Thommy Hutson Talks Freeing The Id
Thommy Huston is mainly known as a documentarian for his award-winning work on Never Sleep Again: The Elm Street Legacy and Crystal Lake Memories: The Complete History of Friday the 13th, but he always wanted to try his hand at a narrative feature. He got his chance – and excelled – in his directorial debut, The Id (review here). The Id stars Amanda Wyss as Meridith, a psychologically fragile woman who is faced with the ultimate horror.
Dread Central: This seems like a very female-centric story, so I’m curious about males writing and directing it – what attracted you to the idea, and how did you two work together with Amanda to create this very disturbed yet sympathetic character?
Thommy Hutson: The writer Sean H. Stewart and I talked a lot about the character of Meridith, but also the character of the father a lot. I think we both felt a real connection to the concept of who Meridith was, what she was going to be dealing with, and her story in general. It wasn’t necessarily, “Let’s make it a woman just because.” The character was always a woman from the original idea and, interestingly, the Father character started out as a mother. In a sense, we originally were setting out to make a very female-centirc thriller. The character of Tricia, played by Jamye Grant, who is so important to the story, was also someone we thought a lot about in terms of making sure there was truth and strength to her words and actions. Sean ultimately had a great idea to swap the gender as it would allow a more layered and nuanced feeling to the dynamic between the parent and child. Going further, that also allowed this interesting pyramid of emotion and drama between daughter-father-Tricia. In terms of such a female-centric film being written and directed by men, I think we worked hard to keep the material, and Meridith and Tricia as characters, truthful, real and complex. We never thought, “Let’s make sure we do this or that simply because they are women.” As flawed as Meridith is she is also strong in a number of ways and I think that shines through. We hope that audiences watch her with a level of sympathy that she is a complex person with a lot of issues…but not things that cannot be understood. The things she does are bore from her situation which, while this isn’t a true story, could certainly happen, making things in Meridith’s life all the more chilling. And I give credit to Amanda for being able to bring forth a character like Meridith. Amanda, who is simply a terrific actress, went down a rabbit hole with the character. She was able to realty bring to life all of the things I was hoping to bring forth on the screen. It was a lot of deep conversations and really a mind-meld as we both saw Meridith very similarly. No matter what was being thrown at her, or what we needed her to do, Amanda was able to shine in creating the person that is Meridith in every way: good, bad and ugly.
DC: We already know you love the horror genre, given your docs on Friday the 13th, Scream, and A Nightmare on Elm Street – but what keeps you coming back for more?
TH: Horror is just such a fantastic genre to explore so many things. Fears, worries, relationships and more can be explored in a way that shines a light on things both rational and irrational. It’s also a genre that allows one to step back and watch things unfold in a way where you aren’t always sure what’s next, what’s around the corner and that is so exciting. And it can be done in so many ways, from real life horrors, to the supernatural, to unkillable killers. Every good horror story has a core that is something the audience member, hopefully, can understand, latch on to, and feel connected. And when the film is over, to make people worry that there is a monster in the woods, or a ghost in the house is something a lot of other genres and films don’t have the power to do. And I love what I always see as a morality tale aspect. Horror let’s characters choose a path that can either go really right, or really wrong. And watching that journey, and feeling the worry, dread, fear and excitement is just part of the thrill. It’s exhilarating to know that when the lights come up, you’re going to be okay. And who doesn’t need to let out a good scream every once in a while?
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DC: How did Amanda come onto The Id, and what was one of the most surprising things about her from a directorial standpoint?
TH: I have known Amanda for years and I have always respected and admired her as an actress. She’s just, hands down, fantastic in everything. And I’ve always wanted to work with hr. When this role came along it seemed very clear that she could bring it to life in a way that was, again, complex and real and interesting and sad and all of the other things that she brought to it. Amanda took the words on the page and made them live and breathe in a way that surpassed my wildest expectations. And directing her was as wonderful as I hoped it would be. We connected creatively so well, which made the experience more fun and much easier. Because Amanda is such a pro, and delivers 100% every single moment and every single take, any worries I had as a first-time director with her were immediately alleviated. She knows how to make things work, which made my job easier, and she was so open to the ideas I had, sometimes on the spot, and was open to discussing on this project and developed a short hand for how Meridith was feeling or acting, but also how Amanda the person was feeling. I wanted her to make sure she knew I wasn’t losing sight that she was going into some dark places and that she could always come back to safety. I certainly cannot wait to work with her again and again!
DC: It’s not strictly horror, so… How would you describe The Id?
TH: I have to borrow some words from Amanda for the perfect description. She says it’s a “delicious stew of madness” and I cannot agree more. There are so many ups and downs to this family tale of love, loss, anger, betrayal and it is allow wrapped up in the veneer of caring, but it’s really then buffed up with a dose of insanity. I think it’s a movie for so many people: those who like dark dramas, thrillers, the horrors of real life, losing one’s mind, but also losing one’s identity. Nostalgia is also a huge part; what one thinks of as glory days, whether they truly were or not, and how the quest to recapture them is not only futile, but leads one down a terrible road that has no return.
DC: What’s coming up next for you? What do you hope to do in the future?
TH: I am excited that I’ll be putting together a documentary on Clive Barker, which will focus on him as a creator of so many wildly creative and memorable things, with the amazing team at his company, Seraphim Films. It’s going to be different in approach than any other doc project I have done and that is really exciting. I also have a novel coming out this summer, the first in a teen thriller trilogy. It was a really wonderful project to take on and write and I can’t wait do more in the world of books. In terms of film, I am developing a Christmas movie I co-wrote as I love the holidays. There is, however, a tiny hint of darkness in it that I think will be really fun to bring to life and juxtapose with what everyone thinks of as the most wonderful time of the year. And after that? I just hope to keep creating projects that audiences enjoy watching or reading as much as I have enjoyed bringing them to life in both the narrative and documentary space. And I would love, love, love to make a musical! Until then, people can keep up and engage with me on twitter.
Synopsis:
The psychological thriller tells the story of Meridith Lane (Amanda Wyss, A Nightmare on Elm Street), a woman who has felt trapped in her home. Thriving on memories of youth, she watches the years slip by while caring for her abusive father… until a figure from her past makes a surprising return. In order to live the life she desires, Meridith must confront her father’s monstrous cruelty and attempt to escape his tyrannical grip. But the man who controls her every move won’t let go without a fight, leading father and daughter into a series of desperate and irreversible acts.
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