Adam Green must be doing something right.
His new film “Frozen,” a thriller set at a shuttered ski resort, is hardly the kind of movie likely to play at the Sundance Film Festival.
Yet Green’s movie bowed at the just-wrapped festival, the indie mecca known for sober dramas, liberal documentaries and star-studded premieres.
“Frozen” isn’t any of the above, but it still made the cut.
“Within the industry it instantly commands respect from those who make the decisions,” Green says of his film, which follows three friends who get trapped on a chair lift. “If we weren’t in Sundance, people would ask us, ‘Is there anybody from ‘Twilight’ in it?’ They’re literally ask those questions.”
Instead, Green says his phone has been ringing off the hook since his film earned a Sundance showcase.
His new-found clout, along with the cult respect his horror film “Hatchet” earned, helped pave the way for his next feature … “Hatchet 2.”
He admits the sequel will give audiences what they want, while “Frozen” offers more “sophisticated” chills. But the sequel also will let him expand on a story he told with “Scotch tape and tears.”
“Everything we shot was in the movie. We couldn’t afford to cut anything out. It’s such low-budget guerrilla filmmaking,” he says. “With the sequel, we have the resources do what I’ve alwayss wanted to do. It’s 10 times the movie the first one was.”
He normally frowns upon quickie horror movie sequels, but with “Hatchet” the story was always planned to include a future installment.
“There’s so many things unsaid from the first one, things we don’t explain,” he says. “It’s all explained in this one.”
Green clearly loves the horror genre. He just doesn’t love most of the horror movies being made these days.
“The past decade is the lowest point the horror genre has gone through,” he says, blaming the remake craze, torture porn features.
“Is that the best we can do as a genre, raping people on screen? We gave up on story and suspense. We had to go to the meanest thing we could,” he says.
“The studio side doesn’t like the genre, and they don’t get it,” he says, adding independent horror is “where you find the gems.”
When Green appears at horror film conventions he calls the fans out on their behavior.
Too many fans support the studio-driven dreck and ignore smaller films like “Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon.”
“If you don’t like the remakes, stop going to them and find the gems,” he says. “Read the reviews. Do your research. Go out of your way to support them.”
That, he hopes, applies to “Frozen.”
The film is opening in 10 cities this weekend, hardly the kind of platform films like “Saw VI” and “Halloween II” enjoy.
“If we don’t perform well [opening] weekend, that’s it,” he says.
(Photo: Emma Bell, Kevin Zegers and Shawn Ashmore star in “Frozen.”)
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{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
In all fairness, if one of the actors from “Twilight” was starring in “Frozen”, I’d be reluctant to watch it, too. ; )
Having met Adam Green I can say the guy is very cool and extremely appreciative of his success and respects the fans. The guy was so nice to me I will go see anything he ever makes. It’s an added bonus that he’s also talented.
Great interview!
I love talking to horror directors/writers … they’re very passionate about the genre.