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An Interview with J. Arcane and Paul Erskine, Directors of Crucify

by Mike Haberfelner

April 2020

Films directed by J. Arcane on (re)Search my Trash

Films directed by Paul Erskine on (re)Search my Trash

 

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Your new movie Crucify - in a few words, what is it about?

 

It's a psychedelic trip into the afterlife, as two teens trapped in a haunted crime scene are forced to confront their demons.

 

Now how did the project fall together in the first place?

 

The ideas for J's scripts usually begin with an inciting image. For Crucify, she envisioned grand, cathedral-like interiors, bathed in neon hues emitted through stained-glass windows, with red crime scene tape crossed over every door. She imagined what horror could have taken place in such a location, and thus the premise for Crucify was born.

 

J., what were your sources of inspiration when writing Crucify?

 

I wanted to create a psychological joyride, so I was inspired by the relentless pacing of Don't Breathe, one of Paul's and my favorite horror films. We also love the stylistic elements of John Wick and Argento's Suspiria, so I always had those visuals in the back of my mind. The philosophical and looping nature of Arrival was also a big influence. As well as the music, which stayed with me a long time after I watched it. To me, the musical scales in the film resembled a staircase... the notes ascend and descend, never-ending. That fueled my idea of the staircase in Crucify being the portal to an alternate reality, transporting you from past to present; heaven and hell and everything in between.

 

During the writing process, I listened to Alan Walker's Faded on repeat, a song I came across when researching real life crime scenes. Seeing those bleak images backed with such a beautiful song reinforced to me that you can find beauty in darkness. Something I tried to relay in the script.

 

Paul, what were the challenges of bringing Crucify to the screen from a producer's point of view?

 

Filming in predominantly in a single location, with a small cast to manage, did help prevent dire challenges. However, even with the few locations we did have, we had two cancel on us on short notice which meant we had to quickly source new locations that would work for the film. In Crucify, the locations are almost like a character themselves, the look needed to be very specific for the story, so finding the right houses was challenging. The interiors of two different houses were used to create the look of the haunted crime scene house in the film.

 

Crucify doesn't exactly follow a linear narrative and is often very associative in storytelling - so what were the intentions behind that, and how easy or hard is it to not just (literally) lose one's plot making a movie this way?

 

The intentions came from J's love of symbolism and desire to include meaning in everything. From the water, to the colors, to the costumes, everything adds to the themes of love and loss; death and rebirth. As the elements are all drip-fed to you, they eventually build and lead you to the bigger picture. It may take repeat viewings, but when you finally get it, hopefully it will be all the more rewarding and meaningful. And even if you don't get it, hopefully it has helped you view things differently or encouraged deeper thought. As changing the way we think is the only way humanity can continue to grow and evolve.

 

Crucify is definitely not a linear story. It's structured more like an endless loop, which goes back to those cyclic themes above and the idea that we can all be trapped in a state of purgatory at times. With nearly 200 scenes, it was a complex shoot. Our shot list was very heavily detailed and comprehensive, which we followed closely during the shoot, because we knew changing or omitting one shot or scene could cause a butterfly effect in the rest of the film. Keeping to that shot list and schedule to a tee was really key to obtaining all the pieces of the puzzle we needed, which J could then put together in post precisely, utilizing the screenplay like a step-by-step instruction manual for the assembly.

 

Do talk about Crucify's approach to horror for a bit?

 

During the sound design, we were conscious to exclude any music, rises or hits that sounded "familiar" or "common" in horror films. We wanted to create an unusual, uncomfortable atmosphere that feels foreign and otherworldly.

 

There's a quote that J loves: "Hell is empty. And all the devils are here."  We never have to look very far for horror in our world and we are often our own biggest monsters. So to help bring that idea to light, it was important for us to portray horror in a different light, to turn that refraction back onto ourselves, for a more haunting effect that lingers on the soul.

 

What was the collaboration between the both of you like on set?

 

While we share a lot of the same tastes and views, we think very differently. Paul is much more logical and pragmatic, whereas J is a lot more philosophical, she's very much a dreamer. What works well with us is that we fill in each other's weaknesses. Paul is great with the technical side so on set he would be in charge of everything technical. We have an agreement that the screenplay writer will always have final say on creative choices, so while Paul was taking care of the technical aspects, J finessed the creative ones.

 

What can you tell us about your overall directorial approach to your story at hand?

 

During casting, we explained to the actors that our approach for this project was to not give them the full script in order to maintain the element of surprise and to also not overwhelm them or let them overthink the jumping narratives of the story. Instead, the cast were only given excerpts with their scenes so they could learn their dialogue. We didn't want them knowing what was "waiting for them" behind the door or around the next corner. When you know what to expect, some of that magic behind the eyes is lost, because you're already anticipating and waiting for it to happen. You're no longer reacting. You're no longer in the moment.

 

For each of the cast, J also wrote and designed a detailed character "bible", complete with images, quotes, meanings behind their names and motivations for each of their scenes, so by the time the actors came on set, they were already fully engrossed in their character and could react in a way that was truthful to that character's story. Because the cast were focused more on their characters instead of the plot, it resulted in much more genuine performances. We rarely ever did more than one or two takes. And when we did, it was usually for technical.

 

Do talk about your key cast, and why exactly these people?

 

Because we were casting remotely, we viewed the shortlisted actors' audition videos side by side to see how they would look on-screen together, to get an idea of their potential chemistry. We wanted each couple to complement as well as contrast each other, having that yin and yang combination in both look and personality really brings their scenes to life.

 

Dylen Michael Guiry, Shanel Maida, Alina Lapteva and Dorian Shine all gave stellar auditions, as did all of the actors on our shortlist. They're all very talented. Dorian can speak five different languages and even voiced most of the demons in the film. Alina embodied Willa completely, she can take one look at you and convey all her heartbreak and pain through her eyes. Shanel was our youngest actor, yet she was able to demonstrate such restraint in her emotions, like the old soul Raven needed to be. Last but not least, Dylen was incredibly brave, he gave his all for every take, every shot, every scene. His commitment is outstanding. That boy is absolute fire.

 

A few words about the shoot as such, and the on-set atmosphere?

 

We shot for 19 days and shoot days were relatively short, we never went over 8.5 hours as to not tire out the actors. The only exception was on the last day where we had to combine two shoot days into one. We tried to keep the atmosphere calm and relaxed for the actors, and let them wait in their individual rooms in between scenes while we set up the next shots. Lighting took the most time, as we lit all scenes with colored gels so contrasting color temperatures were baked into the footage which J could then later enhance and manipulate in post.

 

Anything you can tell us about audience and critical reception of Crucify?

 

It was only released a couple of weeks ago so you're actually one of the first people to watch it! Crucify is also soon to be released on Troma Entertainment's streaming service, Troma Now.

 

Any future projects you'd like to share?

 

We were set to start filming our sophomore feature this week, however, that's now postponed until the travel restrictions in North America are lifted. The film is a New York based dance drama starring Yves Mathieu East.

 

Now Crucify isn't the first movie you've worked on with one another - so what can you tell us about your previous collaborations, and how did you first meet even?

 

Crucify is our debut feature film, but we have worked on many shorts together before that. Most of them were genre-based, horror, action or sci-fi. We are actually partners in life as well as work and met in London, UK when J was on a working holiday over there.

 

Your/your movie's website, social media, whatever else?

 

Feeling lucky?
Want to
search
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The links below
will take you
just there!!!

Find Crucify
at the amazons ...

USA  amazon.com

Great Britain (a.k.a. the United Kingdom)  amazon.co.uk

Germany (East AND West)  amazon.de

Looking for imports?
Find Crucify here ...

Thailand  eThaiCD.com
Your shop for all things Thai

We don't do social media, but we always update our production company website with our latest projects: http://pacificfuturefilms.com

 

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

 

We live in a world today where it's so easy to listen to the masses, to do and think like everyone else. But sometimes you need to block out that noise so you can hear yourself. Listen to your instincts, your own voice, that's where you'll find the weird and wonderful. And if you're here on Mike's site, you'll surely agree the weird and wonderful is something we need more of.

 

Thanks for the interview!

 

© by Mike Haberfelner


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Thanks for watching !!!



 

 

In times of uncertainty of a possible zombie outbreak, a woman has to decide between two men - only one of them's one of the undead.

 

There's No Such Thing as Zombies
starring
Luana Ribeira, Rudy Barrow and Rami Hilmi
special appearances by
Debra Lamb and Lynn Lowry

 

directed by
Eddie Bammeke

written by
Michael Haberfelner

produced by
Michael Haberfelner, Luana Ribeira and Eddie Bammeke

 

now streaming at

Amazon

Amazon UK

Vimeo

 

 

 

Robots and rats,
demons and potholes,
cuddly toys and
shopping mall Santas,
love and death and everything in between,
Tales to Chill
Your Bones to

is all of that.

 

Tales to Chill
Your Bones to
-
a collection of short stories and mini-plays
ranging from the horrific to the darkly humourous,
from the post-apocalyptic
to the weirdly romantic,
tales that will give you a chill and maybe a chuckle, all thought up by
the twisted mind of
screenwriter and film reviewer
Michael Haberfelner.

 

Tales to Chill
Your Bones to

the new anthology by
Michael Haberfelner

 

Out now from
Amazon!!!