Clown in corn director to create meaningful (but still terrible) horror movies

Name Eli Craig may not ring the bell immediately, but all the fans of the genre know Tucker & Dale vs. Evil– Craig Horror Comedy for 2010 For a pair of good guys who accidentally attach themselves as murderers, in a movie that has a lot of fun on any cabinet cabinet that can be presented. Craig’s latest candidate for cult class status is about to hit theaters: Clown in a corn fieldAn upper tale placed in a small town in the Midwest, which is terrorized by… well, look at the title.

IO9 has a chance to talk to Craig everything about clowns, corn fields, comedy, and why prefers terrible stories that weave surprisingly deep themes under all their sprays.

Cheryl Eddie, IO9: Clown in a corn field There are some funny one-line (and fun title), but it’s really simpler than a subversive. How did you approach find the right tone while managing it in a less comedy direction than your previous films?

Eli Craig: I always try to surprise people, I guess, and it starts with the title – turning and surprising people. This movie has these emotional elements that are deeper than both titles suggest, but even the tone of the movie suggests. I like to make movies that are some deep and are not taken seriously at the same time. The title intrigues me; I had made a movie called Evil Both with a clown and a corn field in it. And I thought, well, now it’s time to collect these two elements.

There is comedy in this movie, but it really is like a comedy of horror for me. I exploded the moments of the comedy and took them away from horror and action so that they were almost alone so that they did not walk on top of each other. And it was a conscious decision, because I really love action movies and I don’t want people to just think about me always as a really funny horror man. But I think they can still think of me (this way) a little, so we’ll see.

IO9: Clowns are a well -loved horror wire but Clown in a corn fieldFrendo also has this additional layer to be a corporate mascot. How did you gather both elements to make the character we see in the movie?

Craig: I like the Frado background to be this corporate mascot, who was the salesman of Baypen corn syrup in the 30th and 40s and 50s for Kettle Springs. We wanted to design a clown, which was some happy, but over the years it became more sinister. There is only this metaphor for America. This movie is very American. It is based in this small town in Missouri, which had time to boom because of its surgery with corn syrup in the 40th and 50s, and is now in anxiety.

We wanted the clown to imitate this. And the fury that comes from the loss so much, from so many economic difficulties, is embedded in the sinister smile of the clown. This is a very movie about this generation of division and some of the anger coming from Frado to the younger generation is really obvious in it.

IO9: I would ask you about the difference in the generation we see in the movie. You mentioned earlier that it was important that the movie was more than a simple clown killing people. Why was it important for you to be sure that there was a place at place?

Craig: For me, I’m always looking for something that is deeper. I’m strange some thoughtful, deep man. Even with Tucker & DaleMaybe one in 10 people go: “Oh, wow, it’s really a movie about classicism and social stratification.” I love the absurd with deep topics. I have always loved something like an existential philosophy and the theater of the absurd. And if I could combine the two and have a really funny, funny movie that you could look twice and think: “Wait a little, this movie is actually about things that are deeper than they are on the surface” – that’s always my goal.

IO9: The movie has some old technology/new technology to go with this – the kids who make videos on YouTube is a hobby that the elderly in the city does not understand; There is also an eternal lack of WiFi or cell service, the main character is to learn how to manage the change of sticks, etc. Was the rotary phone a real reaction?

Craig: Yes, it really was. I always thought in this movie about how to straighten the old one against the new and that the older generation does not really know how to use new technology and the younger generation does not know how to use the older technology. All these are the things I came up with as we moved.

As for the reaction that goes on the phone, so much of it was just to find out – I wrote something about it, but I realized how it would be organic on the day. How would they just feel natural and not like a joke? Because for me, I want all my jokes to play like a real reaction and not like someone just had a fun line to say in a script.

So when Cassandra potentza playing Janet and Katie Douglas, who plays Quinn, ran there, I was like, “Just try to do it with the phone. Just try to find out how you will call this thing.” And they have the feeling of it, so there is a little improvisation and a little expectation that they will not understand it. So it just comes out very natural and real.

IO9: We talked about clowns. But corn fields also have a long and historical history in horror. What do you think is the worst thing about a corn field? And what is the biggest challenge that comes with the photos in them?

Craig: Well, the worst thing about a corn field is that they grow higher than your head. And within about 30 seconds you can get lost in a corn field. The first time I shot a scene just one night on Evil In a corn field, I had a crew member who wandered to go to the bathroom and never returned. They just lost themselves there. And I learned a lot from this – that a supply of corn looks like another.

So when we run through the corn, we could just run back -back through the same corn bit, as long as it didn’t seem damaged. And we would pass, damage one section of corn, and then lie down this line and run through another section. And the most difficult part of working with all this – well, many things. One is that the corn is actually somehow sharp. There are these abrasive edges to it. So when the actors pass through it a full sprint, they cut with their hands and small pieces of corn can enter the eyes, and the flakes and things. So there is a joke where (the hero of versions) Ronnie like: “Oh, this corn hurts!” This is something I wrote because as we were shooting, people were like “Oh, this corn hurts!”

I wanted to put it there only in some fun way. And this is muddy and there is time; Sometimes it was like minus 10 or 20 degrees because we were shooting in vinipeg. So there is all this and bugs – it’s a grain there!

People sometimes look at Hollywood like this bunch of Prima Donnas, who are, taking care of there. But everyone in this movie was so difficult because it is four in the morning, minus 10 degrees, they have a cut throughout the body from running through corn. And if you run through Mook, which fills the soles of your boots; You can’t even really get any grip because all muddy sticks to the bottom of your shoes. So everyone was just so hardcore. You will be surprised.

IO9: The Clown in a corn field Book that your movie is based on two sequels – would you consider making a movie for a sequel?

Craig: Before we even filmed this one, I read the second book and understood the connection from this movie that (went) in the second book. And then, of course, when someone has three really good books, written and has a series, and I just love Adam Cesare as an author, it’s exciting to remember what can come after.

IO9: Great, maybe a crossover with Tucker and Dale?

Craig: I know –Tucker & Dale vs Clown in a corn fieldS (Laughs) I think there are many options. I knew I had to grow my career from the world of horror comedy in order to get more movies. So hopefully this will make people see that I am more capable than just one thing. And then maybe I’ll do it Tucker & Dale 2S We’ll see.

IO9: I hope this happens!

Craig: I think maybe this will be my first feature film and my last feature film, Tucker & Dale 2And we will all shoot it – I will be an old man with a cane that goes “action!” And Tucker and Dale (both will be) old men passing through their continuation. (Laughs.) Or earlier, you know, who knows – if this movie does well, it will help me make more movies. So go to see it!

Clown in a corn field He visits the theaters on May 9.

Want more IO9 news? See when to expect the most native Marvel., Interstellarand Star Trek versions, what’s next for DC Universe on Film and TVand all you need to know about the future of Doctor whoS