Interview with Chris White, the Creator Behind ‘Doors’

Check out our interview with Chris White, the creator behind the new sci-fi film, Doors. Learn about the film, the inspiration behind it, why it differs from other films, and more!

PopHorror – Hi Chris. Thanks for chatting with me. How is your 2021 treating you so far?

Chris White – Hi Tori! Thanks for reaching out, very much appreciated. 2021 has been treating me pretty decently so far, kinda still too early to tell just yet if it’s gonna suddenly flip the script with some unexpected surprises as 2020 did on us all last year – but so far pretty, pretty good. Knock-on- wood.

PopHorror – Same here! What inspired you to get into filmmaking?

Chris White – The one and probably only thing my Dad and I really bonded over were movies…in fact, some of my best memories with my Dad growing up were us going to the movies every weekend. Movies gave us something to really talk about and look forward to doing together. It was that bonding connection with my Dad we had over movies that inspired me to want to get into filmmaking and tell stories that could potentially bring people and family together.  After all, it was my Dad who took me to see Alien as a kid and I have loved that universe ever since! Thanks, Pop!!

PopHorror – Such a great memory! What was the first big project you worked on?

Chris White – MTV’s My Super Psycho Sweet 16 was my first big project to have worked on. That was such an amazing experience that turned into a very successful franchise for the network…working on those films was a ton of fun. Shout out to my former boss Brian Graden, who was president of entertainment at MTV at that time. I started as his assistant. If it wasn’t for him believing in me and encouraging me to start producing for the network, things may have taken a different or longer path to get to where I am today. Very thankful to that guy.

PopHorror – That’s awesome! Can you tell us about your new SciFi film Doors?

Chris White – I would love to! Doors is a new type of sci-fi anthology about mysterious, alien objects that suddenly appear without warning anywhere and everywhere around the globe. The thing about these cosmic anomalies is that they are completely sentient, here to study us, collecting data. To be clear, these are not any kind of portals where people jump from world to world – but more of an alien invasion type of film where these anomalies are here to cosmically absorb and refresh the consciousness of all of mankind. When you physically interact with a Door by touching it, you end inside of the door and the altered reality it creates as it pulls from your memories and total consciousness to manufacture a new hyper-evolved reality that you really have no control over. Everything about you and what makes you human at that point is being processed by the door, analyzed, and re-configured. The Doors are always running the show. They are multi-dimensional, cosmic beings in their construct. They are perfect in every way, kinda like “God” but better and at times scarier. The film is broken up into acts, each directed by different filmmakers including Saman Kesh, Jeff Desom, and Dugan O’neal. Saman also served as our creative director on the overall film by bringing the stylized vision he and I wanted for Doors to life and was my key collaborator on expanding the mythology on Doors.

 

PopHorror – What was the inspiration behind it?

Chris White – My love for anthologies is what inspired Doors. I remember laying in my bed, staring up at the ceiling trying to come up with a new approach on the anthology format and a sci-fi/horror concept that would really feel fresh and unique. It was that night, the concept for Doors materialized in my head just as suddenly as they appear in the movie. So, I wrote up the overall concept for it and sent it over to my buddy Brad Miska and he said” this is the really, really, cool man…let’s make it!” and the rest is history.

PopHorror – That’s awesome! Do you have any favorite scenes?

Chris White – I love the whole film so much that it’s hard for me to pick my favorite scenes… ‘Knockers’ has some truly awesome moments, especially in the kitchen and the climax with the multiple copies. It’s all so well done… In ‘Jamal’, I love the scene when he actually communicates with a Door for the first time..you can just feel the rush of excitement and emotion he’s experiencing at that moment, everything works so perfectly there. In ‘Lockdown’ from the time the kids encounter a Door works really well on the horror side, it gets pretty creepy and has some very cool moments. And of course, I love the Martin Midnight podcast that connects the 3 acts throughout the film, especially when things start getting really weird with his special guest.

PopHorror – I love all of those too! Although it’s very similar to other SYFY thrillers, it also stands out from the rest. Is that what you were aiming for?

Chris White – Yes, that was the whole goal, to create something that feels very unique and cosmically different from what you may have seen before, especially as an anthology. We wanted it to truly stand out with its cosmic, mind-bending ideas, that weren’t composed of un-related segments like other anthologies, but instead told in acts that progress an overall connected narrative, each helmed by a different filmmaker/perspective that took place during one collective global event.

 

PopHorror – I’ve noticed some of your other films fall under the Syfy/horror genre as well. Is this a genre you enjoy? If so what are some of your favorite ones?

Chris White – I simply love horror and sci-fi..those are my go-to genres each and every time. I have so many favorites, but to name a few: the Alien universe, Interstellar, Dark City, Poltergeist, Time-Crimes, Beyond the Black Rainbow, Dead Ringers, Rec, Possessor, eXistenz, Event Horizon, They Live, In the Mouth of Madness, Inception, Invasion of the Body Snatchers (79′), John Carpenter’s The Thing, The Blob (88′ remake), Gremlins and so many others.

PopHorror – Those are definitely some good ones! Any other upcoming projects you’d like to talk about or anything else you’d like to mention?

Chris White – Most definitely. I have an exciting new series called Carolina Red that I co-created with my writing partner Ray Shell, based on his novel of the same name. Sugar Films and Sky Studios are our producing partners on that and we are gearing up to pitch networks very soon. Fingers-crossed. Also, there’s The Beauty Of Horror a new animated series based on my producing partner Alan Robert’s critically acclaimed, super successful, horror-themed coloring books for adults. We’ve been developing that one with Eric Heisserer (Arrival, Birdbox) and award-winning animation studio Rooster Teeth. Then The Sisters Of Samhan – a kick-ass, gory as heck, and super fun witch movie starring a group of kids. Gregg Bishop (Siren) is directing that one with Brad Miska of Bloody-Disgusting, also producing alongside Craig Perry, Shelia Taylor (Final Destination franchise), and Andy Cohen. Hopefully, we’ll have that one shooting by the summer of this year..we will see.

PopHorror – Thank you again, Chris! Doors will hit Select Theaters on March 19 and On Demand on March 23 and DVD/Blu-ray on April 6 from Epic Pictures.