Last Updated on July 23, 2021
“LUCKY MCKEE”
It almost feels like yesterday that a little film called May was brought to my attention via this very site (Arrow’s review) and I became obsessed with it. I watched May quite often, and I told everyone I knew about it. That was a good 8 years ago now, and it’s a film that I still hold in high regard. I will forever be thankful to writer/director Lucky McKee for re-igniting my passion for the genre with this film. And since May, he has continued to make interesting and thought-provoking films. His is a name that I always keep an eye out for, and I think I salivate every time I see it. He’s a man of huge talent, and I enjoy his work immensely.
This is the very first ‘Dissecting The Director’ column that I have put together with input from the actual director. I was lucky enough to sit down with Lucky, and discuss his career. His quotes can be found through this write-up, enjoy.
BEST WORK
Bar none, May is the best film that Lucky McKee has directed. I also consider it to be one of the best genre films of the past 15 years. Yes, those are strong words, but I can say them without a second thought. So what exactly is so great about this film? It’s psychological horror at its best with one of the most sympathetic lead characters you’ll ever find, played perfectly by Angela Bettis. From the get-go, this film drew me right in. I was pulled into the story of May almost instantly. She is a strange creature, having had an extremely closed-off childhood and being a social outcast. On her birthday, May’s mother presented her with a doll, only it was not to be touched. The doll ends up becoming her only “friend”. Now that she is older, not much has changed but she still tries to live a normal life. She works at a veterinarian hospital, which somehow seems like a perfect fit for her. One day she comes across a man named Adam (Jeremy Sisto). Intent on having him in her life, May does all sorts of odd things to get his attention. Throw in the strange attraction by the receptionist at her work Polly (Anna Faris), May certainly has her work cut out for her. However, not everything is going to go smoothly, as the ghosts of her past are not going to let her be happy.
May is adorable. After seeing the film, I wanted to pick her up and take care of her. She has this extreme sense of awkwardness about her. She doesn’t know how to interact with people. I would be lying if I said I haven’t felt that way at one time or another, which just adds naturalism to her character and the performance. Every word that comes out of her mouth and every little bit of body language manages to tell her story. I don’t think I have quite seen a performance quite like this before, and I seem to notice something else each time that I watch the film. There is definitely a great relationship between director and actor with McKee and Bettis, and from this film it’s not hard to see why they constantly work together. Anna Farris and Jeremy Sisto are interesting choices for the characters that May has relations with, each playing off of Bettis differently, but both combinations work. Adam seems very much like a character that McKee used elements of himself with. A very cool mofo at that.
All the different elements with May come together in a perfect blend. The first half of the film is a very quirky character study, while the second half turns into a gruesome adventure. As the film progresses, so do the cracks in May’s mental stability. It isn’t easy to watch her crumble, but when she gets herself back up again, you know the pay off is going to be something special. It is all just perfectly handled. The script and the direction are phenomenal. McKee has made a genre masterpiece in my eyes, which is something that really set the standard that has been and will continue to be difficult to top.
I asked Lucky how he felt about May. His response “I am so happy that people still talk about it. It’s been awhile, it came out in 2002, so its been nine years. I had written it four or five years before that. That movie means everything to me, it was my first solo feature. I wrote and directed it from my heart, the fact that it still moves people is a good thing to hear.“
He also spoke about where the inspiration and ideas came from: “It came from feeling like a teenager, all that angst. It was based on myself. I always get asked about why I always have female leads, and in the case of May, it was me hiding behind that character. As a man, hiding behind the female character, I felt like I could be more expressive, emotionally and gain more sympathy for a lonely girl, than a loney guy. It is a deeply, deeply personal film.“
WORST WORK
I don’t feel right calling this the ‘worst’ because The Woods is still a pretty enjoyable and decent film. It just happens to be the one film that I gave the lowest score (I did not include Red when considering this, as Lucky was fired off the project). When this film came out, I was so excited to see it. It became an impossible task, and when Blockbuster finally had a copy I couldn’t contain my excitement. I had heard some people say that it wasn’t very good, but from friends whose opinion that I trusted said it was good and that I would like it.
I am glad I trusted those opinions and gave this film a fair chance. It really felt like a modern take on the likes of Suspiria, with a bit of ‘in the woods’ thrown in to the mix. The Woods takes place at an isolated New England girl’s school. Our main character Heather (Agnes Bruckner) is a troubled one and her parents apparently feel they have no other choice than to have her attend this school. Her father is played by Bruce Campbell, and you’d think that he’d know better than to leave his daughter at a place in the woods. Strange events begin to happen. Students are going missing, and Heather wants to find out what is really going on. The film had some great atmosphere, cinematography, setting, sound and performances. Its first half is really strong and solid, with the school drama being gold. Unfortunately, it kind of falls apart a little in the second half, and the ending is a little all over the place. I think that perhaps McKee didn’t quite feel comfortable entirely with certain bits. That last third of the film really needed something different, but he tried to make it work. It’s still a solid film, and if you can find it, it’s worth checking out.
I asked Lucky about The Woods, the initial delay in release and the constrast between this and May. “The studio for this kept changing hands, nobody want to lay claim to it. It was a weird film, I think I accomplished showing like the nightmares and fears of a teenage girl, in a strange way. Its not the strongest plot, but atmospherically and emotionally there is a lot that works about it. The visuals and audio I am very, very proud of. I got to play with some big tools on that, as this was a studio film and I had a real budget. We had a lot of people working on the film, around 300. I was very green when I made it, I went from a $300,000 film to suddenly making an $8-9 million film. I was around 26-27 years old at the time, it was a big learning experience. I stayed with the fllm, no matter how tough it became. I am proud of the film, it became over drawn in the sense that the post-production process lasted a year and a half. Ultimately I feel like I came out with a good film, I think there is some quality stuff there.“
TRADEMARKS
The most obvious trademark of McKee’s is Angela Bettis, as he frequently casts her in his films. It isn’t hard to see why, as she is a fantastic actress and the two have a great rapport. It almost feels weird to watch a film of his without her being in it in some way. Their collaborations extend even beyond his films, as Angela directed a film called Roman that Lucky wrote and also starred in. The other quite obvious trademark, and something he does well, is his strong female characters. He understands how to write women characters and how to direct them. It just feels right. Even though the characters are all very different, each has their own qualities that McKee is able to bring out in his films. This was something that I found to be quite surprising, because at face value his films wouldn’t seem like they would have that sort of ability. Also look out for references, there are homages are all over the place to directors, films, art and music. McKee also manages to give his films a great atmosphere, no matter what the setting. They all have a certain unique feel to them. Really, his films just stick out, as they all have that McKee charm to them.
Lucky reflected on what he considers to be his trademarks and influences. On his use of strong female characters. “I grew up around women, I had a great mother, a great older sister, and all of my relatives. I was always around women, I am a great admirer of women, I think especially in horror films but films in general women are always playing the same role over and over again. But there is just so much more going on, having them be strong and different is a nice thing to see. Everything I’ve written is pretty much centered on women. Trying out as many different possibilites with those characters as possible.“
On some of his other influences: “Art, capturing the feelings and forms the human body can take, it is a huge influence, I like to express that in my films. Things like the sound dynamics of like Nirvana is another big influence, something you can hear with The Woods, like that quiet/loud/quiet/loud. I try to approach music in a unique way. I am a big fan of Point Of View, I like to get the audience in a subjective state when they’re watching a film. Being in someones ears or being in someones eyes, feeling what they’re feeling. Knowing how they are feeling just by looking in their eyes. I like really rich photography, stuff that is painterly, not neccessarily realistic, just beautiful to look at. And you know just twisting peoples brains, like making them go ‘what the hell did I just watch?’ its really fun to just make people question it, and forget they are watching a movie, and get lost in it. Get emotional about it.
On working with Angela: “She’s such a special person, she has such a gift. She has such an understanding about what I’ve written and why I wrote it, even stuff that I didn’t pick up (laughs). She’s just incrediblu gifted and made for my lense. Its like a great love, she’s my friend, shes my sister. As a director she’s my great love, we’re soul mates in what we do. We were made to work together.“
HIDDEN GEM
Get Masters Of Horror S1 on DVD here
Get Masters Of Horror S1 on Blu-ray here
The Masters Of Horror series is a great gem all on its own. There’s a great array of talent to be found in the serues, as well as McKee’s entry called Sick Girl. I hadn’t seen this episode until recently, and what a gem it is. This again features McKee working with Angela Bettis in the role of Ida the entomologist. She is a shy and awkward woman (surprise!) who works at a University and on the side she is trying to find love. In an unusual turn of events, she gets sent a very big and crazy bug, while at the same time gets a first date with a woman Misty with whom she has a crush on. The bug isn’t exactly normal, and when it bites Misty her behaviour changes and it’s clear that there is something going on.
The title represents Misty, and her Fly-like transformations. It definitely has the feel of the Cronenberg remake as well as the original, and it works just as well. There is a sense of nothing quite being what it seems, and the pay off at the end is a damn fine one. The film can be seen as a metaphor on relationships, namely what happens when you move too quickly or act first and think later. The actual little romance between Ida and Misty is well handled, believable and very sweet. When Misty starts to change, and Ida has no idea what is going on, it really hits hard. This is a fine addition to Masters of Horror and a great piece of filmmaking. Well done Mr McKee, well done!
We spoke about Sick Girl, and what the influences where. “That was really fun, with that we just straight up had fun with it. There’s a lot of influence from cinema of the 30’s and 40’s, especially romantic comedy. It was like we absorbed that style, and then shot it in that style, but telling a story you never could have told in that era. A story about two women in love, and its why Angela’s character Ida, especially with her mannerism, it comes from that era of cinema. Which I think is the era from where most of the best films are made. That golden age! I think out of all those guys with all the episodes, all the guys who I grew up watching (Carpenter, Coscarelli, Hooper, Landis) I ended up making the most old-fashioned movie (laughs), styalistically. It was so fun to do, when we watched the footage of Angela after we’d shot it back in the hotel, we’d be howling with laughter, it was great. With the central relationship in this, it wasn’t a social commentary, its not a political thing, it has nothing to do with that. Its just to show two people in love, and show it in a normal way. Show it as genuine and not in an exploitational way.“
NEXT PROJECT
Currently making the festival rounds is McKee’s The Woman. I was lucky enough to check the film out as part of the Melbourne International Film Festival, and I have to say that it’s pretty twisted. It doesn’t quite achieve the greatness of May, but The Woman is an interesting and solid effort. It will certainly divide audiences, and in saying that I’m glad that it will. The film will make you talk about it after you’ve seen it. I haven’t really stopped thinking about it. It’s both brutal and harsh, and it does get all sorts of messy. The film is based upon the works of Jack Ketchum, and the third in the Dead River trilogy. It’s a stand-alone film but I believe that could make a good companion piece to Offspring, as Pollyanna McIntosh plays the woman in both films. Truly, this is a must-see for fans of McKee’s and Ketchum’s works, as well as anyone who wants to experience a truly messed-up genre piece. I hope this finds an audience, and I look forward to what ever McKee cooks up after this.
Lucky gave his own run down about The Woman: “As a result of being burned so badly (with Red), having such a bad experience, I came back and made The Woman. I came in with my teeth grinding! The Woman is really aggressive, there is a fair bit of anger underneth the surface of it. Its like ‘you want a fucking horror movie, well here you go’! Ultimately I made a film in the spirit of films that inspired me when growing up, like Straw Dogs, A Clockwork Orange and Peeping Tom, and the Video Nasties too basically; the films that were just too shocking. I wanted to make something that dealt with abuse, but at the same time not make an exploitation film. It isn’t one, even though it is getting called one. Like for example with the rape scene there is no attempt at eroticism, and with the POV in that scene it is to make the audience feel and experience it as both characters. The feelings there are between the characters is disturbing. I went into this film swinging and with the attitude that if this is the last thing I make, I am going out fighting. I got down a dirty (laughs). I think this is the first film I’ve made since May, where you can tell someone the entire plot and still you wont have any idea what you’re in for. After May and how people responded so well to it, I wasn’t sure I’d be able to get that emotional and veceral response again. Hopefully people will come out and see this, and support these types of films so they keep getting made.“
OVERALL
Lucky McKee has proved to me that he is talented, unique and well worth the time to discover. Each of his films have their own special qualities, and he aims to do things that others haven’t. He creates bizarre characters, but ones we can’t help but watch. It’s easy to see that he puts a lot of heart into his films, and that he is a fan of the genre and wants to do it justice. He does, and he’s certainly one of my favourite directors to emerge over the last few years. I am proud to call myself a fan, and I will continue to get excited every time I see his name.
I would like to send out a huge thank you to Lucky for taking the time out to chat with me about his career. A big thanks also to Monster Pictures Australia for all their hard work, and being the first company to actually be distributing the film. It meant a lot to me to have this experience and I really hope my words, as well as his will bring in new interest and fans.
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