Ti West

American indie-director Ti West has always had a clear vision of what he wants and his movie ‘The House Of The Devil’ (just released on DVD) is no exception.
As he explains, less is more, especially in horror movies.

Film-News:
Ti, your film is an old school-style occult thriller – do you prefer those horror films to the slasher genre?

Ti West:
I’ve always preferred films with a slower pace and with the terror increasing only gradually. Polanski’s ‘Rosemary’s Baby’ is a prime example.

Film-News:
Was Polanski’s movie some sort of guideline then?

Ti West:
No, not strictly speaking, because his film has a very different plot to mine - although the main topics of occultism and Satanism are very similar. The same goes for ‘The Exorcist’. But yeah, as far as the pace of my film is concerned, I’m of course inspired by the two aforementioned movies. Especially ‘Rosemary’s Baby’, the story in it unfolds only bit by bit.

Film-News:
Are you worried that audiences might perceive your film as too slow and compare it with other modern horror films that are dominated by action and terror from the word go?

Ti West:
No, such worries don’t really concern me, because I make movies primarily for myself and not for a mass audience. I am an independent film director and don’t stick to typical Hollywood formulas. These formulas are only created to score high box office results.

Film-News:
How did you get cult-actress Mary Woronov (Eating Raoul) for your project?

Ti West:
Admittedly, not that easily! At first, her agency informed me that currently, “Mary is not interested in any projects”. But I didn’t give up. I was really persistent and kept on calling the agency until they finally gave me Mary’s phone number and I was able to call her myself. Eventually, she agreed to meet me in her house and luckily, we got on straight away. Finally, she agreed to play the part of Mrs. Ulman in my new film.

Film-News:
What would you have done had you not gotten Mary, which other actress would you have considered?

Ti West:
No other actress! I wanted Mary Woronov right from the start and I would not have given up until I got her. She is simply ideal casting for that particular part and thankfully; my persistence did pay off in the end.