INTERVIEW: Director Eric Power Talks ATTACK OF THE DEMONS
“I knew I should’ve brought a jacket.”
If you still haven’t seen “Attack of the Demons” yet, you should get on it. (Review at the link) Director Eric Power took the time to speak with us about the movie and his origins in animation and horror.
MD: How did you get started in animation?
EP: I dabbled in it when I was in my teens. Nothing serious. I got kind of lucky in getting a job working on Richard Linklater’s “Waking Life.” I was 17 at the time, so I didn’t do a lot there. I got the gig because Bob Sabiston had done a short film about my brother, who is autistic. It caught [Linklater’s] eye. He’s a great guy. Once I worked on it, I got the bug. I went home to get more serious about it.
MD: Why paper animation of all animations?
EP: I was doing a lot of digital and claymation animation before, some hand-drawn stuff. Mostly on the computer. I was working on music videos and I wound up choosing paper stop-motion for a project because it was folk art and I wanted it to look handmade and almost childish for that particular project. The video blew up a bit online and I started getting requests from bands who wanted me to do stop-motion with paper because they liked that video. Eventually I realized that I could do things with paper that I originally thought was impossible and that just sort of by default, it took over the digital work. I thought “hey, why am I even working in digital if I’m enjoying this so much?” It was fun to have the hands-on, crafting aspect. I thought I had niche going and I was loving it, so I was going to push it as far as I can.
MD: What was possible with paper that wasn’t with other forms of animation?
EP: I think what I really liked about paper is that the audience can see that it's a physical object that humans touch. I didn’t want it to look too clean, but I wanted it to have that craft aesthetic, almost because I love hand-drawn animation so much and the idea that these artists are slaving away and actually putting pen to paper. Seeing things done solely digital I thought something was lost in that process and I wanted to contribute to keeping some of the old craftiness of animation alive.
MD: Where did the idea for a full-length horror film with paper animation come from?
EP: I always wanted to make feature films. That was the end-goal. I had the idea in 2011 to go for it. I had the concept for “Attack of the Demons,” but it was really simple. I also had a concept for “Path of Blood."
At the time, I couldn’t wrap my head around the full story for “Attack of the Demons” and I also felt like it was a little bit too ambitious for me. I decided to go for “Path of Blood” because it was something I could conceivably do. I didn’t have to cut out big cities and it was set in nature. So I thought I’d see if I could do it and I did!
MD: The film has a ton of horror references to horror films and filmmakers like “The Evil Dead,” The Thing,” “Mario Bava,” and “Ruggerio Deodato.” Are there any other references to point out?
EP: One of my big influences in terms of an individual film was the remake of “The Blob.”
MD: Oh yeah, even the opening sequence looks like the opening of “The Blob” with the empty town.
EP: Yeah, and you got the fisherman. What I loved about that is it was very striking to me when I watched it, how likable the characters were and how death came for people that you really didn't want to. Their storyline ended prematurely, but that’s life. The waitress and the sheriff had chemistry, so you’re thinking “something’s gonna happen with these characters.” Then the phone booth scene happens and it’s shocking. I loved how lived-in the world felt and the small-town vibe of it.
MD: I noted in my review that it almost feels like you adapted a live action-script for animation. It does something that not many animated movies do. I feel like most animated films like to be splashy and show off right out of the gate. “This is what we can do! It’s a whole new world!” But you actually let your movie and your characters BE a little bit before the carnage happens (except for the opening) How intentional was that?
EP: It was absolutely very important to me that it feel like a live-action film. A lot of animated horror just doesn’t exist. There’s anime and a lot of great stuff that has come out, but it’s not typical to do with animation, especially for a public perception of what animation should be. I felt like there was a hurdle there because I wanted to tell a real horror story. I love the genre so much, I wanted to do it in the medium I’m comfortable in. That was the approach from the get-go. Let’s write it as if it’s a live-action film, but like a big-budget live action film that we could never make if it were live-action[Laughs]. Because animation sort of frees you that way. That's why there is quite a bit of time before the action comes because those are the films I enjoy watching so why not make something I enjoy, basically.
It was so worth the papercuts
MD: Do you know if this is coming out on Blu-ray or DVD? Personally I want it on my shelf.
EP: I have been asking the distributor, myself. They said they’re probably going to do it next year. A lot of people, according to what they know, aren’t buying physical right now because of everything that’s going down. I think they want it on store shelves knowing people are out there shopping. But I’m gonna fight really hard to get that to happen because I believe in physical media.
MD: Absolutely. What horror movies or TV shows are you ingesting in 2020?
EP: I just watched “His House” the other day, which is really good. There’s some blind spots for me I need to catch up on. Shudder stuff, you know. I just finished “Truth Seekers.” I try to consume everything I can. I’m in it [Laughs].
MD: Do you have any upcoming projects you can talk about?
EP: The day I finished “Attack of the Demons,” a great depression washed over me because I enjoy being in production on a big project so much. It’s been 2 years since that. It's been rough because we have to find funding for our films. It’s kind of hard to find when you have an untested film out there, so we’ve been waiting to release it so we can sort of prove we can make a return on the investment. Me and Andreas [Petersen], who wrote the film, have developed several projects since then. We’re basically ready to go. There’s two in the running right now and I'm kind of in early talks to make my next one if I’m lucky [Laughs]. One of them’s more horror and the other is a more adult film that kids can also watch. I’m branching out a bit. It’s sort of an arthouse think-piece thing. It’s a weird coming-of-age for adults.
“Attack of the Demons” is currently available to rent on VOD
About The Author
