We enjoyed the new New Zealand horror movie The Irrefutable Truth About Demons so much that we tracked down its director, Glenn Standring, and interviewed him half a globe away by the wonders of the internet:


Where did the original inspiration for TITA Demons come from, and how has the story changed through the development process?

It's always a hard question to say where the inspiration for a movie, or indeed anything, comes from. But I can give you some key indicators.

Several of the scenes/ideas in Demons came from dreams - or should I say nightmares? - I've had. And when I watch Demons, I have the strong feeling that I'm watching the descent of the hero into a waking nightmare, where reality begins to become twisted out of shape. As part of my research for the film I delved into the world of the insane; reading diaries written by schizophrenics, describing what it was like to go insane. What struck me about so many of the accounts was that what they went through, the progressive distortion of reality, was not so far removed from what all of us have felt at one time or another, whether drug induced or just induced by living. And I was struck by the horror of the process, the slow loss of control, that descent into a whole other way of experiencing reality.

I have to say that several movies were in my mind when I was writing. The Cabinet Of Dr Caligari is one, Angel Heart is another. After I'd written the first draft I sat back and thought of what the script reminded me of. And it struck me that in many ways this movie was an unconscious homage to the work of Jacques Tourneur, especially Curse Of The Demon.

The script did change once we got into the production process. We had a week long rehearsal period with the actors prior to the shoot and I found this honed down the film somewhat and improved it greatly. ... My storyboards were in no way unrealistic to begin with! Then it becomes compromise time. And then it surely becomes a case of making quality compromises. It's quality that's the key word. It comes down to how smart you and your team are... in the middle of the night, when it's raining and the demons are watching you.


What aspects of the film do you think are distinctly New Zealand, and have its NZ origins been an advantage or disadvantage on the global market?

Personally, I was not interested in making a specifically NZ film at all. It just doesn't interest me. I am a New Zealander, making films in New Zealand. That for me is enough. I'm more interested in telling a story that is universal and doesn't base it's essential storyline on being New Zealand. For example, I love Videodrome by David Cronenberg. It's a Canadian film, set in Toronto, but does that matter? No, not really. There is no doubt that it's very difficult to promote and sell New Zealand films in the market place. Let's face it, there are lots of good films out there and why should anyone specifically go and see a New Zealand film? For the landscape? Well, fine, but that's not really the type of films I want to make. I'm more interested in the imagination, in the inside of people's heads.

Having said that, I do think there are elements or symbols in the story that are New Zealand in origin. The city where I live, Wellington, at night, in the rain, has always inspired me. This is apparent I think in Demons. And New Zealand's insects. Oh yeah, I love them.


The catalogue for the Edinburgh Film Festival describes the film as "schlock horror ... with tongue firmly in cheek ... will have audiences laughing as much as hiding under their seats." This contrasts with what I saw in Cannes, which seemed to be a pretty intense horror movie. Which interpretation is correct, or is it a mixture of the two?

I do actually think it's a mixture. There is humour in this movie and not all of it overt. There is irony in it and some gags. But it's a pretty dark humour. For me, the movie is fun. Dark, dark fun.


From what I recall, it's never made completely clear whether the demons are real or part of Harry's imagination. Did you set out to make supernatural horror or psychological horror, or something that sits in that middling "edgewhere" subgenre which could be either/both?

I don't want to set up a pattern here of fence sitting, but actually both. I wanted this movie to be seen by people who would come out going, "Yeah, demons are real" or at least consider the possibility that there might be other ways of looking at the universe and reality rather than just our logical western point of view. But then I also wanted those very same people to sit down and have a beer with someone else who goes, "No no no, it's about a guy going crazy, being driven crazy by this cult." Partially this comes out of my own feelings on the matter. Part of me believes in dark forces, something behind you when you're taking a pee; that sense that there is something, just out of shot, watching us, patiently. While another bit of me doesn't believe at all; this is the trained archaeologist part of me that goes, "No no, demons are just a metaphor for our fears and our guilt."


Where has the film been released so far (or what festivals has it screened) and what has the response been?

We have now signed releases (both theatrical and video) in the US, Spain, Portugal, Benelux, France, Japan, Korea, Canada, Mexico, India, Iceland. There are plenty more coming, including the motherland, the dear old UK.


The film has been invited to many festivals, but the major ones so far are Toronto (Midnight Madness), Sitges and San Sebastian in Spain.

In an interview in a Cannes trade mag, you said you had to make "massive compromises." What were those compromises, and if you were given the chance to remake the film with a huge Hollywood budget, would you do so, or is the low budget integral to its appeal and success?

Um, there's never enough money is there? Let's just say that I had six weeks to shoot the whole thing and that another week or two would have been good. Actually, it would have been great. But I have to say that this movie was designed to be an essentially low budget picture and that many of my favourite movies are what would be considered B-grade low budget films by the mainstream.