Interview: Writer / Director Brian Taylor

Janel Spiegel 01/25/2018 Interviews

Writer/Director Brian Taylor (“Gamer”, “Crank”, “Happy” “Pathology”) took time to speak with Horrornews.net about his new film, “Mom and Dad” starring Nicolas Cage, Selma Blair, Anne Winters, Lance Henriksen and Bishop Stevens.

Brian also talks about the incredible show he created, “Happy” starring Christopher Meloni http://www.syfy.com/happy

Hi Brian, how are you?

Brian- Helllo, Great, how are you?

I am doing well! Thank you! First off, my mom said something similar when I was little after we went through a horrible experience so it is funny to see the tagline. “Mom and Dad” is a really great film. How did the idea manifest for you?

Brian- Well, I am a parent myself so I think there are certain aspects of the movie that are universal. There is a great Stephen King quote and it comes from, “Christine”, “I think part of being a parent is trying to kill your kids”, it’s a metaphor so with genre movies we like to take metaphors and make them literal right. Kind of explore it in a fun way if that’s possible.

It’s an uncomfortable, biological truth of life. The moment you fulfil your purpose as an organism by creating an offspring is the moment you become obsolete and that can be a really frustrating thing for a human being. We have egos and we have delusions of grandeur and we think all of our hopes and dreams and ambitions are so important. They are so relevant but actually we come to find, no not really, not so much. It is hard thing for people to deal with.

The story is good and the cast is amazing. When you were writing did you envision this cast?

Brian- Yeah, Nic and Selma are just kind of like the perfect people for this movie. They both responded to the script really enthusiastically. They really got it. They understood the satire and they understood the subtext and the fun and humor of it. Both of them made the movie really personal and drew a lot from their own experience to create those characters to the point where the characters you see in the movie are not just what was in the script. It is a combination of the script with what they brought to it.

You wrote and directed the film. Did you face any challenges while shooting?

Brian- No, it makes it a lot easier because you never wonder what the scene is about. You always know what it’s about because you wrote it. It can be a lot more challenging doing other people’s material because a lot of times you get there on the day and you’re looking at certain aspects of it and you think why would they write it this way? I don’t even know what this is about so I’m not sure how to direct it.

The one thing you instantly notice about the film is the locations. Being in this perfect neighborhood and then sort of everything goes haywire. Did you film on one location?

Brian- Yeah, we did the whole movie in Louisville, Kentucky and we shot it in real neighborhoods. One of the big influences on the movie was the original “Night of the Living Dead”, the black and white version. I love in that movie how things just start happening and you never really know why and they never explain it. They float some theories but it never definitively explains why this is happening. Is there any way to stop it?

I agree and it is very different. Now, what are you working on next or currently working on and can you tell us any little secrets at all about “Happy?” (At least, I tried)

Brian- All I have to wait until episode seven! If you like it now, episode seven is completely off the rails! I just can’t wait for people to see it!

The torture!!!! The torment! But, “Happy” is amazing and Christopher Meloni is amazing!

Brian- (laughter)

Now, what would you like to say to the fans and the audiences that will be watching “Mom and Dad” – what would you like them to know?

Brian- Don’t be afraid of the subject matter. It’s going be okay! I promise that at the end of the movie you will feel like you took a fun rollercoaster line. You think that it will be super dark. You know from seeing the movie it is nothing like that.