Originally from San Antonio, the mind behind Wolf Hollow, Mark Cantu, now calls Pittsburgh home. This amazing writer/director caught the eye of Horror Nation with his brilliant slasher Massacre Academy. Horror Nation speaks with Mr. Cantu about all things Werewolf!
HN: What is your favorite Werewolf film?
MC: It’s actually surprising that I don’t have more love for American Werewolf in London. A lot of people are surprised by that because it’s such a groundbreaking film in terms of practical fx work, but I don’t think John Landis is all that great a director. I’m actually more of a fan of The Howling because it has a much more gothic and surreal atmosphere. To me, the monsters are just the icing on the cake. At the end of the day, you still have to tell a great story and I think Joe Dante does it better than Landis. Having said that, I think Silver Bullet and Wolfen are vastly underrated classic werewolf films. But contemporary werewolves don’t get much better than Werewolves Within and Dog Soldiers.
HN: If you could direct any horror film from the past, which film would that be?
MC: Honestly, I would love to remake The Monster Squad. It’s definitely more in keeping with my aesthetic and sensibilities. It’s a classic from my childhood, but I really do think audiences can take a lot more now than back in 1987. If you look at a film like IT, that’s a pretty scary horror film about kids fighting a monster. So I genuinely feel modern audiences could take a thrill ride like that about kids taking on monsters like Dracula, the Wolfman and the Mummy.
HN: From the horror genre only, who is your biggest influence as a director?
MC: Honestly, I would say it’s a virtual tie between William Friedkin and John Carpenter. The Exorcist stands head and shoulders above everyone in terms of giving an audience an unrelenting and bleak experience, while Carpenter is just an auteur that leaves a definite stamp on every single film he directs. I’m a huge fan of Carpenter’s shot composition in The Thing and They Live specifically. He definitely knows how to relay information to his audience in a widescreen image, which I’ve tried to mimic quite a bit.
HN: The creature designs in Wolf Hollow are fantastic. Can you tell us a little bit about how you came up with the werewolf look, and what it was like working with Midnight Studios?
MC: So funny story: the large Wolf suit that we use towards the end of the film is one of their more famous designs and it looks absolutely beautiful. We got the suit, and the initial idea was to use that suit for all of our wolves and just have them look similar. Then about four months before principal photography, we had the fortune of having more capital injected into the production. Right about the same time, Midnight Studios let us know they had just designed a brand new wolf they hadn’t released to the general public yet. SO as luck would have it, the secondary wolf design we have in the film is a brand new design no one has ever used before. We loved that design from their shop because it looked absolutely vicious and reminded me of the wolves in The Howling. That exact silhouette was what I had in mind while writing the film.
HN: You pull some iconic performers in your films. What is it like working with someone like Lynne Lowry? Is it hard to not get star struck?
MC: First and foremost, Lynn is an absolute national f*&cking treasure and should be treated as such. It’s definitely a process where you have to remind yourself to snap out of it when you’re working with Lynn, Felissa Rose and Hannah Fierman. But there comes a point where you realize it’s just about the work you’re all there to do and you just sort of have to get on with the day. You also realize immediately that iconic performers like that are there to push you into your best work, so you have to come prepared and ready for any questions or ideas they may have. Even with Lynn’s character on one of her last days, as we are driving to set, she’s pitching additional ideas that are way better than anything I’ve ever written. That’s when you know they’ve done so much homework with these characters you’ve written and they’re just as invested as you are in the material. You’ve hired immensely talented icons like that, and you sort of have to just turn on the camera and let them loose because they’re going to give you more than you ever dreamed of.
HN: Recently, Terrifier 2 pulled in twelve-million off a two-hundred-fifty-thousand budget. Skinamarink pulled in two-million from a fifteen-thousand-dollar budget. What do you attribute to the recent rise of independent horror getting some massive numbers in theaters?
MC: I hear so much talk about movie theaters are going to die off now that Netflix, Disney Plus, and other platforms are taking off and I think it is such bullshit. Movies are our church. We go for the communal experience of being in the dark with strangers and feeling the exact same thing. They said the exact same thing when TV was invented and it forced filmmakers to become creative and improve the movie going experience. So there will be another evolution in that process here pretty soon. Horror is also a genre that literally lets us confront death in a very tangible way and then come out of it safe at the end, so that catharsis will never be replaced. As people, we need those life experiences whether it’s roller coasters, movie theaters or any other experience.
HN: Do you have a sequel planned for Wolf Hollow?
MC: Depending on who in the cast you ask, that’s a firm yes or no. I’ve had cast members pitch me the idea that the next film needs to include biker werewolves and it should be called Wolf Hollow 2: Howl’s Angels. I’m on the fence on that one, but dammit it’s silly enough to just work! But honestly, I do have an idea of the next chapter in the Wolf Hollow saga. It just depends on how successful this one is. If I get the chance, I’ve absolutely got an idea that will help reunite the gang…or should I say Wolfpack!
Get your 1st edition copy of what will be the Werewolf film of the year!