They're really pushing the "From the Saw guys" thing. Is that what you want?
“A lot of people have talked about is this the right follow up or whether we see it as the right move to make after the Saw films and once again, I don't know whether it's the right move businesswise or careerwise, but for us it's a story we wanted to tell. We've always loved these old Hammer horror films and Roger Corman horror films. Even the old horror films, the Mario Bava films, there's a certain quality they have, a kind of eerie, spooky quality that today's horror films don't have. I really don't know how that fits in. I don't know if there's a need out there. I don't know if you're walking around, Fred, thinking, 'Hmm, I'd really love to see a horror film made in the traditional old style of the Hammer horror films.' But that's what we wanted to do. We wanted to hark back to an old episode of The Twilight Zone as opposed to a Japanese horror film that was made last year."
You spoke about this from the beginning.
“Absolutely, it's always been there. The danger is, or not the danger, but the potential disappointment of it is that it's not a carbon copy of Saw at all. It may be a horror film, but it's very different. I remember at the test screening for this, we did a test screening out in the suburbs of LA. We're out at some mall and I remember walking into the lobby of the theater and there was this huge line of kids all in black T-shirts, Tool T-shirts and Marilyn Manson T-shirts. These were the kids who loved Saw and I just thought, ‘Oh my God, we're dead.’ Because I knew that these guys wanted to see another Saw. And sure enough, as soon as they sat down, the lady running the test screening walked to the front of the theater and said, ‘All right, guys. We're now going to show you the new film by the guys who created Saw.’ And this huge cheer erupted and my head just dropped because I was like, ‘Oh my God, they're expecting limbs flying, body parts, traps...’ And that is not what Dead Silence is.
Hopefully, we don't disappoint any of those fans. Hopefully they go with us with Dead Silence because it's not about body parts for this. It's very different. It's more about creeping people out. That's what we wanted to do, just actually scare people and give people some nightmares as opposed to just have them look away because someone's having their arms cut off.”
Did the screening go badly?
“No, it actually went well. The happy ending to that story was, I was so nervous I couldn't stay in the theater. I was just periodically poking my head into the theater and listening for the reaction of the audience. Finally, at the end as the credits are rolling, I sneak in and I'm standing at the back of the theater. They kept a few kids behind, and she came out and said, ‘Okay, hands up if you liked that movie,’ and everyone's hands went up. I was like, ‘Okay, that's good.’ She said, ‘Hands up if you loved it.’ And nearly all of the kids put their hands up. So that turned out good so hopefully people still recognize that sort of bizarre element that James [Wan] and I want to go for.
If you look back at the first Saw film, it's got some pretty bizarre things in there from the talking doll on a tricycle to the pig mask. There are some pretty weird elements, and Dead Silence definitely has those. You'll definitely recognize it as a Wan/Whannell film because there's some crazy bizarre twists in there. Hopefully that's the stuff that reminds you of Saw, as opposed to the limbs flying.”
Is it a different process writing for James Wan?
“It's interesting. I've only written for two directors, Darren [Lynn Bousman] and James and it is different with James because we've known each other for so long. I can really see his films in my head, which is a really great relationship to have with a director when you're a writer. A lot of times when you're writing, you're sitting there at your computer or you're sitting there with your pad and pen and you have a film running in your head as you're writing. You see these images. To then hand this script off to someone and see them directing the film differently than you saw it in your head, it could be painful.
Sometimes with Darren, who is a great director but he's not one I know as well, so it'll be interesting sometimes to see him direct scenes differently than the way I saw them. With James, that doesn't really happen because I've known his directing style so well. Also, we have a dialogue. Because we're friends, we talk so much that usually he'll describe to me exactly how he's going to direct something. So it's really gratifying as a writer because the film in your head is the one that gets put on screen. I guess that's the main different writing for him.”
