Please tell us a bit about yourself and your relationship with the genre?
Since I was a kid I've been fascinated by the unknown and the supernatural. A few stories really stuck with me-- The Emperor and the Nightingale and The Girl With The Green Ribbon when I was a smaller child. A Wrinkle in Time and The Martian Chronicles when I was a little older. Doctor Who, The X-files, Army of Darkness, Poltergeist, The Ring, Blair Witch Project, Paranormal Activity. I've also had a few personal encounters with things I can't explain-- but that would be a whole long story in of itself. The first short film I made in college, Rude Awakening was the story of a boy afraid of the dark and his cat. As a sound mixer, I've worked on more than a few horror films-- from Troma's notorious musical Poultrygeist to Matthew Lawrence's punk rock Uncle Peckerhead to the more cerebral The Sound Of Your Voice and fast-paced Body.
What was your introduction to horror, and at what age?
Oops I think I just answered that!
Could you tell us a bit about your new suspense thriller horror Esme My Love?
The description is "When Hannah notices the symptoms of a terminal and painful illness in her aloof daughter, Esme, she decides to take her on a trip to their abandoned family farm in a desperate attempt to connect before they have to say goodbye." -- but play that against the trailer and there is purposeful tension between the two.
Where did you draw your inspiration for the film?
A woman told me about the experience she had seeing an angel when she was a new mother. To me, what she described was absolutely terrifying. However, to her, it was the most beautiful thing she had ever experienced: it was an encounter with God. Her story stuck with me. I would think about it often over the years. That's one part of the core of the story. The other core inspiration was discovered while I was shooting a music video up on a defunct farm in Hague, New York (where Esme, My Love was filmed). The place was absolutely beautiful, magical. One of the sisters that owned the property also happened to be the town historian. We talked a lot about her family history, the town's history, and the legends in the area. Esme, My Love combines those two things-- a woman's experience seeing an angel, and a family's history and lore-- and is augmented by moments that come out of my own childhood experiences.
Three films I drew upon for inspiration were The Babadook, Tree of Life, and Old Joy. I guess Wings of Desire as well.
Esme My Love is a slow burn, with only two people in the film, what approach did you take to keep the film so compelling with limited cast and setting?
We set out to make something both Beautiful and truly Terrible at the same time. We focus on the intense love that Hannah has for Esme, but we also know that she's hiding something. It's a slow burn, but we start out with a lot of tension and emotion and try not to let up all the way till the end of the film.
The sound design and score are absolutely mesmerising, did you know what you wanted going in, or did it develop around the film?
The ending song was chosen when we wrote the script. In editing we realized we wanted to actually make it part of the story, the diegetic world. We then based the score completely melodically on that ending song and made sure that every piece related to it in some way so that when the audience arrived there it would feel like that was the inevitable conclusion. I always knew I wanted two different composers, but what I didn't realize is that we would eventually find ourselves in a place where the composers would actually be collaborating so heavily. It was pretty cool.
On set I made sure to record things as bare bones as possible, relying on a single boom as much as possible. For sound design there were certain things we knew we wanted from the get go, but there was a lot of exploration and change as we dove in for real. Using breath and sounds of the body. Making the environment more of a living, breathing, presence.
What is your favourite horror trope?
The jump scare-- but after you've been building and building and building
What is something you'd like to see more of in the future in the genre?
I love magical realism. So movies like Pan's Labyrinth. Completely separately I'd love to see conspiracy theories like QAnon more thoroughly and deftly explored by horror.
Who are some of your favourite people working in the genre at the moment?
Jennifer Kent, Bong Joon-ho
And are there any other projects you're involved with that you'd like to talk about?
Absolutely! I'm gearing up to make a horror series called Dimo Duck. Right now I plan for it to be a multiverse. You can hear a podcast teaser-trailer here: https://vimeo.com/640153757
Thank you to Cory for the great interview.
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