Setting out to create a new identity and sense of purpose can be a challenging task, as people are usually guided through life by their past decisions, emotions and experiences. That’s certainly the case with the directors and main characters in the upcoming horror film, ‘Martyrs,’ which is a retelling of the French 2008 horror cult film written and directed by Pascal Laugier. Kevin and Michael Goetz, who are collectively known as the Goetz Brothers, took over helming duties for the French filmmaker on the remake, after proving their captivating abilities to chronicle the gripping psychological struggles people are forced to contend with during times of conflict in their first movie, the acclaimed 2013 thriller, ‘Scenic Route.’ Much like the main characters in their previous drama, the protagonists in their version of ‘Martyrs’ struggle to survive during their times of despair, but ultimately prove what a compelling will of survival they posses.
Anchor Bay Entertainment will release ‘Martyrs’ in theaters and on Digital HD on Friday, before also distributing the horror thriller on VOD on February 2. Jason Blum’s Blumhouse Productions served as one of the production companies on the new film, which was written by ‘The Revenant’ co-scribe Mark L. Smith.
‘Martyrs’ opens as the 10-year-old Lucie flees from the isolated warehouse where she has been held prisoner. Deeply traumatized, she is plagued by awful night terrors at the orphanage that takes her in. Her only comfort comes from Anna, a girl her own age who selflessly befriends her. Anna’s determined not to give up hope on her new friend, and promises to do whatever it takes to help her recover, even though she doesn’t fully believe all of Lucie’s tales about what happened to her.
The two girls remain close friends throughout their adolescence, and are determined to take control over their lives as they become young adults. But now, nearly a decade after escaping from her traumatizing experience, Lucie (Troian Bellisario), who’s still haunted by demons, finally tracks down the family that tortured her. As she and Anna (Bailey Noble) then move closer to the agonizing truth about why she was kidnapped, they find themselves trapped in a nightmare. That discover that if they cannot escape, a martyr’s fate awaits them.
The Goetz Brothers generously took the time recently to talk about directing ‘Martyrs’ during an exclusive phone interview. Among other things, they discussed how they were drawn to helm the new retelling of the horror film, because they enjoy character-driven stories, particularly since ‘Scenic Route’ allowed them to understand the psychological aspect behind characters who are emotionally and physically struggling. The filmmakers also mentioned how they were happy they chose Bellisario and Noble to play the two friends early in the casting process, as the performers enthrallingly captured the turmoil of their characters in every scene they were in.
ShockYa (SY): You co-directed the upcoming horror film ‘Martyrs,’ which follows the lead character, Lucie, tracking down the family that tortured her as a child. What interested you both in helming the movie, and how did you become involved in the project?
Kevin Goetz (KG): We’re big fans of character-driven stories. That goes back to the first film we directed together, ‘Scenic Route,’ which examines two best friends in the desert for the entire hour-and-a-half (run time). When we then received the ‘Martyrs’ screenplay, we weren’t the horror guys you’d immediately imagined who would take on this type of film. But based on our previous film, we really had a grasp on the psychological aspect behind these types of characters. So we appreciated that we were considered to direct this film.
When we read the script for this movie, we thought there was an interesting relationship between the two girls. That idea really excited us. We thought about how we could explore the beauty of the relationship between these two girls, who would go to the end of the world for each other. That’s a beautiful notion that’s set against this horrific backdrop of these difficult circumstances.
So for us, it’s all about the script. Once we read this script, we had to push the original movie out of our minds, and make this movie completely ours.
SY: Speaking of the two girls in this film, Troian Bellisario and Bailey Noble play the characters, Lucie and Anna, respectively. With the horror film focusing on their perspectives of how Lucie is still contending with her escape, how did you decide that you wanted to cast Troian and Bailey?
Michael Goetz (MG): We knew we were going to have a big challenge going into the project. Since the story’s so character-driven, we needed actresses who would be able to showcase their struggles. We actually found Troian and Bailey pretty early on in the casting process. They both came in and we did some chemistry reads, and about two weeks later, we were shooting. So the casting process was very quick.
The shoot itself also went by quickly-it was a 16-day shoot, which was very fast for a movie with gunshots, explosions and all types of other stunts going on. We had to film everything in such a short period of time.
Both of the girls gave their all to the project. In every scene they were in, they were either being chased, tortured, screamed at or emotionally abused. They really went through the ringer for us. These roles were so physically demanding, but they both gave the roles their all. We were happy to have both of them on the project.
SY: The horror film not only focuses on Lucie’s struggle to move past her imprisonment as a child, but also how she relates to Anna. Were you able to have any rehearsal time with Troian and Bailey to develop their characters’ connection and backstories?
KG: Like Michael said, we only had two weeks between when Troian and Bailey were cast and when we started filming. We were able to have a wardrobe fitting with them. It was scheduled for a few hours, but we actually only needed about 45 minutes to fit them into their wardrobe. So we were able to use that extra time to really break apart the script with them.
Then the next thing we knew, we were on the set, so we didn’t have a massive rehearsal process. We would have loved to have that rehearsal time, but on this accelerated schedule, there really wasn’t any way to do that.
But the girls came in prepared every single day. We would spend hours with them before we started, and after we finished, shooting every day. So every day was a 12-hour day. We shot here in L.A., and never went into overtime. We stayed on scheduled because we had such a limited budget.
But the girls would stay after to discuss the next day’s scenes. That’s why casting is so important-you have to get people who are so committed to the project. It’s beneficial to have people continue work when they get home at night, and start working before they return to the set the next day. It creates a great energy on set, and helps get the scenes done.
SY: With Lucie and Annie determined to protect themselves during and after the attack on the family, what was the process of creating the action sequences while you were filming?
MG: Well, we had a great stunt coordinator, David Rowden, who was able to get everything done expertly and quickly, even the things that were the most time consuming. We were able to go over things together everyday and rehearse the stunts.
SY: ‘Martyrs’ is mainly set in the farmhouse and surrounding property of the family Lucie tracked down, and it acts as its own character in many respects. What was the process of finding the right location where you wanted to film the movie, and then working with the film’s production designer, Alan Roderick-Jones, to make the house look the way you wanted?
KG: Well, with the budget being what it was, and the fact that we were filming in Los Angeles, it was a challenge to find a farmhouse that looked like it was alienated from the rest of the world. The house had to look like it was in the middle of nowhere, but it actually had to be within the 30-mile shooting zone around L.A. that’s set by union rules. So it was like finding a needle in a haystack; it took a long time to find the right house.
(SPOILER ALERT) We also wanted to find a house that creatively didn’t look scary in any way. We wanted a picturesque and homey house where you would never suspect that these horrible things were happening in the basement. (END SPOILER ALERT)
We were luckily able to find a house on the outskirts of Moorpark, California. The house was actually up for sale, so the owners luckily didn’t mind having the fake blood go everywhere!
Finding all of the other locations for the other scenes was also difficult, as we didn’t have the money to build all of these big sets. So we were lucky that we found an old correctional facility in Whittier that was used to house juvenile delinquents back in the 1970s and ’80s. But people mainly use it to film movies in now. It has all kinds of dungeons and long hallways, which can be used for things that take place underneath the house.
MG: We also used it for the orphanage that was shown in the beginning of the film, as it has all of these brick buildings. So we basically shot the entire movie in two locations.
SY: Since the horror film was mainly shot in the house, what was the process of working with the project’s cinematographer, Sean O’Dea, to make each scene look so unique?
MG: Well, we also worked with Sean on ‘Scenic Route,’ as well as on about 15 or 20 commercials over the years. He’s a real team player. He’ll be on the set two hours before our first call, and two hours after our last call. For him, it’s all about doing whatever it takes to get the project done.
We decided to shoot the film cheaply on handheld cameras. Not that shooting on handheld is done cheaply, but we made a conscious effort to make this film look polished and lyrical. We used lot of Steadicam and Technocrane, which are words you don’t often hear on small budget films. But they were important to us, so that we can get across a cinematic vision of beauty that’s set against this dark world. Sean was on board with that as the cinematographer. Luckily, we had a team who really understood how to work with limited time and locations.
SY: ‘Martyrs’ is set to be distributed in theaters, as well as on Digital HD and VOD. Do you both feel that the On Demand platform is beneficial for independent films like this one?
MG: Yes, it is definitely beneficial, as more and more people are watching films from home. There are also less movie theaters that are willing to show these types of films, because bigger movies are taking up most of their screens. So VOD and day-and-date releases are definitely an evolving model.
At the end of the day with this type of release, this film is able to get into 15,000 houses, instead of on 3,000 movie screens, so it’s going to be seen more on VOD. It’s an interesting platform, and we’ll see how it goes. But we like that people have the chance to watch the film late at night, and get creeped out in their living rooms.
Written by: Karen Benardello