For those not in the know, Driftwood tells of a kid named David Forrester (played by Ricky Ullman), who has not been doing well since the death of his older brother. He begins to act out, and his parents (Sullivan regular Lin Shaye and former Jimmy Olsen, Marc McClure) finally decide that he needs an attitude re-adjustment, electing to send him to Driftwood, a camp for troubled youths under the direction of Captain Doug Kennedy (former WWE superstar Diamond Dallas Page). As if the cruelties of the camp weren’t hard enough to deal with, David soon begins being haunted by the ghost of a former inmate named Jonathan (Connor Ross), who met a mysterious end and is looking for retribution.
“There’s an element in the script about just not hearing your kids, that parents really don’t know how to listen to their children; they have their own idea about what is right for them,” Shaye continues. “I have a 17-year-old son myself, so I know that it’s really important to listen and figure out what is the truth in what they’re telling you.”
“Driftwood is not a good place,” Captain Kennedy himself, Diamond Dallas Page, confirms. “The character I play is a Southern cracker who doesn’t take any shit from anyone. He’s trying to teach these kids what he thinks is the right thing, and he believes what he’s doing is the right thing; he just screws up on some points. One lie leads to another until you start to believe the lie.”
Said producers already had someone in mind for the part, Hellboy star Ron Perlman, but Page ended up getting the job and proved that he had what it took to handle such a large role. “When I talked to Mike (Richardson, head of Dark Horse and producer on the film), he said I was the biggest surprise of the entire film. He didn’t think I could do it but admitted he was wrong, and while it’s important to care what everyone thinks, you know it really only matters what the boss thinks (laughs). If the boss loves it, you’re good.”
Building character is what a film like this is all about because you really can’t feel fear for a person if you don’t care about them or their motivations. To that end, it was beneficial for the teen cast that they were shooting in such a creepy location. “We filmed Driftwood at an actual abandoned juvenile jail, which is being re-opened now, and this place was completely haunted,” says star Talan Torriero, who plays Yates, the Captain’s right-hand man. “The minute you walked through the barbed wire gate at the front, you could feel it; kids died there, kids were tortured there, it was just a weird feeling.”
Star Shanine Ezell, who plays Cobey, agreed, “In the chapel where we shot one scene, a kid had apparently hung himself from the top where the cross is, and while we were shooting, the cross fell a little. It was pretty ridiculous!”
The younger cast had some help as well, as one of their own had gone through a military camp similar to Driftwood in real life. “He told us a lot of stories, and he was able to validate the whole thing, and he said Tim’s vision was right on, from the way he was treated to the way he had to dress,” explained Ezell. “You’re not allowed to have any kind of individuality or any sense of self; they strip you of all your dignity.”
From the sounds of it, Driftwood is going to be a very strong dramatic piece mixed with supernatural elements, but it really all comes down to one question for us fans: Is it scary?
“It’s definitely a disturbing film, but I don’t know if I’d call it scary,” said Lin Shaye, who should know a thing or two about what makes scary movies work considering her long history in our genre. Ullman sees it slightly differently. “All the things that happen to these kids is scary enough. The idea of these kids being in this place and not being able to get out and being abused for no reason, and to know this really happens all over the country is freaky.”
“It was scary to us for a completely different reason because we lived it,” said Ezell. “When we see the drama and the supernatural part, it makes it ten times more scary for us because we actually lived this life.”
So perhaps going into Driftwood expecting to cry out in fear isn’t going to be the best approach. I look forward to seeing how Sullivan can handle a film that’s so heavy on drama and story after being so focused on the gore–n-tits in his last movie. From the sounds of it he won’t disappoint.
I’d like to thank all the stars who sat down with me for these chats — your participation is very much appreciated — and to the PR people (especially Niocle) who helped make it all happen! Be sure to check out Driftwood’s MySpace page for a lot more on the film, and keep it here for all the release details as we get them!