Peter Cornwell wants you to know that The Haunting in Connecticut is not your average horror movie. At the very least, it's the only horror movie you'll see this year made by an Australian director whose previous film was an animated short. And it's probably the only one directed by a guy who likes the haunted house genre because of how many different camera angles he gets to use.
We'll have the extended audio version of our interview with Haunting in Connecticut director Cornwell on this week's Weekly Blend Audio Show, but for now get a sneak peek at what you can expect. Ever wonder what it's like on the set of a horror movie, when everyone's done up in ghost makeup? Or how Oscar-nominee Virginia Madsen wound up in the movie? Read on!
Was it nerve racking showing your film to an audience at SXSW?
The festival crowd is a bit different from just a general audience, so yeah. This film is about this family, and it's not like a hardcore slasher film. You don't need blood and gore and stuff. Not that I have a problem with those kinds of films. We do have some blood, and some pretty disturbing imagery. There are real characters in this film, and it draws you in. It's not a typical horror film.
So why a genre film for your big feature debut?
What I really like in a film like this is you can really use the camera to tell the story. There's a lot of scenes where there's characters walking around the house by themselves, and it becomes part of the action. It's very different when you're just shooting a dialogue scene, and you're filming the heads close to each other.
What's the atmosphere like on the set of a scary movie like this?
Well, they say that horror films are the most fun films to make, ironically, given the gruesome nature of the content. I think that was pretty true. It was a really good experience on set. I used to be a sound recorder. I've been on lots of sets, and I'm not intimidated by the environment.
And what was it like working with this kind of cast?
Luckily, Virginia has done films like this-- she did Candyman. She's in The Number 23. Getting someone of her caliber in the film was just fantastic. She really is so good. She just brings this reality to it. She really is the mother, you can really feel the bond with her, and Matt, her son, played by Kyle Gallner. He did a fantastic audition, and he's just going to go on and do tons of other great films.
So why should people go see The Haunting in Connecticut?
I think it's a lot more than just your average horror film. It's a great story about this family that goes through a crisis, and then supernatural stuff comes in on them. It's a really scary ride that's got a lot of heart to it. People have seen the film and they cried at the end. In that way, it's a really unique film experience.
