Exclusive: Scott Beck, Bryan Woods & Justin Beahm Talk HAUNT Collector’s Edition Blu-ray
Jerry Smith
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For fans of 2019’s slasher gem Haunt, the initial DVD release was lacking, to say the least. Put out without anything in terms of supplemental material, collectors and fans let out a collective “wait, what?” Before hoping that one day, the film revolving around a group of friends being picked up mercilessly by a collective gang of body mod-obsessed murderers, would see a more substantial and pleasing physical release. The film deserved it!
Knowing that the already fan favorite film deserved some much needed physical release love, Justin Beahm and his Reverend Entertainment, partnered with writer/director team Scott Beck & Bryan Woods to give Haunt one of the most impressive releases around, available 10/22, thanks to Ronin Flix (Pre-Order info). We thought we’d chat with Beck, Woods and Beahm about the journey to give Haunt a release that fans would drool over. Read on!
On Halloween, a group of friends encounter an “extreme” haunted house that promises to feed on their darkest fears. The night turns deadly as they come to the horrifying realization that some nightmares are very real.
Dread Central: This release is ambitious to say the least. How did you come about taking it on and helping Haunt get a proper Blu-ray?
Scott Beck: First and foremost, we are blown away by the ability to get this release out to fans. I think this really started with the fan base for the movie. Obviously, we didn’t have a wide theatrical release, we had a bare bones DVD release last September, that coincided with that theatrical release, and we were fighting internally to put something out. I think the fact that there were so many fans of this movie that embraced all the slasher qualities that we were excited about really proved there was an appetite for it that we could prove to the gatekeepers. At the same time, Justin Beahm is incredibly responsible for this release happening. We were just starting to chat and we let him know that we really wanted to get a Blu-ray out there and we were hitting out heads against a wall, and he became the person who was able to knock down the gate.
Justin Beahm: As a Haunt fan, and friend of fellow Iowans Scott and Bryan’s, I saw the film get that bare bones release on DVD last year and wanted to find a distributor that would give it the kind of love it deserves. The three of us, along with lead Justin “Clown” Marxen, hosted a few screenings in the Midwest where the movie was met with a tremendous response, which was then followed by a record-setting reception on Shudder, so it was clear it had an audience. I pitched it to several distributors and ended up finding a home at Ronin Flix, who started the discussion about a potential deal saying they are huge fans of the picture, so everything lined up from there. Then the three of us put together a wish list of features and started plugging away, ending up with some fantastic material including some behind the scenes footage, cut scenes, Q&A sessions from several screenings, and the first film they made as kids. I found the haunted house they frequented as teens that inspired the film, still standing and operational in Moline, Illinois, then shot interviews with Scott and Bryan there, as well as with Marxen and Chaney “Ghost” Morrow. I tackled conversations with the rest of the cast and some crew remotely and built it all into a 30-minute documentary called To Escape the Haunt. I also got Marxen, Morrow, and Damian “Devil” Maffei together for a monster commentary, which was a blast to record. One of the most exciting elements was when tomandandy agreed to allow us to include their score for the film, and beyond that, Andy Milburn even appears in the documentary as one of the interviews. I have been a big fan of theirs since I was a teenager and discovered their music in Killing Zoe, so this was a big thrill. Their Haunt soundtrack is the second disc in the boxed set, which also includes poster and map reproductions, enamel pins, magnets, and fantastic disc art that is different than our standard edition.
DC: Through Shudder, Amazon Prime and plain ol’ word of mouth, the fan base for Haunt continues to just grow and grow, it’s been very cool to see. When that initial DVD release went down, I remember driving to four stores in my area and not a single one had it, it was such a bummer. Due to Shudder and so on, the film has already become a staple in my house, my kids adore the hell out of this movie, it’s something that we, as a family, revisit quite often. It seems to be a movie that’s growing and growing, when it comes to its reach. A year and some change removed now, how has it been looking back at this movie and seeing not only the horror community but fans in general have all received it with open arms? It’s definitely a favorite.
Bryan Woods: First off, everything you just said was incredibly kind and sweet and makes us feel very happy, so thanks for saying all of that. It blew away every single expectation we had for the movie, even though we were very proud of the movie, and the movie was made with a lot of love, that doesn’t necessarily mean the movie will resonate with people or find an audience. I remember last October, as the month ticked by, Scott and I were like wow, people are being very nice about the movie, saying very sweet things and it was kind of cool to see. It meant a lot to us and was made with so much love and it validated that love that our crew and cast put into the movie. It kind of felt to us like wow, the fans and audience members can tell when a movie is made with, I guess, good intentions versus something that just could have been a cash grab.
SB: I think beyond that, Brian and I, when writing this and making it, we kept defaulting to our childhood experiences going to haunted houses and what we felt was scary. Our hope always was that there was something universal about that, that horror fans really engage with. I feel like any horror fan has probably thought what they would put in a haunt if they had the chance to create one. I think in virtue of that, we feel very grateful, that we were on the same wavelength as a lot of fans and I think that also connects to this Blu-ray release so much. Bryan and I learned how to make movies by watching DVD features and listening to commentary, like our producer on Haunt, Eli Roth. DVDs usually come with two or three different commentary tracks and it’s fascinating to listen to each one. One of our favorite non-horror DVDs is Magnolia, by Paul Thomas Anderson, it has a ninety minute, feature length making of, it points to how raw and brutal filmmaking can be in a way that’s honest and what you don’t typically see in a Blu-ray. We love anything that lives in the world of the film, offers a bigger peek behind the scenes, that was really the engine and accelerant for us to try and get more content onto the disc.
DC: In a time where physical media is often unfairly labeled as something of the past, releases like this one show that not only is physical media relevant but wanted by fans. Can you speak on the importance of these collector’s edition releases?
JB: Speaking for myself I love having access to the movies, books, and albums I enjoy, so I will champion owning media as long as I live. I understand formats have changed a lot over time, and look forward to seeing what comes after discs for movies, but for now discs are where it is at and still the best place to get supplementary content. Haunt is a great example of a release that speaks to the collector side of things as well, with all the extra things that come with the package. Many fans of us who enjoy the entertainment we are dealing with here LIVE our fandom. We have the posters, toys, and anything else we can get our hands on. This kind of set will not only exist on movie shelves and in Blu-ray players, but also adorn walls with the posters, jackets with the pins, CD players with the soundtrack, and fridges with the magnets. Streaming is convenient but titles come and go, licenses expire, few include special features, on some services movies are interrupted by commercials, and in one dominant example, people have to pay a yearly access fee on top of the purchase fee for ‘buying’ a title, which is ludicrous. Whether it is on reel, tape, disc, or USB stick, there will always be a massive section of people who want to have possession of the movies they adore, and when you add in packages that look great on display, and packed additional content, you have something that remains unique and reliable in a world where those things are increasing in rarity.
DC: Haunt is a film that is a down and dirty throwback to the dark slashers of the 80s. What do you think it is about the film that resonates with fans?
SB: We like our entertainment like our rollercoaster rides, we want to take twists and turns, but we want to make sure it’s going back to the cliff and you don’t know it’s over until it’s over. For us, exactly what you’re talking about, yes, there’s moments where there’s a little bit of levity but also we took a look at horror as a mimic to real life, like when you encounter horror in real life it’s almost surreal and it takes you a moment to realize how quick something can go wrong and I think that’s where we kind of put ourselves when we were writing it, trying to be right there with the characters and not tip our hands to what will happen but all of a sudden you find out that somebody in your group is certifiably dead, now you’re stuck with the ramifications of that and your entire existence is jeopardized in that exact moment, so for us it’s just about putting characters and trying to make them real life, with real needs, and throw the worst situations imaginable.
JB: Haunt is built around the character of Harper and the real-life horror in her abusive relationship, then moves forward with her discovery of strength and self-reliance playing parallel with her survival inside the haunt. It is a smart story with characters that aren’t caricatures, villains that are each unique and memorable, and a setting that is true to the real haunt experience most all of us know from our youth. On top of that, the film goes against the slasher trope grain many times, specifically in the case of the line the monster Ghost walks in terms of his interaction with the main characters. The cast is fantastic, and Scott and Bryan ratchet the tension with precision. It seems to surprise people who go in not knowing what to expect.
DC: Justin, having the writer and directors, Beck and Woods, both be involved with the release is awesome. In a lot of ways, it serves as a love letter to their passion for entertaining stories. Can you speak on the duo and what drew you to their work?
JB: From the moment I first met and worked with Scott and Bryan years ago I recognized the maturity they approach the craft with. They were hosting screenings of their movies at theaters as kids and have been on a beautiful crescendo since. They are passionate, compassionate, and eat and breathe movies, rarely having a discussion about anything without referring to one film or another. Haunt is a unique moment in their story, a side road that allows them to play in a sandbox that played a huge role in making them who they are, despite the success they have enjoyed already, this is just the beginning. I truly love them and am honored to have been able to help get Haunt into fan hands the way Scott and Bryan want.
DC: As someone who collects a lot of physical releases and is quite passionate about Collector’s Edition releases like this one, I think people take for granted how much work goes into giving fans such packed Blu-rays. I remember when DVDs first came out and you got that insane Fight Club release, it was like oh my god, the amount of stuff in this. I hate going back to Fight Club twice in this question, but when you had that eventual Blu-ray release, they pulled a quick one on you and put up the menu for Never Been Kissed to make you think you bought the wrong one.
BW: I love that you’re talking about Fight Club because that one is a great example of a beautiful disc, gorgeously designed, lots of love and care went into it and it was a disc that was so interesting in and of itself that even if you didn’t like the movie you couldn’t ignore it, kind of like, it helped people I think revisit the movie, dig deeper into the movie and they could appreciate it in a way they might not have in the first viewing of it. Like maybe on the first viewing they were a little alienated, it was a little dark and then getting to explore that movie through that disc it enhanced the experience in a way that you didn’t expect.
SB: I feel like the process for Bryan and I, working with Justin Beahm, it was just the three of us, just kind of sitting down and as fans and owners of thousands and thousands of DVDS, Blu-rays and Laser Discs, what would we want to see on a disc? Obviously first and foremost for us, we had so many pieces of content at our fingertips, for instance, one of the features that is on it is basically raw iPhone footage from Bryan am my cell phone, from basically pre-production through production, just like tidbits, and it’s really raw. It’s showing you location scouts, it’s showing you when we are actually behind the scenes on the set and just these fly on the wall moments that for ourselves as film fans, we always love peeking behind the curtain, not a glossy EPK. Additionally, we just wanted to highlight all the incredible collaborators that had worked on this film, from Chris Bridges, who helped design all the special effects for the monsters, we wanted him to have a voice in it. We wanted each of our actors who played in the main cast, or our monster actors, to be able to have a voice in it and with monsters, it’s great to be able to peek behind the scenes and see what they actually look like. We were so excited about the tomandandy soundtrack being a component of it because rarely do you listen to an isolated score, and what’s even better is you get the CD by itself with all the tracks and additionally Andy was part of the interviews we conducted for it.
BW: One of the things I want to say is, part of the reason it was so fun, was because we were able to partner with Ronin, because we had a few different places we could go partner withfor the Blu-ray, different companies were super excited about it but Ronin really opened the door and let us be part of the creative process. We had this vision for the collector’s edition Blu-ray,where we wanted to have a slip cover and when you take the slip cover off the mask of the clown, it’s the clown’s face without the mask. Doing things like that, I don’t know if anyone cares about it but for us, as collectors of Blu-rays, it’s a fun little aesthetic design, and it’s just enjoyable to be behind the curtain to be able to play with that stuff. We think people who liked Haunt will really like it.
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