Hes wearing a Girls on TopLynne RamsayT-shirt as he raves aboutParker PoseyinScream 3.
(The man has taste.)
How Did Rob Savage Get Into Filmmaking?
Image Via 20the Century Studios
Growing up in Shropshire, Savages parents tried to raise him without a TV.
(Hereallydidnt make puberty any easier for himself).
Well, that might be a stretch, as the script is more than shaky at times.
(I’ll forgive him though, as most 17-year-old boys considerMichael Bayhigh art.)
I mentionArnoldsFish Tankto him, which he adores.
The opening scene sees her masturbating with a used toothbrush.
Image Via 20th Century Studios
I wanted to makeMorvern Callarrather thanThe Mangler.
He started shootingStringswith a group of friends on his 17th birthday with a 3,000 budget.
Savage tells me that makingStringswas a whole education in itself.
Image Via 20th Century Studios
It was like film school, he says.
Every day was a discovery and a humiliation.
He told me that Id made a mistake shooting a feature, he says.
Image Via 20th Century Studios
Thankfully, that didnt dissuade him, so he went about completingStrings.
Finally, the school gave him an ultimatum: give up onStringsor get on your bike.
He went with the latter.
Image Via 20th Century Studios
He spent the next year finishingStringsand sleeping on friends couches around London.
AfterStrings, Savage spent years making shorts in the UK and directing TV episodes, from Prime VideosSoulmatestoBritannia.
Then, in 2020, Savage rose to prominence when he madethepandemic movie, somewhat by accident.
I was like, I gotta be creative.
Ive got to do something.'
He decided to use his pandemic-fuelled anxiety to prank his friends.
(While he isnt a mansplaining film bro, Savagedoestry to explain whatRecis to me.
Oh, just.)
Afterward, Savage loaded the resulting two-minute clip video to Twitter.
In a time when we were all very scared andveryonline, it went viral.
Hostwas born out of the interest that came from that two-minute clip.
When they piss off a demonic spirit, theyre picked off one by one.
‘Boy Kills World’s producer also teased upcoming projects with Bill Skarsgard and Andrew Koji.
Then Blumhouse came calling,signing a three-picture dealwith Savage.
The first of these projects wasDashcam, which featured similar mechanics but a grander scale.
Then, even bigger studios and the Master of Horror wanted in on the action.
Its a quote that gets to the heart of why Stephen Kings stories are so beloved.
Naturally, Savages pitch for the film was PoltergeistmeetsOrdinary People.
Ill pull from new movies and old movies.
Not all critics were as kind.
There were a lot ofBoogeymanreviews that wanted much more plot, and Im just not a plot guy.
I much prefer scares and tone and character.
But if a critic points out something Savage actually agrees with, thats where it hurts.
The worst thing is when you read a review, and they spot something that is on the money.
Its taking the safety of your home, and its twisting and perverting it and making an unsafe space.
It calls back to one of his better-known shorts,Dawn of the Deaf.
What Is Rob Savage Doing Next?
The past few years have been exceptionally busy for Savage, and thats showing no signs of slowing down.
First, he’ll helm a TV adaptation of the British horror novelJack Sparks.
It wants to be like a British version ofThe Conjuringfor TV, he says.
Yes, the Brits are ahead of the game in TV, especially in procedurals and detective series.
But Savage notes how his home country rarely does horror right.
We always bottle it.
This is a stab at kind of claiming back British horror, he adds.
Still, he says, Most of my projects are U.S. set because thats where the hunger is.
Film producerZainab Azizirecently spoke to CollidersPerri Nemiroffabout her upcoming projects with Savage.
Azizi previously produced theAdam Drivervs.
Dinosaur action flick65and theSandra Oh-starring horror,Umma.
Azizi told Nemiroff that she has three upcoming movies with Savage.
One will involve actorAndrew Koji(Warrior, Snake Eyes), and another will starBill Skarsgard.
You know, its funny, I discovered him before he made any of his movies.
He made those little shorts, and he was so brilliant, and then Blumhouse beat us.
Azizi said about Savage.
Of course, I had to ask what other Stephen King works he would like to tackle.
I think every horror filmmaker wants to makePet Sematary.
Not the answer I was expecting.
He then declaresPet Sematary Twoto be the best in the franchise.
Another answer I wasnt expecting.
It feels like theres a really interesting avenue to go down there.
He responds, Thats the best King movie there is, though.
I mean, how do you get better than De Palmas?
I tell him I think hes up for his task.
He says hell consider it.
I think Ive found it, but I ask Savage first.
He defers to me, admitting he has no idea.
I tell him my best guess: loneliness.
He nods, telling me Im probably right.
He refers toLake Mungo, a favorite film we have in common.
I ask him if hes seenEighth Grade, which you could callLake Mungos less depraved sister.
It turns out it was one of the films that he and the cast and crew watched forThe Boogeyman.
Theres another thing that connects almost every single Rob Savage work: a female protagonist.
The male gaze is noticeably absent from his films.
There are no braless women checking on that strange noise in their tight tank tops.
I ask him if this is a conscious effort or something that comes naturally to him.
Its not something I actively think about.
I think its that arthouse sensibility.
Howd he do it?
But talking to him, it becomes even simpler though bigger than that.
Youve just got to love horror, he says, and youve gotta love movies for make them.
