00:00Interesting, I'm not sure what...
00:02I don't know that I...
00:04It's just in the script, run!
00:07Wow, this guy really can run, you know?
00:10He really can.
00:12He's got that Tom Cruise run, you know what I mean?
00:15Anyone can do the jack-in-the-box, you know, pop, but like...
00:18But you want to really make that wind feel satisfying.
00:27Hey guys, nice to meet you.
00:28Again, my name is Cristina.
00:30I gotta tell you that we just watched 30 minutes of the film
00:34and it was enough for me to be like this, you know, at the cinema.
00:39So I want to start asking you, Zach,
00:40in all of your films, our nervous system
00:43almost goes into a hyper-vigilant mode, you know?
00:49We are constantly scanning for danger,
00:52even when nothing seems to be happening.
00:54So I wanted to ask you,
00:55what fascinates you about keeping an audience in that psychological state?
01:01I mean, I'm making a horror movie, that's my, that's the goal, right?
01:05Is to keep people on their, off balance.
01:07And I think that the way to do that is, A, by having a protagonist that is,
01:13that is easily relatable and that you could really lock into,
01:17but also it's done by leaving room, you know, leaving space.
01:23That means both in time and in geography for us to project the danger.
01:29Because your brain is way better at scaring you than anything I can do.
01:34So all I want to do is give you enough rope so that you hang yourself.
01:38And I think that when someone discusses your filmography,
01:43there's not only horror, there's also comedy.
01:45You have a really great background in comedy.
01:48And I feel like comedy and horror have something really interesting in common.
01:53A great joke sets up an expectation and then completely breaks it.
01:58And you seem to do the same thing with horror.
02:00So do you think your comedy background still shapes the way you surprise and scare an audience?
02:07Absolutely.
02:08Yeah, it's exactly what you said.
02:10It's the same skill set.
02:12It's the same muscle group, you know.
02:14And I love that you said that because I think you're exactly right.
02:18That every joke is an action with an expected result yields an unexpected result.
02:25That's everything you've ever laughed at follows that formula.
02:28I would give anyone $1,000 who can give me an example of something funny that doesn't.
02:32Because it always does.
02:34And so when you are working in comedy for so long,
02:38you are like training your brain to identify surprising ways to utilize that equation.
02:45And so if you have spent time developing that strength,
02:50then that is almost the exact same thing you need for a scare.
02:54Where you're leading people to expect one thing and then giving them something else.
02:59And well, Austin, I think you are the perfect guy for this movie, you know.
03:04When I watch Weapons, I couldn't stop thinking,
03:07wow, this guy really can run, you know.
03:10He really can.
03:12He's got that Tom Cruise run, you know what I mean.
03:14Yeah, you do that also.
03:16So I think that, you know,
03:18Zach's films are constantly keeping the audience on edge, as I just mentioned.
03:23So as an actor, what does he ask you to do or not to do
03:27to create that tension without giving you way too much?
03:31Interesting.
03:32I'm not sure.
03:33I don't know that I...
03:35It's just in the script.
03:37Run!
03:39But did you also, like, got that surprise at us on set or maybe...
03:45I mean, to some degree.
03:46I mean, sometimes there's, like, the timing of certain kind of, like, surprises
03:50and that kind of helps.
03:51But I'm not sure.
03:52I don't know.
03:52We work, like, pretty closely in whatever kind of the scene requires, you know.
03:56And also, like, the oscillation in terms of the scared and then the humor of it, you know.
04:02But it's, like, thankfully a lot of it kind of comes from, like, the start of the character
04:06where this is a guy that, like, shouldn't be in this situation.
04:09So seeing him, like, react naturally to a lot of the things that he's experiencing
04:14is just, like, naturally funny.
04:15So, yeah, I feel like that's the best answer I have.
04:18Yes.
04:19And I think gamers have to be very happy.
04:23I'm going to transmit this on our media because you are the perfect main character,
04:28you know, because Resident Evil franchise needed that.
04:32So talking about gaming, just like in Resident Evil games,
04:36I think you wanted us to feel how many bullets the character has left
04:41or even how tired or hard he is.
04:44And I love that because when playing the game,
04:46a lot of the fear comes from having limited resources
04:50and having to make a choice when none of the options feel safe, you know.
04:55That's why I love the video game.
04:57So my question is, how do you bring that feeling into a movie
05:01when the audience is no longer in control?
05:04I don't know.
05:05I mean, I think that it's all, I'm relying on him to sell it, you know what I mean?
05:10And I think he does it very well.
05:12I mean, I'd say to expand on it, it's like a theory that I've had,
05:16and hopefully it's in the ballpark,
05:18but, you know, we wanted the character to be someone that would be playing the game,
05:23you know, be in the movie.
05:24And so to me that helps because, like, when you're playing the game,
05:28you're this kind of, like, badass person, but you're still you playing it.
05:32But when you're watching it, it's a much more passive experience.
05:35And so I think if you can have a character that is, like,
05:38is having the reactions that you would have while you're playing the game,
05:41I think it helps you kind of, like, lock into the movie more
05:45and feel more a part of it when it's a passive experience.
05:50So I really think he went about the right way of, like, the conceit of that
05:54in, like, in a big way where I don't think it would work as well
05:58if you saw someone that, like, knew what they were doing.
06:01I think he would just become a lot more passive in it.
06:03So, yeah.
06:04So I don't know what's your take on this,
06:07because it's well known that you're a very, a huge fan of the franchise too.
06:12Yeah, I mean, I, all of those things that work in the game
06:15as these, these kind of granted game mechanics,
06:18I think they are cinematic because they raise the stakes.
06:21They up the tension.
06:22It's like, oh, God, he's injured and he has two shotgun shells,
06:26and I know that.
06:27So now if he misses a shot, now I'm even more invested
06:30in the next time he's going to pull that trigger.
06:33So they just naturally, I think, transfer over to, um, to the movie.
06:38I gotta say that it's naturally for a really good, uh, director as you,
06:43because sometimes in, in recent, uh, horror movies,
06:46we've seen that it's not naturally, you know?
06:48The, the fear came from the surprise, from the jump scares.
06:52So I think it's because it's you.
06:54Well, thank you.
06:55That's very sweet of you to say.
06:56But I also think, you know, part of, part of it is like,
06:59you know, the surprise is wonderful,
07:00but it only has as much value as the dread that comes before it, you know?
07:05And I think the dread that comes before it
07:07is the most important part of the scare, you know?
07:10Anyone can do the jack-in-the-box, you know, pop,
07:12but like, but you want to really make that,
07:14that wind feel satisfying, you know?
07:18And so, yeah.
07:19Well, thank you so much for your time.
07:21It was a pleasure to meet you.
07:22Okay.
07:23And tomorrow...
07:53I'll see you next time.
07:54I'll see you next time.
07:55Bye.
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