Film Name: The Breach
Director: Rodrigo Gudiño
Writers: Nick Cutter (book/script), Ian Weir (script)
Starring: Allan Hawco, Emily Alatalo, Natalie Brown, Adam Kenneth Wilson
John Hawkins is counting down his last days as chief of police in the remote town of Lone Crow. But then a mutilated body is found in an abandoned canoe on the river and he’s pulled into an investigation that evades all rational explanation. Together with coroner Jacob Redgrave and charter boat captain Meg Fulbright, they travel to the isolated house of theoretical physicist Cole Parsons for answers to the gruesome mystery. And there they find a bizarre machine that might have torn through the very fabric of time and reality itself.
In a new exclusive interview on Blazing Minds, I got a chance to ask director Rodrigo Gudiño a few questions about the film The Breach, which will be making its UK Premiere at Arrow FrightFest on Friday 26th August at 10:50hrs.
Q. Your film The Breach has been selected to play at the Arrow FrightFest Film Festival. Can you tell us what we can expect from the film?
A. You can expect 90 minutes of retro-favoured sci-fi popcorn horror!
Q. What attracted you to the script which was written by Nick Cutter and Ian Weir?
A. The script I received was quite different in many respects to the finished movie. It was called Gone Upriver and had to do mainly with people turning into bugs. But all of the elements were there – the spooky house, the strange machine, the mad doctor. I guess what attracted me most was the possibilities that I saw for the story and how to make it my own. As well, I was offered this project when the entire world was deep in the pandemic of 2020 and the thought of shooting a horror movie at that time was quite attractive.
Q. What were some of your influences for the look and style of the film?
A. The film has several stages; when we first arrive to the house, I obviously wanted the spookiness through the room, so I was thinking of films like The Mothman Prophecies, Jacob’s Ladder and Amityville II: The Possession – all of which play with shadows in a very effective way. Cole’s corpse needed to be really unique and disturbing, so I had the FX department refer to Johnathan Payne’s Fleshlette sculptures which are evocative of something not quite human. Cole’s weird room was something entirely different, so I had the art department refer to the portraits of Chris Mars in creating the look and feel of that space.
Q. Did you make any changes from the original script during filming?
A. Yes in the original script Jacob the coroner was Meg’s uncle, so I changed that to a previous lover to add some more drama to the story. I changed a few characters and added others, such as the conspiracy theorist Alex which I used to introduce key ideas and also bring some levity to the movie. I also added the core concept of a breach which kind of changed the story in a fundamental way.
Q. What were some of your favourite moments during filming?
A. There’s always a great energy in starting a movie, the very first day of shooting, which as luck would have it was our final scene and final shot. Similarly, the final day is always a special moment for obvious reasons. But one of my favourite moments had to be when we blew up the house – it was quite a spectacular practical effect (which we enhanced in post with VFX) but watching it blow was pretty incredible. What can I say, blowing up stuff is fun!
Q. Did you experience any issues during filming?
A. Yes, we filmed during the pandemic and even though the streets and parks were empty, we weren’t allowed to shoot anywhere. So, we built the house from scratch in the ballroom of the hotel we had taken over. We converted the hotel kitchen into a morgue a well and generally stretched out creativity to the limit. Parts of the river scene were obviously shot on the river; other parts were shot in the hotel parking lot. It was certainly a challenging but worked out in the end.
Q. What makes The Breach stand out as something different in the horror genre?
A. You tell me!
Q. What do you hope people take away after watching the film?
A. 90 minutes of entertaining horror.
Q. Do you have any other projects which you are currently working on?
A. Yes, I just finished a Spanish language script for an elaborate and dark movie I hope to shoot in Mexico. With any luck, you will be hearing something about that soon.
Q. If someone was looking to write and direct their own film what advice would you give them?
A. Get your script to an ironclad stage, as close to excellent as possible. By writing and rewriting, you can raise the calibre of your film without having to spend a nickel. You’ll also get the benefit of having people experience your movie outside of having shot it, so you’ll get a lot of opportunities to fix problems before you go into production. You’ll know you have a great script because it will attract producers and actors, so focus your energies on that. Write as long as it takes to get your script rock solid before you even start thinking about shooting. You’ll be glad you did.
The Breach will be playing at the Arrow FrightFest Film Festival on Thursday 25th August at 22:40hrs.
You can find out more about the festival and purchase tickets here: https://www.frightfest.co.uk/
Published in various websites, Philip is a reviewer who is best known for his interviews and media coverage of independent projects including; films, books, theatre and live events. Always on the lookout for something different to cover!
