CONSUMED: Director/Producer The Butcher Brothers Talk About Their New Horror Film!

Introduction

Trapped between a madman (Devon Sawa) seeking revenge and a skin-stealing monster, a married couple must find the strength to fight and make it out of the woods alive. Consumed from Brainstorm Media is released in theaters and On Demand on August 16th.

Meet the Butcher Brothers

The Butcher Brothers are the filmmaking alter-egos of American film directors Mitchell Altieri and Phil Flores. Their first feature film The Hamiltons (2006) was the co-winner of the Gold Vision Award at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival and the Jury Prize at the Malibu International Film Festival. It was released by Lions Gate Entertainment in 2006 (Limited Theatrical) and 2007 (DVD).

In 2007, they filmed the video for the Static-X song “Destroyer”. They shot the horror film The Violent Kind (2010), which was part of the Sundance Film Festival 2010. Next, the Butcher Brothers worked on Black Sunset (2014), a psychological thriller, which was produced by Cynthia Stafford of Queen Nefertari Productions. They released the sequel to The Hamiltons, The Thompsons, in 2012. Their influences include Tobe Hooper, David Cronenberg, and David Lynch.

Interview

Cinema Scholars’ own Glen Dower sat down with directing/producing duo The Butcher Brothers to discuss their new horror film Consumed. They discuss their reasons for casting Courtney Halverson in the lead role, being a fan of Devon Sawa going back to the SLC Punk and Final Destination days and the deeply personal connection writer David Calbert had to the material, among other topics.

Glen Dower:

Hey Gents.

Phil Flores:

Hey. What’s happening, how are you?

Glen Dower:

I’m great, thank you. Can I just ask, who came up with the awesome team name of The Butchers Brothers?

Mitchell Altieri:

You can take responsibility for that.

Phil Flores:

I came up with the Butcher part, Mitch came up with the Brothers part.

Glen Dower:

Teamwork is on show already. So your new horror, Consumed, I had the pleasure of re-watching it just recently in preparation for today. I’ve just spoken to your wonderful leading lady, Courtney. Her idea is she was cast because of her appearance, which I suggested was perhaps of a Celtic origin. So can you explain how she was cast in your movie?

Mitchell Altieri:

From my side, we’ve known Courtney for quite a few years. And at the end of the day, she’s just an amazing actress, who’s just super cool. And, you know, we want to do something with her. Also, as you said, she just fits. It just kind of happened and this was an opportunity to work with her.

Phil Flores:

She fits everything that we want in the character of Beth. Of course, we had seen her in Unfriended and her other films. We’ve always been fans of her. And she pairs well with Devon and Mark. And it just happened, we loved it.

Glen Dower:

It was a great fit for a cast as well because it is essentially a three-hander. So let’s talk about Devon as Quinn. He looks like he has been in the woods since Final Destination completed filming! How did you approach him to be part of the movie?

Mitchell Altieri:

So again, being the Butcher Brothers, we are very involved in the genre. We were absolutely fans of his, we grew up watching his stuff as well, his earlier work, you know, as you mentioned, Final Destination, of course, but even work like SLC Punk and Idle Hands. The stuff that we like weirdos really get into! And, you know, we really were like ‘he already has that look’ that fit. And even, even with more luck, Phil and I and Devon were all represented by the same agency. So it was this great little family thing that we could just chat with him and whatnot. And it just kind of meant to be.

Glen Dower:

Yes, everyone really compliments each other well in the movie. But let’s talk about the horror aspects. That’s what we’re all here for. So you really have a grocery list of awesome horror tropes throughout the movie: the jump scares, we’ve got the soundtrack, body horror, we’ve got a creature feature, we’ve got kids lost in the woods, we’ve got first aid horror, that I like to call it, and more. Did you approach the movie going, let’s go all in here. And what was your approach to just layer all those scares for the audience?

Phil Flores:

Honestly, it originated from the wonderful script from David Calbert. This was a personal story for him. You know, the metaphor is about cancer or the analogy, really, it’s about cancer itself. So I think him dealing with that in his own household, and a lot of us have dealt with it. This idea of a creature centered around something that would stalk you, hunt you and then eat you from the inside out and possess you became a perfect analogy for what cancer is. So I think, starting from there, that’s where the baseline for horror began. And then the idea of the Windago, which comes from several different sources, and can be described in different ways.

So I think that it added this very physical thing, that would be stalking them in the woods, but also a mental thing. What is it? Is it real? Is it not real? Or, is it just in my mind? And then we were able to, really through, I think, more of the editing process, Mitch, found this cosmic horror connection between them both, that added this lovely layer that I don’t know if that was really as present in the shoot. Maybe I’m wrong, but I felt like it kind of came out through the process of the editing.

Mitchell Altieri:

Yeah. You know, our editor, Brett, he’s an amazing editor. As Phil said, I think that we knew that this script, as Phil pointed out, was this kind of analogy for horror. And we knew that it was so strong in there that slowly, I think, as we were directing and working on the film, and the actors were putting everything, it really morphed into this really intense story of loss and pain. And our characters really, by the end, when we were watching the first cut of this movie, as Phil said, it’s almost like, is this creature even real? Is it just in her mind and what she sees?

And Devon’s character, is he even seeing the same thing? Are they hunting two different creatures? And so we really want to add this layer of, if you’re watching it, you can almost kind of fall into this, they could be just in their mind, is this whole story just in her head? Is it just through the chemo and the toxins and everything that’s happening to her? Is she just really in her own world? And that’s where the cosmic idea came in.

But also, at the end of the day, we are the Butcher Brothers, and if you kind of just hang back, you also can enjoy this fun, gory creature feature. So the balance was kind of there. We wanted to make sure that you got the fun and the thrills and the running in the woods and the creature and deliver on that level. Yet, if you really do kind of look, if you look in deeper, you can see what the story really came from, where it came from.

Glen Dower:

The idea of the Windago, is new to me, is that a myth? Was it fully formed in David Colbert’s script? 

Mitchell Altieri:

It’s a known folklore for North America, right? It’s this kind of mythology that started with Native Americans and really brought forth by the settlers. And it’s this, you know, cautionary tale of cannibalism, where you have people specifically on the North American-Canadian border, where the winters are just, you know, unheard of.

And that’s where the myth comes from. But if you really start dissecting it, if you dive into the myth, the older tales of it, the idea is it will take you and just destroy you from the inside out. So I think David, writing a story that he really brought in from his own dealing with the cancer of a close family member,  he put these things together, and it just kind of worked out perfectly.

And, you know, for us, not only was there depth to the story in a dramatic sense, where you could almost remove it and go have a really good story without the horror, you know, just dealing with the Windago, you don’t really get to see that creature here that much.

Glen Dower:

We have the myth side of it, but the actual bringing the reality of the creature to life. How did the designs come together for the final version we see?

Phil Flores:

The concept was brought on early by David really in a lot of ways. He had described something that was unique in his script and Mitch and David were talking about doing practical early on. They got together with a wonderful effects team who did amazing creature work. And in David’s description, he pulled from several different sources, I think, I believe, where you’re seeing something that’s, again, a cannibalized creature, its ashen skin, it’s deteriorating, it’s, you know, it’s possessing other humans. So, it’s got this different carousel of faces within its soul.

That, coupled with the energy of a horror film, you need to bring that gore into it. And then a little bit of, like we said, the cosmic horror, where does it come from? Which, you know, you start to see these things as the film goes on. What are its origins and what exactly is it? And again, we don’t try to give you direct answers. We try to leave it up to the viewer a bit of what exactly is this creature. Is it physical? Is it mental? You know, what is it? And I think Beth, who’s the main female character, it’s her journey through that process that she finds her own answers.

Glen Dower:

Perfect. So, one last question, gents. At Cinema Scholars, lots of our readers are students or aspiring filmmakers. I just want to see if you agree with this quote. I think it was George A. Romero who said if you want to get started in directing, start off with a horror movie and take it from there. As masters of the genre, do you agree with that?

Mitchell Altieri:

I do! Absolutely. For me, it’s how the Butcher Brothers, got our start. You know, we took it upon ourselves to make our own films, which led to opening the doors to our career. And I mean, I can’t say enough where I truly believe that making your own film these days, compared to when Phil and I started, it was very difficult to get a film done. It was really, really hard. We didn’t have the access that you have today. I know there’s a lot more people out there doing content, you know, short form and whatnot, and it might feel a little bit crowded. But when Phil and I started, it was really hard. I feel like you can do it. You go out there, you have a good story that you believe in. I feel like that’s the way to go.

Phil Flores:

Yeah, absolutely. You know, get your story together, get your friends, and use your iPhone. And there are so many great outlets now that you can put effects on things and edit your own film. It’s so interesting. It’s so much more accessible. So I think, yes. And if you want to learn all the hard knocks, make a horror film. Absolutely. Because you’re gonna have to do both the drama and the horror and the comedy all at once. And then you gotta sell it. Thankfully, horror does sell. So I think that’s another part of the process that most people don’t think about.

Glen Dower:

There you have it, kids, from the masters themselves. Thanks so much for your time. I really enjoyed the movie and I hope it does really well!

Mitchell Altieri:

Thank you so much. Appreciate it.

Phil Flores:

It’s a pleasure.

Consumed from Brainstorm Media is released in theaters and On Demand on August 16th.

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