Antlers Interview with Scott Cooper

From the visionary world of acclaimed director Scott Cooper and horror maestro Guillermo del Toro comes ANTLERS. In an isolated Oregon town, a middle-school teacher (Keri Russell) and her sheriff brother (Jesse Plemons) become embroiled with her enigmatic student (Jeremy T. Thomas) whose dark secrets lead to terrifying encounters with a legendary ancestral creature who came before them.

Rebecca : Hi Scott, I’m Rebecca and I’m from Love Horror UK. How are you?

Scott : I’m great and it’s so wonderful to speak with you, thank you.

Rebecca : And you, thank you very much. I just want to start by saying I absolutely loved Antlers. Big horror fan and I think it was fantastic. So many good scares but at the same time, had a really meaningful, heartfelt message underneath it.

Scott : Oh thank you so much, it’s very meaningful.

Rebecca : How did you first get involved with the project?

Scott : Well Guillermo Del Toro approached me and he said Scott, your last three films have been horror films and nobody knows it. Would you consider directing an actual horror film? And I said yes! I love the genre, it’s one of my favourites, my earliest film remembrances were going to see films with my older brother when I was far too young to see them, and those images and those moments have stayed with me and because I never liked to make a film in the same genre twice or repeat myself, I really relish the opportunity to write and direct this particular story. It also deals with the Wendigo which as we know, is a Native American and First Nations folklore. And because their Native American culture and issues mean so much to me, it was just really a perfect opportunity to tell a story about the fears and anxieties we as Americans are experiencing on a daily basis. And there are a lot!

Rebecca : Absolutely. I mean I’m really glad to hear that you’re a fan of the genre, obviously I am too. What would you say your biggest kind of influences are from the horror genre?

Scott : Well I would say for this particular film, it’s where you see directors who aren’t known for their horror pedigree who direct films. Guillermo said, ‘Scott, because you’ve never directed one, that’s what really interests me’. And I think about Nicholas Roeg’s ‘Don’t Look Now’, the supernatural and family tragedy. William Friedkin’s ‘The Exorcist’, a film that deals with the supernatural but is so realistically portrayed. Mental health issues. Possession. Stanley Kubrick’s ‘The Shining’ is a favourite. Ridley Scott’s ‘Alien’, a great Sci-Fi, but a great horror film as well. And Michael Haneke’s ‘Funny Games’ I find incredibly horrific. So all of those have kind of influenced me in one way or another.

Rebecca : I think you can really see your love for the genre in the film. What was it like working with Del Toro?

Scott : Oh it was really kind of a dream. He is a very generous man with his ideas and his time. He is the fourth producer that I have worked with who is also a director. The great American actor Robert Duvall, Ridley and Tony Scott produced Out of the Furnace and now Guillermo. And producers who are also directors really understand what you are going through at all times, and they are there to support you. And they know just how incredibly difficult directing a film is. And all the challenges you face from writing to prep to shooting to editing. And then when you make a film in the horror genre the fans are so passionate that you’re bound to disappoint some of them, because maybe they want more horror or more jump scares, less drama. Less social commentary. I don’t know, I mean so far it feels like people have really responded to the film. I haven’t made it easy on myself because the genre’s that I have chosen, the gangster genre, the Western, horror, some of the best films ever made live in those genres, so you are compared to Scorsese and Coppola and Eastwood and Leone and John Hawkes and these great horror directors that I have just mentioned. So you can never escape legacy, you just try to pay homage to it, but tell very personal stories. And that’s what I do.

Rebecca : I think it’s something you’re definitely really seeing recently in the horror genre. Especially with films like Get Out, or Ari Aster’s films in particular – people are wanting a lot more from their horror, and I think that is something that really comes across with Antlers. I think as well the cast really made it work. Especially Jeremy T. Thomas who was Lucas. He was fantastic. How did you find him? How did you end up working with him?

Scott : Well, with great difficulty. I think I auditioned maybe 900 boys around the world. I didn’t want a trained actor, I wanted a young boy who had never really been on a film set who could convey strength but could also convey loneliness, a very haunted nature. A young boy who was a great listener and who had a very rich interior life that the audience could use as a conduit and would help take them through the journey of this film. I loved his physicality. I could never think about making this film without him.

Rebecca : What were the biggest challenges working on Antlers?

Scott : Oh there were many. I think because it’s my first immersion into the supernatural and it’s also very grounded, it’s kind of assimilating my sensibilities with the sensibilities of Guillermo Del Toro. But the biggest challenge was dealing with two non actors, Jeremy Thomas and Sawyer Jones, who are 12 and 7 years old respectively, just dealing with the difficult subject matter, the creepy Wendigo that’s very big and terrifying, dark locations, tough material even for veteran actors. But I just wanted to make them safe and remind them that this is all make believe and that we’re just having fun.

Rebecca : I honestly feel you would never be able to tell they hadn’t acted before. There was something really authentic and beautiful about their performances, they were fantastic in it.

Scott : I’m so happy to hear that, thank you.

Rebecca : How did the pandemic affect things, obviously the release was delayed. Was there any other issues that you encountered?

Scott : Well yeah, emotionally, mentally, you know, seeing the world suffer the way that we have. I think what it does is it really focused very sharply, acutely for me, what is important in life. Obviously family and your health, but also telling stories and the difficulty in making films, kind of in sharp relief and I’ve always only made the films I want to make, and I never will more so do that than now, because you understand how precious time is and life and I like to tell human stories, and I like to tell stories that if I can see myself in them others will see themselves. So yeah, while I think the fil, the 18 month delay, I don’t think it hurts the film – I think it feels even more relevant in certain ways. Certainly as it relates to the climate and people’s health, there’s an addiction crisis in America that has gotten even worse. All those sort of things have actually taken on more relevance as time has passed.

Rebecca : I think you can really see your passion for it in the finished product, as I say I did absolutely love it, in terms of horror for yourself – what would you say your favourite horror film is and why?

Scott : Oooh, oh my god. That’s a little bit like taking my kids into the Museum of Modern Art and they say Dad what is your favourite art in here? It’s tough. I have to say I really love The Exorcist, it’s one of my favourites. So grounded. Ellen Burstyn is incredible, the direction is remarkable, the writing is so believable. That film had a profound effect on me. I would certainly rank that among one of my all time favourites, and I am thankful that William Friedkin has been a big supporter of my work. I don’t think he’s yet seen Antlers but I’ve always loved his films and his influence certainly important to me.

Rebecca : Fantastic, thank you. The only other thing I want to know is what are you working on next?

Scott : Well I am just about to start shooting my third film with Christian Bale. It is about a series of murders that take place at the United States Military Academy in the year 1830 and they surround a young cadet that the world would later come to know as Edgar Allen Poe, who we know as the godfather of horror fiction.

Rebecca : Fantastic, that sounds right up Love Horror’s alleyway!

Scott : You’re ready!

Rebecca : Thank you so much for your time. I loved Antlers and it’s been lovely talking to you Scott, thank you very much.

Scott : Thank you so much, stay safe!

ANTLERS IS IN UK CINEMAS 29 OCTOBER 2021. Read our review HERE.