O’Brien’s feature starring Records releases to Irish cinemas this Friday, December 9th. The pair chat to Esther McCarthy about the dynamic story presented by John Wayne Cleaver’s lack of empathy, filming in minus thirty degrees and working with ‘Back to the Future’ star Christopher Lloyd.
Unexpectedly they both emphasise the theme of love and the presence of humour in the script, as the young protagonist’s inability to relate to others is both an asset and a barrier.
O’Brien jokingly compares the fear of bullies as a teenager to a greater fear—fighting the urge to kill them.
Max Records, Lead Actor:
“I think the thing I love most about the film, book, script and character is the dichotomy between the dark, dry really funny stuff and the real genuine sense of love and the desire to understand that love.”
Although Lloyd is best known for his role as Doc Brown, they both discuss stripping away the legend of ‘Back to the Future’ and seeing the real (and possibly underutilised) talent Lloyd brings to ‘I Am Not A Serial Killer.’
O’Brien commends Lloyd for the sensitivity and simplicity he used in bringing Crowley to life, while reviewers are describing it as his best performance in years.
What is most striking about their discussion of the film is how unconventional it is stylistically, with the script co-written by O’Brien and Christopher Hyde retaining the flux of genres and conventions seen in the novel by Dan Wells.
Billy O’Brien, Director:
“I can remember even, and God knows why RTÉ even showed it, but when I was about fourteen or fifteen they showed Terry Gidden’s ‘Brazil’ (1985), which is the most genre-defying film of all time. I just hate boxes…The book this was based on was nuts and had thriller, horror and black humour throughout so we just ran with that.”
“’The Revenant’ was about around the same time and they were making such a song and dance about how cold it was. I remember the locals just shaking their heads; they live there, they do this all the time. Our joke was that our film’s budget was probably their hot water bottle budget.”
'I Am Not A Serial Killer' is distributed in Ireland by Wildcard Distribution.
