An Interview with Andrew Barclay, Writer and Producer of The Psychiatrist

by Mike Haberfelner

January 2014

Your upcoming movie The Psychiatrist - in a few words, what is it about?

It’s about a man taking advantage of people he sees as being weaker than himself.

How did the whole project come into being, and what got it off the ground, initially?

I've written the script with David Hoyle in mind. As I wrote it, each scene I saw David Hoyle delivering the lines. So I went to meet him and he loved the script. I spoke to some friends who have cameras and basically it went from there…

What were your sources of inspiration when writing The Psychiatrist, and is some of it actually based on real experiences with psychiatrists?

I've never been to see a psychiatrist but I couldn’t really say there was any one particular topic, incident or movie that inspired the story.

What can you tell us about your director Richard L. Davies [Richard L. Davies interview - click here], why him, and what was your collaboration like?

Richard is ambitious and has a keen eye for detail. He liked the story and was really keen to get on board. I'd like to work with Richard on lots of projects.

How would you describe The Psychiatrist's approach to horror (as in suspense vs sudden shocks, restraint vs all-out gore, ...)?

It’s a psychological horror more than anything else. There’s a darkness to the lead character that goes beyond the human. It’s a man in touch with demons. Whether they be actual demons is for the audience to decide.

What can you tell us about The Psychiatrist's cast, and why exactly these people?

David Hoyle was the only actor I'd have cast as Dr Rosenberg. I saw him in his own movie called Uncle David and I thought he was a tour de force in that. So it had to be him. Had he said no, I'd have abandoned the project.

The movie’s Detective, an actor called Corey McVann gave a very moving performance. I've known Corey for many years. Nathan Head was an interesting one, he’s mostly known for Horror and he really does something in this movie that I don’t think he’s ever done before. All the cast did their best and you can’t ask for anything more than that.

Do talk about the actual shoot for a bit, and the on-set atmosphere?

Everyone pulled together. It was a joy to visit the set. Everyone pulling in the same direction to get the project completed. It was filmed in bits and pieces because of peoples busy acting schedules but I think as a first time movie, I'm happy with it and I really hope the cast and crew are happy with it. Outside of that I really couldn’t care less what anyone else thinks of the film.

The $64-question of course: When and where will your film be released onto the general public?

We’re setting up some screenings first, I'd like the film to go through the festival circuit and then I've got the dubious honour of putting the movie in for classification. Not sure how that will go. I see no reason it shouldn’t get a rating though, but you just never know. I've known writer/producers who’ve had problems getting an accurate classification.

Any future projects you'd like to share?

Yes, we’re in pre production on a new crime movie called A New York Story. I wrote that last year and we’ve got some really interesting actors involved. If anyone’s interested in that, there’s a Facebook and IMDb-page.

What got you into filmmaking in the first place, and did you receive any formal training on the subject?

My schooling was watching movies. Learning how to write wasn’t an actual academic experience for me. It’s all organic.

What can you tell us about your filmwork prior to The Psychiatrist?

There wasn’t any. I've done lots of music videos, but no feature film experience.

Please do talk about your company Eromeda Films for a bit!

Eromeda Films is our in house company. We’ll be releasing movies to distributors still but Eromeda Films is the production arm of what we want to achieve.

Filmmakers who inspire you?

John Huston’s movies are always worth a look. For me his best film was Reflections of a Golden Eye. Brando was just on fire in that and it’s the way he’s directed that really comes across. Ermanno Olmi too. He’s made some beautiful films. My favourite being Legend of the Holy Drinker. It’s a haunting movie and one that will always stick in my mind.

Your favourite movies?

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I can tell you some of them, Straight Time (1978) starring Dustin Hoffman. That movie was very underrated. Ink (2009) was really interesting and another movie that didn’t get its due credit. Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia was a revelation when I saw that. I learned so much from watching that film. How to present a story that’s completely bizarre and the way Peckinpah did it. I also love the original Carnival Of Souls. And I'm into the noir movies of the 1940s because again, you can learn so much about lighting from those films. Especially if you’re working on a tight budget because lighting can make or break a scene.

... and of course, films you really deplore?

Anyone who has enough about them to make a film gets my full respect. I don’t believe anyone sets out to make a bad movie so yeah, I'd never slate anyone’s movies.

Your/your movie's/your company's website, Facebook, whatever else?

It’s all at www.eromedaentertainment.com

Anything else you are dying to mention and I have merely forgotten to ask?

No, but thank you.

Thanks for the interview!

© by Mike Haberfelner

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