Exclusive Interview - ABLE creator's Marc Robert and Will Stotler

Here is the very first exclusive interview type thing I have ever had for the site. It is with Will Stotler and Marc Robert who are the creator's of the forthcoming horror movie, Able. I first mentioned the film here.

Director Marc Robert described the film as "Part slasher film, part zombie movie, ABLE depicts those few maniac days between the onset of a viral epidemic and the dead rising from their graves. Everybody knows how the zombie apocalypse could go down, but what happens in that in-between time--after the infection, but before the hordes of undead set upon the survivors? The answer is pretty gruesome: in the in-between time, the survivors are the monsters."

Without further ado here is the interview.

LFF: Why are there so many zombie movies out there just now? Do we need
another one?

Will: A good zombie movie is part lifeboat drama, part morality play,
and those have been in style for centuries in different forms. I
think zombie movies are very popular at the moment because they deal
with global uncertainties and fears that feel "real" (pandemics, loss
of spirituality, riots, government collapse)--but in an unreal way
that satisfyingly empowers the survivors. Yes, we need another one.
One that's different.

Marc: ABLE is unique as a zombie movie in that it takes place *after*
the viral outbreak but *before* the hordes of undead really begin
rising from their graves. We wanted to explore how the humans become
the monsters in this situation, what they do for--and to--each other
against the backdrop of apocalypse.

LFF: What makes your film so different to all the rest?

Marc: ABLE blends elements of the zombie genre with torture porn and,
through that, is a much more atmospheric and psychological horror movie.

Will: ABLE doesn't compromise. It drops the viewer into an uncertain
situation from frame one and then takes its time to compound, unfold,
and reveal its horrors, which aren't what you'll be expecting.

LFF: How long did the process take from the initial idea for Able to
getting it to the big screen?

Marc: Things moved pretty quickly. I was trying to raise financing
for another movie when Will and I started talking about the idea for
ABLE. Eighteen months after that we were attending the premiere in
Sitges.

Will: The process moved at a good pace--about eighteen months from
idea through to the big screen--because we put the film first and
streamlined everything else.

LFF: Who is your biggest influence?

Marc: In terms of getting at the suffering and dread in the film, we
were definitely talking a lot about Lynch and Cronenberg.

Will: For the human-on-human problem, Romero (Night/Dawn) came up. I
think the reverse of this question is probably more true: What films
*didn't* we want ABLE to be like? There was a lot of talk around that.

LFF: Who would win in a fight - a zombie chicken or a zombie duck?

Marc: A zombie duck. The thing has a better build.

Will: A zombie chicken. Vicious.

LFF: What actor would you love to have in your next movie?

Marc: Bill Nighy, Cillian Murphy, Udo Kier

Will: James Murray, Naoko Mori, Ken Foree

LFF: As Halloween is at the end of the month what horror movies will
you be watching to get into the spirit of things?

Marc: THE EXORCIST.

Will: THE BEYOND.

LFF: What are you working on next?

Marc: It's too early to say for sure, but we're definitely looking at
pushing things in a much more sci-fi and sexual direction.

Will: Ditto on the early. I will say that dark, sexual horror/sci-fi
and a unique point of view are under discussion.

LFF: When is Able out in the UK?

Marc: The sales process for the film is just getting underway, so
hopefully within the next year or so.

LFF: Will, Marc thanks very much for your time. Good luck with the film.

There is a HD version of the trailer here. So that was my first proper interview. What did you think of it?

HOME / FORUM.