IN CONVERSATION WITH ERIC OWEN
Ahead of the world premiere of his lean and mean revenge thriller IN A COLD VEIN, writer and director Eric Owen chatted with GORE IN THE STORE to discuss how his background as a musician informs his filmmaking, the pressures of low-budget filmmaking and his sonic and visual influences.
So I was just wondering why you have made the switch from horror, from your last film to crime thriller with this?
Eric Owen - I don't think there was an intentional purpose between switching genres. I have a ton of scripts, but I never start saying, Okay, I'm gonna write a horror movie, I'm gonna write a thriller movie, or it's gonna be a psychological thriller or a slasher. The idea comes, and then whatever happens, happens. So for me, when I started writing this film, it all started from that very first scene I saw, the first shot of the movie, where we're zoomed in on close, on Dean's face, and then we're zooming out and the audience and him, we're watching and realizing at the same time that he's bound and gagged in the back of a van. So that's where it started. And then I was like, Oh, where do I take it from there? And then it just kind of evolved. So yeah, the genre choice was not intentional. It just kind of happened with the writing.
With your background as a musician, are you inspired when you're composing music to come up with scenes at all, or storylines or plots for films?
EO - Absolutely, a lot of times, in some scripts, it's something that a lot of producers and people have commented on where I have very specific musical notes in the script, where have this part a droning synth with a beat at six, four. So sometimes that music will have already been created. But more often than not, I hear it in my head before I make it, but it's in the script. And a lot of times people producers are like, what does this mean? The musical thing, it's for me, not for you. Don't worry about it. So, yeah, a lot of times musical intention is there beforehand. I'd say, more often than not, I kind of already have an idea of where I'd like to go. Sometimes it ends up being totally different because of how the scenes are filmed and the performances, but it's definitely something that's thought about beforehand often.
And is there any other music that inspires you, creatively and with your storytelling?
EO - There's several bands. Probably one of the biggest ones is a UK band, Portishead, if you're familiar with them? Someone asked me if you could have any band or group or whatever, just soundtrack a film, and it would be Portishead. I don't know how that would turn out, or what kind of film it would be, but it just seems so cinematic to me, and emotional. I can just see, you know, images. There's no story yet to it, but I see images with it. So Portishead is probably the biggest influence when I think about that. Oh, and obviously, he's been very famous with his score work, Trent Reznor and Nine Inch Nails. Also, I hear things there. It's like, Oh, that would be a nice little thing to not steal, but use something like that. So definitely them too.
The film’s soundtrack is very different from your band's music. And I was wondering what your soundtrack inspirations are?
Well kind of going with the last one, it's definitely a lot more electronic based. So I look at Trent Reznor's works. A big inspiration, and then a lot of more atmospheric music like Bjork would be a big inspiration. There's one other soundtrack that I have actually referenced a lot lately, the score to BARBARIAN had a big impact on me and honestly, the film as a whole, as well. BARBARIAN was very influential. The majority, at least in the films that have been made, of the scores are electronic based. There's minimal, if any, acoustic instruments, but I'm always working on ideas. AndI play drums and keyboards in the band, but I also play a bit of guitar. And I’ve actually been working on this acoustic guitar piece that I see working in something the last couple days for my next movie. Then if it's not that, maybe it's the one after, but something that could convey that emotion of dread or terror without it being synth based or even orchestral. So I've been coming up with this acoustic guitar piece that is pretty cool and pretty dark, and, yeah, so it just changes all the time. It just depends on what is needed, I guess.
One of the things I liked about the film is your protagonist. It's refreshing to see an anti-hero who is so relentless. And the longer the film goes on, the harder-edged he gets. What were your inspirations and ideas behind that?
I wanted to create this world where pretty much everyone is a villain, minus the kid. But everyone else is. I wanted someone that was always bordering on that line where we root for him, but we also know that deep down, he’s not a good person but he has good qualities. People are flawed. Everything is not black and white. For most people, there's a gray area. So I really wanted to lean into that, where we still root for him and we still want him to win, because he's been wronged. We've seen him struggle through the hardship, and obviously the emotional connection with him and his son is the main kind of tether to his likability, I guess. So, yeah, it was definitely something that was hard to balance, but I really wanted to lean into that, and I think it came off well.
And where do you pull your influences from? For crime fiction and horror fiction?
All over the place. Sometimes it's film related. I've mentioned BARBARIAN already, which is more of a tonal influence. I described this movie as having three acts and three sub genres kind of going on, but two tonal halves, really, and that first half is kind of a little more comedic. Even through the dark grizzly moments, there's some funnier moments there to help ease us into the second half, which is more grim and intense. I like to say it's a reverse BARBARIAN, where that film is dark and grim and grizzly in the first half, and then all of a sudden, Justin Long pops up and it's kind of funny, and it kind of helps everyone take a breath before just bumming people out. But then an influence for this one that I haven't mentioned anywhere else yet is TRAINING DAY. A lot of specific scenes. The scene of Ethan Hawke in the bathtub, where he is about to get shot, was a big influence. I referenced that a lot to the actors. Like this is the kind of desperation I want in a lot of performances. And that's another one where a good guy does some gnarly things as well along the way. So yeah, that was a big influence on the film.
How did Evan Gamble come to be involved in the film?
I was on an Austin based town agency, just looking at all the Austin based actors that were represented in Austin, going through every actor and I found his reel, and I just watched several of his performances from HBO shows and everything. And I saw his reel,thinking oh my god, if I can get this guy thinking that he lived in Austin, which he didn't. He did at one point, but he's been in LA for a very long time. We had no connections,, didn't know each other, but I reached out to him with the idea, and then he seemed interested in the idea, and then I sent him the script. And then pretty quickly, I think he might have read the script the same day, and he was in. There were a whole bunch of other challenges with him not living here and then scheduling. But I'm so glad it worked out, because not only are we really good friends now, but he'll be coming with me to FrightFest, we'll both be there. I just can't imagine anyone doing as good a job as he did. He's so good. There's a moment, where it's more of an emotional scene when he calls his mother-in-law's house and gets on the phone with his son. I remember shooting that scene and his performance there. I looked over to my cinematographer, and I went, that's acting, and we just kind of nodded at each other, at how good he was. So he's the dude, he's the guy.
And am I right in hearing that the film was shot over 10 days?
Oh, it was insane. I think I slept maybe two hours a night. Just because of directing and then, obviously, producing. I'd have to wake up and prepare and then go to set and clean up blood at the end of the night, just being the janitor. It was crazy. I actually said this on the very first night that we shot afterwards. I got in the van, the one that's the kidnapping van. I got in that and drove home, and I remember just thinking, I don't know if this is doable. I don't know if this is possible. Just doubting, but, you know, staying the course and just doing what we could. You have to make some creative choices and moments that honestly, a lot of times could’ve worked better. So yeah, it was insane and exhausting. But, you know, I wouldn't trade it for anything. Maybe having four or five more days would actually be nice. But, no, I'm so happy and grateful for everything. But, yeah, it was exhausting, right? I mean, it took a lot out of me, but it was worth it.
I can't imagine the amount of preparation you would do, and then still feeling like you're having to do more and more.
It was non stop. And I think I also said there's ten days of shooting, there's ten locations in the movie. So it wasn't all a single location. Every day was a new setup and lighting.
Not to go into spoilers, but at the very end of the film, you have a title card saying “Stay tuned.” Could you elaborate on that at all?
There's a couple scripts that have obviously been completed that are in various stages of development with cast. So hopefully, within the next several months, we get that going. And I'll even tell you. So the next film I’m shooting is called COLLAPSE, and it's about a famous action star from the 2000s that's had a very big career dip, but is now seeing a resurgence after starring in a prestige drama that debuted at Sundance, where he plays the father of a deaf, mute woman. And then he's being interviewed by an Entertainment Tonight-like chat show at his house, but then allegations surface about him, and a bunch of violence happens, and he ends up holding the camera crew hostage.
Now that the film is done is there anything that you would do differently now when you look back at it?
Just more time? No, I think everything happened the way it did, with the confines we had, with the time and the money, everything happened as it should have. I wouldn't change anything, but maybe just a little more time.
Iain MacLeod