From Freedom Cinema, and director James Di Martino, comes face to face with The Faceless Man this summer.
Premiering on Demand August 28, the Australian horror film took home 6 major awards at the Melbourne Underground Film Festival including Best Director and Best Film.
Emily is a recovering cancer survivor of three years. Faced with her fear of getting sick again, her best friend Nina plans a weekend away. Six friends venture out to a country holiday house to party over a weekend. Cut off from the rest of the world they soon learn the inhabitants are unsettling red neck individuals who terrorize and humiliate travelers. At the same time a para-normal monster seen as the faceless man haunts the house pushing the friends to their limits.
From writer/director James Di Martino, and featuring Wolf Creek’s Andy McPhee, Roger Ward (Mad Max), Lucas Pittaway (Snowtown) and Sophie Thurling (“Counter Play”), The Faceless Man haunts digital from August 28.
-PH:When did your filmmaking career kick off?
-James: I started making short films in 2016. The Faceless Man was created two years later in 2018
-PH: And why movies? What was it about movies that had you fixed on building a career around making them?
-James: I have always loved making films. There is nothing more special than watching a great film at the cinema. When I discovered you could do this as a job I was very quick to learn and eager to create my own films. I love reading and thus developed as a writer to create my own worlds.
-PH: Most cite “Star Wars” as one of the films that spurred them towards a career in the industry. What film was it for you?
-James: The filmology of Quentin Tarantino. Ill never forget the experience watching Reservoir dogs or Pulp Fiction. The many times I have watched Inglorious Bastards or Kill Bill. He took many risks and created some of the best storylines in cinema.
-PH: Have you always naturally been drawn to horror?
-James: Not really. But as I was making a first feature film. One that I wanted to be able to recoup the investment and try many crazy things. It was a genre that has grown on me. I get bored of many horror films. Even ones that make big festivals bore me.. I find them very predictable. So I was eager to make a film that was horror and unpredictable.
-PH: In the case of The Faceless Man, where does the story come from?
-James: After my 6th short film Five O’Clock I decided it was time to make a feature film. I had two ideas. One was a horror film with a Monster and the other was a gangster film about a deadly Russian chasing after two girls who stole a large suitcase of cocaine. I realized I had to make one of these films and not write both. Thus I decided to test and see if it was possible to blend these ideas into one. That was when The Faceless Man idea came about. I was also heavily inspired with GET OUT and how that was an elevated horror film. Then I started mapping the film out and wanting the film to be a unique experience. One that goes through different genres and as its core. A deconstruction of the slasher films and creature features. I wanted the experience to weave in black comedy to create a very off beat adventure. At the same time have a looming presence of evil.
-PH: I imagine you’re very close to it, so maybe the wrong person to ask (filmmakers hate the question), but what do you believe makes the film superior to others of a similar type?
-James: Well that’s a very subjective question. No two people will say the same thing about my film for better or worse. It will divide people as it already has. But if I was to pick one thing it’s the unpredictable nature of my film. I don’t think many will be able to pick where the film will go. Or experience many of the genres I have thrown in there.
