Interview: Director Duncan Skiles Talks THE CLOVEHITCH KILLER
With The Clovehitch Killer, director Duncan Skiles and writer Christopher Ford have crafted a chilling family drama that also works as a compelling mystery. It’s a twisted dark horror comedy that chronicles the lives of a family that may harbor a terrible secret that could destroy their idyllic Midwestern existence. What if you thought your father might be an infamous local serial killer laying dormant? In a scene-stealing, playfully sociopathic performance, Dylan McDermott shines here as Don, a nerdy well-doer that wields a strong hand when it comes to his son, Tyler (Charlie Plummer), who worships his father until he starts to genuinely fear him.
Skiles mutes the scenery around McDermott’s performance, making his increasingly suspicious behavior seem all the more immediate and out of place. The director recently spoke to me about his comedy background with Waverly Films, his participation in the viral hit Our Robocop Remake, and how he was able to get such a memorable turn from McDermott who he originally couldn’t see as the lead character.
Tyler’s a good kid, a boy scout, raised by a poor but happy family in a small, religious town. But when he finds his dad, Don, has disturbing pornography hidden in the shed, he starts to fear that his dad might be Clovehitch, an infamous serial killer that was never caught. Tyler teams up with Kassi, a teenage outcast who’s morbidly obsessed with the Clovehitch legend, to discover the truth in time to save his family.
The Clovehitch Killer hits theaters, On Demand and Digital HD November 16.
DC: I was just watching Our Robocop Remake, I had forgotten about that and never ended up watching it! How did you get involved with that and what scenes did you direct?
DS: It was a remake of the scene where the city councilman who takes the mayor hostage in Robocop…how did I get involved with that? I was a part of a comedy collective called Waverly Films and we made lots of comedy shorts and that sort of happened at the tail end of our run. I’m happy to share billing with what I think is one of the most amazing short films ever made, which is the recreation of the rape scene by Fatal Farm where Robocop shoots the guys in the balls. If you haven’t seen that you need to watch that. It’s legendary.
DC: You were also doing some horror comedies and suspense and things like that as well, right?
DS: Yes, one of my first student films was a horror comedy. I’ve always been attracted to the genre since I saw Evil Dead II as a kid and Dead Alive. I did a Comedy Central pilot called The Scariest Show On Television and a lot of the shorts I made with Waverly were in that horror-comedy vibe. We did a series called Puppet Rapist that was a mix between pathos and ridiculousness.
DC: Coming to Clovehitch, are you obsessed with true crime or serial killers? To me, whether it’s the Midwest where Clovehitch is set or the Pacific Northwest, crime sprees always seem more sinister when they take place in idyllic parts of the country.
DS: Yeah. Yes, I am. It kind of started when I was obsessively reading serial killer stories is where I got the idea for the movie. I’m from the Midwest and the South so I wanted to set it someplace I was familiar with. I kind of get the vibe and feel like I was able to represent it.
DC: Is this based on any real criminals or any that you took inspiration from?
DS: Yeah, there’s one guy who’s definitely the main inspiration but I prefer not to call him out because I know that they appreciate the attention.
DC: Was it an easy sell to get Dylan McDermott on board for this particular father role? He was great as the dad in Perks Of Being A Wallflower but this is something quite different.
DS: Right, it was very hard to cast Don but Dylan was really the only one that was interested in doing it, of his caliber. I was hesitant to cast him because he’s a handsome TV actor. I’ve always appreciated his ability and I knew that he could get wild from his work in American Horror Story. He sent in an audition tape where he changed his accent and changed his hair and put on glasses…and he sold me on his enthusiasm and his ability to do it. Then I got really excited about it because I think it’s cool to do that with an actor, to change him up and do the total transformation.
DC: I’m a huge fan of Samantha Mathis as well. Was it ever a consideration to get the mother more involved in the mystery?
DS: Yeah, totally. We had some longer scenes with her that ended up getting cut down or removed just for pacing reasons. She did a great job but, in retrospect, I wish her character was a little more involved. It was something we struggled with during the writing process and I landed on…you know, if the character doesn’t have a purpose then why is she there? I think that there’s an undercurrent of her reason for being there that’s pretty subtle.
DC: Speaking of the editing, were you always planning on some of the choices you made with the story? It seems inspired by films like Rashomon or Pulp Fiction where it kind of turns back in on itself.
DS: Yeah, that was the way that it was written and that kind of evolved from me telling the story for maximum effect. I don’t know why I wanted to do that but it just felt right, like a knot tying together. It seemed to have the best combination of suspense and surprise.
DC: That’s a really good point with the knot – where the Clovehitch binding knot is perfect for tying up someone instead of something like a bow know that’s known for sailing. Was the ending meant to be ambiguous? Were you making a point by trying to shy away from the violence? From someone who loves how graphic Robocop is it’s interesting that you chose to keep any graphic content out of the frame.
DS: Yeah, I actually don’t like violence that much and I certainly don’t like shooting it. I do enjoy, I mean Robocop is one of my favorite movies but just working with prosthetics and fake blood, it just doesn’t seem very fun to me as a process. In general, I think things are more powerful when they’re suggested in the right way. So, I guess I thought it was the right move narratively but mostly I don’t want to deal with it on set. I don’t want to shoot it.
DC: Sure, that’s understandable. So, since you don’t love fake blood and prosthetics, is it safe to say that you didn’t dress up this Halloween?
DS: I ALWAYS dress up for Halloween. Halloween is my favorite holiday. It’s so great. October is non-stop spooky tunes in my house. I love it.
DC: It’s fascinating to me how what you learn in Boy Scouts can help you be a great camper and an effective killer at the same time.
DS: Right, that was the idea. Tyler’s gotta use his scout skills to pull this off.
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