By Andrea Six
The filmmakers of “The Sacrament,” a horror movie shot in Savannah, shared their views on the genre and its challenges during the “Horror Filmmaking: ‘The Sacrament’” panel on Nov. 1 at the Gutstein Gallery.
Director and writer Ti West took over the talk, with producers Jacob Jaffke and Peter Phok and actors Gene Jones and AJ Bowen who spoke up every now and again.
“I think the genre is borderline experimental,” said West.
West opened the discussion examining the genre and their take on it. He moved on, explaining that the genre, like any other, is a way for the audience to escape. They want something different from the norm, something that will arouse them in an exhilarating way.
“The audience wants something separate from emotional impact movies,” said West.
“The Sacrament” differs from many horror films because it does not have the elements classic horror films do. There aren’t any monsters or supernatural elements in their film.
“I think what real people do is much scarier,” said West.
Jones and Bowen jumped in the conversation and told the audience that horror movies aren’t a joke and that they challenge the writer, director and actors in ways other films do not. Bowen said that it’s a great place for actors that don’t feel particularly confident, while Jones argued that it shouldn’t be looked down upon.
“Take it seriously,” Jones said to actors. “It’s not cliché acting, it’s not condescending.”
West expanded on the idea, explaining that people want to see scary things in the safety of their chair, they do not want to have to think about it and be frightened. West was all about challenging this and pushing the genre.
The panel started answering questions from the audience after about half an hour, discussing everything from West’s writing process — he isn’t precious with it and must “get it out” in a single weekend — to the setbacks — cold weather in Savannah. The questions droned on and West answered just about every one of them.
It would have been more beneficial to have a panel of horror filmmakers and directors to discuss the topic about the challenges of filming horror movies, rather than the cast and producers of a single film. Or the conversation should have targeted a different subject so everyone could have jumped in on it. West did a great job filling the conversation and managed to keep it pretty interesting. His view on the topic couldn’t have been more clear.
“I think horror is best served when it’s used as a metaphor,” said West.
