Director Nicholas McCarthy is experiencing what every young filmmaker strives for. After successfully showcasing his short film project at the Sundance Film Festival in 2011, IFC (Independent Film Channel) Films came knocking. Now, one year later, McCarthy’s horror film “The Pact” is making the festival rounds and awaiting release on Blu-ray and DVD.
I spoke with McCarthy while he was in town for the Dallas International Film Festival (DIFF) about making the film and his influences.
“The Pact” could almost be PG-13. It doesn’t rely heavily on gore and has no nudity. Can you talk to us about that?
I just let the story be the story. The film isn’t rated. I don’t know if we’re going to get a rating. I think IFC Films is going to bypass that in America. I know it’ll get a rating in England. It’s going to be a big theatrical release there. I had a discussion at some point with the executive producer where he was concerned. He was like. “You’re kind of pushing it into “R” territory. Violence is just a tool to me. It’s a scene in a story. I wasn’t conscious of like, “Okay, this is too ‘R'” or, “This is PG-13.” I just wanted to tell the story. What’s great is when I watch the movie there’s a scene in particular about an hour into the movie where all of a sudden it kind of becomes an R-rated movie. The whole audience goes, “Oh my…!” That’s what I love about any movie like this. You don’t know the rules. You don’t know where it’s going to go. I didn’t really think about it. I just kind of let the story tell itself.
What was the biggest challenge you faced making “The Pact?”
The biggest challenge was just going from making shorts to making my first feature. [The hard part] wasn’t the day to day activities on the set. There were more people and they were getting paid. The big question going into it was, “Can this be a story that sustains an audience for 90 minutes?” I had two goals with the movie. I wanted it to be absorbing for people. I also wanted the film to be scary. I think we succeeded in both of those goals. There was a lifetime of making short films before making this film that prepared me for being on that set. The challenge at the end of the day is can you tell a story that people are into for 90 minutes or 120 minutes? It’s the test of any filmmaker.
Tell me about working with Casper Van Dien.
He was amazing. It was so funny. We have these scenes where it was Casper and then the lead Caity Lotz. Casper’s been acting professionally for as long as Caity’s been alive and he’s kind of a young guy still. He still looks ridiculously young. He was just the model of professionalism. I didn’t have to do any kind of technical direction. He’d be like, “Uh-huh.” He’d just know exactly what to do. He was so easy to work with and so enthusiastic. What was really cool about working with Casper, besides getting stories of “Starship Troopers” was his wife Catherine Oxenberg. She comes from royalty. He had all these remarkable stories filled with all these incredible people he had worked with. He made a movie with Robert Mitchum before he died. It was just a blessing every day he was on the set. It was such a little joy that I got to hang out with him. He’s truly what you think of. He’s an amazing guy and is totally dedicated. He’s a great supporter of this movie as well.
Why should people take the time to watch “The Pact?”
I think “The Pact” is something a bit different. I think it’s a genuinely scary film. I don’t think anybody is going to know where the film goes unless they’re reading too much online. That’s something a lot of movies can’t promise.
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