Welcome To The Blumhouse: Interview With Filmmaker Gigi Saul Guerrero For ‘Bingo Hell’

If you don’t know who Gigi Saul Guerrero is, you need to remedy that immediately. Not only is she super humble, but she’s insanely talented, and she’s going places fast. I have watched her go from making short films to national commercials to directing features, not only for Hulu’s Into the Dark series but now Amazon’s Welcome to the Blumhouse, and everywhere in between. I was incredibly lucky to catch up with Gigi to discuss her Welcome to the Blumhouse entry, Bingo Hell (our review), and we talked about what inspired the film, why she wanted to be a filmmaker, and what’s up next.

PopHorror: I loved Bingo Hell. I thought it was so good. It was super funny, too.

Gigi Saul Guerrero: Oh good! I’m so excited you liked it.

PopHorror: What inspired the movie and how did the project come about?

Gigi Saul Guerrero: I already had that relationship with Blumhouse. That working relationship with Blumhouse was still standing, so that was very cool. So they were like, “What you got next?” And luckily, I had recently had a conversation with my longtime friend and co-writer partner, Shane [McKenzie]. We had a catch up conversation where he was like, “You know where I was last night? I was at a bingo hall!” And I was like, “Man, what the hell were you doing there?” And he just wanted to check it out because his wife’s relatives were playing, and he said, “Little did I know that seniors are crazy. Little did I know that they’re the most competitive people in the universe.” I told him, “Dude, you should see my grandma when she plays bingo with her relatives. It’s no joke!” So from there, we were like, “I wonder what would happen if we took bingo away from them?” That’s totally where the idea came from, seniors kicking so much butt. We were stoked. I sent it to Blumhouse, just a couple sentences long of this idea, and they said, “YES! That one!” I was like, “Okay, you’re in for a wild ride!”

PopHorror: That’s awesome! The film looks like it was a blast to make because it was a lot of fun to watch. What was your favorite part of filming?

Gigi Saul Guerrero: So much! I could say all the blood, all the slime, all the bingo balls! There were so many crazy things. I think my most favorite part as an up-and-coming filmmaker was working with such seasoned actors, working with actors nominated for an Oscar, the other one has won Tonys. These are actors that have been around the industry for a long time. So for me, that was probably the most fun, because they really taught me so much. The way that they act is very different than the younger generation of actors that I have worked with. That was a blast. And apart from that, working with Richard Brake! Richard Brake! He’s crazy, he’s awesome! So, creating a new villain with him was a blast.

PopHorror: He makes the best villains.

Gigi Saul Guerrero: I know! It’s that smile. I think it’s that smile.

PopHorror: When he was dressed in black and had that hat on, I thought if they ever made a remake of Poltergeist II, he would be the best Kane.

Gigi Saul Guerrero: Yes! Tiffany, I see why you’re here. You know. I love that!

PopHorror: I’ve known you on social media for a long time, and I’ve watched our career just explode in the last few years. What is it that made you want to be a filmmaker?

Gigi Saul Guerrero: Wow, that’s an awesome question. It all came to be a filmmaker… I was 16-years-old, and I saw the film—by accident—I saw Children of Men. I’d never seen a movie like that. When I found out that movie was made by a Mexican director, I was just like, “What?! Mexicans can do that?” It was so crazy. I had never heard at that time, or at that age, of del Toro. I had never heard of Mexican American Robert Rodriguez. I had no idea that they were around, those guys. So it just felt to me that I wanted to be the chick friend of those guys. I wanted to be that girl. It was a lot of hustling. I was so inspired to tell stories that really represent my background, and I think at that time and that age, I had moved from Mexico City to Canada. I was having a lot of trouble finding myself. I was having a lot of trouble fitting in. I found that film was my love letter to Mexico. Was my love letter to always represent my roots. I wanted to be a filmmaker because of all that.

PopHorror: Wow, that’s really amazing. That’s so inspiring!

Gigi Saul Guerrero: Thank you so much!

PopHorror: What is up next for you?

Gigi Saul Guerrero: I can’t give full titles yet, but I’m still really humbled and excited to be working with Blumhouse and a few other feature scripts that we have together. Right now, I’m really excited and focused that episodic TV is out there. So crossing fingers that some of the shows that I’ve pitched on I can work on. I think that TV is doing so good with such incredible stories. I want to be part of that. That’s not to say, Tiffany, I will continue working so hard to make El Gigante the feature a dream come true. I will always dream to make that short film into a feature. So hopefully.

PopHorror: Yes! I’m a big fan of Shane’s, too, so that’s exciting to see you go from making a short to making movies. I even saw you in a Swiffer commercial. You’re everywhere, girl. You’re just doing it right, and I love seeing that.

Gigi Saul Guerrero: Aw, I appreciate that. The Swiffer commercial and the Colgate commercial have invaded a lot of people’s TVs in the last year. You know, I just love, even if it’s a commercial, but if I could just to be part of the storytelling in general, I’m so happy. So as an actor, I get to be part of things too. And I love seeing how other people direct. It keeps me motivated and inspired. So whether it’s a Swiffer commercial or voicing animated kindergarten shows, I’m super happy.

PopHorror: Just one last question for you today, Gigi. What is your favorite scary movie?

Gigi Saul Guerrero: That’s such a good question! I think I have a different answer every time, but definitely on my top, I love this movie. I think I’m going to have to go with… Okay, can I say two?

PopHorror: Of course!

Gigi Saul Guerrero: Okay, I’m going to say two. One’s foreign, and one’s in English, so it doesn’t count, so I’m good. One of my most favorite foreign films is the Spanish one, REC. REC, it’s awesome. Love it. It’s my favorite found footage film too. I’m going to have to say the horror movie that started it all for me in film school was Devil’s Rejects.

Thank you so much, Gigi, for taking the time to speak with us. You can catch Bingo Hell on Amazon Prime now!