Exit (2019)
Director: Michael Fausti
Writer: Mathew Bayliss
Starring: Tony Denham, Michael Fausti, Christophe Delesques, Charlotte Gould, Billy James Machin
A seemingly innocent double booking forces two couples from different backgrounds to share a London apartment for the evening. A night of drink, drugs, sex and new experiences follows. However, as morning comes, events take a sinister turn. Everything has a price and not all debts are paid for with money. What would you do to survive? Leaving; it’s harder that you think.
In a new interview in the series leading up to Horror-on-Sea Film Festival, I got a chance to ask Exit Writer-Director Michael Fausti a few questions about what we can expect from the film.
Q. Your latest horror film, EXIT will have its world premiere at Horror-on-Sea. Can you tell us what we can expect from the film?
EXIT is based around a night of sex and drugs between two couples who meet, seemingly by chance, in an apartment in London. One of them must undertake a violent journey to extricate themselves from the building, which has a history of its own… That’s all I can say for now, without risking giving too much away!
Q. What influenced the script for EXIT?
Mat Bayliss, who wrote the original script for EXIT, was influenced at the time by the result of the EU referendum and the tensions, divisions and emotions that consequently emerged and continue in the U.K. A further point of reference of course, is also the conventions of the confinement sub-genre and dare we say it, the haunted house genre. The film has influences from all three and I’m pretty pleased with how we combined them all to create a really original story and film.
Q. What were some of your influences for the look and style of the film?
I am a horror fan and EXIT has more than its fair share of nods to the horror genre.
Another enduring influence on my work is British cinema of the 1960’s and 1970’s, particularly the work of Michael Powell. When planning the visuals for EXIT, I revisited Black Narcissus (UK 1947), itself a confinement drama, that deals with passion and madness. I love the lighting of that film and Jack Cardiff’s cinematography is incredible. On EXIT we have focused on bold lighting and employed some colours not traditionally associated with the palette of the horror film!
Another of my favourite films is Performance (UK 1970), the stylistic influences of this film can be seen not just in the visuals but also in the editing and sound design of EXIT. I’m really pleased with how it’s all come together and can’t wait to see the audience’s reaction.
Q. This is the first feature film which you have directed. How does it compare to your previous shorts?
One of the really enjoyable and challenging aspects of directing a feature, compared with short films, is that you now have a much broader canvas upon which to work and explore ideas. Obviously everything expands when you work on a feature, pre-production and post is a significantly longer process.
Having a longer time frame allows for extended story development and a greater opportunity for experimentation, in both production design and story development.
I also feel this has enabled me to form a greater bond with my actors and allowed us to experiment more with the source material. Having a larger cast and crew meant more people to share creative ideas and suggestions with. I think this has really benefited the production.
Q. Were there any elements of the original script which were adapted for any of the stories during filming?
The script is a film’s starting point and once onset there are always changes that take place. It’s also fair to say that, as we planned the production we also incorporated influences from the Brexit source material, whilst always being mindful not to allow it to dominate the story line. The ending of EXIT, however, did go through a number of revisions and in effect two different endings were shot.
We worked with some incredibly talented actors on EXIT and the key thing is always the performance, even if this means deviating from the script if the actors feel their characters would instinctively react differently to some of the events. I like to work collaboratively with actors to get the most authentic feel for the piece. I like actors to bring their own creativity to the set and the characters they inhibit and so we use this to create the final performance that makes it to the screen.
The twists and turns of the Brexit process also meant that we wanted to bring some of that to the screen and so we witness our protagonists go through their own developments and evolution’s to mirror this.
Q. Did you experience any issues during filming?
We had a short shooting schedule; just eight days, which in itself was intensive and physically demanding for both cast and crew.
Principle filming for EXIT took place in late May 2018. We worked long days and it was particularly hot weather at the time- often over 30 degrees. All of the cast and crew were crammed into this enclosed space in London and the addition of lights made for some pretty uncomfortable conditions at times!
Some days we had upwards of fourteen people in a three bedroom apartment. I think that working together in such cramped conditions translated to the sense of claustrophobia that is on screen.
Bizarrely enough though, we could only get access to the exterior scenes that we used a few months later and so we were then filming in freezing cold and rain. It’s pretty fair to say we had extremes of all kinds on this shoot! I’m not sure which I preferred to be honest!!
Q. What were some of your favourite moments during filming?
I loved the energy and creativity of our four principal actors. Despite the long shooting days, everyone was full on with energy and a sense of fun! Leonarda (Leonarda Sahani who plays Michelle) frequently broke out in an outrageously over the top American accent and was a total clean freak, so we often had impromptu American cleaning ads to entertain us-complete with hoovering!!
We had a relatively young crew and so there was constant laughter and jokes. Some of my favourite behind the scenes footage is of Leonarda dancing in impossibly high heels and actors with their prosthetic injuries making faux complaints about health and safely on set!
We also had a ‘stab dummy’ who Billy (Billy James Machin who plays Steve) named after a well know actor, who is known for his ‘wooden’ acting… I could go on… but we’d be here all night!!
Too many favourite moments to narrow down actually! It was a really fun shoot, despite the heat and cramped conditions!
Q. What makes Exit stand out as something different in the horror genre?
It’s probably safe to say there aren’t too many Brexit inspired horror films! We’ve weaved that through the plot and performance, though it doesn’t dominate the proceedings!
Whilst EXIT contains many familiar elements of the horror genre, particularly in terms of setting and technical codes, once we move beyond the first act of the narrative, things become more surreal. We also have left many elements of both story and character deliberately enigmatic.
Q. What do you hope people take away after watching the film?
Firstly I hope that people are entertained by EXIT and feel that it’s something different, rather than a re-tread of the traditional genre tropes.
I think that people will bring to the film, and take away their own readings and interpretations and I’m very much looking forward to hearing these. Various members of the production team have their own take on why things happen or what “X” actually means… We have Freudian, political and feminist readings… and some interesting post modernist interpretations already! I’m sure they’ll be others! It’s fair to say, I’m enjoying all the different views on EXIT.
In my opinion, films should make you think… it seems EXIT is certainly making people do that!
Q. You also do a voice over in another film which is playing at Horror-on-Sea called I Scream on the Beach. Can you please tell us a little bit about what we can expect from that film and your involvement?
Alex and Mike (Directors Alex Churchyard and Mike Holiday) put a call out for trailers and I sent them Dead Celebrities, which I believe makes an appearance. We got chatting at a Cult Film Night in Southend that we both regularly attend and Alex asked me to do some voice overs… I haven’t seen the final result but I’m loving the old school look and feel of their production design!
I really don’t know what to expect but I’m certainly looking forward to it!! Can’t wait to see the finished project!
I also have a brief Voice Over in Molly Brown’s new animation, This Mourning. That’s one of the things I love about the Indie film scene in the UK; how we all support and promote each other’s work! It’s a great industry to be a part of!
Q. Do you have any other projects which you are currently working on?
We have a quite a few ideas currently being worked upon and pitched between the members of the Fausti Team… the trouble is, we love them all and have to make a decision as to which one gets prioritised first! Very much… ‘watch this space’. Oh yeah and send cash!!
Q. If someone was looking to write and direct their own film what advice would you give them?
Do it! What are you waiting for? There is never an ideal time or enough cash but passion and the right crew around you, will give you the support you need! And… Tell your own story, not a remake of a Hollywood film.
Don’t get tied up on the specifics of the camera and equipment. Make it with what you’ve got and aim to make the best you can with your budget and you will find your audience!
Don’t be afraid to ask for support and offer support to others. #SupportIndieFilm is more than a hash tag! That’s what I love about Indie film!
Exit will be playing at Horror-on-Sea on Saturday 11th January at 20:00 hrs
You can find out more about Horror-on-Sea and purchase tickets for the festival here:
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!
