The Butcher Brothers, Phil Flores and Mitchell Altieri, have come back to their bloody and emotional world of vampires with “The Thompsons,” the sequel to “The Hamiltons.” ShockYa was on hand to speak with the directors about their vision, why vampires have so many fans, and more. “The Thompsons” is on DVD and Blu-ray now.
First, I’m glad that you guys were able to make a sequel to “The Hamiltons.” I read how excited people were about the first film, so I’m sure they’ll be glad to see “The Thompsons.” How did you come up with the idea for these types of vampires in general?
Phil Flores: We wanted to do a different spin on what vampires were. We come from a background of drama and comedy and a love for horror as well…We decided we wanted to make our vampires more of human-like characteristics. So we went back and looked at the old stories, not the Hollywood versions…we started accessing different stories [about] these kinds of creatures that were monstrous but trying to still connect with humans. So…we created the Hamiltons around that…Our vampires are born and bred, they aren’t really made. So what happens is if you had it passed down, how would you deal with it?
I saw part of “The Thompsons” and there’s a lot of really vicious stuff in there, stuff horror fans would love. Is there any particular scene that creeped even you guys out?
Mitchell Altieri: Yeah, there were a few in there that creeped us out…For me, sometimes, you see the actors really getting into their roles and they’re just kind of getting really intense…there were scenes that were pretty hard to shoot…but you kind of get used to it as horror directors and whatnot, but still…the stuff in the diner, the hobby shed scenes were kind of gruesome.
Why do you think vampires have been so intriguing to people over the years?
Phil Flores: …There’s the morality they have to deal with.
Mitchell Altieri: They’re always mourning their own death…I think it’s reflective of us all, really that’s why we’re always [drawn] to vampires or zombies or werewolves, and that’s why we made the Hamiltons even more human, to deal with some of the morality you have to deal with.
Since there have been so many vampire films over the years, how do you think your film fits into that narrative?
Mitchell Altieri: When we did “The Hamiltons,” it was ahead of the curve. We did it before a lot of the vampire stuff came out and now we were just trying to do what would be scary for us…it’s heartbreaking…it’s more of people trying to be part of the community and part of life…We’ve felt that we’ve kind of helped shape the vision of vampires and we just kind of stuck with our own…we just have this very unique style and I think it’s actually [created a] way for different things, which is obviously great.
If you had the chance to become a vampire in real life, would you do it?
Mitchell Altieri: No, no (laughs).
Phil Flores: Mitch agrees. I would say no as well (laughs).
