projects you'd like to share? This
year me and Jackson both had opportunities to direct horror features. I
directed my first body horror, I adore David Cronenberg and we got to do a
creepy chamber piece about a parasitic sound in the woods that creates
virus-like symptoms watching a couple slowly lose there minds. Jackson is
currently filming I Curse This Land, our first full on folk horror about a
witch's curse on a small village many years later. Your/your
movie's website, social media, whatever else?
Twitter:
trashartsfilm
Facebook: trashartsuk
Thanks
for the interview!
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amazon.com
amazon.co.uk
amazon.de
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