Interview with Sean Hogan - Director of The Dark Gets In

Ahead of the international premiere of his latest feature, THE DARK GETS IN, at Tubi FrightFest Halloween on 31 October, Sean Hogan discusses the film’s journey, the challenges of working with improvisation, and drawing on personal loss.

THE DARK GETS IN has been described as a’ mock-true crime documentary.’ What true-crime cases / TV series did you draw your inspiration from?

The true crime elements were something that came about via a discussion with the film's producers, who admittedly were more familiar with those sorts of shows than I was. They were keen to make something along those lines, which led me to suggest that we utilise a fictional documentary format. That way we could play around with classic true crime tropes but also take the story in some unexpected directions. So I did have to brush up on my true crime in order to write the screenplay! In the end, the one that probably inspired me the most was Joe Berlinger's The Vanishing at the Cecil Hotel.

Sean Hogan on the set of THE DARK GETS IN

We follow the harrowing case of a missing female teenager. You’ve gone on record as saying that you have lost close family members suddenly and unexpectedly and know just how wrenching that experience can be. How did this inform the creative process?

It's true that I have been through the experience of losing family members very suddenly. That wasn't actually something I consciously thought about when I started writing the script; it was only when we started production that I realised I'd probably been channelling those feelings without really even being aware of it. The thing is, when I look back at the work I've been doing in the last 5-10 years, I can see now that a lot of it is actually attempting to come to terms with those same experiences. With this particular film, it just made me want to try and deal with those sorts of emotions as honestly and realistically as I could. I've seen first-hand what a tragic loss like that can do to a family, and the terrible grief and incomprehension that springs out of not being able to properly explain or understand why such a loss happened. While the film ultimately goes to places that are not naturalistic, it still felt important to ground the core drama in something that felt very raw and real.

You wanted actors that were deft at improvising to help create a sense of documentary reality. How challenging was it to get the right cast, given the naturalistic narrative style required?

It did take quite a long time. When we put out the initial casting call, I think we had hundreds, if not thousands of applicants. So firstly, we had to look at a lot of showreels and decide who the best candidates for the various characters might be. However, improvisation is a very particular skill and not something that all actors are proficient at. We then had to hold an improvisatory audition process where we asked the people on our shortlist to answer some interview questions in character. That gave us a much better idea of who would be able to work in this sort of naturalistic off-the-cuff style. In a couple of cases, I felt like I was already seeing the character I'd written in those audition tapes and couldn't imagine anyone else playing them – luckily those particular actors went on to accept the roles!

Kezia Cotterrell as Aisling in THE DARK GETS IN

What do you want audiences to take away?

I hope they're as interested in the human drama of the film as the more horrific elements. The film does take a fairly slow-burn approach and you spend a while getting to know the characters before any supernatural elements start to creep in. It's really an experiment in trying to create a sense of slowly mounting dread, which is always more interesting to me than a succession of “boo!” moments. Of course, I also want people to enjoy the horror once it arrives. I suppose I'd like audiences to walk away from the film thinking that they'd seen something that managed to be both frightening and tragic.

Can you describe your personal journey making this film?

I'd never made anything like this before. Although there was a written script that served as the roadmap/bible for the film, I've never utilised improvisation to the same extent that we did here. That could be nerve-wracking at times but also incredibly exciting. I gave the actors a lot of freedom to come up with their own ideas and some really creative material came out of that. The finished film does follow the basic narrative structure of the original screenplay, but there are also moments in there that I never would have written myself. The process of making something in this fashion wasn't always easy, but it was incredibly invigorating. I feel like the whole experience has taught me an incredible amount, even if I never make anything in quite the same way again.

The title The Dark Gets In suggests a theme of creeping, unstoppable corruption or psychological unravelling. What is the "dark" representing for you, and how does it manifest for your characters?

As you say, it can be read in several different ways. In the film, the character of Natasha talks about a darkness that has followed her all her life: an early childhood tragedy that now seems to be repeating itself. That threat is ultimately revealed as something very specific: darkness personified, if you like. By the climax of the film, these same dark forces will have literally “got in” and invaded the family home. But there's also an interior darkness to some of the characters, a suggestion that the people we're closest to in life might have murkier aspects to their personalities that we never normally see. Added to which, the film also looks at how the internet functions as a kind of breeding ground for darker behaviour, an arena in which online anonymity permits people to indulge in all sorts of illicit fantasies and forbidden impulses. And given that the internet is now in almost all our homes, it can very easily serve as a pipeline to channel this kind of darkness directly into people's lives.

Much of your previous work, like The Devil's Business, thrives on tense, Pinteresque contained spaces. Does this film continue that tradition, or are you experimenting with a more expansive canvas this time?

The nature of this film means it can't help but be somewhat more expansive, simply because of the number of characters and locations. The documentary form dictates that you're constantly cutting from here to there and back again, so you can't really build that same atmosphere of claustrophobia. On the other hand, I hope The Dark Gets In still has a similar sense of tension, that same inexorable feeling of events spinning slowly out of control. Although they take very different forms, both this film and The Devil's Business are ultimately about characters finding themselves trapped in situations they can't possibly control or understand; and finally coming to the realisation that the world is a much more illogical and terrifying place than they ever imagined.

You’re known for brilliantly imbuing character-driven drama with classic horror genre themes. Does this stem from your literary roots?

I suppose that while I loved horror from a very early age, over time I also became interested in other creative areas, be that different kinds of films or novels or theatre. Everything I do now is just kind of a stew of those sorts of influences. I do take a lot of care over the writing process; ideally, I guess I'm trying to make films where both the visuals and the dialogue are equally important. It always seemed obvious to me that horror movies were better when they took the time to create interesting characters and give them well-written dialogue to say, so that's just something I've always striven to do. I also believe that genres need to expand and progress in order to stay relevant, and one of the ways you achieve that is by bringing in outside influences, whether that be (in my case) Pinter or Bergman or true crime documentaries or a hundred other things.

You’re very much a stalwart of independent filmmaking. Beyond directing, you have championed the genre by writing extensive metafiction and books deeply rooted in the history of cult and independent cinema. Is this something you want to continue doing?

I hope I can continue doing all of it! Getting films produced is always very difficult; part of the reason I started writing prose fiction is because I hadn't been able to make a film for several years. Luckily, that all changed recently but there are never any guarantees it will continue. So I will keep on writing fiction regardless, because that's much more under my control. I'm not sure whether I'll write any more actual cinema metafiction, as I've published several books in that vein now and there are other things I want to do. But whatever I write will probably always have at least one foot in the genre: my most recent novel was a folk horror/psychological thriller, and I've just finished the first draft of a noir/horror novel.

Finally, what can you tell us about future projects?

There is one really exciting project bubbling under which involves a classic horror property, but I'm still waiting to be given a contract, so can't say any more. Beyond that, I have a US-set script I'm trying to make, and a TV miniseries I'm developing. I'm also working on an idea for another UK indie film. I wish I could be more certain about what might happen next, but such is the nature of the business. We'll just have to see how this film is received and if anything else comes of it!

THE DARK GETS IN is screening at Tubi FrightFest Halloween at the ODEON Luxe West End on Saturday 31 Oct, at 3.40pm and 4.10pm.

Interview with Sean Hogan

On the eve of the UK TV premiere of THE DEVIL’S BUSINESS on Horror Channel, Sean Hogan talks about the future of the horror film industry, the importance of a good script and his forthcoming doc on the UK comic 2000AD.

THE DEVIL’S BUSINESS is broadcast on Sat May 11, 22:55,

Q:  How did The Devil’s Business come together?

SH: I’d been waiting a long time for another project to come together, and out of sheer frustration, I had a meeting with my producer Jen Handorf one night and proposed that we made something for very little money, just to get back in the saddle. I’d recently seen Down Terrace and really liked it, and my feeling was that you didn’t need a whole lot of money to make something, just a good script, talented actors and one location. So I sat down and wrote Devil’s Business to be done along those lines. What happened then was, the other project finally happened, but turned out to be a nightmare experience. So once the dust had settled, I really needed to wash the bad taste out of my mouth. So Jen proposed we went back to The Devil’s Business. It came together really quickly after that, we basically pulled it all together in a few months.

Q: Did the script take long to write?

SH: Not really. It was short, for one thing! And I was kind of on a roll when I wrote it; I’d written about five scripts already that year so the gears were well oiled. Besides, it really was one of those times where the characters took over and wrote themselves – it always sounds horribly pretentious when writers say that, but what can I tell you, it’s true! I normally outline much more than I did on Devil’s Business, but in this instance I just sat down and started writing with only a vague sense of what was going to happen. For instance, when I wrote Pinner’s monologue, I didn’t really know what he was going to say or how it would impact the rest of the film; all I knew was that he was going to tell a strange story. And it all just came flooding out. It certainly isn’t always that simple, so I have fond memories of writing it.

Q: Was it a hard movie to cast?

SH: No, we were fairly lucky in that department. We didn’t have a casting director, so it was largely a case of me and Jen scouring Spotlight and looking at showreels etc. That was how we found Billy Clarke, who played Pinner. He was the first person who read for the part and I just loved him immediately. Johnny Hansler was someone I’d auditioned for another film – he wasn’t right for that part but I made a note that if we ever did Devil’s he’d be great for Mr Kist, so we just made him an offer based on that. And Jack Gordon was a recommendation via his agency, who Jen had a working relationship with. Again, he just came in and rocked the audition. Easiest casting process I’ve ever had, despite the lack of resources.

Q: How did you go about funding for the film?

SH: It was private money. We wanted to control the production ourselves - because we’d had enough of meddling, crooked, incompetent executives – so Jen and I invested some money to get things going. And then we approached some other people we knew to kick in some cash as well. We knew that if we tried to get it made through official industry channels it would take forever and we’d have to put up with a ton of less-than-helpful script notes, so we made a decision we’d just do it our way – for less money, but with more control. It was hard work doing it on the budget, but the actual experience of doing it with no outside interference was sheer bliss.
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Q: The film picked up some great reviews including one that stated “…smart British horror has a touch of the Roald Dahl to it” that’s quite a compliment.

SH: We were very happy with the response, without a doubt. From my perspective, I had no idea how the film would be received; it was just cathartic to make it. I figured that it was such a small production that it might easily disappear without a trace. And besides, it isn’t really a conventional horror film in many ways; it’s quite dialogue-driven and character-based, which always puts some people off. So I was definitely steeling myself for the worst. But then we premiered it at FrightFest and got wonderful reviews, and it went on from there. So I was delighted – I’ve had bad luck with UK distribution in the past, so to get that sort of a reaction was very rewarding. And it definitely made everyone’s hard work worth it.

Q: You must be pleased that the film is getting its UK TV premiere on the Horror Channel?

SH: Certainly am. Again, if you’d said to me when we were shooting it that the film would eventually play cinemas, come out on DVD and then show on TV, I’d have probably asked you what you were on and where could I get some. The Horror Channel has been very supportive of me and so I’m really pleased we’ve found a home here.

Q: What state do you think the British horror movie industry is in?

SH: It’s very tough, certainly at an independent level. DVD sales are down and whilst I think VOD will eventually take up the slack, it isn’t there yet. But horror is reliant on those sorts of areas to make it viable. So you get a lot of distributors asking you to make something along the lines of what was successful last year. Which I hate hearing, not least because that never works. I’ve certainly been asked to make something similar to Kill List, for instance. But Kill List was successful because it wasn’t like anything else at the time, and if you just try and copy that, the audience will smell it a mile off. And anyway, we kept getting compared to Kill List anyway, so why would I want to do that again? I honestly think a lot of it comes down to a lack of respect for the genre; a lot of industry people just see it as product and not worth any serious consideration. Therefore you get a lot of crap being made, just because it ticks certain commercial boxes. And so if you want to do something different, you run into difficulty. But there are definitely good UK filmmakers out there, so I just hope that everyone keeps plugging away and making films one way or another. Because if history shows us anything, it’s that good horror usually comes out of the independent sector anyway.

Q: What advice would you give to anyone wanting to become a director or work in the horror industry?

SH: It’s obvious, but my primary point is always to pay attention to your script. The writing really isn’t worth a damn in most horror films. And yet it costs no money to get your characters and dialogue written properly. So if you can’t write, find someone who can. Similarly, cast good actors – they may not be famous names, but you can certainly find people who can act. Trust me, it’s easy if the script is good – actors are desperate for quality material. Don’t make something that’s just by the numbers – we’ve all seen the classic horror films, doesn’t mean we want to see slavish copies/homages. Figure out what really scares you and put it onscreen – because if it scares you then odds are it will scare someone else. And for god’s sake yes, please try and be scary. Rape and torture are not scary, and I’m so incredibly bored with how much of that we’re seeing right now. It’s easy to be upsetting, but it’s not easy to be scary.

Q: So what are you working on at the moment?

SH: Jen and I are developing a script called No Man’s Land, which is a horror movie set in the trenches of WWI. We’ve had a lot of interest over that, so I’m hopeful we can get that going this year. I’m attached to a bunch of other projects as well, but that’s where I’m focusing right now. I’m also producing a documentary called Future Shock!, which tells the story of the legendary UK comic 2000AD. That’s proving to be a lot of fun, and the response to us making it has been great. That should be ready sometime next year.

Sean Hogan, thank you very much.

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