IR Interview: Krsy Fox & Spider One For "Little Bites" [RJLE/Shudder]

The Inside Reel

Star/Producer Krsy Fox & Writer/Director Spider One talk to The Inside Reel about approach, claustrophobia, intent and tone in regards to their new horror film from RJLE: “Little Bites” premiering on Shudder.

Transcript

00:00🎵

00:13Are you hungry?

00:18Here, see?

00:21You underestimate me.

00:25Mom!

00:26Mom!

00:29No need to be afraid.

00:34Atmosphere is such a key thing.

00:36Both in performance, but in style.

00:39And this film has both.

00:41But can you talk about the balance?

00:43Obviously, Spider with the balance of visual and performance.

00:48But then, you know, Chris.

00:50Is it Chris? Or is it...

00:52Chrissy.

00:53Chrissy.

00:54With that, you know, it's also taking into account

00:58what you both wanted to build

01:00and bringing that into the character.

01:02Sure.

01:03Yeah, you're right.

01:04I mean, for this movie in particular,

01:06it's atmosphere and tone.

01:08I mean, that was the intent from the outset.

01:11I mean, a lot of crazy things happened in this movie.

01:14But it really was about creating an atmosphere of dread.

01:22And, you know, sort of hopefully letting that sort of

01:25just sink into the audience member

01:28and really feel a sense of, like, anxiety

01:32to escape this situation.

01:35This poor woman is in Mindy.

01:37And, yeah, certainly that atmosphere

01:40translates to performance

01:41and the approach that we took with all the characters.

01:44There's a certain thoughtful pace to the dialogue.

01:50And, you know, we described it as, like,

01:52everyone's sort of thinking before they speak

01:56and not necessarily saying what they actually mean, right?

01:58Because everyone's trying to sort of get out of this scenario.

02:01Certainly Mindy is.

02:02So, yeah, I appreciate you noticing that.

02:05And I'll let Chrissy speak for the actual performance.

02:10Yeah, I think, you know, when it came to the atmosphere

02:13and just, like, I think the space did a lot

02:15because especially specifically my character,

02:18she constantly is very angry or afraid

02:22or heartbroken and sad,

02:24but she's always trying to hold it inside.

02:26And it was really fun as an actor

02:29because you get to really take your time.

02:31And before, like, you know,

02:32responding to the other, your scene partner,

02:34you get to, like, be thoughtful

02:36and you can let a lot of emotions and thoughts

02:38go through your head and hopefully comes off on screen.

02:41And it's almost like what she doesn't say

02:44means more than what she does say.

02:46And I think that that was really fun.

02:48Because, you know, a lot of times in horror movies,

02:50it's like people are screaming and crying

02:52and it's very surface.

02:53And I think, like, a lot of her emotion is still there,

02:56but it's being held back constantly

02:58like you would in real life

02:59if, you know, you're going through a struggle

03:01like she was going through.

03:03Do you believe in God?

03:05I think you must.

03:08Because you believe in me.

03:11I love you, baby.

03:12I love you too, Mom.

03:15What's that?

03:17Dinner bell.

03:21I bet you're a wonderful mother.

03:25Mom!

03:29Jesus, Mindy.

03:30Are you all right?

03:31You hear her too, right?

03:32It's not just me.

03:33Mom, what's wrong with you?

03:36It turns out monsters are real.

03:40And there's one downstairs.

03:43But also, the fact is,

03:44your scene partner, Aguilar,

03:47is a different thing

03:48because it's about the control versus chaos.

03:52Yes.

03:53But it's internal chaos.

03:54And you can see her going through it.

03:56Can you talk about finding that psychology

03:58of this person who wants to get away

04:00keeps getting pulled back.

04:02And of course, I won't get away at the end,

04:04but it sort of plays into her.

04:06Yeah, I mean,

04:07it was very, in a way,

04:09easy for me to relate to the character

04:11because I would do anything for my own daughter.

04:13And so, you know,

04:14if I was put in that situation,

04:16I probably would do the very same thing Mindy does.

04:19So, you know,

04:20there is a deep sadness

04:22that I had to get myself to.

04:24And I kind of stayed in it through the whole shoot

04:26because it wasn't like my character

04:28was having these light-hearted moments

04:30where she's like,

04:31I don't want to do this.

04:32I don't want to do this.

04:33I don't want to do this.

04:34My character was having these light-hearted moments.

04:36It happened very, very rarely in the film.

04:39So, yeah,

04:40it was just like kind of keeping myself

04:42in that head space.

04:43And it was interesting

04:44because I constantly had supporting characters

04:46coming in and having different interactions

04:49and having different people

04:50throwing different things at me

04:51that really like I allowed it

04:54to just be a very like honest response

04:56and an honest performance.

04:58And certainly with the monster,

05:00you know, it's scary.

05:01Being in a dark room

05:02and you basically feel like you're by yourself.

05:04I couldn't even see the camera most of the time.

05:06So it was very much like this one-on-one

05:09and I didn't want him to touch me.

05:11I didn't want him to put his teeth in me.

05:13Like, you know what I mean?

05:14Even as a human,

05:16I just, all I wanted to do,

05:17my body is telling me to get out of there

05:19and to leave and I couldn't.

05:20So even as an actor,

05:22I kind of, my head space

05:23was the same as my character's

05:25where I was just like,

05:26he was saying awful things to me

05:27and hurting my feelings

05:29and touching me at the same time.

05:31And there's nothing worse than that.

05:33You know, when you're upset,

05:34you're like, just don't touch me.

05:35Just leave me.

05:36You know what I mean?

05:37You know how when you were little

05:40and I'd tell you monsters aren't real.

05:44Like if you had a bad dream

05:46or if you got scared at night

05:49or you heard a noise in your room

05:53and I'd tell you everything's fine

05:56and it's okay, right?

05:58Yeah.

06:01I didn't lie to you.

06:03I'd never lie to you.

06:06It just turns out

06:10there's some things even I didn't know.

06:13Like what?

06:15Now, Spider, can you,

06:16going from that,

06:17what Chrissy was saying,

06:18can you talk about

06:19finding that claustrophobia in the frame

06:22but then sort of making sure

06:24that the pace sort of reflects that

06:26because the concept is a very specific one

06:29because it keys to that claustrophobia

06:31and that isolation

06:32but also to a sense of what freedom means.

06:35Yeah.

06:36I mean, it was very much a part

06:37of how we shot this,

06:38how we paced this,

06:39how we framed things.

06:42Intentionally, you know,

06:44certainly at the beginning of the film,

06:48just trying to represent her

06:50sort of isolation or loneliness

06:52by, you know,

06:54it's one thing in a movie

06:55to show someone taking a bite of food,

06:57but it was very important to show

06:59what it feels like to be alone,

07:01you know,

07:02to heat up the noodles,

07:03wait for the microwave to beep,

07:06stand there,

07:07and, you know,

07:08and so this sort of idea

07:09of this sort of like,

07:11you know,

07:12just pulling this tension

07:13to as far as we can

07:15before something breaks that tension

07:17was really important

07:18and that was evident

07:20in the pacing of the dialogue

07:21and, I mean,

07:23it was all very intentional

07:26to hopefully create this feeling of dread

07:30and like you said,

07:31claustrophobic,

07:33you know,

07:34she had mentioned not even being able

07:35to see the camera.

07:36I mean, I think that is like

07:37where the performance

07:38has really begun to ring true.

07:40A lot of times actors

07:41will tell you about a scene,

07:42well, it's acting, you know,

07:44you're surrounded by a million people

07:46and it never quite feels real,

07:48but in this instance,

07:49it really was just the two of them

07:51in this dark room

07:52and yes, there was a camera there,

07:53but they're in darkness.

07:55So I think it really allowed

07:57Chrissy and John

07:58to have these really unique,

08:01honest moments

08:03in their performances.

08:09This is going to sound crazy,

08:13but it turns out

08:15monsters are real.

08:19Mom.

08:21And there's one downstairs.

08:25Was there a certain methodology

08:27that you wanted,

08:28that you took in terms of like

08:30either letting them perform

08:32in the frame

08:34or pulling back

08:35because that sort of,

08:36yeah, that setting

08:37as Chrissy was saying,

08:38allowed her to really sort of feel

08:40that sort of emptiness,

08:42you know,

08:43in certain ways I would think.

08:44I mean, on a technical level,

08:46it was very specific

08:47with how we lit the monster,

08:49you know,

08:50it was very much inspired by

08:52Marlon Brando in Apocalypse Now,

08:54you know,

08:55where it was very mysterious.

08:58You'd get a glimpse

08:59of the top of his head

09:00or the side of his face.

09:01And so we took this approach

09:03with the monster

09:04to sort of slowly reveal more

09:06until finally at the end of the movie,

09:08you see full body,

09:09there he is,

09:10that's what he looks like.

09:11And, you know,

09:12I wanted it to,

09:13you know,

09:14I mean,

09:15I think there's,

09:16you know,

09:17there's always a balance

09:18when you're doing prosthetics

09:19and a monster

09:20to not give away too much

09:23or not,

09:24but also be confident

09:25in your creation

09:26that you are showing it.

09:28So, yeah,

09:29we really took a,

09:30it was,

09:31you know,

09:32it was,

09:33it seems quite simple,

09:34you know,

09:35but it was kind of a challenge

09:36to,

09:37cause one inch this way

09:38ruins the shot,

09:39one inch that way,

09:40it's gone,

09:41you know,

09:42so,

09:43yeah,

09:44that was a big part

09:45of the look

09:46of the whole thing.

09:47Yeah.

09:52My meal.

09:57I don't eat the dead.

10:02He's not dead.

10:05Yeah.

10:06At least,

10:07I don't,

10:08I don't think he's dead.

10:12You haven't thought this through.

10:17No.

10:21No.

10:25But it's also,

10:26you know,

10:27it's interesting,

10:28you see,

10:29Chrissy,

10:30with your character,

10:31you see her

10:32in moments of joy

10:33and moments of sadness,

10:34and then it's interesting,

10:35especially in the scenes

10:37like with Chaz,

10:38I mean,

10:39it's where,

10:40whether she's sort of believing

10:42what she's doing

10:43or not believing,

10:44could you talk about

10:45that sort of

10:46irony,

10:47that dichotomy

10:48of the character

10:49where she's in between

10:50at the same time?

10:51Yeah,

10:52I mean,

10:53I think those scenes,

10:54in particular,

10:55the ones with Chaz,

10:56like,

10:57you know,

10:58she feels like,

10:59oh,

11:00you know,

11:01I need to put makeup on

11:02and seduce somebody,

11:03but she has no idea

11:04how to do that anymore,

11:05you know what I mean?

11:06She's been living

11:07in this disgusting

11:08environment alone,

11:09and her husband is,

11:10you know,

11:11dead,

11:12and it's been very,

11:13you know,

11:14challenging for her,

11:15but what she's saying

11:16to Chaz's character,

11:17she's actually talking

11:18about herself,

11:19even though it totally

11:20related to him

11:21and it seemed as though,

11:22you know,

11:23she's trying to connect

11:24with him,

11:25which she was,

11:26but it's almost like

11:27everything that came out

11:28of her mouth was true.

11:29It was just,

11:30and so,

11:31like,

11:32you know,

11:33when you think about

11:34just the conversation

11:35of,

11:36you know,

11:37how many people

11:38you walk past every day

11:39that you don't notice,

11:40you don't pay attention to,

11:41it sort of was her

11:42and how people didn't,

11:43people just passed judgment

11:44and maybe she needed help,

11:45and,

11:46you know,

11:47and then when she,

11:48he comes back home with her

11:49and,

11:50you know,

11:51she's talking about

11:52how she doesn't really

11:53have any friends

11:54and,

11:55you know,

11:56maybe he could be her friend.

11:57I think,

11:58honestly,

11:59just that company

12:00she had with him

12:01for those few minutes

12:02was important to her.

12:03She hasn't had that,

12:04you know,

12:05her daughter's been gone

12:06and so I think that

12:07that was sort of

12:08really fun

12:09and also Chaz and I

12:10are such close friends.

12:11Getting to make him

12:12that incredibly uncomfortable

12:13and it was,

12:14it was so much fun.

12:15He was so good.

12:16He could not have been

12:17better cast in that role.

12:44Well,

12:45even in the darkest elements,

12:46you have to find humor.

12:47You have to find that humanity,

12:48even when the humanity is leaving.

12:49Exactly.

12:50Could you talk about that?

12:51Could you talk about that balance?

12:52You know,

12:53Spider,

12:54you,

12:55you too.

12:56I mean,

12:57because the,

12:58the aspect is that

12:59there is that aspect

13:00of awkwardness

13:01that really sort of adds to it.

13:02Yeah,

13:03I mean,

13:04I think that scene in particular

13:05was a,

13:06is a well needed,

13:07I mean,

13:08I,

13:09I wouldn't go as far as saying

13:10it's a comedic moment,

13:11but it certainly,

13:12no,

13:13no,

13:14in,

13:15in tone where you,

13:16you know,

13:17we realized recently

13:18revisiting this movie,

13:19how heavy it is

13:20and how dark it gets.

13:21And I think that moment

13:22in particular is,

13:23even though the,

13:24the,

13:25I won't get into it.

13:26It's a pressure,

13:27it's a pressure valve.

13:28You got to let out the air

13:29just a little bit.

13:30Yeah.

13:31So that is,

13:32that was a,

13:33like really central,

13:34important,

13:35as was the,

13:36a following scene

13:37a little bit later in the movie

13:38with Heather Langenkamp,

13:40which is a sense of hope

13:42and light that,

13:44you know,

13:45I think that as dark

13:46as this movie is

13:47and as dreadful

13:48as the scenario,

13:50anyone who sees the movie

13:51is certainly,

13:52hopefully if they're paying attention

13:53going to,

13:54to realize that there is

13:57a hope and survival

13:59in the dire circumstances.

14:01And myself,

14:02I'm,

14:03I tend to always,

14:04I'm never,

14:05I tend not to be

14:06an everyone dies kind of guy.

14:07I always liked the sense of

14:08that somebody can win.

14:09Somebody can win.

14:10Somebody can triumph.

14:11I'm the opposite.

14:12So,

14:14kill them all.

14:16Well,

14:17cause that,

14:18I mean,

14:19horror films have to have

14:20something for everybody

14:21and that's what this does.

14:23You wouldn't believe

14:24some of the things

14:25that we see.

14:26What's that?

14:28Just give me the girl.

14:30You won't have Alice.

14:32But if I find you

14:33something else to eat.

14:39AVAILABLE NOW

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