Interview with the director of The Hallow, Corin Hardy, who is currently working on the remake of The Raven. Hardy introduces us to his new film The Hallow, a body horror in which he introduced a new type of monster and where there are incredible practical effects. He also tells us about his film influences (movies from the 1970s and 1980s) and his future plans.
Link to original interview: Interview with director Corin Hardy
L.S.: Hi Corin! Thank you for giving us some of your time. What is your background as a filmmaker?
C.H.: I loved art and illustration as a child and fell in love with horror and special effects after seeing "Evil Dead 2." From then on I decided to make monster movies. I was inspired by movies like "The Thing," "Alien," "The Fly," "Jaws" and many others. I studied art, sculpture and set design at college in London, and with Academy Films I started making music videos for The Prodigy, Biffy Clyro, The Horrors, Ed Sheeran and Keane. In my videos I have always tried to tell stories and also indulge with mixes of FX techniques.
L.S.: You are the director and screenwriter of "The Hallow." What can you tell us about it?
C.H.: I had developed a number of horror film projects and was trying hard to introduce a 'new monster.' I felt that fairy mythology was a good starting point, so I decided to tell a fairy tale rooted in reality, science and nature, introducing the idea of vengeful nature.
L.S.: "The Hallow" is a body horror whose story focuses on demonic creatures living in an Irish forest. How did this idea come about? What was your inspiration for the story?
C.H.: I studied a lot of old fairy mythology books and tried to find a way in which to introduce that world into our own, trying not to make it gothic or fantastic but real and visceral. I love so much the survival movies of the 1970s and 1980s like "Straw Dogs" or "Deliverance," and I wanted to mix that kind of survival/home invasion with fantasy, like in the movie "The Faun's Labyrinth." As the story progresses and the couple struggles to survive, according to the rules of the mythology we chose, there were interesting opportunities for the film to blur into some subgenres, such as body horror, precisely.
L.S.: The wonderful creatures and practical effects we can see in the film's official trailer remind me of Lamberto Bava's "Demons," John Carpenter's "The Thing," and Sam Raimi's "The House."... What can you tell us about your film influences?
C.H.: The titles you mentioned are only part of my film influences. I would also add Ray Harryhausen's films, the gritty reality of Tobe Hooper's "Don't Open That Door," the beautiful cinematography and powerful performances in John Boorman's "Deliverance," the high level of quality and love given in presenting such an extraordinary creature as Ridley Scott's alien in "Alien"... The craziness of Raimi's cinema, the epic qualities, the completeness of the narrative and the breathtaking sequences of Spielberg's films. "Nightmare On Elm Street," "Rosemary's Baby," "The Exorcist"... All the great horror films of the 1970s and 1980s and all the special effects artists in these films, such as Dick Smith, Stan Winston, Rob Bottin... I tried to find someone in the UK who could make such creatures.
L.S.: What can you tell us about the extensive use of practical effects in "The Hallow"?
C.H.: It was important to try and try to get a good result which I arrived at by mixing practical effects with VFX and limited use of CGI in order to enhance the work. There are prosthetics, mechanical puppets, marionettes, animation and composition with VFX and some CGI. By mixing different techniques, I wanted to create an illusion that cannot be precisely defined. The goal is definitely to involve you emotionally and I hope I can scare you!
L.S.: What are you currently working on?
C.H.: The Raven, a project I am extremely passionate about. It's a deep, emotional, romantic, violent, dark story based on James O'Barr's incredible graphic novel.
