Exclusive: Writer/Director Jason Bognacki Talks Mark of the Witch
Staci Layne Wilson
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In Mark of the Witch (formerly known as Another), a beautiful young woman is driven into a dark underworld of demonic possession, desire, and extreme indulgences after she celebrates a landmark birthday and learns she may be the devil’s kin.
We caught up with writer/director Jason Bognacki to ask him about what inspired him to make an arty horror film.
Dread Central: Mark of the Witch has been getting a lot of attention in regard to its beauty – fans are saying it’s reminiscent of Dario Argento. As a director, do you like comparisons or not?
Jason Bognacki: It’s always flattering to read comparisons to legends such as Argento, but I think it might do a disservice and set unrealistic expectations of the work. There is only one Dario Argento, and for good reason. I think it’s a new director’s struggle to shed the comparisons and become know for their own voice. I will take the compliment.
DC: Tell us about your inspiration to make this movie – and do you have a particular interest in witchcraft or/and Satanism?
JB: Mark of the Witch actually started as a short film about a girl who, through a series of odd events, thinks she might have a dark twin who is trying to edge her out of her own life. During production the idea grew, and pieces started falling in place to expand it to a full feature.
The occult, witchcraft, dark spirituality are all fascinating. The idea of old world dark traditions bleeding into modern life and secretly governing over certain aspects of it is a concept explored in Mark of the Witch. Jordyn finds that she is part of a darker whole that ripples just under the surface. Spirituality, like witchcraft, and Satanism serve as portals into that world, and I find that compelling.
DC: Your cast is great. Everyone looks like they’re straight out of the 1970s. Please tell us how you brought them all into the fold, especially Maria Olsen (interview here), who has such an impressive body of work in the horror genre.
JB: I had auditioned Maria for a different project, and she had always stuck in my mind as someone I wanted to work with. She has such a strong presence and is unique beautifully. She was the first person to sign on; from there we held auditions in Los Angeles and met Paulie Redding (credited as Paulie Rojas in the film). Once we started the short and began expanding the universe to include more of Jordyn’s family, we found Nancy Wolfe and Michael Rappaport. Maria and Nancy have been friends for quite a long time. Nancy was living in New York so she did a phone audition, and from the first moment I heard her voice and delivery, I knew she would be great for the project. MOTW was the first time Maria and Nancy shared screen time. It was great to make that happen.
DC: Visual fantasy films must be pretty complex to edit… tell us about that process and what some of the more fun and challenging aspects of post-production were.
JB: I felt like I was spinning plates at times. Shooting, writing, directing, producing was a challenge, but at the same time really freeing and exhilarating. It allowed me to really push the limits of what the film could be.
In terms of complexity in the production, a lot of attention needed to be paid to the visual depiction of the multiple phases of consciousness Jordyn goes through in the film. The visual look and style needed to become its own character of sorts, a distorted looking glass of Jordyn’s possessed consciousness falling deeper down the demonic rabbit hole.
DC: We are a horror site. Though Mark of the Witch may skew more in the “dark fantasy” realm, do tell us about some of the more scary aspects fans can expect.
JB: I think some of the most brutal and distributing stories come from fairy tales and folklore. Mark of the Witch in a sense mixes some of that dark tradition into a modern day story. An overarching sense of dread fills each frame of the film, which builds as the film progresses into demonic schizophrenic madness. I have heard many times that the film stays with viewers long after the final frames.
I see Mark of the Witch as a dark modern fairy tale, ripe with symbolism and poetic visualism. Drawing visual references and tonal style from Euro thiller/horror films of the 1960/1970’s, MOTW harkens back to a classic period of avante-radical cinema. Both deep, rich color palettes and disquieting musical scoring paint a supernatural tale of life, destiny, and death. I think horror fans will connect with this.
DC: What were some of your favorite horror movies when you were growing up?
JB: Anything horror! I remember The Shinning and Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer having an early effect on me… and then it was on to Torso and Euro horror for me.
Mark of the Witch is available NOW on VOD!
Directed by Jason Bognacki, the film stars genre favorites Maria Olsen (Paranormal Activity 3, Rob Zombie’s Lords of Salem) and Paulie Rojas (Down and Dangerous, The Last Resort).
Synopsis:
On her 18th birthday, she will belong to the devil. Compelled by the idea she has an evil twin, a beautiful young woman is driven into a dark underworld of demonic possession, desire, and extreme indulgences when she learns she may be the devil’s daughter.
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