Exclusive Interview with Director Joel Novoa on Day of Reckoning
Staci Layne Wilson
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Fifteen years ago, the world suffered a horrific global disaster when millions of demon-creatures ascended from the bowels of the earth, swarming the entire planet, and feasting on mankind for one full day. Now due to a lunar eclipse they have returned for 24 hours to purge the earth’s population… One family will battle against the odds to not only save themselves but to also seal the breach. At the family’s helm is dad David, played by Jackson Hurst, and he will stop at nothing to protect his teenage son and his ex-wife, whom he still loves. Along the way, they combine forces with survivors played by Barbara Crampton and Raymond J. Barry.
We recently sat down with director Joel Novoa to get the skinny on the flick.
Dread Central: How did this project come to you, and did you have a hand in developing the script?
Joel Novoa: I got the pleasure of meeting Patrick and Shaked from Epic via Michael Reuter, who was an executive producer from Germany on my previous film ID2 and a good friend. They had the project for some time and were looking very intensively for the right director for the film. I met with them and instantly connected to their style, creativity and honest approach. Usually it takes me two days to read a script, as I am very slow. I read this script in 90 minutes, and was very engaged with the emotional story and the opportunity to generate suspense in it. But what convinced me the most was the subtextual message Greg Gieras’ script contained about our human superiority complex and our fragility to the unknown. Also, I like to make films for audiences and this one had the potential to become a crowd pleaser. After realizing more than 900,000 people watched it on the premiere date, I can say I was right about that. I did work with Greg on several drafts of the script after that, and had a very good collaborative process where we brought our ideas to life, was a very fun ride.
DC: Your cast is pretty awesome – can you shed some light on how they came on board?
JN: I give full priority to finding my desired cast and work very intensively in it. I knew Jackson’s work from before, and was very impressed with him in The Mist some years ago. My casting director brought me a broad list of very good and well known actors and my instant favorite was Jackson. We sent him the script and he responded very well to the same elements I did about the script. He watched my other films and was very happy about collaborating with me. He brought very important story notes and observations. With him I hired an actor and a collaborator at the same time. He was fully committed and passionate and was willing always to run that extra mile, do his own stunts, and was so clear about his character that I found story answers in my conversations with him. he truly made this film achieve its maximum character potential. I started chasing Raymond after a short film a friend of mine directed called Winter Light. He was in my mind from the moment I read the script and I was flattered he wanted to play Ted. Same with Barbara, who is already a friend of Epic Pictures. She was mentioned to me as soon as I started as a possibility and without thinking twice I said yes. Totally worth it. Working with these actors was a privilege and also an extremely fun experience. In the midst of the craziness of production, we were always having fun and creating improvised moments. that made the film distinguish and brought realism to it. I was very impressed with Jay-Jay warren too. He brought his character Tyler to life in a way I did not see coming. His ideas were very mature and I took lots of them. It was interesting how at some point, Heather McComb, who plays Laura, Jackson and Jay-Jay actually became a family. They had their own complicity and had a specific role in it. Heather was always the cool mom, who allowed Hana Hayes (Maddy) into the life of this family. The main antagonist was Nick Gomez, who I just worked with again. On set he was super fun, but when cameras turned on he made this whole family shake. The tension on camera was unbelievable. Jackson became the protective lion and Heather the mediator.
DC: What was it like shooting with monsters that are not really there? Any tips or tricks you can share?
JN: This was extremely challenging and also a learning experience for me. First, we always had to take into consideration there was an “invisible force” in the frame. So framing was challenging at first. I created story boards and reference boards with other films and had the actors revise them with me before the scene. They knew what the creatures would look like. However, it wasn’t until the day the film was ready that I was able to finally see how the full frame looked. Sometimes it was funny. The attitude of the team and the cast was very important in this. Instead of judging the process, we were embracing it and everyone was giving their best to use their imagination. I was blessed that our humans were supporting our creatures.
DC: Tell us a little bit about what the “day of reckoning” is and why it is scary.
JN: The day of reckoning is that day were we face our consequences as humans. This day religion, faith and science are put to a test when the unknown comes for us. Perhaps we have dig to far, may have been created by us, but the scary thing is, there is no way back now. They are here, creatures created by our own destruction, by our ambition to go deep down on earth. And when these unknown beasts come for us, there is no knowledge on what they are, how to defeat them. We may be prepared after the first time, or perhaps we have dug even deeper to find a solution and created a bigger problem. Now nothing matters, it is all about finding a refuge, escaping, hiding. For 24 hours it is all about finding a way to survive.
DC: What kinds of monsters and mayhem can horror fans expect to see?
JN: We have absolute mayhem created by these monsters, in fact, five different kind of monsters. All of them were based on combinations of animals and humanoids. Their skin formations are darker, they have seen the light once, and that’s why they can’t survive more than 24 hours outside their space. Some of them are more scary and dark, like the big Assaku or the Jinns, some are more fun like the Gallus, inspired by prototypes of extinct birds and velociraptors.
DC: What is it about the sci-fi/horror genre in particular that keeps you motivated as a storyteller?
JN: I am a big fan of it. The possibility to transmit a message via metaphoric codes, makes it a powerful way to make statements in tough times. It is also fun, entertaining and very creative experience, but it is the human component and the social comment what attracts me to this world particularly.
Day of Reckoning is AVAILABLE NOW on VOD and digital download via Epic Pictures.
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