Introduction
Tyrese Gibson (The Fast and the Furious franchise) and Theo Rossi (Sons of Anarchy) star in Squealer, a terrifying thriller inspired by real events. When young women start disappearing in a small town, a police officer and a street-smart social worker follow clues to a remote pig farm, where they discover the local butcher has been bringing his work home. Enter the world of a serial killer and experience for yourself the bloodcurdling horror of a film that’s bound to take your breath away.
In Theaters, On Digital and On Demand on November 3rd, from Lionsgate. Filmmaker Andy Armstrong has designed, coordinated, and directed some of the largest and most spectacular action sequences that exist in cinema history. Andy’s notable credits include The Amazing Spiderman (1 AND 2), The Green Hornet, Thor, Hoffa, Stargate, Planet of the Apes, Galaxy Quest, Catwoman, I Robot, Charlie’s Angels, The Firm, as well as many TV series episodes for Jerry Bruckheimer TV and Warner Brothers TV.
Andy and his brother Vic created Armstrong Action, which now consists of three generations of family, making it the largest privately owned Stunt and Action Facility Company in the World. Andy is a published author of several action books and has lectured on the art of action movie-making in colleges and film schools. He is also a multiple award winner and proud member of SAG, DGA, and BAFTA, and one of the founding members of both the Taurus World Stunt Awards & Foundation.
Triple threat Danielle Burgio transitioned from Broadway dancer to Hollywood stuntwoman, and now, successful actress/producer. Born in Andrews Airforce Base, Burgio booked her first job only two weeks after moving to New York City, making her Big White Way debut in Starlight Express. After breaking in her skates on Broadway, Burgio moved to Los Angeles, where she became one of the industry’s most sought-after stunt women, appearing in over one hundred films and TV shows, including fanboy favorites like Blade, Batman Forever, and serving as stunt double to Carrie Ann Moss’ iconic ‘Trinity’ character in the Matrix sequels.
Burgio’s winning streak continued with a book, ‘The Stuntwoman’s Workout,’ and an invitation to co-host TBS’ ‘Worst Case Scenario,’ where, as ‘Gear Girl,’ she performed some of the most thrilling stunts of her plane-jumping, car-crashing, skyscraper-dangling career, and got the opportunity to display her daredevil skills during appearances from Entertainment Tonight to Good Morning America.
(Edited for content and clarity)
Interview
Glen Dower:
Andy Armstrong:
Danielle Burgio:
Glen Dower:
Andy Armstrong:
Danielle Burgio:
Glen Dower:
Absolutely. She did not know what we were in for. But Mr. Armstrong, this is his feature debut, after decades in the industry and other directing projects. Why was this particular story the first feature film you wished to make?
Andy Armstrong:
To be honest, I directed a movie back in the nineties. But then I really couldn’t get anything going that interested me after that. So I went back to doing big action on other people’s movies and I basically sort of got bored with that process. Then Danielle and I started talking about doing something together and this story evolved out of just something that I’d spoken to Danielle years before. And we decided to write together and it turned out to be a really constructive process. So since then, we’ve got a couple of other movies that we’re going to hopefully get going after the strike ends. But yeah, I mean it’s a strange movie at first glance to come at from my background. Obviously all big action stuff. But we both felt this was a sort of good pure, and lean way to start.
Danielle Burgio:
Yes, Andy had first told me about this story maybe seven or eight years ago, and it had stuck with me, and our careers were on different paths and we knew we always wanted to do something together. And it was literally years later that the stars aligned and it was probably like seven years later and I was like, I’m still thinking about that story about that pig farmer who was a serial killer. So we were like, all right, let’s do it. Let’s do it and let’s do it in a different way.
Glen Dower:
Andy Armstrong:
Inspired by more than about him really. It was his life story that first attracted us to it. And in some ways, his story is in a way even darker in places, but we didn’t want to go there. We wanted to keep it sort of very, very lean and we didn’t want to copy his life story completely because it is obviously quite recent and there are still victims, families, and all that sort of thing. So we wanted to be detached enough that it could be inspired by him, but not about him personally or any of his particular victims.
But the main attraction was the same though. The fact that he operated in a beautiful part of the world just outside Vancouver where tourists go and have beautiful winters and beautiful summers, and people go for the ski and they go for the water and everything. And he was only forty minutes outside of town and he operated for years under people’s noses. So there’s also a little bit of social commentary there.
And his victims were all people from a walk of life that a lot of other people just simply don’t care much about. And there’s a sort of, I hope the film operates on both levels, both on the sort of sensational level just visually, but also on a little bit of a social commentary about how we perceive the value of lives that are not necessarily as productive as other people might think are, right? A lot of the women that he picked on had just had tough stories, tough reasons to be there. They were definitely reasons they were chosen and taken by him.
He had a whole process. There was no door handle on the inside of the passenger door and all that sort of thing. Once they got in the truck, they were done. I think one of the things that really attracted us is that this horror was happening under people’s noses and nobody, whether they believed or not, cared enough to do something about it. That’s really the theme of the movie. The character of Lisa, played by Danielle in the film, has to convince people to care that this stuff is happening. So we wanted to make a movie that had a little bit of a message there but also operated on a very basic level as a horror film.
Glen Dower:
Andy Armstrong:
Yes, it was. I think it is important to have a character that you are prepared to follow through this story, to go on the journey with them. I think movies operate on a purely spectator level where this is all happening, which happens with a lot of sort of spectacular action movies and things. Or you have a character that you relate to and you follow that character through the story and you understand the pitfalls of ups and downs that they have.
And that’s what we were going for here, is that every character in it is sort of flawed, but I hope they’re also flawed to a level that you still can forgive them and you sort of follow them through. I don’t like perfect characters because they don’t exist. We all have these flaws. And I think the overall journey that she goes on, as well as catching and beating him, she’s also overcoming her own demons.
Danielle Burgio:
Glen Dower:
Andy Armstrong:
Danielle Burgio:
We also talked a lot about it, because it’s the first victim. We had a lot of conversations about if we really lean in and we really show it the first time, then the audience’s imagination can take over after that. Once you’ve set it up, then you can just tap on it. And their imagination is really in hyperdrive. And I think that hopefully adds to the horror of it and what they’re expecting and what they might be afraid to see down the line.
Glen Dower:
Andy Armstrong:
I wish we knew. I’m addicted to all sorts of forensic files and all these things. I don’t know. Probably if I knew that I’d be a much, much wiser man. But I don’t know. There’s something, it’s a morbid fascination that we all seem to have with it. I thought I was at one point, one of the only ones that thought that way. But then the more you talk to people, you realize everybody watches these things. And it’s fascinating whether it’s that thing about because you can feel more secure because it’s not happening to you.
I always remember talking to someone who had been in battle. They said that when someone next to you dies, your overwhelming thought is, thank God it wasn’t me. And then your next thought is guilt that you thought that you had that thought. But that seems to be a recurring sort of theme. So I think it’s in us as humans that we are fascinated by that sort of stuff as long as it’s not happening to us.
Glen Dower:
Danielle Burgio:
Glen Dower:
Danielle Burgio:
Squealer will be released in select theaters across the country and on digital platforms on November 3, 2023.
