The Horror Revolution: First off, what’s your favorite horror movie? What movie scared you the most?
Blake Simon: Oh man, impossible to pick just one! I’ll have to pick a few. And these aren’t necessarily the horror films that scared me most (I think horror can make us feel so many different things in addition to fear, including discomfort, disturbed, unsettled, or just questioning) so I’d have to say: Dead Ringers, Dressed to Kill, It Follows, and A Nightmare on Elm Street.
THR: Faces was an excellent short, genuinely scary and incredibly well done. What inspired the film?
BS: Thank you! I’m very glad it resonated with you. The film was inspired by something I was witnessing among the people close to me. I was watching as loved ones were changing aspects about themselves and their identity in ways that very much went against who they were as people. We live in a society that is rightfully so supportive of self-discovery and self-expression, which is a beautiful thing and how it should be, but that’s not what was going on here. It seemed more like a cry for help, a dissatisfaction or unhappiness with who they were that they were masking through changes in appearance, behavior, etc. and the scariest part was that nobody was talking about what was really going on under the surface. Everyone would just smile and give a pat on the back, which terrified me. This idea that this need to fill the holes inside of us, however large or small, could come for any of us at any time, terrified me.
THR: I loved the commentary on identity in the short, an incredibly complicated topic that was handled with grace (and terror). What did you want to say with the film, and do you think you accomplished that?
BS: I appreciate that. I’m not sure that I wanted to specifically give an answer, so much as explore the question. That question being, why is it that we all feel these holes inside of us? Sometimes very large, other times small? For some people we may feel temporarily fulfilled by simply changing our hair, or making a purchase like buying a pair of new glasses, a watch, or new shoes. For others of us, the holes are much deeper than that. Questions of sexuality or our place in the world. I was really fascinated by this question of, can we ever fully be 100% ourselves? Can we ever find it? Or are we always chasing it? Can we only ever get closer to it? And why is that? I do think the film exemplifies this question, hopefully in a relatable way for audiences.
THR: I was blown away by Cailyn Rice in first half of the short, and I thought Ethan Daniel Corbett brought it home phenomenally well. Were their performances what you had envisioned when you wrote the script?
BS: Absolutely. Their performances far and away exceeded everything I envisioned when I wrote the script. I consider myself extremely lucky to have found the cast I had in this film. Cailyn is such a brilliant actor, and was able to so effortlessly play innocence and naivety as well as become this sinister predator. She threads that needle beautifully. Also, in addition to her incredible acting abilities, her background is in dance. So the physicality she was able to bring to the role really brought the character to life in ways I could have never imagined. And Ethan’s ability to place such opposite spectrums, to make the audience find him deliciously awful in the first half and then garner sympathy in the second? I mean, that’s just magic. The film lives or dies on the cast, and I’m grateful it lived in no small part thanks to Cailyn and Ethan.
THR: I compared Faces to Under the Skin in my review, and I really feel like it’s a concept that could be expanded to become a feature. Are there any plans to expand on the world that you created in the short film?
BS: Thank you for that kind comparison. Yes absolutely. Faces is the first short I’ve made where once we completed the film, it was immediately apparent to me that there was more story to explore in this world. So I’m currently developing the feature version of Faces as we speak.
THR: What inspired you to want to become a director? Were there any films that made you know this is what you wanted to do?
BS: Definitely. It may not be the most original answer, but the honest answer is Star Wars (the original, A New Hope). I watched it so many times on repeat as a kid, and once I learned who George Lucas was, I decided I wanted to be that person. The person to create worlds that people could just fall in love with and be immersed in.
THR: If you could work with anyone in the industry, alive or dead, who would it be and why?
BS: That’s such a hard question. There are so many. I suppose I’d have to say Toshiro Mifune. I consider him one of the greatest actors of all time. It’s impossible to take your eyes off him when he’s playing it big, and even harder to take your eyes off of him when he's being subtle. To work with him would have been fascinating.
THR: You’ve got a few shorts under your belt already. Do you plan on moving into feature-length films, and do you have any ideas for what you want to make?
BS: Yes absolutely. Faces definitely marks my transition into the feature space with the continuation of that story.
THR: What’s next for you? Are there any upcoming projects that you’re excited to talk about?
BS: The Faces feature is the thing I’m most excited about and the thing taking all of my time right now.
THR: Finally, is a hotdog a sandwich?
BS: No, a hotdog is not a sandwich. It is its own type of food entirely!
