Exclusive: Director Christopher Barcia Talks The Black Eyed Child
We previously interviewed filmmaker Christopher Barcia about his Mortal Kombat short, and he was kind enough to request that we interview him again about his new and terrifying short The Black Eyed Child, which explores the legend of the black-eyed children.
If you’re unfamiliar with the legend, “black-eyed children” are supposedly kids with unnaturally dark eyes who mysteriously appear and demand to enter people’s homes. Creepy. Comic creator Joe Pruett also talked to us about his new series based on the legend, so clearly it’s something that has resonated strongly with horror fans.
Dread Central: So can you talk about the legend of the black-eyed children and why you chose to make a film about it?
Christopher Barcia: The legend of the black-eyed children can vary depending on the story or sightings people talk about, but they’re always children and always want to get inside your private space, whether that is your car, your apartment, or your home.
Nobody knows what they really want; they just know they don’t want them around because something really bad is going to happen if you let them in, and that’s what drew me into the project. Nothing is more terrifying than the threat of the unknown. The more you get involved in the legend and the stories, the more questions come up instead of answers, and even so it still links together from their signature traits. That’s why I said to myself, ‘I’ve gotta bring this to the life on video, a visual representation of what I think they are.’
DC: Do you think that there’s any truth to the legend?
CB: I think there is some truth to the legends and sightings, somewhere at some time more than one person saw something and decided to talk about it. Whether it was an elaborate prank or paranormal, maybe even alien, who knows? But it came from somewhere and groups of total strangers claim to see similar stuff, so yes, I think there is some truth there.
DC: So the film starts with a knock at the door late at night?
CB: That is where everyone who knows of the black-eyed children are going to know trouble is coming, and if someone is new to the story, they’ll learn pretty fast that the knock is only the beginning of the trouble.
DC: What’s it like working with the young actors starring as the black-eyed kids? Are they looking forward to being scary onscreen?
CB: I’ve had quite a few options to pick from in terms of child actors, and all are very willing to be scary when you explain to them that they are this mysterious creepy kid with pitch black eyes. They become super eager and you can tell their imaginations run wild at what it’s like to act scary or monstrous. Out of the submissions thus far, I’m sure whoever I cast is going to have a grand time on set being scary and will love seeing the final cut of the film.
DC: Although this is a short, are you still being ambitious in terms of narrative scope?
CB: I feel because it’s a short film that I have to be that much more ambitious. The typical narrative scope people are putting in shorts and features is bland, especially with big time horror movies coming out, but here I answer to my own creativity, so it allows me to tell a story people are familiar with in a new way. I always intend to bring something that hasn’t been seen before to the screen while also remaining true to the legends.
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