Exclusive: Filmmaker James Cullen Bressack Talks Pernicious, Blood Lake, and Thai Translators
Horror filmmaker James Cullen Bressack has been killing it over the past few years. Films like Hate Crime, My Pure Joy, and 13/13/13 have put the ambitious young creator on the map. Bressack recently talked with Dread Central about his most current projects, Pernicious and Blood Lake.
One of the most amusing facts about Bressack is that his father is Emmy Award-winning writer Gordon Bressack. But while the elder Bressack’s subject matter was things like The Smurfs, Raggedy Ann and Andy, and Pinky and the Brain, the younger Bressack had much darker things to create. Read on as J.C.B. tells us all about the new nightmares he has in store for us.
Bressack opened by talking about his new film, Pernicious, and what viewers can expect when they get a chance to check out this chiller. “Pernicious is not only my scariest film, but also my best film and by far my most violent,” Bressack said. “I wanted to have ultra-realistic and disgusting F/X in the film so I made sure we hired Jerami Cruise from ToeTag, the genius behind the F/X in the August Underground movies. I promise this, if any, is the film of mine to see. I would like to think I have a unique way of telling a story. I always have some pretty extreme violence, but the stories are all rooted in the people. Truly understanding and caring about the people that are going through the inciting incident. At its core level all my films are about people trying to hold themselves together while falling apart. The more we humanize a victim and the more we humanize evil, the more it feels like it can really happen. I feel like Pernicious is a unique journey that I think everyone will have some fun with. Although dark and gritty, the film is very cinematic and beautiful. I worked extensively with my beyond talented DP, Seo, to develop a look for the film that I feel opens up just enough to still keep the claustrophobic feeling. Trust me; it’s my most cinematic film yet.”
Currently playing in film festivals with an official release date yet to be set, Pernicious stars three beautiful and talented actresses: Jackie Moore, Ciara Hanna, and Emily O’Brien. Bressack spoke about the joys of working with the trio. “The whole experience was mind-blowing,” Bressack said. “I couldn’t have asked for three better actresses for the parts. They were all so easy to direct and really opened themselves up to me, digging deep into the story and the characters with them. I always like to imagine every character as a blank canvas, and what we do with that canvas is, I take my ideas about the character, as informed by the script, and the actor takes his or her ideas about the character, as informed by the script, and we both throw them at the canvas. Whatever sticks for both of us, we use to paint the picture of who the character is. It’s all about what’s past the page. Who they were before the script started. What their relationships are like with the other people they are on screen with, creating a back story and things they already went through together.”
Bressack continued, “It was easy to do this collaboration with my leads. I think something about being in Thailand made the entire project magical. I mean, yes, there were some issues, just ask my 100 new mosquito bites per day, but we all were in it together and it bonded us quickly. I am still very close with the girls. Jackie Moore played a lead in my new film, The Condo, and we worked together again as well. Ciara Hanna worked with me again as a lead on Blood Lake, which I did for Animal Planet. I am still looking to put Emily in something soon as well. I just didn’t want the three girls to be in the same movie together again, or my producers on Pernicious would likely get upset,” Bressack joked.
Filming Pernicious in Thailand presented some unique challenges but also provided an amazing backdrop as well as enhancing the essence of the film. Bressack discussed the location. “The script that I wrote is very unique to Thailand and unique to Thai folklore. The only place it can be made is Thailand,” Bressack said. “This film is so tied in to the Thai culture that I think it will really pull people into it. It’s something I’ve never seen done before, and I think is one of the most frightening real-life practices I have ever read about. Daemon Hillin and I had been developing the project with Rachvin and Kulthep Narula for over a year before the project truly got some legs. Then Taryn Hillin and I began working out the script together. I loved the collaboration she and I had.”
Bressack discussed the setting further. “To give a little bit of a background on what filming in Thailand was like, not only did I have a translator, but I actually had a translator for my translator. So there was a language barrier I had to work around. This said, the crew there was amazing and hard-working. I had 100 people on my crew, which was insane. Then the floods hit. When you see the movie, you’ll see that the house is surrounded by a giant lake and the girls come up on a boat to enter the house and then walk across the pier. Well, originally they were supposed to drive up, but it got so flooded that they literally were able to take a boat on the flooded grass, and we built that pier over it. That wasn’t there before. We had to think on our toes. I remember literally wading through water up to my waist every day to get to set. But in the craziness I think we actually made something better than we would have traditionally. We had to think on our toes, as I said, and when nature was working against us, the entire crew and cast became bonded as one.”
In addition to Pernicious, Bressack is also currently promoting Blood Lake, which is available now on DVD and Netflix. Featuring Shannen Doherty and Christopher Lloyd, Blood Lake is indeed Bressack’s most star-studded film to date.
Bressack gave us a bit of background on Blood Lake. “It was such a fun movie to make,” Bressack said. “I got to work with so many talented actors. Shannen Doherty was a dream to work with, and I became very close friends with her during the process. She and I have since worked on two more projects together, and I even flew her and her husband’s plane! I was co-pilot, but it was awesome. Shannen is a very warm and talented person, and I am grateful I have been able to spend so much time getting to know her. We instantly clicked during filming and had an amazing shorthand. We would joke around back and forth nonstop. It never got in the way of work; it enhanced creativity. I remember being worried about working with her because of her ‘reputation,’ and looking back on that, it’s hilarious to me because we got along so well and still do.”
Also featured in Blood Lake is Hollywood legend Christopher Lloyd. “Seeing Christopher Lloyd on my set for the first time, I was awestruck,” Bressack said. “I literally was like, ‘Holy shit, that’s Doc Brown!’ Back to the Future is one of my all-time faves. Christopher Lloyd brings an amazing charisma to the screen that is undeniable. I remember after the first take he did, I walked up to give everyone notes. After I was done giving notes, he caught up with me and pulled me aside and asked how he did. My mind was blown; even with how accomplished and amazing he is, he still is an actor with respect for his director, striving to do better. I think that will always be one of my favorite directorial memories with any actor.”
With all the Sharknados and Piranhacondas out there, Bressack talked about what makes his “when animals attack” film different. “The lampreys!” Bressack said. “I haven’t seen any killer animal films about lampreys! This movie is something special. I think it’s really a story about family and togetherness, but shrouded in lamprey kills.”
When you call a film Blood Lake, it certainly better deliver on the red, red kroovy. We asked Bressack if the movie lives up to its name. “There is a ton of blood and gore in this film. It’s insane,” Bressack said. “We have a lot of crazy kills and gallons of blood. Sometime very soon Animal Planet is re-releasing the unrated director’s cut version, never before seen on TV, to the masses. It has two scenes that were cut from the original version, and I will say one of them is an insanely gross kill.”
We’ll be watching for it.
For more info on J.C.B. and all of his projects, be sure to “like” James Cullen Bressack on Facebook and follow James Cullen Bressack on Twitter (@JamesCullenB).
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