INT: Ti West

Last Updated on July 28, 2021

The Arrow
interviews Ti West

Director
Ti West
is in the process of completing his first horror feature, an old
school, “Drive In” variety type of opus called “The Roost”




(check out the film’s website here).
Not only that, but he also has indie genre slayer Larry Fessenden (Habit
/ Wendigo) and his Prod Company




Glass Eye Pix
backing him up. Very slick to have that type of support on
your first feature muchacho! Good stuff! I got in touch with the lad to get
the “beef jerky” on what seems to be a promising little genre ditty. Here’s
what Ti fired back at me.

ARROW: What’s your favorite horror movie?

TI: That’s a hard
question (lame answer).  There are so many Sub-Genres to horror; it’s
tough to pick just one without short-changing another.  Today my
favorite might be The Changeling, The Exorcist, Texas Chainsaw
Massacre, or The Thing…but tomorrow it could be The Evil Dead, The
Lost Boys (Thank god for the 2-disc that’s finally coming out),  Dead
Alive or even The Monster Squad.  All of those movies are equally
awesome to me, but can’t really be compared.  They are all so
different.  Also, no matter what I pick today, tomorrow I will be
pissed that I didn’t pick something else.  So I have to wimp out and
say I don’t really have a fave…but those I mentioned are definitely
way up there…The Changeling being the scariest for sure.

ARROW: You’re presently in post-production for your
feature film debut “The Roost”. What can you tell us
about the picture in terms of story?

TI: Well, the
movie is ultimately about a bunch of kids who get in a car accident,
and when they go looking for help, everything gets much worse.  They
wind up on a farm and disturb a giant Roost of vampire bats, and when
some of them are bitten…terror ensues.  However, what makes it a bit
different from your standard fare is that it’s Halloween, and the
movie itself is being played as part of a Late Night Television
“Midnight Movie” Program.  It is introduced and concluded (even partly
controlled) by a mysterious Horror Host, who is broadcasting out of an
old haunted mansion. It’s very reminiscent of what I grew up craving
as a suburban horror fan.  I love E.C. Comics and the whole Drive-in /
Pulp horror vibe.  So even though tonally, The Roost is mostly
influenced by the late 70s and early 80s, it definitely treats itself
like a HORROR MOVIE. 

It’s got vampire/zombies,
bats, full moons, thunder & lightening, fog, cobwebs, dead animals…You
name it, and I tried to get it in there as best I could without being
sarcastic or overly campy.  The only things missing are Boobs…which is
a shame, because they were in the script, but the scene was cut. What
I’m hoping is that people can pick up on the vibe (boobs or no boobs),
and it will remind them of when they would sneak out of bed to go
downstairs and watch some horror movie that didn’t come on HBO until
two in the morning.  Hiding out under a pile of blankets with a bag of
chips and a coke, just rockin’ out to whatever you could lay your eyes
on (And probably taping it on EP).

ARROW:
You also wrote the screenplay for the film. What was the initial
creative spark that had you hit the keyboard to write this particular
tale?

TI: Basically,
Larry telling me he was interested in making a movie with me.   I mean
I was graduating film school in like two weeks, and to be able to make
a feature on someone else’s dime right out of school is like the Holy
Grail (Especially with someone who I admired, and who respected my
short films).  I knew he would let me do my thing, and not try and
change what I wanted to make. He told me all about “Scare-Flix” and
why he was doing it, and said for me to come back in a week or so,
after I graduate, with some feature ideas. I came back; he really
liked my Thesis Film, and immediately wanted to know if I had any
ideas. I had one good one.  It was indie, and gritty and low budget
and very scary.  Exactly what I thought he would want for a
Scare-Flix
project.  It was an 80s sort of revenge movie, about voodoo, and
curses, and people getting their eyes sewn up, very cool creepy
stuff… 

Well he didn’t really like
it.  So I was sort of bullshitting with him, and told him about this
other vampire bat/creature movie I had in mind, and he suddenly got
excited (Larry and I both have a soft spot for monster movies).  So I
went home and wrote the script in about three weeks, and he read it
and was like….ok, let’s see if we can get it made. After a while
though, things got scaled down a bit, and the bats became less
“monsterous” and more just like rare vampire bats that when they get
you, they turn you into the flesh craving undead…Plus, it also
started to morph into this old idea I had a while back, about a horror
host having to fight real evils in the real world.  That was sort of a
“Fright Night” rip-off anyhow, so I
lifted just the host out of that script, and put him into this one. 
Once the host was in, the Drive-in style stuff really took off. 
It’s important to me that this movie not try and be ultra-real, or
urban, or true to life at all.  It’s not groundbreaking stuff.  I’m
really just aiming straight for that un-hip, gritty B-movie style of
horror I grew up with. Something that I would read about on this
site, or in Fangoria, and want to go and see…Something gritty and
bloody, with enough fright and enough gore to get chicks covering
their eyes…Something authentic to the kind of horror that I grew up
loving.  Or if nothing else, at least a good 2am watch for some kid
somewhere…

ARROW: Is the film aiming for subtle
scares, extreme gore or a bit of both?

TI: A little bit of
everything. I’m trying to embrace as many decades of horror as I
can.  The movie has so many different types of classic elements from
Horror Radio Theatre Broadcasts, to gory make-up effects, and all the
way up to CGI.  However, it is a pretty slow paced “subtle scares”
suspense movie for the first half.  I don’t like when movies rush into
the horror.  I don’t like endless character back story or anything
like that, but just time to see the people who are eventually going to
die, living their lives.  I like not knowing who they are at first,
and instead of them telling you their life story, you just get little
bits here and there from the way they talk to each other.  While at
the same time always slipping in little horror treats along the way. 
John Carpenter is maybe the best at this.  I really like the way he
treats his characters,
especially in The Fog and Prince of Darkness. Besides, the movie is
basically in “real time.”  So you need the build up.  The second half
is pretty relentless.  I wouldn’t say “extreme gore” though.  I
suppose for some people it will be extremely gory, but for me, it’s
just a little gruesome fun from time to time.  We have some great bat
attacks, bullets to the face, a couple of good bites, stakes through
the heart, etc.  But extreme gore to me is Peter Jackson style
blood-facials or Fulci intestine barf scenes…we aren’t quite there
(unfortunately).

ARROW: How would you describe the casting
process for the film? Was it smooth sailing or arduous?

TI:  It was a
bit arduous at times, only because it was rushed.  It’s an unfortunate
fact of the matter, but what can you do?  I mean, I wrote the script
in May and we shot in October, so it all went by really fast.  The
actors did great jobs though, I am very happy with all of their
performances.  I just wish we had more rehearsal time, and more time
for everyone to get into the spirit of the movie.  I love horror
movies so much man, and it’s hard being a horror director, and not
having actors who have the same passion for the genre as you do.  That
is in part, I’m sure, attributed to some of my own short comings as a
director, but there are definitely times when it’s great to be able to
drop an obscure horror movie reference, or do an impression and have
people “get it” right away.  Especially actors, and especially when
you are trying to tap into a specific sub-genre of movies.  On the
other hand though, you get much more truthful performances out of the
actors when they don’t relate to the campiness of a scene, and that’s
great, even better actually. Sean Reid plays “Brian” in the movie, and
he and I are good friends.  We went to SVA together, and he is in all
my shorts films.  We have a very Sam Raimi / Bruce Campbell
relationship when making movies, so it’s always fun to work with him. 
He is the only person I know who has seen as many movies as I have
(especially from the 80s) and can pick up on my references right
away…that’s the best, when its like that.  Almost telepathic
sometimes…

ARROW: Looking back, what was the most
challenging obstacle that you had to surmount during the actual shoot?

TI: Fortunately it
all went pretty smooth…Other than the deadly barn dandruff air
clogging my lungs every night; I’d say maybe working with a “big crew”
was the hardest thing.  I made all my short films myself.  Wrote,
directed, edited, and shot them all.  It was just me with the camera,
usually two actors, and my girlfriend helping out.  Now all of a
sudden I have a cast of eight and a crew of like twelve, and I don’t
know what to do with them all.  Being on such a tight schedule, you
tend to get really frustrated when things take a long time, and you
don’t know why.  You are forced to depend on other people so much,
that you can easily go insane when you have to wait around forever
just for a two second insert.  But everyone worked really hard, and of
course nobody got paid, so I can’t really complain.  And I usually
don’t…

ARROW: You shot in the same barn in which Hitchcock shot
“Marnie”. Did you feel the man’s spirit around as you
were shooting?

TI: I don’t know…as
I said it all went pretty smooth, so maybe he was smiling down on me,
helping out, not letting it all collapse.  Everyone who came on the
set said they “felt” like they were in a horror movie, so that was
pretty cool.  The owners of the barn had some good stories, and the
house where the actors stayed is owned by a famous horse related
family in Chester County, Pa.  They told me about how they used to
fight with Hitchcock when he wouldn’t stop shooting.  It was a very
conservative area in the sixties when they made “Marnie,” and it’s not
a very conservative movie. Oddly enough the original location where I
wanted to shoot the movie was taken away from us when M. Night
Shyamalan decided to shoot there.  The owners were cool with the both
of us doing it (because they were in the fields and we were in the
barns) but Disney wasn’t as accepting.  So the original farm we were
going to use became “The Village,” and we ended up a little ways up
the road at the “Marnie” barn.  They even shot the same time as us and
everything, sometimes literally right down the street.  I actually ran
into M. Night recently and got to tell him all these stories about the
movie and point him towards our website and stuff…it was exciting,
because I’m a fan, and he is from the same area as me, and making big
horror movies…You have to understand, that where I live, at my age,
when you say making a movie people think “video camera in the
backyard” they have no idea what your talking about.

ARROW: Maverick filmmaker Larry Fessenden’s
production company “Glass Eye Pix” is producing the movie. How would you
describe your working relationship with the man?

TI:
Larry is awesome.  I just read your review of Wendigo (he is very
fond of what you had to say about it by the way).  Larry is a really
interesting director.  I have no doubt that he could make the most
cliché horror movie ever, and make it well…but he doesn’t want to.  He
has no interest.  He was approached for “Wrong Turn” and “The Texas
Chainsaw” remake, but he didn’t want to do either.  What’s so cool
about him, is that even if you don’t like his movies (a lot
don’t…he’ll tell you) you have to give him credit for pushing the
genre forward.  Who else is making thoughtful emotional indie horror
movies?  Not to mention, I was 22 when he told me he would finance my
first feature…so I mean…It doesn’t get much cooler than that.  I
encourage anyone who hasn’t seen his stuff, to give him a try.  They
are not for everyone, but they are definitely worth your time.  At
least head over to GlassEyePix.Com, and read about Scare-Flix.  It’s a
really cool thing to be doing, and the kind of stuff that is essential
in keeping indie horror alive and still fresh.

ARROW: What kind of distribution can we expect
the film to have? When will we be able to see it?

TI: Man, I don’t
know.  We are aiming for Toronto (If we can make the deadline) or else
I would love to
premiere at Sundance as a Midnight Movie.  That is, if we can get in. 
This is the ultimate midnight movie for me, and we could have such a
great time with it out there.  As far as distro goes, I would love to
say that Lions Gate will swoop down and snatch us up like Cabin Fever
or Open Water and we will all live happily ever after, but who
knows…The Roost is a gritty little Super 16mm horror movie.  And
nowadays that is only okay if it’s “High Concept.”  We are more like
“Medium Concept,” so it’s hard to tell.  Look at Evil Dead, I
mean you
show that to people and they go nuts, but if you made that now would
it be bought up right away?  I don’t know…I’m proud of the movie so
far, and I really think people will enjoy it.  But I’m not sure if
“The Suits” will embrace such a small (out of the box) kind of horror
film, and that makes it harder for audiences to find. 

However, sites like you and
JoBlo, Aint it Cool, and Dark Horizons, are all heavy factors in that
changing.  I read these sites daily, and get so pumped about new stuff
coming out.  I love all the scoops and rumors, and tons of other
people do too.  So I really want to try and build up as much internet
buzz as possible. That way, if we are lucky enough to get into
Toronto or Sundance, we will actually have an audience of people who
know about the movie before hand, and are willing to give it a
chance.  That’s why these interviews are so great, and that’s what I’m
trying to accomplish with the film’s official website.  I mean,
no…there isn’t a drive-in actually in the movie…but when you get there
and see the site, you know exactly where I’m coming from as a
director.  That’s what I want man, I want people to get the feeling
right away that this could be something cool.  Hopefully they will get
interested and excited about it, tell some friends, and they will all
support us, and check in on us along the way. Besides, I’m not looking
to retire off this movie anyhow.  I just want people to see it. 
Hopefully some will like it, and I’ll get a chance to make another one
someday.  I mean hey, if we got video at least, and a bunch of ten
year old kids rent it for a sleep-over and watch it in a fort…dude,
you don’t even know how psyched I’d be…

ARROW:
What’s next up on your plate? Any project lined up?

TI: Without spilling
too many beans, I am about 30 pages in on about five different scripts
(and there is always the sequel I have in mind).  Right now though I
am working the hardest on an exploitive slasher movie that I would
love to do next…very Friday the 13^th, Alone in the Dark,
Just Before Dawn, House by the Cemetery style stuff.  Have you ever
seen the original poster/vhs box cover (with the red RCA outline) of
Alone in the Dark?  The movie is cool, not the greatest or anything,
but the poster is so fucking awesome!  I’m dying to make a movie like
that, just so I can design the greatest slasher poster ever! I love
the 70s and 80s painted posters…they don’t do it anymore and it
sucks.  Someone said to me that it was because studios think that the
public will think it’s a cartoon.  That’s retarded…go to your local
mom and pop video store and check out all the vhs box covers before
1990.  They are so awesome! Sure, a lot of them have nothing to do
with the movie’s story, but you just want to rent the shit out of them
anyway!  All I know is, when we get around to doing The Roost poster
I’m going to give whoever paints it the biggest ulcer…but it will be
sick, I promise!

Getting back to the script
stuff though (Sorry)…Yeah, I mean I have lots of ideas I think could
be cool…just no outlet for them yet.  I will be ready (just in case)
when The Roost is done though.  It would be great to hook up with
another small horror production company who is down with my style. 
That way it works out for everyone.  It’s so much better to work with
people who want to see the movie your making, not people who just
think other people will want to see it.  My thing though is I love to
know what is
realistically possible when writing.  I have a million ideas everyday,
but I get bored of them quickly.  What was cool about The Roost was, I
pitched the premise to Larry, he liked it, and I went home and wrote
it right away, knowing that we would make it.  I don’t want to write a
script and spend 15 years trying to raise 15 million, I’d rather write
a movie that I could make ASAP…for cheaper and save the 15 million
idea for later.  Hopefully this will open some doors for me, and get
me there a little quicker…either way though, I’m extremely fortunate
to be living my dream right now, and I really hope I don’t have to
stop doing it any time soon.

ARROW: During the shoot, what was your
beverage of choice?

TI: Berkley and
Jensen (BJ’s) COLA the first week, and Sam’s Choice (Wal-Mart) COLA
the second.  I think they are like…15 cents a can…at most.  Deadly…

TI and a bloodied up friend

I’d like to thank Ti for dropping by the site and for giving us the meat
of it all. The project has my interest peaked and hopefully it will
kick all of our fanboy asses very soon. Bring on The Roost!