• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Film
  • DVD
  • Editorial
  • About ScreenFish

ScreenFish

where faith and film are intertwined

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • Home
  • Reviews
  • Interviews
  • News
  • OtherFish
  • Podcast
  • Give

Supernatural

Against the Fright: 1on1 with Brian Cavallaro (director, AGAINST THE NIGHT)

March 27, 2018 by Steve Norton Leave a Comment

https://screenfish.net/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/1on1-with-Brian-Cavallaro-director-AGAINST-THE-NIGHT.mp3

Written and directed by Brian Cavallaro, Against the Night tells the story of nine friends who decide to sneak into an abandoned prison to film their own ‘ghost-hunting’ video. As members of their team begin to disappear, they quickly begin to fear that they may not be alone. Filmed in Philadelphia, Cavallaro believed that the prison setting helped establish an atmosphere of dread from the outset.

“I’m from Philadelphia and, as a kid I took a tour of a penitentiary called Eastern State Penitentiary,” he begins. “I thought it’d be a great place for a genre movie. It’s got unique architecture, decaying walls. All the stuff that makes for a great horror movie. I set out to do that and, as I was on my scouting trips to Eastern State Penitentiary, I found that it would be more like shooting in a museum. They were saying that it was fine to shoot there but we couldn’t have any blood on the walls or run down any hallways and I thought that that doesn’t sound very fun. Then, I found that there were other prisons in the city that look very much like Eastern State Penitentiary that are less protected and that’s how we came upon Holmesberg Prison, which is a great location.”

Although the benefits of filming on location far outweigh the negatives, there are always challenges to overcome. For example, while shooting at Holmesburg, Cavallaro was forced to improvise his techniques in areas without electricity.

“You didn’t see it in the movie but [Holmesberg] is an operating prison,” he clarifies. “So, the yard that we filmed in has inmates out there during the day. Our holding area was sometimes used as a holding area for prisoners and that’s attached to the more condemned area where we filmed. Our holding area was great. We had running water, lights and all the things you need to make something work but, when we actually filmed, we had no electricity. So, that was a bit of a challenge. There was no help to speak of. So, you were out there and, it was pretty creepy.”

Along with the challenges of on-location shooting, Cavallaro also was working with a cast of unknown actors with limited experience. Nevertheless, despite the potential for difficulty, he was very impressed by his cast’s talent and hard work.

“They were great, actually!,” he recalls. “I had a hard time. Obviously, when you’re working with a low budget, you don’t have script supervisors sitting next to me the whole time. The only thing I just tried to keep them on task with the intention of the scene. So, sometimes I kind of liked how things were going in terms of the emotion and then, I’d try to pull back and say ‘Don’t forget. We have to get from this scene to this scene.’ But they were super talented! Half of them were local from Philadelphia and the other half came down from New York. I was very, very happy at how they all worked together.”

While any director is influenced by other artists in their craft, horror is a particularly interesting genre unto itself. Whether it’s the supernatural terror of The Exorcist or the more grounded terror of The Blair Witch Project, every horror film has a different style and emphasis. However, in the creation of Against the Night, Cavallaro says that his greatest influence came from a genre that one might not expect.

Says Cavallaro, “Beyond [any particular] films that have influenced it, I’m also a fan of that genre of reality TV shows. Not necessarily in the believable kind of way but just in the sense that I’ve had to cut my teeth in the industry. I’ve worked on a few [reality shows], learned some of the tricks of the trade and thought that this would be kind of a fun way to approach [our film].”

Interestingly, regardless of their budget or ‘star power’, horror films seem to consistently be the genre that makes money. With this in mind, Cavallaro believes that much of the popularity of the genre stems from our culture’s overall interest in the afterlife.

“I think we must be [fascinated by the paranormal] because of the amount of content that’s out there. And I think that we want to believe that there’s something out there more than us. I think that there’s many different versions of that. I’m always interested in the fact that many Asian cultures see ghosts as a completely positive entity. Obviously, we have different feelings about that. I think, ultimately, we just want to believe that there’s something more than us.”

Furthermore, it still remains somewhat of a mystery as to why we seem to enjoy being scared as an audience. On the surface, fear appears to be an overtly negative feeling… and yet, time and again, we find ourselves drawn into a darkened theatre asking to feel the anxiety and dread of horror. In light of this, Cavallaro believes that much of the appeal lies in our desire to problem-solve.

“I’ve read other interviews and seen other podcasts where other people answer that and I don’t know if I’ve ever had an answer that I buy,” he argues. “But I guess you’re always prescribing yourself to a character to any film you’re watching where you wonder what it’s like to be in that situation or that protagonist. But I think that, in scary movies, you’re allowed to have that experience without any real danger and you’re also can do the problem-solving to figure out how you’d get out of that situation. So, you always hear people in the movie theatres saying, ‘Don’t go in there? Why would you go in there?’ They’re saying it out loud because that’s what they’re thinking. They’re trying to problem-solve themselves out of that situation.”

Given the fact that there’s such a wide variety of styles within the horror genre, there has always been much discussion regarding how one creates the best scares for the audience. Though many have debated this issue with few firm answers, Cavallaro feels that it ultimately comes down to the effectiveness of sound design and music.

“I’m still trying to figure that out,” he confesses. “You’re ensconced in a struggle because there’s things that you see often that kind of get you every time but you also want to do something different that you haven’t seen before. Sometimes it doesn’t work. It’s almost like telling a joke. If you’re telling a joke that you’ve never told before, you’re not really sure how it’s going to land. You really can’t undermine the power of sound design and music, either. I was really lucky in this department as well because there were plenty of times, looking at the rough cuts, where I was like this doesn’t work at all. Then, of course, you get to put a little bit of music behind it and the crescendos made me say ‘hey, that’s not bad’”

 

Against the Night is available on demand as of March 27th.

Filed Under: DVD, Film, Interviews Tagged With: Against the Night, aliens, Brian Cavallaro, ghosts, horror, Supernatural

The Saint of Killers Speaks: 1on1 with Graham McTavish (PREACHER)

June 26, 2017 by Steve Norton 1 Comment

Photo Credit: Pari Dukovic/AMC
https://screenfish.net/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/1on1-with-Graham-McTavish-PREACHER.mp3

AMC’s Preacher has returned… but the Saint of Killers is right behind him.

As the second season of the supernatural dramedy is unleashed, actor Graham McTavish is excited about the opportunity to for the audience to reconnect with some of the the most unique characters on television.

“[Preacher] is based on a series of comic books that were written in the late 90s into the early 2000s,” he begins.  “It concerns a Texas preacher named Jesse Custer (played by Dominic Cooper), who becomes host to an entity called Genesis, which is a product of a union between an angel and a demon.  His girlfriend is a female assassin, his best friend is an Irish vampire and he’s pursued across America by a sort of beast from Hell, a relentless killing machine, [named] the Saint of Killers (who I play).  It’s quite the ride… There’s no other show quite like it.”

Photo Credit: Skip Bolen/AMC/Sony Pictures Television

Though Preacher has become known for its dark, brooding tone and graphic violence, McTavish also insists that the show also carries a dark sense of humour and energy to it as well.

“It’s also really funny.  There are things we can do on Preacher that you can’t seem to do anywhere else.  There’s a sort of style and flare and it’s very true to the comics both in its content and in the way [that] it’s shot.  As a fan of the books, it’s been a fantastic privilege to be working on it.”

Interestingly enough, one of the key participants responsible for bringing Preacher to the screen is executive producer, Seth Rogan.  Known primarily for his comedic roles in films like The Pineapple Express and Neighbors, Rogan’s involvement might be considered somewhat of a surprise.  However, McTavish assures the fans that Rogan’s vision for Preacher comes out his deep love of the source material.

“[Seth] is a huge fan of the books, like me.  This is a passion project for [him and co-producers Sam Catlin and Evan Goldberg],” he explains.  “They’ve been wanting to make this for years and years and years.  When you bring that kind of fanboy passion to a show like this, it’s actually important that it’s in the hands of people like that.  They guard the integrity of [comic creators] Garth [Ennis] and Steve [Dillon’s] work while bringing their own special style.  It is a different medium so it has to be told a different way but they’re very, very faithful to the content and the spirit of the books.  Like the comics, you never quite know what’s coming next with those two… It’s great!”

BTS, Executive Producer Seth Rogen, Graham McTavish as The Saint of Killers, Executive Producer Evan Goldberg – Preacher _ Season 2, Episode 1 – Photo Credit: Skip Bolen/AMC/Sony Pictures Television

In Preacher, McTavish plays the vicious Saint of Killers, a cowboy assassin unleashed upon Jesse (literally) from the pits of Hell.  Though one might assume that a character like this is consumed by a deeply rooted sense of vengeance, McTavish argues that the character is far more complex, motivated by his own sense of justice and even love.

According to McTavish, “He was a cowboy who, like all the main characters, who is struggling with that inner conflict between good and evil.  He’s trying to be a good man.  That is taken away from him and he almost becomes an Old Testament, Biblical vengeful character and he’s recruited by Heaven and Hell to get Genesis and Jesse happens to be the host of that entity.  So, he doesn’t have anything personal against him at this time.  He’s a means to an end.  He’s in the way.  Just like anyone that strays into the Saints path…  If the Saint gets Genesis back from Jesse, the deal is that he gets to rejoin his family in Heaven.  So, in that sense, his journey is, in a very tortured and violent way, motivated by love.  I think anyone with a family can imagine themselves going through any kind of hell to protect them.  That’s how I see him.”

“I think certainly in Season One, he is inspired with justice.  I mean, it’s very extreme.  It’s got that sort of Old Testament feel to it: ‘You do this to my family.  I’ll do this to the whole town.’ I mean, that’s pretty dark stuff.  There’s no half measures in that sense.  He has a sense of justice.  He does.  And, when he goes back to the town, he does so with the best of intentions… I guess there’s a mixture of both [justice and vengeance].”

Graham McTavish as The Saint of Killers – Preacher _ Season 2, Episode 2 – Photo Credit: Skip Bolen/AMC/Sony Pictures Television

A long-time fan of the Saint himself, McTavish says that the opportunity to play him was simply too exciting to pass up.  As a result, he has little trouble getting into character, despite the Saint’s vicious demeanour.

“It’s enormous fun to do it.  There are different ways to get into a character like this.  In this case, when I put on the dusty coat, the hat, strap 10 lbs of iron to my waist and ride a horse into a western town, that does a lot of the work for you, believe me… There’s this anger, this rage.  We all have different approaches.  When I have to turn on that feeling, I think of my family and my young children.  If anything even remotely happened to them like what happened to the Saint’s family, I mean that would be a motivation for some pretty extreme behaviour.  I think that’s how I relate to him.  He appeals to a lot of fans to the book.  I think he kind of represents the purity of that justice.  We’re not going to hear that point of view. You’re simply going to be punished.”

Deeply rooted within Christian mythology, the show’s tone is unlike anything we’ve seen before on television.  Both reverent and irreverent at times, Preacher seems bent on exploring the concept of religion in unconventional ways.  Although it’s set against a spiritual background, McTavish believes that, ultimately, the show is focused on exploring the nature of humanity and our battle between good and evil.

Photo Credit: Skip Bolen/AMC/Sony Pictures Television

“For me, what is really being explored in the story… is those characters who are struggling with this eternal conflict between good and bad, or good and evil if you want to call it that,” he states.  “People try and do good things, and they screw it up.  Now, in some examples with these characters, they do that in the most extreme ways but, essentially, it tells a human story set against a supernatural–maybe spiritual–background.  But the story is universal and that’s what I think appeals to me about it is that there are no neat answers in Preacher.  It’s not something you read for comfort.  It’s not like the typical procedural dramas… it’s much murkier.”

Interestingly, Preacher is merely one of many shows on television right now that seek to explore man’s relationship with the spiritual.  With titles like Supernatural, and American Gods ranging in style and tone, the common thread between them seems to be their interest in spiritual conflict.  In light of this, McTavish agrees that these shows tend to reveal a deeper longing for answers that lies rooted in the heart of our culture.

“I think particularly post second World War, maybe a little more recent than that, there’s something in the collective identity among people, not just in America,” he reflects.  “The rise of individualism against community.  All of those things.  I think they all play towards giving an appeal to shows that explore an alternative to that solution that try to resolve that in kind of a communal way, some in a more spiritual way, of finding answers. But, at the same time, not delivering those answers in kind of a sort-of easily spoon-fed way. It reflects the complexity of our time post-war.  I think, to some degree, thinking of my own parents, life was a lot simpler… In the case of the Second World War, you were faced with a very obvious enemy.  ‘This is fascism.  It needs to be defeated.’  Nowadays, conflicts are never-ending and it all seems very murky.  I think it’s very difficult for people to understand what’s going on with politics and different cultures.  In some ways, we know more about the world than ever before but I think that frightens us. Television at least partly reflects that.”

Photo Credit: Marco Grob/AMC

As Season Two unfurls, McTavish insists that the show will feel a lot more like the original source material than the previous season.  With last year serving as almost a prequel to the comics, Season Two sets out with Jesse and Co. on the open road, searching for God.

“It’s very much more the road trip and really where the comics begin,” McTavish explains.  “Anyone who’s read the comic will recognize the world that they all live in now in Season Two.  We’re introducing the audience to all sorts of unusual situations [and characters].  I won’t spoil it but they are great.   In true Preacher form, I would read every script.. and there would be moments where you say I cannot believe they’re going to do that.  And yeah, they do!  It’s totally unpredictable… I think that’s one of the huge strengths of the show where there’s a moment in every show where the audience says ‘I did not see that coming!’  And that’s rare.  We’re so familiar with the conventions and the language of television that surprising the audience is hard and I think we did that very well.”
Preacher: Season Two premiered on AMC on Sunday, June 25th and resumes in its regular timeslot on Monday, June 26, 2017.

Graham McTavish as The Saint of Killers – Preacher _ Season 2, Episode 2 – Photo Credit: Skip Bolen/AMC/Sony Pictures Television

 

Filed Under: Interviews, SmallFish, Television Tagged With: AMC, Dominic Cooper, Giore, God, Graham McTavish, Joe Gilgun, Preacher, road movie, road trip, Ruth Negga, Saint of Killers, spiritual, Supernatural

On The Small Screen Vol. 2 (September 1)

September 1, 2015 by ScreenFish Staff Leave a Comment

SmallScreen

In the second installment of SmallFish, we deliver a look at a trilogy of the haunted, that is, The Vampire Diaries, The Originals, and Supernatural, with the Texas Rising miniseries and Starz’ Powers thrown in to boot. 

supernaturalSupernatural: The Complete Tenth Season Blu-ray & Digital HD – In Pursuit Of Grace [Coming September 8]

Sure, it’s a week early, but this series is the best of the supernatural bunch. To be brutally honest, Supernatural is one of few shows that creeps me out, as in, right out of sleeping. [I can still replay for you the scene from the first episode where Jeffrey Dean Morgan battles for the soul of his wife in his kids’ room, complete with crib.] To deal with the levels of hell, evil, and backstabbing psychotics who have littered the Winchesters’ path in the last ten (ten years! seriously!) is to recognize the depths of the writers’ imaginations and the amount of serious CGI that Warner Bros. has poured into development of this horror/fantasy (try writing a review of the show without using the word supernatural…)

Here, in the latest season on Blu-ray from The CW, we get five additional hours of material that tell us even more about the battle that Sam (Jared Padalecki) is forced to fight for the soul of his brother Dean (Jensen Ackles). Thankfully, he’s not alone: Castiel (Misha Collins), who represents God in the show on some occasions, ends up helping Dean. But Castiel is also chasing his own Grace (a real, out-of-body thing in the context of these angels and such), while he’s trying to help get the Mark of Cain’s damage off of Dean. Let’s stop and take a breath for a moment. Do you have any idea what I’m talking about? Right. This is one you want to check out from the beginning and then move forward through. But it’s a great example of what it means to see the forces of evil and wickedness in the world and recognize that the battle is not merely against flesh and blood.

Special features take us on some wild rides: at 2014 Comic-Con, setting up the 200th episode, a look at the mythology behind the show, the way the fans feel about the show, and an opportunity to hear from the cast and crew about what their favorite segments are. 

 

texasrisingTexas Rising Blu-ray & Digital HD- HISTORY’s Formation Of The Texas Rangers (No, Not The Baseball Team)

Boasting a stellar cast, HISTORY’s depiction of the defeat of U.S. soldiers at The Alamo is just the beginning. Directed by Roland Joffe (The Mission, The Killing Fields) and produced by the folks who brought us Hatfields & McCoys, the show is a gritty, dramatic look at a tumultuous time in U.S. history. Told in five parts, the miniseries has several main characters to represent the ensemble of powerful players in the fight for freedom from Santa Anna’s army that lead to the formation of the Texas Rangers.

While the show sometimes moves like a documentary (slowly, in an abundance of talking and detail), it’s also pretty stellar to consider that this could be the way that all of this played out. Bill Paxton leads the way as Sam Houston, while Kris Kristofferson plays President Andrew Jackson and Jeffrey Dean Morgan plays Deaf Smith; in the Rangers’ crew, Brendan Fraser as Billy Anderson and Jeremy Davies as Ephraim Knowles probably headline most famously; Ray Liotta plays Tom Mitchell. Those names may draw in the casual viewer but this one probably still carries the most weight with those series history buffs. I’m personally not wise enough to argue with them over whether or not they got it right or wrong!

Special features include thirty additional minutes like the extra look at Sam Houston (“A Man of the Revolution”) and Santa Anna (“Leading Mexico”).

 

powersPowers: The Complete First Season – How Seriously Should We Take This?

Starring Sharlto Copley, the ever adapting amoeba, as Christian Walker, Powers is all about what it means to have power, to lose power, and to want power. Walker, a creation of graphic novelist Brian Michael Bendis, is an ex-Power, having lost the gifts that made him Diamond. Now, he’s a ‘normal’ cop investigating Powers-related crimes, fending off old friend and crime boss, Johnny Royale (Noah Taylor), and his former mentor, Wolfe (Eddie Izzard). But things are complicated further by Walker’s feelings for another Power, Calista (Olesya Rulin), and his partnership with a normal human cop, Deena Pilgrim (Susan Heyward).

Harley Cohen AKA Triphammer (Andrew Sensenig) is a ‘normal’ hero who has use of technology but no Powers and now serves as the warden of the prison for Powers criminals. His efforts to drain Powers and control them is ethically questionable (on the side of the ‘good’ guys), and creates a greater opportunity to discuss the morals of what we do with our opportunities and gifts. On the other side, Zora (Logan Browning) is an up-and-coming Power who wants to gain attention but doesn’t necessarily grasp the weight of her responsibilities. Ironically, this show asks some of the same questions that the original Spiderman did, but with more violence and profanity. It’s major addition to the conversation may actually be less about having Power and more about what we do when we realize that a moment has passed us by.

 

vampirediariesThe Vampire Diaries: The Complete Sixth Season Blu-ray & Digital HD- Say Goodbye To Our Little Friend!

Another series that may be too complex to explain in one post, this one has a mythos all its own based on L.J. Smith’s series. Oh, Mystic Falls, what a spectacularly dramatic vampire town! Two brothers, Stefan and Damon Salvatore (Paul Wesley and Ian Somerhalder) have different ways of going about love, loss, and power. While the brothers do their thing, caught in the middle of everyone’s power play is Elena Gilbert (Nina Dobrev), and just about everyone else. What is probably most notable is that this is Dobrev’s last, wrapping a six-year run on a soap that capitalized on the Twilight/True Blood fanaticism and made for some interesting discussions about what it means to be human, to be in love, and to exercise one’s power and responsibility.

Special features include two featurettes, “Good Bite and Good Luck” and “Best. Reactions. Ever,” as well as the Comic-Con Panel (2014), audio commentaries, and the gag reel. 

 

originalsThe Originals: The Complete Second Season Blu-ray & Digital HD- What Does ‘The Other’ Look Like?

A spinoff of The Vampire Diaries, this one was introduced in the spring of 2013 as a ‘backdoor’ pilot in the aforementioned show. In the first season, Klaus (Joseph Morgan), Elijah (Daniel Gillies), and Rebekah (Claire Holt) Mikaelson returned to New Orleans to re-establish their hold as the first vampires. Now, they’re continuing their struggle with the ongoing problems surrounding the werewolf clan, but their predecessors (who are witches, too) have arrived to mess around with the dynamics and power of the clan.

The difference between the original (no pun intended) Vampire Diaries and this series is the way that various groups, races, genus, or species (I was never very good at that particular brand of science) interact and judge each other. While the show is ultimately a serious blend of nighttime soaps, it’s also a reminder that no matter what we think of each other, we can’t really seem to get over ourselves. Do you think that you know what it’s like to be a werewolf, a vampire, or a witch? Okay, maybe those are bad examples, but maybe the world would be a better place if we could actually learn to understand what it was like to be whatever we consider ‘other.’

Special features include the standard WB Comic-Con Panel, gag reel, and unaired scenes, but they also show an original web series, a ‘Come Visit Georgia PSA’ [Clever, no?], and ‘Always and Forever.’

 

 

 

Filed Under: DVD, Reviews, SmallFish, Television Tagged With: Castiel, Originals, Supernatural, Texas Rising, Vampire Diaries, Winchester

Primary Sidebar

THE SF NEWS

Get a special look, just for you.

sf podcast

Hot Off the Press

  • 7.12 Making Home in MINARI
  • 1on1 with Philippe Falardeau (MY SALINGER YEAR)
  • Stray: Noble Creatures Unleashed
  • Boss Level: Groundhog Death
  • Raya and the Last Dragon: Trust Lost. Trust Restored.
Find tickets and showtimes on Fandango.

where faith and film are intertwined

film and television carry stories which remind us of the stories God has woven since the beginning of time. come with us on a journey to see where faith and film are intertwined.

Footer

ScreenFish Articles

7.12 Making Home in MINARI

1on1 with Philippe Falardeau (MY SALINGER YEAR)

  • About ScreenFish
  • Privacy Policy

© 2021 · ScreenFish.net · Built by Aaron Lee