The Violent Kind: The Butcher Brothers
by Todd Konrad
On the eve of premiering their new film, The Violent Kind, to the 2010 Sundance Film Festival Phil Flores and Mitchell Altieri, better known as The Butcher Brothers, took the time to chat with me about their new project before the Park City crowds checked it out. To say that the guys were pressed for time is an understatement as they had just finished the final cut literally hours before we spoke and were still gearing themselves up for presenting their new baby to one of the biggest film fests out there. For those unfamiliar with their work, The Butcher Brothers are a team devoted to crafting intelligent yet still shocking horror features.
When asked about their overall vision for the kinds of movies they make, Mitch chimed in “…you have so many different subgenres and types of horror films, but with us it was more of an idea of bringing in two or three different genres and then pulling out the best elements of those genres and inserting them into one particular film. I think we found a unique voice and vision by doing that and so what we’ve heard from fans as well as peers and people in the industry is them telling us that when they watch a Butcher Brothers film, they can really distinctly see our own voice and vision.” While the concept of genre blending in and of itself isn’t new, simply watch any Tarantino film for ample proof, the pair do acknowledge though that without real attention paid to story and character development, you’re left with nothing more than an expensive mash-up devoid of any staying power. As Phil himself noted “…we always say that if you take the horror away from the story, then what are you left with? So for us we always want to make sure the story’s still there so that if you take the horror out, the film is still entertaining; so that’s one of our overriding rules that we abide by.”
The Violent Kind itself though is homage to a certain spirit in American genre filmmaking rather than one specific area, although it uses the classic biker films of the 60s and 70s as a launching pad. According to Flores “I can’t really point to one film but as Mitch said we were really inspired by what happened in early 70’s American maverick filmmaking, things like Easy Rider, Last House on the Left, or even David Lynch’s stuff or David Cronenberg, the list goes on. These guys all made these offbeat films and we soaked those up while growing up.” While the independent film world is always rife with tight budgets and even tighter shooting schedules, both filmmakers know that they have cultivated a company of actors that can be called upon to deliver under such stressful conditions. However, such familiarity comes with its own pros and cons.
As Altieri noted, familiarity with previous actors allow “…a shorthand…where it’s not as much as having to direct them but rather give them quick looks or a quick hand signal is great. So you really get this thing dialed in quick and when you’re working brutal hours till six or seven in the morning, going through so many pages that quickly, you know what they’re going to bring and don’t have to worry about if they going to make it or what their comfort level is.” However, within the same breath he notes that “…on the flip side, when you don’t have that kind of relationship with someone you can sometimes get what you want by telling the actor ‘do it this way’ and the challenges aren’t as harsh.” That may come off as a bit dictatorial but it does make sense at least in context of trying to shoot as much as possible in a given day and not end up bogged down in discussion that could sidetrack the production. Ultimately though, what matters is the finished film and what better way to wrap up a discussion of a film before its premiere than predicting what sort of reaction it will hopefully elicit from its audience. As Phil noted “I want people to be slightly afraid of us when they walk out of the theater. Because that’s how I feel when I watch this film. I think we’re definitely going into new territory with The Violent Kind, I haven’t seen a film like this before and we’re both banking on that being a good thing.”
*To learn more about the film, go to www.facebook.com/theviolentkind and follow it on Twitter at @TheViolentKind