Welcome to the darker side of AICN! Mark L. Miller aka Ambush Bug here with a special AICN HORROR: ZOMBIES & SHARKS column. This Friday at 5:00pm in Room 29AB at the San Diego Comic Con, I’ll be once again hosting “Reinventing Horror,” which has become a yearly panel at the con focusing on the next step in horror in film, comics, and other media. I have gathered another talented group of up-and-coming horror stars together this year including Mickey Keating (director/writer of POD, DARLING, and CARNAGE PARK), Adam Egypt Mortimer (director/writer of SOME KIND OF HATE and HOLIDAYS and comic book writer of BALLISTIC), Matt Pizzolo (publisher for Black Mask Studios and writer of YOUNG TERRORISTS) and the subjects of this interview, Radio Silence.
Radio Silence participated in a pair of fantastic anthologies; V/H/S (reviewed here) and SOUTHBOUND (reviewed here). Radio Silence is a collective of filmmakers made up of Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, Justin Martinez, Tyler Gillett and Chad Villella. Three of the four members of this horror team supreme will be attending my panel this Friday and I had a chance to ask them a few questions to help you get to know them before the panel and find out what they think of the world of horror. Here’s what Matt, Tyler, and Chad had to say…
AMBUSH BUG (BUG): Was it difficult to collaborate with other creative teams in the two anthologies (V/H/S and SOUTHBOUND) you've worked on?CHAD VILLELLA (CHAD): Absolutely not. We were fortunate enough to be able to work with an incredible group of creatives on both projects. In fact, each one was assembled very differently. With V/H/S, we were the last group to come aboard near the end of the process. That project was done in a more segmented way -- we didn’t even meet the other filmmakers until Sundance. But we knew we were in good hands with Brad Miska, Roxanne and the other producers. For SOUTHBOUND, we were able to have a say in assembling the team, and we all just wanted to work together again. Southbound was a much more collaborative process throughout. Once we came up with the initial concept for the movie with Brad Miska, we opened up the conversation to the group so we could all be involved in the writing process. It was a ton of fun.
MATT BETTINELLI-OLPIN (MATT): Collaboration is one of our favorite parts of the process, so the opportunity to create a project from the ground up with a group of friends we respect creatively and with no one looking over our shoulders except each other was a real thrill. Collaboration is also a great learning experience because everyone brings something special and unique to the movie that the rest of us get to learn from. I'm pretty sure we'd all jump at the chance to work together again. I know I would.
TYLER GILLETT (TYLER): We also have the benefit of being a collaborative unit from the start. Bringing other awesome people into the process is easy when your creative muscle memory is really based on working as a group at all times. For us, if making a project isn’t fun, it isn’t worth it. And there’s no easier way to make the process enjoyable than by surrounding yourself with friends.
BUG: Where did you guys come up with your name and how did you come together as a creative unit?CHAD: Unfortunately, when you are looking to put projects together, there are a lot of people out there that are like, “Hey, we’d love to work with you on this!” or “Let’s do this project.” And then, after some time, we’d go back to follow up with them and wouldn’t hear anything back. I remember us saying, “So, did you hear from so & so?” And the answer, more often than not would be, “Nope. Radiofuckingsilence.” So, after some time, we decided to just always be pushing to make things on our own. It’s been our motto since day one, and we still approach every project like that. It’s on us. And, of course, the name stuck.
MATT: We started working together as CHAD MATT AND ROB, but Rob decided to be responsible and left to get a real job before V/H/S so we had to come up with something new fairly quickly. We didn't want to just be ourselves...to use our own names...we like the punk rock DIY we're-in-this-together ethic.
BUG: Who does what in this creative team?
CHAD: We like to think of ourselves as a band, but it’s definitely a Venn diagram approach to creative, with the big three being Producing, Development, & Physical Production. We all have some strengths in each, roles fill out naturally both in pre-production and on set. We welcome collaboration and creative debate, because in the end, best idea wins if it’s what’s best for the project.
MATT: Editing, too. Except for DEVIL’S DUE (Rod Dean edited that), we've always edited our own stuff. We got into this by picking up a camera and shooting stuff however and whenever we can, so from day one we were forced to learn how to do a lot of different things throughout the process. It helps us to be multifaceted as a way to better learn at least a little bit about every step. Acting makes you a better writer. Writing makes you a better editor. Editing makes you a better director and so on. All that said, as we've been fortunate enough to work with talented crews lately, all of whom are much more talented than us, and I love watching a trained professional do their job on set and realize we don't actually know much about most of it. But it's that constant learning process and we thrive on.BUG: What does horror mean to you?
CHAD: Anything that I have to watch twice because I was covering my eyes the first time.
MATT: My parents raised me on TWILIGHT ZONE and even though it's not specifically horror, it was my entryway to the unknown. Then AMAZING STORIES came out and I couldn't get enough. But then in fifth grade, as a reward for not getting a red slip (basically not getting in trouble), our school had a “movie day” and the showed us NIGHTMARE ON ELM. STREET 3: DREAM WARRIORS. Parents were pissed but I was hooked. It was my first true horror movie and to this day I can't get enough when a movie is scary but also fun, when a character faces the unknown and is fantastically unprepared... Like DREAM WARRIORS, if a movie has a sense of humor but still manages to get under your skin and make you feel truly uncomfortable because something about it rings true on a deeply subconscious level...that's horror for me.
TYLER: Horror to me is taking something that feels completely familiar and making it absolutely terrifying. Jaws made going into the ocean terrifying, The Strangers made staying in any cabin anywhere terrifying, The Hitcher made road trips terrifying. When these real, everyday life experiences are flipped on their head in a scary way, the horror not only feels grounded, but it feels like it could happen to you. That’s what true horror is to me.
BUG: Many talk about the negative effects horror has on viewers. Are there positive effects?CHAD: 100%. I think there are numerous positive effects of horror. The two that really jump out to me is appreciation for the welcomingly mundane life and privilege you have around you everyday. Horror allows you to tap into your primal, instinctual fears in the comfort of a nice theater or your apartment or home. We’re not all out there being chased by knife-wielding serial killers or malevolent ghosts everyday, and experiencing that for 90 minutes at a time, in total safety should let us all realize how nice we have it. Secondly, I’m a big fan of horror that has a morality tale deeply rooted and hidden into its fabric. That kind of horror allows you to examine yourself in a completely different way so when faced with a hard, moral choice, you hopefully choose the more beneficial way for both yourself and the world as a whole.
MATT: I completely agree with that. Being able to work out our demons in a safe space and experiment with what it means to be human is the same for horror as it is for any kind of artistic expression.
TYLER: There is something wonderfully communal about watching horror movies. While they’re certainly entertaining to watch at home alone, being in an audience and living through the tension, scares and relief as a group -- there isn’t a more fun and bonding movie-going experience that I can think of. Any art form that brings people together to share something so intimate certainly has positive value.
BUG: What are you looking forward to the most at this year's Comic Con?CHAD: The VR experiences at the Con. Really looking forward to seeing what is out there. Cannot wait to see how that medium allows us to scare the living shit out of ourselves on such a different experiential level in the coming years.
MATT: All the amazing stuff I don't know anything about yet. I'm always curious what's next and Comic-Con is a great place to find out.
TYLER: I love the crowds. I know a lot of people don’t but there’s something really wonderful about being in a place where fans come together to share their love for movies, comics, etc. in a way that is real and personal and immediate. It’s always eye opening and inspiring to see just how dedicated people are to the things they love - and it always gives me a shot in the arm to keep making shit!
BUG: How does the world outside your window influence your approach to horror?
CHAD: I think a lot of our horror is grounded in the world we know. Taking things that would seem like something you would do everyday without thinking twice about it and making it truly terrifying. I think we’ve tapped into that with all of our movies -- going to a Halloween party, on a honeymoon, and on a long drive through the desert. They all sound pretty normal, but we like to explore the “what ifs” in all of these scenarios. And then let things get twisted from there.
MATT: From our first project together, if there's been one common theme, it's the ordinary becoming extraordinary...unexpecting characters enter a world beyond their comprehension. I think a lot of that comes from our love of TWILIGHT ZONE and my personal favorite (admittedly non-Horror) sub-subgenre: Harrison Ford’s Hitchcokian Everyman Movies where he gets tangled up in a big ol’ mystery and has to figure it out under intense pressure (THE FUGITIVE, FRANTIC, PRESUMED INNOCENT...even PATRIOT GAMES). And while those aren’t specifically horror, they easily could be. They have the same foundation and the same framework. And the character drama is always front and center. Just like our approach to horror, these movies work because the world they exist in is relatable. “It's just like the world we live in except…” is something we talk about a lot and the “this could happen to you” aspect runs through everything we do, but in order to achieve that, first we have to build a world that resembles the one we live in. Then we can tear it apart.TYLER: Making horror films is an incredibly therapeutic experience. There are so few things that we every really get to have control of in our lives and the horror genre has really allowed us to explore the conflicts and struggles we all go through in a very crazy and heightened way. I know for me, SOUTHBOUND came about at a time when we were spinning our wheels trying to figure out what to do next - we were in a sort of creative purgatory. So taking the idea of being stuck on the hamster wheel and exploring it with characters that find themselves in a world where they are literally stuck was an incredibly satisfying way to not only get ourselves passionately working on something, but to explore the feelings of fear and frustration that were very much real in our lives at the time.
BUG: What's the next project you are working on?CHAD: I’m going to lay by the pool today. I’m going to work on that hard. But besides that, we have a couple projects in the pipeline, both in the feature world and in television. But nothing that is so far along that we can announce it yet. Because, as you know, we could not hear back from people for a very long time. But, I’m sure we’ll stay busy.
MATT: Our SOUTHBOUND experience was great for so many reasons, but a big one of those is that we got to make a weird movie that, for better or for worse depending on if you liked it, didn't suffer under the weight of notes that pushing it towards conventional normality. A lot of times that seems to happen...this need to make something that's like something else. And I get that, because everyone with the money is justifiably afraid of weird, but when you're making a very low budget movie you get to experiment with the bizarre and really push boundaries and try new things. Hopefully moving forward, we can always maintain a little bit of that off-kilter approach...it might look familiar but if you look closely, it's usually not.
TYLER: I’ll probably find myself working as Chad’s personal cabana boy while he suns himself by the pool.
BUG: Thanks, guys! Look for more interviews this week from the panelists and if you’re at the con, be sure to stop by Room 29AB at 5:00pm on Friday for the Reiniventing Horror panel!
Ambush Bug is Mark L. Miller, original @$$Hole/wordslinger/writer of wrongs/reviewer/interviewer/editor of AICN COMICS for over 15 years & AICN HORROR for 5. Follow Mark on the Twitters @Mark_L_Miller and on his new website collecting posts for AICN HORROR as well as all of the most recent updates on his various comic book projects on MLMillerWrites.com.
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