Shudder Interview – Damian McCarthy of Cork (Caveat)
It was insightful speaking to Damian McCarthy direct from Cork, Ireland, first time feature director of Caveat, a scintillating frightful slow building paranormal thriller.
Another Shudder winner, full of unique scares, terrifying images, with only a solid cast of four and an expertly freaky toy bunny.
Watching Caveat, I got David Lynch vibes, was that intentional.
DM – only for visuals in terms of how unsettling he can create moods or atmosphere. In terms of surrealist storytelling, no.
Tell me about the casting, were your leads handpicked.
DM –got lucky with cast put together quickly. With Isaac, we had to find a fellow with a bushy beard because we didn’t have time or budget for daily prosthetics narrowing down the search, so Jonathan French was a brilliant find. He could do perfect expressions through his eyes in with long stretches of silence.
Ben Caplan as Barrett had the most experience, also perfect.
Leila Sykes, the standout for me, an incredible presence.
DM – she’s brilliant in a difficult role. You can clearly sympathise, she’s very quiet but at same time, you’re totally afraid of her.
That chain-leash apparatus in the film, did you dream that up.
DM – just dreamt up. A friend here in Cork, she designs a lot of leather goods so told her I had an idea for a horror film, she just said if the house is haunted why don’t they leave (laughs). Then explained I wanted to make it very clear visually this guy wasn’t going anywhere adding suspense. She built the harness for me.
In Cork, are ‘landlines’ still used in abundance.
DM – in terms of landline phones, I just wanted interesting props. Visually it afforded me more opportunities of anxiety.
Was the house real, or a set. It looked authentic to me.
DM –a set. Believe it or not although on such a small budget talented people built and designed everything. Initially we did search for rundown or abandoned houses around Cork taking photos, however the practicality didn’t fit schedule. I knew if I was clever with my storyboarding, I wouldn’t have to go too huge.
Why is Caveat, your first feature, have you worked on it a long time or just decided this is, the one.
DM – My films have done well at festivals but almost impossible to make a living off shorts. I write all the time; I have a stack of scripts so basically wanted to get ninety-minutes out of an original story.
Caveat, was worked on a lot, stripped down to a realistic project.
Shudder! They really represent horror with purity and support, did you ever think your little film would be seen globally.
DM – it is a little overwhelming. Although it had great festival reactions, I spent the last two and a half years sound designing and editing whilst working a day job. Composer Richard G. Mitchell was a sincere help; he wasn’t a horror fan which worked.
Shudder reminds me of a video store my parents had in the 80s, all the classics mixed with new, so happy they acquired, Caveat.
Any ideas for a sequel, prequel.
DM – no real interest. There were certain things mentioned not fully explored that has plot potential. I’m ready to move on from drumming bunny’s, harnesses and cellar ghosts.
How many drumming bunnies were there, did you have a stunt bunny, what made you think up that impactful, mangy prop.
DM – for years I was looking for a drumming bunny online. We found one and I tried to make it look scary myself but it looked ridiculous. I took it to Lisa, a really talented propmaker / costumer in theatre. From pictures I showed her of my ideas, the result was incredible. It became the main thing people want to talk about.
Intimidating just like Annabelle; it should have its own movie.
DM – (laughs) I’ve heard that in reviews people want to see a lot more of the drumming bunny, maybe a spin off you never know.
Why should people choose to watch, Caveat.
DM – Some people make horror films for a cash grab; this is a film I’ve wanted to make for twenty-years, i love the genre whilst thinking it would be pointless doing something done before. My aim is to please the jaded fan who thinks they’ve seen everything, after five minutes it will hook them in. The tropes are all there, a series of bad decisions escalate to horrific measures.
Anything left on the cutting room floor, it seemed sharply edited.
DM – there was, we had to keep it tight. Before Isaac goes to the island there’s more of how he knows Barret. We had it all in for test audiences but everyone was adamant, just get to the island.
I didn’t know this, The Wicker Man (1973) starts with the policeman arriving at the island, however there’s several early character-building scenes cut to make that happen.
Shutter Island (2010) was the same, straight to the island.
DM – yes Shane that’s right, cut to the chase (laughs). Working on my second film now, I’m thinking of minimising during writing.
CAVEAT. | Read Our review here
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