Interview: Paul Davis
Director Paul Davis stopped by for a quick chat with us at this weekends Film 4’sFrightfest
Your here to promote your short film The Body please tell us about it
The body stars Alfie Allen from game of thrones he’s a murderer who killed someone on Halloween night, and uses the cover of that to hide the body. He has it wrapped up in tarpaulin and is dragging it along the street hoping people think it’s a costume and that’s how it works but it kind of goes wrong.
The Body runs for 18 minutes was the limited run time something you were conscious of when filming? Did it affect the way you filmed it?
Well no, it ended up 18 minutes by accident. I was very determined to get it down to 15 but then. They always say be ruthless in the edit, and I was, I was probably more ruthless then I should have been on the first day of editing. I cut out about 4-5 minutes and got to the point where we couldn’t cut any more out, there was nothing else left to go. The important part to us was to watch it, and the response we have got is that it doesn’t feel 18 minutes. It’s very fast moving there are never any moments that drag its constantly going from point A to B to C to get you to the end of the movie. As long as it does that and people aren’t bored then i was happy to leave it at 18 minutes.
So being a horror fan and having a film set at Halloween was you tempted to add any costumed injokes?
I made a short film last year [him indoors] and I got to keep the costumes so they made a cameo. There’s a guy dressed as Herbert West from Reanimator and I think there is aBeetlejuice in there. John McCavoy from Frightfest is dancing in the background somewhere. The last film had a lot of heavy references and was like “we get it you like horror movies.” So this time there more Easter eggs this time around so they won’t hinder the experience. If you don’t get what the nod is to then it won’t ruin the movie, I was very careful this time around.
The Body comes across as a more subtle psychological horror is there much blood and gore?
Yeah there is one moment that I purposely rewrote the third act we needed some of that, there is a little something in there that I hope will go down well
What is your favourite type of horror- Psychological or Blood and gore?
I’m a Hitchcock and De Palma man I love a slow burn i love suspense. I love a very understated scare. For me it’s always what you think you see. It’s like the original Texas chainsaw massacre you think you see more then you actually do, in the 70s people implored you saw the meat hook going in the back, you don’t! You know it’s just very cleverly made. I prefer my horror understated. I like gore when it has a place but I like the slow burn.
The main characters don’t have names, was this choice to add some mystery to the characters?
Yeah the entire film is steeped in ambiguity because you’re doing Halloween night everyone is dressed as somebody else. People pretending to be someone their not I wanted to shroud the entire universe is based in that idea. You never really quiet know who’s being honest. Especially with Alfie I told him play a guy who’s playing a guy playing a guy plying a guy and he absolutely nailed it.
So what is your costume of choice for Halloween?
It kind of changes on whether or not I’ve shaved or not, I’ve not got many choices, I’m 6ft 8 so it helps if I can do a Michael Myers or a Jason that’s easy. I’ve done stuntman mike from Death Proof but that’s a cheat. It’s the one night of the year when meh why not.
Frightfest has been going for many years now, why do you think brings people back year after year?
It’s the only way that people get to see them, Frightfest have been wonderful throughout the years introducing us fans to probably films that we have never heard of let alone would see. It’s that discovery of new talent new movies. In a way they set the bench mark, Horror always moves in cycles and more often than not Frightfest introduces us to what the next cycle will be. I’m just glad after last year it’s not rape as that seemed to be last year. This year been so m
Your here to promote your short film The Body please tell us about it
The body stars Alfie Allen from game of thrones he’s a murderer who killed someone on Halloween night, and uses the cover of that to hide the body. He has it wrapped up in tarpaulin and is dragging it along the street hoping people think it’s a costume and that’s how it works but it kind of goes wrong.
The Body runs for 18 minutes was the limited run time something you were conscious of when filming? Did it affect the way you filmed it?
Well no, it ended up 18 minutes by accident. I was very determined to get it down to 15 but then. They always say be ruthless in the edit, and I was, I was probably more ruthless then I should have been on the first day of editing. I cut out about 4-5 minutes and got to the point where we couldn’t cut any more out, there was nothing else left to go. The important part to us was to watch it, and the response we have got is that it doesn’t feel 18 minutes. It’s very fast moving there are never any moments that drag its constantly going from point A to B to C to get you to the end of the movie. As long as it does that and people aren’t bored then i was happy to leave it at 18 minutes.
So being a horror fan and having a film set at Halloween was you tempted to add any costumed injokes?
I made a short film last year [him indoors] and I got to keep the costumes so they made a cameo. There’s a guy dressed as Herbert West from Reanimator and I think there is aBeetlejuice in there. John McCavoy from Frightfest is dancing in the background somewhere. The last film had a lot of heavy references and was like “we get it you like horror movies.” So this time there more Easter eggs this time around so they won’t hinder the experience. If you don’t get what the nod is to then it won’t ruin the movie, I was very careful this time around.
The Body comes across as a more subtle psychological horror is there much blood and gore?
Yeah there is one moment that I purposely rewrote the third act we needed some of that, there is a little something in there that I hope will go down well
What is your favourite type of horror- Psychological or Blood and gore?
I’m a Hitchcock and De Palma man I love a slow burn i love suspense. I love a very understated scare. For me it’s always what you think you see. It’s like the original Texas chainsaw massacre you think you see more then you actually do, in the 70s people implored you saw the meat hook going in the back, you don’t! You know it’s just very cleverly made. I prefer my horror understated. I like gore when it has a place but I like the slow burn.
The main characters don’t have names, was this choice to add some mystery to the characters?
Yeah the entire film is steeped in ambiguity because you’re doing Halloween night everyone is dressed as somebody else. People pretending to be someone their not I wanted to shroud the entire universe is based in that idea. You never really quiet know who’s being honest. Especially with Alfie I told him play a guy who’s playing a guy playing a guy plying a guy and he absolutely nailed it.
So what is your costume of choice for Halloween?
It kind of changes on whether or not I’ve shaved or not, I’ve not got many choices, I’m 6ft 8 so it helps if I can do a Michael Myers or a Jason that’s easy. I’ve done stuntman mike from Death Proof but that’s a cheat. It’s the one night of the year when meh why not.
Frightfest has been going for many years now, why do you think brings people back year after year?
It’s the only way that people get to see them, Frightfest have been wonderful throughout the years introducing us fans to probably films that we have never heard of let alone would see. It’s that discovery of new talent new movies. In a way they set the bench mark, Horror always moves in cycles and more often than not Frightfest introduces us to what the next cycle will be. I’m just glad after last year it’s not rape as that seemed to be last year. This year been so m