Interview: Darick Gates and Ben Brown – Director and Writer of Night of the Hunted
David Gelmini
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The siege subgenre is a classic type of movie that seems to be dying out. Director Darick Gates and writer Ben Brown plan to change that with their new and brutal film Night of the Hunted, as they explain in the following interview. You can contribute to the film here.
Dread Central: So, it says on Indiegogo that you don’t like the fact that siege movies seem to have been forgotten.
Darick Gates and Ben Brown: Siege movies haven’t so much been forgotten, as storytelling has gotten more complicated. Good vs. evil isn’t enough anymore. Evil has to have a back story and a motivation for being evil. We simply put forth the idea that evil is evil and who cares if it got picked last at recess. As the filmmakers, we want to create an entertaining piece that people can enjoy; and if we can get the audience to invest in this cinematic world and jump on the ride, that’s all we can ask for.
DC: And you also say that the film will push the envelope more time than it needs to…
Darick Gates and Ben Brown: It pushes the envelope in terms of the villain certainly. If you can identify with him, you should turn yourself over to the authorities. He is a bad dude with an agenda; he is evil, pure and simple.
DC: As this is a siege movie, is it mostly set in one location? And how are you utilizing it?
Darick Gates and Ben Brown: It is a mostly one location movie. One location movies [often serve] as a metaphorical pressure cooker, but this one seems to be more on point in that it serves food.
DC: Why exactly does the cult want the family dead?
Darick Gates and Ben Brown: I can’t give away any spoilers, but the family could possibly have something that the cult wants. The cult is protecting their way of life. The whole film is about protection and survival. Be it the family, the FBI, the Sheriff… it’s all about surviving and protecting your own.
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DC: Will the characters be driven to the edge?
Darick Gates and Ben Brown: The characters will all be pushed to the edge. That being said, we’re not reinventing the wheel, but we are celebrating archetypes and putting them all in one essentially. Being that the movie deals with surviving, we also ask the question: What happens when people are put into a pressure cooker of fear and panic? Do they pull together or tear each other apart?
DC: Will there be any supernatural elements?
Darick Gates and Ben Brown: The supernatural is something we played with but ultimately decided on a more stripped down straightforward narrative. I’m proud that the story is fresh but familiar.
DC: You have a great crew, right?
Darick Gates and Ben Brown: The director and D.P. have been making movies together since high school. Very simpatico on set. A lot of great people have been pulled into the filmmaking family. There are no egos on our set. It’s a creative and passionate environment. Everyone kind of coming up together. We had success with our last film that Lionsgate released; we all want to learn from the mistakes we made last time around, step up our game, improve our craft, and move forward with every film.
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