Exclusive Interview: Jeff Schneider (Evil Under The Skin)

Exclusive Interview: Jeff Schneider – EVIL UNDER THE SKIN  

Horrornews.net is proud to spotlight independent director, Jeff Schneider in this exclusive interview.  Today, we talk about the release his newest horror feature, Evil Under The Skin.

It’s our mission to bring the horror audience the most immersive interview experience possible, exploring the individual and the artist and what makes it all work.

What attracted you to EVIL UNDER THE SKIN? I really liked the opportunity to do something different. Luc’s script was more of an experimental film and I always liked Robert Altmanns quote “If you’re playing it safe then you’re not playing at all.” To me parts of the film reminded me of David Lynch and we even changed the last name of the character to “palmer” as a tribute to that.

How would you describe your directing style? It varies from project to project. I think this film is more of a David Lynch style and with some Lars von Trier style aspects to it.

What scene was the most rewarding to direct? The closing scene and I would say to direct and edit. The reason is we really tried to leave clues but not spell it out for the people watching but then we had to tie it together smoothly. I can’t really explain that without going into spoilers. Very few people were able to catch all the clues one reviewer watched it twice and he found most but if you are just watching and not paying attention they are easy to miss.

What was your biggest obstacle during the shoot? The shoot schedule we only had 10 days to shoot it and on top of that a lot of the scenes were emotional shots of Helene as she slowly goes insane. We also only had Angela Barajas for one day so we were really under the gun shooting all of her scenes.

What other directors or artists inspire your creativity? I like Lars von Trier the most. I think The way he grinds his Heroine down in suffering is really impressive. He makes their heroics and sacrifice paramount. Dancer in the dark was really an amazing film. The creativity of Christopher Nolan and productions from Blumhouse and how they take new and interesting looks at things.

What is your favorite decade for horror movies and why? I think probably the 80’s I grew up with Nightmare on elm street, Friday the 13th, Alien. Out of all of those, Alien absolutely terrified me.

Did you learn anything that you didn’t know before making EVIL UNDER THE SKIN?
I didn’t really learn it this time but it absolutely reinforced my feelings. It takes a village to make a film. Sometimes that is a very small village but it is never just one person. The Cast and crew on this was very small but each person made it possible. If you surround yourself with good reliable people with positive attitudes you can achieve amazing things.

Who on your team went above and beyond? Everyone, everyone just crushed it and I say that without exception.

What’s the best compliment a movie goer could give you after watching EVIL UNDER THE SKIN? That was something different. I don’t even know if I liked it or not.

What future project are you most looking forward to? We currently have three productions in post, Alien wars: Judgement day, Loose Luck, and RED VS WOLF.  I am excited to have these out by late 2021