PAUL HYETT: “I actually get upset when a film comes to the cinema that costs around four or five million to make and is a really good, intelligent, adult drama but doesn't do well”
CLAPPER: Hello Paul, thank you for coming on here and agreeing to an interview with Clapper, we really appreciate it
PAUL HYETT: It's an absolute pleasure
Congratulations on your new film Peripheral which is due to be released on VOD from 3rd August 2020.
Yeah absolutely, it's really great to see it out. I think it's a really relevant time, much more relevant than it was when we made it.
Was it always down to be released at this time or is it just coincidence that some themes in the film are more relevant now? like the lockdown feeling so-to-speak.
Yeah, it was funny because when we were making it there was isolation with Brexit, all the press around technology and algorithms; how steaming companies look for their movies according to people’s habits, and talk surrounding the death of indie film. That was all relevant back then but now you’ve got all that plus more! You've got everything from protests to lockdown going on so I feel the film will really resonate with people.
This is your fourth film as director. All four of your films are related to the horror genre in some way, each one very defining in it’s look and feel. However, there’s a lot in Peripheral that is down to interpretation. What are your thoughts on the subject matter and why did you choose this project?
I feel this is the least fantasy of the four films I’ve directed. I had done The Seasoning House and Howl at the time and with Howl there were loads of visual effects, SFX and tons of stunts. I knew this was the way in which I wanted to keep going - getting bigger budgets for more visual effects. A producer friend of mine Craig Tuohy then phoned and said he had this movie script he wanted to tell me about. We met up and chatted but I told him I didn't fancy it as I wanted to keep going in the direction I was heading in. He asked me to read it anyway out of interest and I agreed because you never know when you are going to get a gem. I read the script and I really liked it because at the time I was writing a lot of scripts for other people and was very much pushed to write in a certain way, to a certain demographic. I was being told not to include all the conflicts and controversial subjects I wanted to tackle. Everything was weighing me down a bit and Bobbi [lead character in Peripheral] is in a similar situation trying to get her second book done. She goes through everything I was going through, plus having to face this A.I computer that is taking over. The film references the concept of the artist trying to do something for their soul but can’t, having to instead prostitute their services. We're all commercial artists but we want to put something out that makes us proud. I've always said that I’d rather do something I believed in even if people didn't like it, rather than write something I didn’t like or agree with. I spend so much of my time, 2 years writing and shooting a movie, that to come away from it not liking what I’ve made is awful. It’s different if Star Wars called asking me to direct their next film as I would do absolutely anything they wanted, even if that meant bringing Jaja Binks back, but to do a little movie that has your name written all over it yet is pushed into different directions by executives is not nice. It was a difficult time for me as I was worried about independent films dying because of all the money going into TV and everything being made by Netflix and Amazon. Although I think now Netflix are actually really cool, making some really interesting stuff, but there was a concern back then regarding content being made by computer algorithms and the death of indie film. I was writing scripts with a lot of frustration on my own in my house, so everything Bobbi was going through in the script resonated with me.
Peripheral sounds like a very personal film for you. Do you feel more secure now with the direction of independent film?
Yeah, well, before Covid it did seem like more people were starting to take risks. I actually get upset when a film comes to the cinema that costs around four or five million to make and is a really good, intelligent, adult drama but doesn't do well. You just want people to go and support this otherwise we’ll continue to be saturated by superhero films and romantic comedies. Horror is often fine but as well as horror I’ve always enjoyed really dark drama. Films like Gone Baby Gone. Prisoners, Red Sparrow and other really thought provoking drama. You get loads of this on TV which is great but I miss going to the cinema to watch these types of movies. I did feel better about indie film but now Covid has really thrown things. The amount of money that productions are having to put aside to deal with the Covid precautions is pretty insane. A film like the new Jurassic World movie has had to put five million dollars aside for Covid precautions but for independent film to find the money for a Covid supervisor and all the tests taken each day to keep everyone safe will be difficult. Then there’s the insurance required. Companies like Netflix and Amazon can support themselves, but independent films can't. The vision of independent filmmakers is very much there but now trying to make a really interesting independent film in the land of Covid will be pretty tough for a while.
How do you see that developing in future? Obviously none of us know what's going to happen exactly, but do you see Independent films surviving?
I’m least trusting in it at this point because I usually hear a lot about indie filmmakers making this, making that... but right now, for the first time in a long time, I’m not hearing much at all. Investors have said they are putting everything on hold. Investors that are used to putting money into independent film, whilst there’s Covid, are putting their money into hand sanitiser. The problem is where your money comes from. Independent film is risky enough with your money, but now you might be three weeks into a shoot and your lead actor might get Covid and you’d have to put filming on hold. No independent film has the budget for that. Tom Cruise broke his ankle during the making of a Mission Impossible and they stopped filming for four weeks but with Independent film you just can’t so I think independent cinema is going to take a really big hit until they can get a vaccine sorted. The way it’s going, apart from Europe, Covid is getting worse everywhere so I don’t know. It's a really tough time. I think eventually it will come back but I think it's going to be a rocky two years. It’s a pity.
Let’s talk about your new film Peripheral. Although your film’s are all very different in theme, there is a sense of similarity with the way in which they cause the viewer to feel. A very uncomfortable and claustrophobic element. In Howl the characters are confined to a train carriage, in Heretiks there’s the claustrophobic dorms and hallways, and in The Seasoning House you have a girl in captivity. How do you see Peripheral in relation to these themes? And the underlying themes surrounding technology, can you please elaborate on some of those? Especially those sticky, inky fingers. What was the thought process behind that?
A lot of it is about how the computer is taking over the human. Whether it be a supermarket self-service tills or all the way to the opposite end with a writer trying to write on a computer. It’s all about the computer taking over. The more the character Bobbi uses it, the more she has to relinquish control as the computer takes over her thought processes and her structure. Everything. So everytime she works she would fall deeper into the hole and the black on her hands would increase more and more. Signifying that she is being totally taken over by the computer. The whole thing about the hybrid, when she has the baby, is a metaphor for the book she is creating. That's what happens when a human and a computer get together and you get this weird, bastard creation that you find revolting but you also love it because it's come from you. The ink was just a way of seeing how the computer takes over your hands which are pretty much not your own anymore.
Those scenes were quite uncomfortable. Did you draw upon any inspiration when making Peripheral? As a horror director, do you have any specific films or filmmakers you look to when making your films?
Yeah I always have a little inspiration in my films. In Seasoning House I was inspired by Guillermo del Toro and Pan's Labyrinth. I see Seasoning House as a very dark fairy tale and I emulated some of the ways in which he lit to create the atmosphere. Howl was inspired by every monster movie really...
Great fun though. The werewolf subgenre does suffer a bit and there aren't many great werewolf films, but Howl is right up there and is underrated. Very tense with great make-up.
I’m always quite surprised at how much love Howl gets. It came out to very small fanfare but the screening was packed and I speak to many people now who love it. Some people really put it up there and it's humbling. Especially when I go to festivals in other countries, they seem to really like it. With Peripheral, my inspiration came from Gaspar Noe and David Croneberg. I love Gaspar Noe’s stuff, it’s psychedelic, hallucinogenic and you really feel like you're going on some acid fueled drug trip. He's just got this great style and I wanted to put a little bit of that in Peripheral. Then obviously with the body horror, It’s Cronenberg. They were my inspirations. I try not to copy too much. I try and give it my own spin but everything is inspired by something.
It’s hard to come up with something new but you’ve managed it here with Peripheral. There are some elements that may remind people of other films but overall Peripheral is very original.
Yeah that’s certainly what I was going for. There’s nothing like Peripheral. I am always worried about making a film that feels generic. I want to look back at my movies and think I’ve made films that are unlike anything else. Whether people like it or not, I hope they can at least see that I've created interesting concepts.
I’d like to take a moment to talk about the actresses. Hannah Arterton carried the film very well, especially considering that for almost the entire film she is on screen. It has to be an engaging performance that marries up with your filmmaking and she did that well. What was it like to work with Hannah? And what was the process behind the casting for the role of Bobbi?
We thought a lot about who should play Bobbi and I always had Hannah in the back of my mind. We had worked together before [on Heretiks] and I knew it would be an emotionally and physically draining film for any actress. Hannah and I have a bit of shorthand because we know each other having worked together before. There's no egos and no diva with Hannah. We talked about the character and shared our opinions, so I knew that I could go and see her everyday and not worry about anything other than a really good collaboration between the two of us. We talked a lot about the character, where Bobbi was in her head and how she is feeling. With Peripheral, as you can imagine, there was a lot to talk about. Bobbi's character arc, her reactions and her emotional beats. There was just so much so I did really want someone that I knew. We looked at about a hundred actresses and yet we came back to Hannah. In the end, she gave me so much more than I could have expected. She nailed it. She often reminded me of a young Debbie Harry from Videodrome. Everything that Hannah brought was excellent and I am indebted to her for that.
You also have Rosie Day onboard again too who is a very lucky girl as she is in all of your films to-date I believe isn't she?
Yeah Rosie is great, so easy going and such a little pro, she is a delight to work with.
Do you always like to work with the same people right throughout the set? and do you feel that aids your creativity?
Yeah absolutely, It helps to really know people as they know how you like things done. Sometimesit'snicetohaveawholenewcrewandmeetnewfacesbutoftenit'snice to just have people you know you can rely on. I would never give a part to an actor friend if they weren't right for it but sometimes I write a script and I can see a part for somebody I know and think it will be great to have them onboard. You do want to keep things fresh though and have some new faces. I like to have open auditions sometimes as It's really quite exciting when you find a new talent and think that maybe they can go far. In Seasoning House it was Rose’s first film. She was excellent and the perfect choice to play Angel [lead character in The Seasoning House].
Music and practical effects are two elements that are very strong in your films. In Peripheral you use a basey background at times which creates a very powerful and disturbing feel towards the horrors and tension felt on screen. Is this something that you fixated on?
I'm really into sound design and music and the composer on Peripheral, Si Bergg, did a phenomenal job. He has released an album that is out now, you should check it out. We talked about [preparation] grimey, old 80s type synth music. We listened to a lot of Kurt Kavinsky as we wanted a very dark low synthy base like something out of Ex Machina. We looked at old soundtracks like Videodrome and piled on loads of references actually. Si was amazing and really delivered on the music. He got it spot on. I was very pleased.
With regards to the practical effects, I have an extensive background in makeup and effects. You always want to strike that balance where the effects enhance the prosthetics and vice-a-versa. Most of the time a film is short on a budget so you have to work with the money you have and think very creatively. The great thing about Peripheral is that it was mostly all HUD effects with the computer. We wanted to give the computer a real personality. We had endless discussions on whether it should look something like the green computer text in The Matrix, but I really wanted to go with something colourful as a direct contrast to the dark, grim flat where Bobbi lives.The computer brings the colour. I wanted a big, wide and curved screen. Focusing on someone looking at a screen can be the most boring image in the world so I needed to make sure the screen looked transparent. I needed to make sure we knew she was looking at a screen but, instead of looking at the back of a computer I need to make sure we could see through the screen to capture her reactions and so you feel as if you are there with Bobbi and never feel like you are a person stepping back from the computer. That was a key part to making the scenes with the computer work. In the script, the computer was just described as a screen with a bunch of wires coming out but I knew that Bobbi would be in front of the computer for something like 80% of the film so it had to be visually interesting.
Do you have any other projects planned for the future Paul?
Absolutely, I have two films. The first is called The Black Site with Blumfest Films and that's about a female intelligence officer that comes back from a particularly brutal tour in Iraq where she was subjected to a traumatic injury. She is finding it hard to adjust to civilian life again and is having hallucinations and nightmares. It's a really dark and sinister film with a lot of elements that the lead character doesn't understand, visions of places she hasn't been to and feelings that don't make sense to her so she goes to a therapist and they go into regressional hypnotherapy and start opening up the little boxes in her mind and it's like Pandora's Box being opened. The film gets darker and darker as she begins to realise that she might well have been altered or manipulated by the army in covert interrogation centres. The truth eventually comes out and it's much, much darker than imagined. It’s kind of like Zero Dark Thirty meets Jacob's Ladder meets The Manchurian Candidate.
The second film is called Unnatural Selection with Watershore Productions and is a very Stephen King type movie with a low budget. Its about a TV show where guests come on and talk about conspiracy theories, with Flat Earthers and MythBusters. It’s like a cool, dark, late night TV show, but then someone walks in off the street and claims he is a fallen angel and has news about the world. They begin talking to him and the guy proves charming but also manipulative. He has historical knowledge like you can't imagine. Is he for real? The truth eventually comes out but I don't want to say too much more because it's one of those ya know...
Were these stories presented to you and did you choose which you wanted to pursue?
I really enjoy writing, I wrote both The Black Site and Unnatural Selection. I do have a lot of scripts sent to me and there was a time, especially after The Seasoning House when scripts were coming from America, mostly franchise movies that were very competitive with many directors going for them. You would often get down to the last two and get pipped at the post. A lot of my friends are trying to go to America to be a success but I'm not really interested in that because I enjoy what I have here and I love the Independent movie scene.
I want to say a big thank you to you Paul for doing this interview with us. It’s been an absolute pleasure and it’s great to hear you have lots lined up for the future.
I’ve really enjoyed this conversation and it's my pleasure honestly
Good luck with the new film Peripheral and all your future endeavours.
Thank you and goodbye.
PERIPHERAL is available to watch on VOD. Read CLAPPER’s review here