Horror Favourites – The Devil Comes at Night

The Devil Comes at Night releases this summer from Uncork’d Entertainment and we caught up with actress and co-writer Adrienne Kress and director and co-writer Scott Leaver for a chit chat about what scary movies they love the best.

Ben, a washed-up boxer searching for his inheritance, must fight for his life when he is trapped in his deceased father’s farmhouse by a cannibal cult. With the help of Amy, the local librarian, he discovers the cult’s leader, Mason, has been hunting down his family for generations. And now his sights are set on Ben. Together, Ben and Amy come up with a plan to defeat the cult once and for all.

The film starring American Gods’ Adrienne Kress and Ryan Allen (In the Shadow of the Moon), also stars Jason Martorino, Elias Zarou, Shawn Ahmed, Todd Campbell, Dana Fradkin, Ty Andrassy, DL Macdonald, Jeremiah Sparks, and Julie Cohn, will release on digital and DVD.

Below The Devil Comes at Night Director and Co-Writer Scott Leaver and Adrienne Kress co-writer and actress discuss their favorite horror films:

SCOTT:

“I spent my childhood sneaking into my mom’s basement to watch old VHS tapes of forbidden horror movies. In the flickering light, I fell in love with so many scary stories. The Thing, Night of the Living Dead, JAWS . . . Which is why it’s so difficult to choose just one horror movie to claim as a favorite. There’s just so much wonderful variety. But if I must choose one, I’d have to say The Shining. Besides being a cinematic masterpiece, it’s so unique in its ability to frighten me in a way few movies can. There is the unsettling atmosphere of the Overlook Hotel, the slow descent into madness of Jack brilliantly played by Jack Nicholson, the supernatural elements that are around every corner except when they’re not, and a score that unlocks such a primal sense of dread I think it shortened my life when I heard it as a kid for the first time.

The Shining gives you a taste of the primal sense of being trapped, of being prey, and of impending doom that I find it sticks with me long after the movie is over. Also, the entire cast gives such perfect performances that are sometimes the most unsettling part of the movie. What amazes me the most is Jack never succeeds in hurting his family.

There is only one person killed in the entire movie. And yet, it is one of the most unnerving movies of all time. When the credits roll, I feel like I personally have just survived something. That is why I consider The Shining the gold standard for horror. For me, it perfectly encapsulates what I love about the genre – the ability to explore and confront our deepest fears and darkest parts of our psyche in a safe and engaging way.”

ADRIENNE:

“So I am quite the opposite of Scott. I spent my childhood convinced I couldn’t handle anything scary. Any movies that I loved that had scary bits in them? I’d close my eyes, plug my ears, the whole thing. And then I saw Jurassic Park. I’m not sure if it 100% qualifies as a horror movie, but it has gruesome death scenes, chopped off limbs, and scary monsters . . . so I’m thinking it counts. I have always loved dinosaurs. Heck I even went to camp at the Royal Ontario Museum here in Toronto as a kid and always signed up for the dinosaur group.

So when Jurassic Park came out with those amazing real life looking masterful CGI dinosaurs, even though I knew it was going to scare me, I had no choice: I had to see it. And see it I did. Again. And again. And again. First I only saw part of it since I closed my eyes most of the time. Then I watched it through my fingers. And then, after maybe the tenth viewing or so, I was able to watch the whole thing. And I discovered: I LOVE BEING SCARED. I also discovered that what I loved more than any chase sequence or violent T-Rex fight, was tension. That scene in the kitchen with the raptors? My goodness. I was obsessed with that scene.

I realized that what I loved so much was the build, was the not knowing, was the monster just around the corner. This is how I also discovered I loved JAWS and Alien and so many of those monster movies. Often you don’t see the big bad until act three. It’s the wait, it’s the anticipation, that gets to me. Seeing the creature at the end is almost not the point. But that part is pretty cool too.”

THE DEVIL COMES AT NIGHT releases this summer from Uncork’d Entertainment