Ahead of the European premiere of his psychologically disturbing supernatural thriller, CONSECRATION, at FrightFest Glasgow 2023, director Chris Smith talks concerning the supernatural aspect of faith, filming in Scotland, and his encounter with a pregnant sheep.
Hi Chris. Thanks for taking the time to sit down down and chat to us.
Another FrightFest, one other Chris Smith film! Our destinies appear intertwined. Why has FrightFest at all times been a key part to your launch technique?
I really feel very lucky to have been introduced into the FrightFest household. I used to be very fortunate that my first movie, Creep, was included after which I bought very fortunate with the dates of launch of my subsequent movies. Severance was proven the night time earlier than the pageant began in 2006 after which in fact there was the spectacular Premier for Triangle on the Empire Leicester Square. FrightFest has additionally proven Black Death and Detour. They didn’t trouble with Get Santa however that’s their loss. FrightFest is the most effective viewers for any director.
Yeah, you appear to be the right match for a pageant like FrightFest!
Where did the preliminary CONSECRATION idea come from?
For a very long time I’ve been making an attempt to give you a film that was concerning the supernatural aspect of faith. If you take a look at Christianity, so many parts of the story are supernatural – the facility of miracles, bringing somebody again from the useless after which Jesus reappearing after his crucifixion. This requires perception and it’s believed by hundreds of thousands of individuals and my story shouldn’t be questioning that. I didn’t wish to make a movie from an atheist stand level as a result of to me there are extra attention-grabbing inquiries to be requested from the place of a believer. I needed to take a look at the miracles and say: “What would occur if someone was born at present that had the facility of Christ? What would occur to that particular person 300 years in the past? What would occur to that particular person in a contemporary context. What if that new Messiah was a lady? These ideas had been mainly the seed of the concept for Jenna’s story.
You are asking some very attention-grabbing questions there.
You co-wrote CONSECRATION with producer Laurie Cook. Who got here up with what?
So, I used to be kicking some concepts round with Jason Newmark who was the producer of Triangle, and Jason mentioned that Laurie, who I’d collaborated with on The Banishing, had a therapy which will tie in properly with my need to make a spiritual movie. Laurie had give you a narrative of a priest that arrived from Rome to reconsecrate a church the place there’s been a homicide. I took that primary concept, which I actually cherished, and simply wrote the primary draft of the story we’ve right here. Laurie then got here in after that first draft was completed and he wrote a draft excessive of it after which we simply went backwards and forwards with it until it was completed.
You have described CONSECRATION as “A film about the nature of religion and how defining one thing as divine creates a false opposite that is heretical”. Can you clarify extra?
I’m all for the concept that individuals consider there can be a second coming and I attempted to think about how which may truly happen. How would these miracles be demonstrated and what could be the church’s place on it. Would the particular person be vilified? Certainly up to now they’d. If it had been a lady she could be a witch. I really like digging into these items.
But all legitimate factors.
You’ve additionally known as CONSECRATION your scariest movie but. Why do you assume that’s?
For me personally, something that offers with fundamentalism is horrifying. So in that context solely, this may be the scariest, together with Black Death. It’s not possible for me to reply actually. Creep is the movie that again and again individuals say is my scariest.
We should agree, Creep is fairly rattling scary!
You assembled a terrific forged together with Jena Malone and Danny Huston. You will need to have been happy they responded so enthusiastically to the fabric?
I’m completely thrilled on the forged of this movie however to be sincere, I’ve at all times been very lucky with the actors I’ve labored with. I really like working with actors and that zeal is recognised by them. I’ve at all times been an enormous fan of Jena Malone, so when she responded so passionately concerning the materials I used to be thrilled. Originally the story was going to be set in America however then we investigated Scotland and we discovered this superb fortress on the sting of a cliff in Skye. Jenna was already connected and there was completely no manner I used to be going to lose her, so she needed to polish off her accent and change into English. I’ve cherished Danny Huston since Ivan’s XTC, which remains to be among the best films ever made about Hollywood, so when he signed on too I used to be in fairy story land. But the entire forged had been superb. Some of whom we’ve forged the quaint manner from audition tapes. Eilidh Fisher who performs the younger nun Meg, Thoren Ferguson who performs the policeman, each native Scottish actors and each nice.
And taking part in Mother Superior is the good Janet Suzman. How did you tempt her out of retirement?
I used to be very fortunate to have labored with Janet Suzman on a TV present I shot in South Africa and so, as quickly as I got here up with this Mother Superior character/ Nurse Ratched kind, I instantly considered Janet. Not as a result of Janet’s remotely like Nurse Ratched however as a result of she’s not! She’s pleasant. She’s only a good actor from the John Hurt/ David Warner faculty. A correct legend.
She definitely is. I believe all of us love Janet!
FrightFest Glasgow is in Scotland clearly, so the place did you movie CONSECRATION on location right here?
We filmed the entire exteriors that you just see on the Isle of Skye. There’s an outdated fortress on the sting of the ocean and we used that because the outdated damaged down Monastery. The inside of the monastery is all set in an outdated ex-monastery on the outskirts of London which luckily has been deconsecrated. I’ve to say, I’ve fallen in love with Scotland on account of being right here a lot. I’ve been as much as the highlands twice this yr already. Once to go up Ben Nevis with my son, which almost killed me after which as soon as to go mountain climbing round Fort William. It’s no marvel the Queen cherished the place, it’s attractive.
We utterly agree with you there. It is an incredible place.
A clean shoot? Any challenges or anecdotes you possibly can share with the category of 2023?
Once I used to be sitting on the monitor and a sheep got here as much as me bleating. The sheep then gave delivery to a child lamb in entrance of me. You don’t get that on the King’s Road!
Woq! I wasn’t anticipating you to say that!
Finally, what’s subsequent?
I’ve written a conflict film which I’m making an attempt to get made set in Syria. I’ve additionally bought one other horror film that I wrote a while in the past however couldn’t fairly end. It’s very a lot an old-fashioned gory horror with a serial killer however lethal severe in tone.
Sounds like you’re retaining very busy which is at all times a very good factor on this enterprise.
Well good luck along with your upcoming initiatives. We will sit up for listening to extra about them. Thanks for you time.
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