10 Questions: Simon Barrett Introduces 'You're Next'

“10 Questions with LA Film Fest Filmmaker Spotlights” is a series of posts to help you get to know our Festival filmmakers and their films just a little bit better. In this installment, Simon Barrett discusses his much-anticipated horror film You’re Next.

Simon Barret

FILM: You’re Next / The Beyond

With their best fake smiles plastered on their faces, the Davison family has gathered together at their country estate to celebrate Mom and Dad’s anniversary, although there won’t be much celebrating tonight. For just as the dinner conversation begins to get heated, as they all knew it eventually would, murderous mask-wearing maniacs strike. Now, they all have to fight for their lives, if they can just stop arguing amongst themselves first.

Filmmaking duo director Adam Wingard and screenwriter Simon Barrett, along with a cast that includes horror luminary Barbara Crampton and fellow indie filmmakers Amy Seimetz, Ti West and Joe Swanberg, have produced one of the sharpest horror movies in recent history, boasting an energy that doesn’t flag until the final kill.

1. Who are you and what do you do?

Simon Barrett. Writer and a producer of YOU’RE NEXT.

2. Tell us about your film in 140 characters or less.

YOU’RE NEXT is a horror film about a family reunion that goes worse than most.

3. What inspired you to make this film?

Adam Wingard (director of YOU’RE NEXT) and I share a love of horror cinema in general and home invasion horror films in particular. We wanted try to contribute something hopefully original and different to the subgenre.

4. Who were your early filmmaking mentors or inspirations?

Sam Raimi, Peter Jackson, John Woo.

5. Who or what influenced the creative decisions for this film?

I was inspired by the structure of screwball comedies from the 1940s and also locked room mystery novels. Adam and I knew we didn’t want to just try to be intense and disturbing in the same ways that were satirized by FUNNY GAMES back in 1997, so we attempted something different in terms of story and tone. I also wanted to write a strong female protagonist, because I feel like these films frequently lack compelling female characters (with the brilliant French films INSIDE and THEM and the original SCREAM being notable exceptions).

6. What challenges did you face while making this film?

Budgetary constraints, a tight schedule, various technical difficulties, and the cumulative exhaustion of shooting all night, six nights a week for a month. The usual.

7. What’s been the coolest experience so far with the film?

It’s pretty hard to beat the whirlwind experience of premiering at a Toronto International Film Festival Midnight Madness screening and having our film acquired by Lionsgate for a wide theatrical release within the next couple of days. I’d say it’s an experience I’ll never forget, except I was so dazed that I’ve more or less forgotten it completely.

8. Are you a film festival newbie or have you done the circuit before?

We’ve had films screen at Toronto, Sundance, SXSW, Tribeca, Fantastic Fest and others, so we’re on our way to becoming veterans, but this will be our first film at the L.A. Film Festival, which I’ve attended for the past several years as a viewer. I’m pretty excited about it.

9. How are you preparing for the festival and/or getting the word out about your film?

Lionsgate seems to be doing an incredible job with their marketing campaign for the film. There’s not that much for us to do, honestly, so I’ve just been breaking into people’s houses and writing “YOU’RE NEXT” in lipstick on their bathroom mirrors. I haven’t told Lionsgate about this viral marketing strategy yet, but I think it will be a big help.

10. Lastly, what are you most excited to do and/or see at this year’s LA Film Fest?

I’m dying to see THE CONJURING, ONLY GOD FORGIVES, DRUG WAR, CRYSTAL FAIRY, LESSON OF EVIL, THE FIFTH SEASON, DELIVERY, AIN’T THEM BODIES SAINTS, and many other movies that are playing there. I’m working desperately to try to clear my schedule for the entire week so I can catch some movies!

Twitter: @lionsgatehorror
Facebook: facebook.com/YoureNextTheMovie