PopHorror Let's Get Scared
Everyone loves a good shark film and director/writer Andrew Traucki knows how to tell one! I recently had the privilege of chatting with Andrew about his career, his love for filmmaking, inspirations, and details for his newest film The Reef: Stalked.
PopHorror – Hi Andrew. Thanks for chatting with me! What inspired you to become a director?
PopHorror – Who are some of your favorite directors?
Andrew Traucki – There are so many but here’s a few of them: Alfred Hitchcock, David Lynch, Francis Ford Coppola, Guillermo del Toro, The Cohen Brothers, Ridley Scott, Akira Kurosawa.
PopHorror – Great choices. What is your favorite part about being a director and watching your film come to life?
Andrew Traucki – It’s great being across everything from casting to art department but probably my favourite part of directing is being in the edit suite. Not only does that mean I am no longer stand in water and braving the elements, it’s also the place for me where I start piecing the puzzle together.
PopHorror – What inspired The Reef: Stalked?
Andrew Traucki – I’ve been aware of the problem of domestic violence both in Australian and across the world for sometime now. A while back I went and saw a play called Lethal Indifference. It’s about domestic violence. Sitting in the theatre I became aware that the audience was mainly white, middle to upper class and older. Whilst domestic violence crosses all demographics I couldn’t help but feel that this powerful play was not really reaching the right audience.
I started thinking about making a film that had an anti- domestic violence message that would find a broader international audience. I thought of the parallels between a viscous shark (sharks are known to surfers as the man in the grey suit) attack and death at the hands of your partner and that is how the idea for, The Reef: Stalked was born.
PopHorror – Thanks for that insight. I love it. This film has a great cast. How did casting come about?
Andrew Traucki – We first wanted to cast the lead, the role of Nic and we were very lucky that Teressa auditioned. She was fantastic. Once we secured her we then went after the rest of the cast. I feel very lucky that we managed to put this cast together, they did a brilliant job of bringing these characters to life.
PopHorror – Any favorite scenes throughout the film?
Andrew Traucki – I am quite keen on the part of the film from when Annie drops her paddle in the water.
PopHorror – That is a good one! Are you a fan of water horror films like this in general?
Andrew Traucki – I am a fan of tense, well written horrors and thrillers. If they have water in them all the better.
PopHorror – Yeah I do find them more intense – I’m always at the edge of my seat. What’s your favorite type of genre and favorite film?
Andrew Traucki – My favourite type of film to watch is elevated thrillers or horror thrillers, unless I’m in the mood for some ridiculously dumb comedy. I have lots of favourite films and they change I guess a few films that I have considered favourites for a long time are Unforgiven, Blue Velvet and Pan’s Labyrinth.
PopHorror – All fantastic. This film releases at the end of July, do you think it will be the perfect summer horror film?
Andrew Traucki – What better way to scare yourself about getting back in the water than watching a tense, terrifying and realistic shark film!
PopHorror – So true! Thanks again for chatting with me and I can’t wait for everyone to see this film. The Reef: Stalked releases in select theaters and streams on Shudder beginning Friday, July 29, 2022! Be sure to check it out!
