PopHorror Let's Get Scared
I love talking to filmmakers who are just starting their journey. They always have so much enthusiasm and a unique and optimistic view of the future. They truly enjoy talking about their films and what’s up next for them. Recently, I spoke with newcomer Jacob Johnston, whose film, Dreamcatcher (2021 – our review here), released on VOD and Digital March 5, 2021. We chatted about his inspiration for the story, why he wanted to be a filmmaker, his love of the genre, and of course, horror movies.
PopHorror: Jacob! Dreamcatcher is so great. I’m very excited to speak with you!
Jacob Johnston: Thank you so much!
PopHorror: I saw that you both wrote and directed Dreamcatcher. What inspired the story?
Jacob Johnston A lot of different things. But I think the biggest thing is for me, it always starts with character. I know almost every writer will probably say that, but it was two-fold. Who are these characters? And secondly, because I knew we needed to have some sort of iconic character because so much of this genre revolves around, “Well, what’s the figurehead? Who’s the mask? Who’s the killer? What’s the thing?” And finding a way to really organically tie that to the story.
EDM is such a zeitgeist right now. It’s a cultural movement, and there’s a buy-in without any explanation. That you can have a character who wears a mask and not need it to be… It can be something really cool and stylish but also kind of haunting and scary in the right context. Using that as the template to say, “Great, this is where the mask is going to come from, and whomever is going to don that, it’s not like we have to create some sort of long, drawn out mythology that’s going to take up screen time and that we can spend with these characters and really get to know who they are.” So, it’s kind of a two-fold thing in terms of conceptualizing the story, and secondarily, what’s going to be the figurehead for the poster, more or less.
PopHorror: It is a very fun poster! Looking through your previous work, I see that this is your first feature directorial debut.
Jacob Johnston: Yes!
PopHorror: What made you want to be a filmmaker?
Jacob Johnston: When I was five, I saw Jurassic Park for the first time, and the experience I had in watching that movie was… I can’t go back to myself at five years old, but the transformative quality that I felt in terms of where that movie took me… And I loved the ability to create a world that wasn’t. To live in an environment, and teleport people to that place, that was the drive really. That moment for me was eye-opening in a very big way, and I wanted to do that. I wanted to be able to do the same thing that that movie did for me for other people. Really just lean into this idea that imagination is limitless, and with some ingenuity, you can change the world for someone watching a movie.
It may sound dramatic, but I do believe that like any good heart, if you have the ability to start a conversation, if you have the ability to make someone see something or understand something in a different eye, I do believe that that’s really powerful and exciting.
PopHorror: Absolutely! I don’t think that sounds dramatic at all. I think that’s a very heartfelt answer, and I really appreciate that.
Jacob Johnston: Yeah, of course.
PopHorror: What is it that draws you to the horror genre?
Jacob Johnston: A less heartfelt answer… I really don’t think it’s one thing specifically, because when I was a kid, I was terrified of horror movies. I remember when I was in the fourth grade and watching The Shining, I was so terrified. I would go in the kitchen to make cookies and kind of peek in to see what was going on. But that movie… it’s scary. And once you’re an adult, I think you can kind of understand what that movie is about. I probably had no idea what was going on.
PopHorror: Yeah, that’s a young age to experience that one.
Jacob Johnston: But there was something. As I got older, I think that with the horror/thriller genre space, what’s so cool about it is you can have meaningful discussions, you can have very thematic and pungent messaging implanted into the story and let the audience experience it and not realize they’re being fed a social commentary. Not realize they’re being fed a sort of meaningful message. We’re seeing that so often now and in the genre. It doesn’t have to be to the point of elevation saying this is super meta, but genre film is really the place you can explore so many different bold, empowering, frightening, scary things that you may not be able to do in another film organically, you know?
Watching a movie like Closer or The Talented Mr. Ripley, of course, you know you’re going to be getting those very heavy themes. But if it’s a horror movie, you can kind of do the same thing with the character work and still take the audience on a ride that’s thrilling and sometimes scary or funny or satirical or whatever. You can live in this world where you’re still doing something to start a conversation without it being super heavy handed.
PopHorror: I 100% agree with that. If you could collaborate with anyone, who would it be?
Jacob Johnston: That’s tough. So many different people. I love the work of Tomas Alfredson as a director. If there was ever something I could write that he could direct… Let the Right One In is such an incredible film.
I think in terms of actors, I would love to make something scary with Cate Blanchett. The idea of putting Cate Blanchett in an atmospheric horror film seems so exciting to me. I just feel like to pair her with Tilda Swinton as estranged sisters, that would be really, really awesome and so weird. Maybe throw in Cillian Murphy as well.
PopHorror: You are casting the perfect movie here.
Jacob Johnston: The three of them in some sort of weird triangle? Yeah! That would be great. There’s so many people. I love this kind of time we’re in where there’s so many new voices coming in. Nia DaCosta… Can’t wait to see what she’s doing with Candyman. It looks beautiful just from what I’ve been able to see. I love this idea we’re getting so many new voices coming in, and not only to the genre but even someone like Ari Aster who is on the rise in terms of finding these really beautiful, sometimes scary films.
PopHorror: That sounds amazing!
Jacob Johnston: When it happens, you’ll be the first call I make!
PopHorror: Good! What’s up next for you? Are you currently working on anything?
Jacob Johnston: Sort of, yes. Last year was rough for everybody, but there’s a couple things including another project with Brandon [Vayda] and Krystal [Vayda]. We all share a similar sensibility in a genre space that’s kind of a modernization of The Skulls meets The Craft. It has a very ’90s vibe, but it’s a college set film.
And then I have a couple of other projects that are in various places, but then again, it’s all very dependent on greenlight because of Covid. Things have changed dramatically. But I do believe that it’s also forced a lot of great conversation. There’s been the time to really—for me at least—spend a year writing a lot and just finding new ways to tell stories and a way to inspire myself so I didn’t get burnt out, because I think in this industry especially, it could be really easy to get burnt out, because there’s not anybody banging down your door to do something. You’ve got to find a way to stay inspired and keep working.
Even this movie, the release date got pushed back four times because of the pandemic. I’m so grateful to be in this place where finally people are going to be able to see this film and hopefully enjoy it and be able to share that because at that point, the movie is not yours anymore. But for the longest time, it just kind of sits there because it couldn’t come out. So yeah. I’m still pretty grateful.
PopHorror: I feel like the pandemic has allowed films that might not have been as available to people. It’s opened new doors with film festivals being online, streaming instead of theaters, more people watching them at home. I think that it’s definitely helped a lot more films be seen.
Jacob Johnston: Absolutely! And it’s great because people are actually watching movies. These independent films that maybe would have gotten a lot of festival play but might have ended up seven, eight months before it gets bought or getting picked up quickly. We’re getting to see those stories. It will be a really great thing if we can look at something good from all of the bad.
PopHorror: It’s made the festivals more available to people who couldn’t attend them in person. It’s made them more affordable and more accessible than in person festivals, and I think that’s a good thing. I really like that.
Jacob Johnston: Absolutely, absolutely. And going back to what we were saying earlier about new voices, it’s giving people a platform. It’s diversifying the entertainment industry in a way of content, like the levels of content and the different kinds of stories and the different perspectives and whether that’s in genre film or otherwise. It’s a really exciting time, and I’m really excited to see what happens, hopefully—knock on wood—from this in a positive way.
PopHorror: Me too. One last question. What’s your favorite scary movie?
Jacob Johnston: Psycho. The original Psycho, and I would pair that in a three way tie with Night of the Hunter and Scream.
Thank you so much, Jacob, for taking the time to speak with us! Be sure to catch Dreamcatcher on digital and VOD today!
