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Interview By The Butcher
So Brian, are you a horror junkie
at heart or just for the time being?
At heart man… There are two kinds
of movies I watched growing up, lots of drama and lots of
horror. I definitely wasn’t a comedy guy, but for what ever
reason I loved being scared as a kid.
So what did your horror diet
consist of growing up?
The films that still inspire me
today, films like “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre”, “The
Exorcist” and “Alien”, that era. Those movies grab me a lot
more than say what’s going on right now.
So are there more horror films
to come from Bryan Bertino?
It’s weird because sometimes you
see directors start off with something like this and go off
in a different direction. I’m not apposed to doing a comedy
or drama, but I’m definitely very proud to be a horror
director. I wish more people were, so we could help push the
genre forward. There’s just something about that base level
of fear. It’s such a great feeling. Very much like a great
drama, it leaves you emotionally exhausted. The scene in
“Chainsaw Massacre” when you see Leatherface for the first
time, it’s like “Man, I need a fucking drink.” But yeah, I
plan on telling scary stories for a long time if I’m given
the opportunity.
I think your film is going to be
scary because it relies more on a realistic situation as
apposed to some guy torturing people, or a maniac in the
woods building up a body count.
Yeah, “The Strangers” is definitely
not a body count movie. I’m not very interested in super
villains or super killers. The horror films that freak me
out, even if it is like an “Alien” are grounded around
people. Take the scene in “The Shining” when Jack Nicholson
throws the tennis ball against the wall, that made
everything feel so real because that’s something I would
do.
I also wanted to keep things
simple. I purposely didn’t go for any “Panic Room” style
camera movements. I wanted the camera to feel like you were
witnessing something, but not getting in the way. And
there’s very little CGI.
I noticed the marketing campaign
mentions “The Strangers” being inspired by true events.
What’s up with that?
When I was a kid my father gave me
the book “Helter Skelter” as some sort of sick joke, but
something about it caught my attention. It wasn’t Charles
Manson, or the killers. It was the victims. Fast
forward thirty years later and we know all about that night
now, but for those victims inside that house they knew
nothing. They were there on a Friday or Saturday night and
someone stepped into their house changing forever what their lives
would have been. That really fascinated me and as time grew
on I became more and more interested in writing a story
around it.
But whether it’s some news story on
TV or an obituary in the paper, regardless of what’s being
reported, one thing stood out to me over and over again and
that’s the victims. It doesn’t matter if they were caught by
surprise or killed in their sleep. We eventually find out
who those victims were, but sometimes the victims are never
given that chance.
So have you had one of those
nights where you hear a noise in the middle of the night and search the house with a
Louisville Slugger?
Of course, I think everyone has.
When I first sat down to direct this film I kept telling
everyone that I wanted the movie to feel like one of those
moments, but what if you turned on the light and someone was
actually there? It’s that moment of total fear that I wanted
to carry throughout the film.
I’m curious, can you give me a rough
estimate on how much time went into the look of the masks in
your film?
We had some great people helping us
out. We started with what was in the script and then went a
million different ways trying a million different things. I
would ask an artist to draw me a scary mask and then he’d
reply with “Well, what’s scary to you?” We went back and
forth a lot, but the funny thing is, we ended up going back
to the original idea from the script and that’s what you see
in the film. So to answer your question, about two
months. Two very fast paced months.
How does one manage to snag Liv
Tyler for their film?
Liv is someone I had been thinking
about and I was really fortunate that she read the script,
flipped out about it and really loved the character. I knew
I didn’t want to cast actors that had been in a lot of
horror films. I knew that I wanted to go in a different
direction with that. I was thinking about this movie as
being a drama first and hopefully you’d care about the
characters regardless if someone had knocked on their door
that night or not. That was really important to me and she
saw that. She realized that the film could be something more
than just a slasher.
Props to you for casting Scott
Speedman, I think that guy is grossly underrated. I’ve been
a fan of his since “Dark Blue”.
(Bryan laughs and seems genuinely
pleased I mention this)
Thank You! To me, I want nothing
more then for Scott to blow up because I think he’s one of
the most talented actors I’ve ever had the chance to work
with. He brings so much to it and if you watch his movies
there are so many good performances he gives. He’s a very
subtle actor. I was so thrilled to have him in this movie.
But I’m glad to hear someone say he’s underappreciated
because I definitely agree.
Let’s say you’re hanging outside
a screening of “The Strangers”. The movie ends and you hear
people talking on the way out. What would you like them to
be saying?
(Bryan thinks for a good twenty
seconds)
I would want them to walk away
saying “That was a truly terrifying experience”. Don’t get
me wrong, I want people to enjoy my movie, but I think good
horror films are terrifying and that’s what I’m going for.
My wife definitely won’t be
seeing this movie. Anything this real and terrifying will
scare the shit out of here. I can just see her not wanting
to stay home by herself for the next fifteen years.
(Bryan laughs throughout the next
few sentences)
I feel bad because I don’t want
that to happen to people, but at the same time it’s like…
Well that’s the point isn’t it?
Isn’t that the best compliment you can get?
Yeah, it doesn’t get much better
then that.
Last question, what was the last
good horror film you watched?
I guess I’d have to say “The
Descent”. That was the last movie that made me jump. I’ve
always really liked Neil Marshall. For a movie as simple as
some creepy cave creatures it really freaked me out.
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