Film: The Rows
Director: Seth Daly
Writer: Seth Daly
Starring: Brindisi DuPree, Marcus Woods, Lara Pictet, Hans Heilmann
Synopsis – A Little girl hides from masked home invaders in a mysterious cornfield. A deadly game of cat and mouse ensues as the rows reveal their secrets.
In a new exclusive interview on Blazing Minds ahead of Dead and Sudburied, I got a chance to ask Writer-Director Seth Daly a few questions about ‘The Rows’, which has been selected to play at the festival.
The Rows will be playing at Dead and Sudburied on Friday, 17th October at 6:45 pm.
Q. Your film The Rows has been selected for Dead and Sudburied. Can you tell us a bit about what we can expect from the film?
A. Tension, Action, and Beauty. A harrowing adventure with a little girl through a golden cornfield as bad guys hunt her every step of the way. Masked baddies, gun fights, hatchets, dog attacks, foot chases, suspense, children in peril, killer music, and uncanny entities stalking the eponymous Rows. All shot in glorious 35mm!
Q. How did the idea for the film come about and what were your inspirations when writing the script?
A. The initial idea came from imagery. A little girl in a red coat. Bag-masked villains in matching work clothes. Harvest fields and blue skies. A golden man rising over a cornfield. It wasn’t a great leap to tease out these elements and figure out what story they imply. From there, you just follow your characters where they lead you on the page.
Practically, I also wanted to get my first feature made, so I asked myself what is cinematic and cheap that I have access to? Cornfields, Guns, Masks, Animals, Suspense, etc. I’m from the American Midwest, so cornfields are everywhere around me. What narrative could occur in that environment? What things might lurk within?
Q. What were some of your influences for the look and style of the film?
A. I love classic Hollywood and genre filmmaking, so the style was very much influenced by Hitchcock, Spielberg, J.J. Abrams, Tarantino, De Palma, Argento, etc. The biggest inspirations were No Country for Old Men, A Quiet Place, Inglourious Basterds, War of the Worlds, and The Town That Dreaded Sundown. Westerns as well, particularly The Searchers, Once Upon a Time in the West, and Hondo, informed much of the 2 nd chapter involving a farmhouse. The cinematography owes a lot to daytime horror like Zodiac (Napa Valley Murders), Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (Spahn Ranch), and, inescapably, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.
Q. Did you make any changes from the original script during filming?
A. Not many, but a few. Mostly subtracting things because we were running out of time. There’s a scene where a character gets stabbed that’s slightly different from scripted because we needed to fix continuity. Also, a fire sequence that was cut out of the final chapter to save time. There’s also a particularly gruesome kill that I simply rewrote on the spot, and never existed in script form at any point. It still
doesn’t.
Q. What were some of your favourite memories of making the Film?
A. I really enjoyed directing the foot chases and dog attacks. Also, strangely, the night shoots. It was very emotional and freezing, but I like being out in atmospheric elements. High pressure either solidifies memories or destroys them. I love making movies.
Q. Did you experience any issues during filming?
A. Yes, a medium amount. The biggest issue, as always, is time. Hollywood movies look the way they do for a reason, and that aesthetic is hard to achieve in 18 days. Also, the cognitive distraction of many-hatted filmmaking – scheduling, continuity, logistics, directing, acting, etc. Still, it was a relatively smooth shoot.
Q. What makes The Rows stand out as something different in the horror genre?
A. Almost no dialogue. Entirely in daylight. Nonlinear structure. Child protagonist. Suspense-driven, not gory or jumpy. Themes of Providence, Punishment, and Heroism. Shot entirely on 35mm film! Not much indie horror can claim that.
Q. What do you hope people take away after watching the film?
A. To experience Lucy’s journey, and how it reflects our own in the rows of life.
Q. Do you have any other projects which you are currently working on?
A. Numerous. I have a 1950s sci-fi horror film called They Live Among Us, which I want to make, as well as a horror western I’ve just finished writing. Long train of genre properties on deck when I get more time: some small, some enormous.
Q. If someone was looking to get into filmmaking film what advice would you give them?
A. The same as Nike commercials – Just Do It.
The Rows will be playing at Dead and Sudburied on Friday, 17th October at 6:45 pm.
You can find out more and keep up to date about The Rows on Instagram – Facebook – Website and Director Seth Daly on Instagram
Find out more about the festival and purchase tickets for The Rows here
#therowsmovie
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!
Related Posts
