Interview conducted by Nia Edwards-Behi
When was the last time a horror film moved you? When did a horror film last tell you a really good, human story? It doesn’t happen very often, not these days, but it seems to me that with Midnight Son Scott Leberecht has achieved exactly that. It’s been a long time coming (I was lucky enough to see the film at a festival back in April 2011) but Midnight Son is finally hitting DVD in the UK. Scott has been kind enough to spend some time talking about his wonderful film with us.
BAH: Can you tell us a little bit about the inception of the film?
Scott Leberecht: Films like KIDS and GUMMO really influenced me. I saw these movies while working in the field of big-budget visual effects, and started to imagine a documentary-style form applied to ‘Hollywood’ genre films in an effort to raise the bar on realism. I remember daydreaming about how shocking it would be to see hand-held video footage of an alien invasion, or monster attack. M. Night Shyamalan was the first to do it in the movie SIGNS. At the time, the visual grammar was: video=real. News footage, home video, etc., guaranteed the image you were watching was 100% reality. Throw in aliens, dinosaurs, or a giant monster, and your mind will blow. Today this technique is common, but it had much more impact in the late 1990’s.
BAH: Midnight Son stands apart from the current trend for ‘vampire romances’ be it in film, or television, or novels. Were you conscious of how popular the subgenre is when making the film?
SL: We shot MIDNIGHT SON in the summer of 2007. I never set out to make a ‘vampire romance’. The love story in MIDNIGHT SON came as a result of exploring the difficulties any human would experience if they were afflicted with the symptoms of vampirism. I wanted to tell the story of a vampire going through puberty. I figured even the coolest, most powerful, and sexiest vampires had to have an awkward growth spurt at some point in their development.
BAH: There is wonderful chemistry between your two leads. Was this something you worked on, or did it occur naturally between the actors?
SL: The chemistry was totally natural. Zak and Maya had a great connection from the moment they met. I felt so lucky while we were filming!
BAH: Jacob is a very complex character. Even at the film’s end there’s still a question as to whether or not he’s a supernatural being or just suffering from a sickness – is there a definitive answer to this for you? If so, did that impact on the way you made the film?
SL: I think what makes something biological or supernatural is subjective. There are animals that have abilities that would seem completely supernatural if applied to a human being, but they are biological realities. I wanted Jacob’s problems to be a mystery to him and the audience. The origins of our afflictions, be it physical or psychological, are never easy to pinpoint. The most horrifying illnesses are the ones shrouded in mystery. Having no understanding of cause or cure is what I wanted to explore. Most vampire movies have scenes where characters are bitten and the cause of the ‘illness’ is clear. I wanted to explore vampirism as a congenital illness – something that skips generations, but can land on you because of DNA.
BAH: Mary, although ostensibly the film’s ‘love interest’, is a refreshingly complex character. Was it important for you that Mary be as complex and as ambiguous as Jacob?
SL: I needed Mary to have a clear affinity with Jacob. Her ‘shameful addiction’ reflected his pain and made her a fellow freak. They comfort each other, but at the same time, they disgust each other. I think the most passionate attraction is about confronting repressed parts of ourselves. We want to incorporate these ‘naughty parts’ into what we call the ‘self’, but our learned response is to reject it. We are attracted to people that make these parts acceptable. We want to embrace them, but at the same time, we want to reject them. Ultimately, the soul wants integration. We want to believe that our dark parts are just as lovable as our light parts.
BAH: The film’s got a certain hazy look to it that complements the cold brightness of Jacob’s work place as much as it does the warmer, romantic scenes with Mary. Can you tell us a little bit about the process of achieving that look?
SL: We used the harsh florescent light at Jacob’s work location because it fit the cold, isolated mood he was in when at his job. We had more control with the lighting (temperature) in the scenes with Mary, so we deliberately made them warmer, more organic, more comfortable. I think working a job is something that most of us feel is, by nature, inhuman. A job is a place where masks must be worn. Who you truly are is not welcome. Any of us who have to work to pay the rent understand this– where you work forty hours a week is not who you are– it is who you have be to survive.
BAH: Even after repeat viewings the film’s closing sequence without fail leaves a massive, massive grin on my face. The performances, the images, the score and the editing all come together to make one of the most striking and memorable sequences from a recent horror film. Did you realise it was going to turn out quite special when shooting it, and what was it like putting that sequence together?
SL: The last shot of the film was the only one that required a dolly rig. We all strived to make that last shot something that would burn into the memory of the audience as a visual metaphor for the way true love feels: dangerous, passionate, and bloody.
BAH: Finally, what are your upcoming projects, and can you tell us a little bit about them?
SL: I want to continue exploring themes of isolation and shame. I think stories that show characters coming to terms with parts of themselves they hate is the real hero’s journey.
Midnight Son will be released on Region 2 DVD on 13th February, from Monster Pictures. Read Keri and Annie‘s reviews, and read Nia’s interview with the film’s lead actor Zak Kilberg here.