STACK #161 Mar 2018

DVD & BD FEATURE

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GREMLINS (1984) “The hundred-thousand mile lead for me is Gremlins . I think that movie hits the right tone so perfectly,” says Chris Peckover. We can’t argue with that.

nine months in Australia and I cannot wait to live there permanently because I had so much fun and connected with so many people.” Despite the copious amount of (fake) snow falling, there are giveaways that betray the Aussie location. The predominantly local cast for starters – including Levi Miller, Ed Oxenbould and Olivia DeJong – as well as an appearance by a large huntsman spider. “Everybody got rid of their accents pretty well, I have to say,” adds Peckover. When it came to casting the youngsters who would carry the film, the director auditioned hundreds of boys before settling on Miller and Oxenbould. “A lot of people ask, before a killer twist transforms it into something darker and nastier, Peckover explains that finding the right balance in tone was crucial. “It’s important in any horror-comedy, or movies that mix genres, to not lean into the horror or the comedy, but to lean into the drama. If everybody’s acting realistically and the development is organic to the set-up, I think it’s easier to go back and forth.” And as for exposing his young cast to the more violent and adult themes of the movie, Peckover notes the average 12-year-old is fascinated with the macabre, weird and ‘How do you direct kids?’ And my answer is always, ‘I direct them like adults.' Levi and Ed had a level of intuition you usually see in 20 to 30 year olds.” Initially resembling a PG comedy

saturated look at upper middle class suburbia during Christmas. “Christmas is a very heightened time where we’re all performing, in a weird way. It’s a time when we’re trying to sugarcoat our lives, so it’s such a wonderful time for things to go wrong,” he laughs. Better Watch Out was originally going to be shot in South Carolina before relocating to Sydney. And that’s not the only local connection – Peckover reveals he’s an Australian citizen. “My mum’s from Nowra. I’ve never lived there but in 2016, I got to spend

SILENT NIGHT, DEADLY NIGHT (1984) Santa gets slay and sleigh mixed up in this controversial slasher film that had angry parents protesting and picketing theatres.

[Christmas] is such a wonderful time for things to go wrong

BLACK CHRISTMAS (1974) A group of sorority sisters are stalked on Christmas Eve in this Canadian cult classic which set the benchmark for festive horror.

KRAMPUS (2015) You better watch out, ‘cause Santa Claws is coming to town! If you lose faith in the spirit of Christmas, you might just lose your life as well.

• Better Watch Out is out on March 28

grotesque. “So getting them to perform it in a movie was no problem.”

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MARCH 2018

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