"Our film was never going to be just a relentless scare fest" - Director Adam Wimpenny on "Blackwood"

An English professor finds himself plagued by spectral visions upon his arrival to a desolate house in the English woods. These visions and his degrading behaviour start to put his family in danger. Blackwood is Adam Wimpenny’s feature film debut in the director’s chair, and with this film he gets to play around with the old English ghost story formula and haunted house structure, but aims to add a little more depth to many aspects of the story.

MATT MICUCCI: WHAT DROVE YOU TO MAKE YOUR FIRST FILM A GHOST STORY?

ADAM WIMPENNY: When we sat down to write a good first entry level film, we thought of the ghost story structure, because it's a genre that it's well defined and you normally don't need to handle as many characters. We thought it might be easier to handle for a first film, but also it would give me a chance to do something I love to do, which is build up suspense and create tension. But to really have the audience invested in the film, to let them go beyond the supernatural and paranormal aspect of the story, I wanted to achieve a certain believability through the characters. I didn't want them to be cartoonish. I wanted them to think that if there weren't any supernatural aspects in the film, then there still might be something there.

MM: WERE THERE ANY FILMS THAT INFLUENCES THE ATMOSPHERE OF BLACKWOODS?

AW: We kept on going back to the films from the seventies and early eighties films like The Shining, Rosemary's Baby, Don't Look  They're films that, when you watch them, have this very malevolent film throughout. They're real movie. And we wanted to achieve that. So, it was never going to be a relentless scare fest, we wanted to create something where that was a sense of dread that came throughout. I really enjoyed playing with the sound design, the music and using the camera to create that. But also have that slow pace that allows that gradual growing of tension.

MM: HOW WAS DIRECTING THE CAST?

AW: As a first time filmmaker you want to work with people who you can give character's ownership to so it was a pleasure working with the cast of equally strong players. Ed Stoppard is very funny and very charming but can certainly play the darker role as well. And even with Sophia Myles - it has become a bit of a stereotype that the female role should be quite marginal but I think that with the character of Rachel we tried to make her more three dimensional.

MM: THERE IS A CONFLICT OF MASCULINITY AND FEMININITY THAT IS LIKE AN UNDERLYING THEME IN THE FILM.

AW: Yes. Well, I don't think the guys come out to be too good in this film. They are all flawed and troubled. There is a deliberate shift where I think eventually you do side with Rachel and you have the antagonist who alienates himself from the audience, because with his behaviour he starts challenging the audience and their pre-conceptions of how a hero should usually act in a film.

MM: WHAT ARE THE DIFFICULTIES OF GETTING A FIRST FEATURE FILM GOING, ESPECIALLY ONE THAT RETAINS CREDIBILITY IN A MONEY DRIVEN GENRE LIKE HORROR?

AW: Making a first film s very difficult. Nobody ever comes knocking on your door asking you to make one. We started with short films, small thrillers with similar subjects to this films. And they opened doors to international festivals and we had something to show. But we made Blackwood with a very modest subject and all we could do was strap ourslves in and hope that everything would go right - but it was a scary experience. Even if Blackwood is a genre film, it's deliberately a little bit more difficult - especially with the characters - so that it wouldn't blend in with the usual mix of horrors.

The film is currently in UK cinemas and was presented at the BFI London Film Festival, where this interview was carried out.