Interview with Director Duncan Skiles for ‘The Clovehitch Killer’

With The Clovehitch Killer having its release today in select theaters across the United States, along with being available on various streaming platforms, Abigail had the chance to sit down with director Duncan Skiles and discuss the movie in-depth and talk about how this haunting thriller came to be.

PH: I love the serious tonality and heavy subject matters presented here- what were the inspirations behind the premise of this film?

DS: I was doing a lot of reading on serial killers, and there was one in particular who really caught my interest because he had a family, and he was a boy scout leader, and also a church leader. So, I just thought, this is a crazy scenario- what if one of his kids found out before anybody else? And it all kind of just went from there.

PH: I also love the cinematography and production design, which gives it a very nostalgic, yet modern atmosphere. Would you care to elaborate on this?

DS: Sure, Luke McCoubrey the cinematographer, it was our first time working together, and I think he did an amazing job. We met several times before committing to work together, and we talked a lot about the feeling of the movie being a very matter of fact, reserved style; there’s not a lot of camera movement and the quality of the light being very much in the day time, and with white light coming through the windows. I think that we referenced Take Shelter a lot, and Funny Games, which is a scary movie that happens during the day.

I just felt very lucky because, having never worked with him before on anything, and having jumped right into a feature, that we just got along swimmingly. He did such a great job, and he developed a look, a pre-color grade before shooting that we were able to see beforehand, and that ended up being where we got to, in regards of the color. I don’t know how to describe it, as it has a filmic, softness to it; the blacks aren’t super dark, and I guess that’s another deliberate move away from anything that would be associated with a horror movie, as in, it’s not super contrasty. And we added a little bit of grain to it also, which I think contributes to that nostalgic theme.

PH: How did you become acquainted with the cast? Was there an audition process, or were these characters written with certain actors in mind?

DS: There was an audition process, and their was a long casting process. Charlie Plummer as the character of Tyler was the first one to come on, and I didn’t really have anyone in mind. And then I cast Kathy shortly after that, but it wasn’t Madisen Beaty at the time. I casted somebody who ended up having to drop out because the schedule changed, and it conflicted with her going to school. And casting the character of Don was a long process of going out to people and getting passes, but Dylan McDermott was the one who was really excited about doing it.

At first, I wasn’t really sure if I could believe him as a midwestern dad, but he proved to me that he could do that transformation, and he did such an amazing job. Samantha Mathis also came on around the same time, and I remember Samantha, Dylan and Charlie, and at the time we still didn’t have the character of Kassi, but then we ended up getting Madisen Beaty about two weeks before we shot, and that was really lucky. She is just great and she had a really good chemistry with Charlie.

PH: This almost feels like a coming of age story with horror elements, with the character of Tyler having to grow and make some very difficult decisions. Would you say you agree with that?

DS: Oh Definitely, this story is about a young man who has to look into a dark void, which at some point we all do, but this particular void happens to be behind his father’s eyes, you know? And he has to figure out how to deal with that, and I think that he inherits some qualities form his father and how he responds to it, but arguably in a less malevolent way. But he wants to do the right thing, the right way. He certainly has grown up at the end of the movie, in some way.

PH: What were some of the challenges and rewards while filming The Clovehitch Killer?

DS: Well, I was really meticulous about the details of certain props, such as newspaper article headlines, polaroid photographs, and the sign on the side of Don’s truck. Just little things that are small, but cumulatively help sell the reality of the wold. And when they’re not done right, they can take you out of the movie. So, when putting everything together, I was constantly checking in with the art department, and making sure that if there was a closeup of the newspaper, that the entire text was going to be believable. So, stuff like that I just remember being very challenging.

I think shooting this movie was the most rewarding creative filming experience I’ve had in my career, because it was a great team of people; we all just got along and we made each other better. From basically everyone involved- we all just meshed really well, and was better than any production experience that I’ve had, and it made me seem like a much better director, I think. I felt it was exhausting, and it was really hard and scary, but I was also thriving, and I look back on it fondly.

PH: Do you have any upcoming projects you’d like to share with us? Or, are allowed to share with us?

DS: I don’t really have anything concrete right now. I know that I want to make another movie like this one, so let’s just say that it is just currently in development.

Be sure to check out The Clovehitch Killer in select theaters near you, or stream it directly through Prime Video.