Interview: Robert Hall
After the first of what’s a busy horror convention schedule for Robert Hall, writer/director of the recently released Laid to Rest, he took a break to chat with Killer Film. Here’s our conversation:
Jon: With Laid to Rest out now on DVD, and you in between horror cons, how has this been to you?
Robert Hall: It’s kind of a whirlwind. I feel very over-whelmed a bit, there’s so much to do. I’ve been more busy now that we were making the film! It’s very bizarre. It feels awesome, you know, good to have people respond to what you have been working on for a year.
Jon: How did the idea for Laid to Rest come to be?
Hall: I just wanted to make a very simple slasher film that didn’t have any pretensions about what it was and done a little less campy than the slasher films appear to be from the ’80s now. Even some of the more recent ones, probably intentionally. I wanted to be one that didn’t know it was a movie and that’s how it came about.
Jon: Laid to Rest doesn’t directly homage any previous slasher, but I’m sure you couldn’t help but be inspired by some. What were some of your influences for the film?
Hall: All of them! (laughs) I a giant Halloween fan, it’s probably my favorite of all-time. I’m sure Halloween inspired me a little bit, all the Friday the 13th sequels, as bad as some of them were. Certainly I see Chrome Skull more like Patrick Bateman in American Psycho, than those other guys when he doesn’t have the mask on, so I’m sure American Psycho inspired me. But that kind of idea, about someone who just is insane, inspired me.
Jon: How did you get this type of cast involved?
Hall: Well, its no secret to what I do for my day job as I do effects work for other people’s movies. The majority of the people who worked with me on my first film, Lightning Bug and I wrote the parts for, or that liked Lightning Bug and wanted to be in my next movie. I wanted to work with them again like Johnathon Schaech, Lena Headey, Thomas Dekker, so you know, they were like next time you needs us, call. We had a writers strike and they had time to make it. That’s how we got the cast. Other than Richard Lynch and Sean Whalen who auditioned, everyone else was written for their part.
Jon: Was it important to have characters that are not teenagers in this slasher?
Hall: Yeah, it was for me, just because it takes me out of it, these movies have done it so many times, I just didn’t want to start a slasher movie off that way. I felt it would’ve gotten swallowed up. So I took a bold, risky decision to open the a lead woman from the get-go who was very damaged. She can barely speak, she isn’t in a tank top for the whole movie, you know? I really wanted to start it off with a really unique premise, so hopefully, we did.
Jon: Laid to Rest works for me, since it has a nice dose of atmosphere something most of the recent slasher movies didn’t have. Was this a focal point or did it just come about during shooting?
Hall: The atmosphere was definitely thought about, and what’s strange is that to a lot of people, even Tony (Timpone) from Fangoria said it was kind of like the Italian horror films in that style. It wasn’t the emphasis, but I did put a lot effort in the style and characters to feel like it is its own world. I wanted to shoot the movie as if its seen through Chrome Skull’s world. That led that to the overall look.
Jon: Deadbox provides the score for the film, as well as you using Suicidal Tendencies in some areas. Can you explain what they each brought to the film and why you chose them?
Hall: Well, Deadbox is me, it’s my version of Goblin. It is and I wanted another composer to do the movie, and he was busy, so what I wound up doing a little bass, since I was in metal band for years. It was my hobbies and Thomas Dekker, who was a talented musician, my editor, and my brother all came in to do this, to form this fake band, Deadbox, and did it in my home studio. Kind of out of necessity but once we got going, we came to really enjoy it as it was a lot of fun, so we tried to come up with a unique sound for Chrome Skull. That’s how Deadbox began and with Suicidal Tendencies, I’ve been friends with for many, many, years and they provided a couple of songs for us, as well as did a couple of the guitar riffs for Deadbox. Like the opening titles is like Suicidal Tendencies and then Deadbox, like an amalgamation.
Jon: Slashers are sort of seeing a revival here. The genre isn’t known for anything complex but just boobs, blood, and a mask killer. Why do you think this sub-genre of horror continues to thrill and excite filmmakers and viewers?
Hall: That’s a very good question. I think horror as a whole is the ultimate form of escapism, so I got a feel on why that’s popular,as you are seeing awful and terrible things happen. I personally think the evening news is more terrifying than anything in horror I ever seen. I really do. The sub-genre in particular? Probably because on how basic and simple it is. You know? Its a lot easier to invest yourself into a film like that, where you don’t need a ton of exposition or character development to figure what is going on. Scary guy wants girl and he’s off, that’s all you really need to know. I wanted to tip my hat to films like with Laid to Rest. That’s why people are watching them kinds of movies, and there’ll be more of them too.
Jon: Despite Laid to Rest’s limited theatrical screenings, most will find it here on DVD. The direct-to-DVD market is no longer a bad thing to come out in. Personally, I’ve found some of my current favorite horror movies this way. What’s changed to make this market more profitable and accessible for viewers to see good, quality films now and for you guys?
Hall: I totally agree with you, as that sigma that direct-to-video films once had, even ten years ago is gone. There are movies being made for $10-15 million with big stars are coming out just to DVD. For a low budget film like this, I consider it to be a success that we got picked up at all and people get to see it. Even if you saw Laid to Rest in one of those limited screenings, if you liked it, you’re going to buy it and show other people, so you’ll pick up the DVD anyway. You’re going to show other people, and the only way is DVD. So, I feel like these kinds of movies live on through DVD, so its not a bad thing to come out this way. It’s still the most accessible way, even with downloading and file sharing, having a little disc is still the best way to see a movie and get someone on a movie. I think the technology has changed a lot too and that’s part of the reason. It takes a lot to market a theatrical motion picture. It would’ve taken more to do big commercial stops and advertising for Laid to Rest, than our entire budget. It doesn’t make a lot of sense if you think about it. For certain films, this is the market for it, and I’m pleased you can find it everywhere on DVD.
Jon: I want to thank you for your time, as this has been a great chat, since you’ve been very busy.
Hall: Thank you very much, Jon, I appreciated this.
If you haven’t already, you can check out Laid to Rest from Anchor Bay, as it is now out on DVD everywhere and look for Robert Hall’s effects work in the upcoming The Crazies, the remake of the George Romero classic!
Any questions? Email me at jon@killerfilm.com Feel free to comment below!
