December 2, 2016

Like most horror fans, I love anthologies. And sometimes, a segment in an anthology can be so indelible that it makes you long to see an expanded version of that story. For V/H/S, the opening short “Amateur Night” helmed by David Bruckner, 1/3rd of the filmmaking trio behind 2007’s THE SIGNAL, is one of my personal favorites, primarily because it introduces us to an unlikely monster in the form of the beautifully striking Hannah Fierman.

Now, filmmaker Gregg Bishop and screenwriters Ben Collins and Luke Piotrowski have teamed up with Bruckner to produce SiREN, a feature length movie that expands upon the character of “Lily,” and delivers a unique take on the monster movie. Just in time for the VOD and limited theatrical release, we were fortunate enough to sit down and chat with director Gregg Bishop about the challenges of adapting “Amateur Night” into the full length feature film SiREN.

Blumhouse.com: For me, as a fan, watching V/H/S, I thought what David Bruckner did with “Amateur Night” was terrific, and it’s one of the strongest segments in the film. What were your initial reactions to seeing V/H/S and in particular that segment?

Gregg Bishop: Well, I leaped on board for the feature right away mainly because I’ve always loved that short! My first instinct was thinking, OK, how are we going to make this into a feature because it is based around one big surprise, which is finding out what that girl is. It’s a shocking surprise that works wonderful as a short. When I got the script by Ben Collins and Luke Piotrowski, they just nailed how to adapt this thing. David Bruckner was on board for the development of the script all the way through to producing it, and I had him come in and shoot second unit. So, I worked very closely with Bruckner. I’m such a huge fan of his and it’s great to work with directors that you respect and admire. It was a fun collaboration for us. Because the surprise works so well in the short, the big thing in terms of turning this into a feature was that the cat’s out of the bag right away. You already know what Lily is. We know she’s a monster. We’re just waiting for her to turn. The other big difference, by design, the guys in the short film got what they deserved; whereas in our movie, you pull for our heroes and you don’t want them to die. You’re invested in these characters.

BH.com: In terms of developing the story into a feature, I’m sure David Bruckner had his ideas of what a feature would be, but it sounds like from what you’re telling me, this became a very collaborative thing between you, him and the two screenwriters. Were there some things you brought to the table that maybe surprised David? Because he created this character, but now there are 3 collaborators bringing different things in.

GB: When I came on board, they had the script already, so the writers had been working with David already for quite a while. They had already had a lengthy collaboration. I don’t want to speak for the writers, but the main thing or cool idea we brought to the table is that Lily – she’s never really defined in the short. You could guess she’s a harpee or a succubus. The writers brought in the “siren” idea, which really spoke to what she is, and made for a really engaging story. That was the one thing that David really latched on to. They also just wrote a really great script with all sorts of twists and turns. They break the horror tropes. Most horror is a guy with a knife chasing a girl. But we flip that, and it is a girl chasing a guy. But in a way, our lead is as vulnerable as a final girl. This is my favorite sub-genre – the monster movie. And here it’s great because we’re dealing with the misunderstood monster, in the vein of Frankenstein’s monster or King Kong. On the surface, this movie is just a big, fun monster movie; pure entertainment. On the foundation level, it’s a great human story too about losing one’s freedom.

BH.com: I wanted to ask you a bit about Hannah Fierman who plays Lily, both in this feature and in the original short. I find her to be one of the most striking people I’ve ever seen. There’s just something about her. What was it like to work with her, both as an actress, but at the same time, as a director, what was it like shooting her, because she’s got a unique look that I’m sure photographs incredibly well, no?

GB: Oh, 100 percent. I knew really early on that we could not make this movie without Hannah Fierman. The reason that short film is so awesome is because of her performance in it. She’s so interesting to look at. And she really made that character iconic. My initial process was to ask a lot of questions about her approach to playing it and find out how she embodies that character and brings it to life. She’s just fantastic as that character.

BH.com: There’s a lot of great people filling out the rest of the cast. I love Chase Williamson in JOHN DIES AT THE END and THE GUEST. Justin Welborn was in your film DANCE OF THE DEAD. How’d this cast come together?

GB: 80 percent of my job as a director is in who I cast. So, Chase is just a superstar. He’s a real genuine talent and really carries the picture. This is a unique role for him. He’s usually that quippy, smartass funny guy, and here he has to be vulnerable, and if nothing else, the audience will enjoy watching all the performances in this movie. That was my hope in casting it. I wanted to cast actors that were capable of intense human emotions. We are dealing with a supernatural element and a monster, and if you don’t believe in the actor’s performances, you’re never going to believe in the monster. So, Chase knocked it out of the park. And Justin Welborn plays the proprietor of the club where they find Lily. He’s also in David Brucker’s first film, THE SIGNAL. Like any other great actor, he really brings in so much to the script. He just comes in with so many ideas and layers. He doesn’t play the part like a mustache twirler. He’s terrifying to me and really gets to a dark place.

BH.com: He’s always that shady guy in these movies! He’s really good at that! (Laughs)

GB: Yeah, he could make a lot of money continuing to play that guy. (Laughs)

BH.com: You mentioned a love of monster movies earlier, and we sadly don’t get to see a lot of those these days, which is why I’m so excited for your movie! What are some of your favorites that stand out for you?

GB: I grew up on JAWS and ALIEN and JURASIC PARK. THE THING and TREMORS. I can list movies like that all day. I just love monster movies and will see anything with a monster in it. They kind of have a language to themselves. You watch enough of them, you start to see patterns that appear in all of them. I just really enjoy them.

BH.com: I’ve always loved the sympathetic monster, and it sounds like that’s what you’re going for with your film regarding Lily.

GB: Well, she’s not really the villain in it. You don’t blame a shark when it eats a person! That’s part of the fun of this movie.

BH.com: Obviously, you always set out to make one great movie. But that said, did you and the writers think at all about where this might go? Would you be open to do a follow-up?

GB: Oh yeah, definitely. We didn’t orchestrate a franchise or anything like that, but just the nature of this story itself lent itself to open up even wider if we wanted. It feels like we’re only seeing the tip of the iceberg with just the character of Lily. And also, the weird underground thing leading towards the supernatural elements of this story. This thing could definitely have spin-offs or sequels, just naturally. Not that we thought of it that way, but there’s room for more story to tell.

BH.com: I’m not sure if it’s too early to say, but what are you working on next?

GB: A few things. I sold a monster movie to Sony with Joe Ballarini called LOCKDOWN AT FRANKLIN HIGH, which is a monster movie set in a high school. Michael Bay is attached to produce it. I’m writing a science fiction thriller now. And I’m working with SIREN’s writers Luke and Ben on another horror film. I’d love to stay in the genre and I love sci-fi too, so if I can do that, that’d be great!

BH.com: Well, I’m a huge fan of DANCE OF THE DEAD and I’m looking forward to SIREN, so anything you do, I’m excited to check out!

GB: Thank you for the support!

SiREN is out in theaters today and available on VOD, Digital HD and DVD on December 6th! Visit the official website at Call Of The Siren.com.