Check out the interview with the director of this year's hit, now sold in 83 countries!
Young adults and centuries old creepy castles have always been a great combination. Especially if the script was concocted by Federico Zampaglione, an Italian director that grew up watching Lucio Fulci’s and Claudio Fragasso’s gore films. And if that wasn’t enough, the lead actress is Lauren LaVera, the final girl from Terrifier 2.
Read what Federico has to say about gore movies, VFX and the Italian film industry.
The interview was conducted by Christof Uisk
The Well has been shown at numerous film festivals. How has the reception been so far?
We have been showing The Well in the festival circuit since its world premiere at Sitges in October 2023. The film has generated a lot of interest in the horror community, with so many great reviews and a lot of love by the fans. The result of all this is that The Well has been sold to 83 countries. This is an amazing result that I can't be prouder of.
If I think about Italian gore, much of it is old-school stuff, like Fulci’s Zombi movies and of course, City of the Living Dead. Do you know if film makers still had an interest in making them, but it just became more difficult to finance films of that genre?
Making an Italian horror film today is very difficult because our industry is more oriented to comedies and dramas. The goriest it is… the more difficult it is to make, of course. But I truly love this genre and I' m doing my best to bring my personal vision of Italian horror to the world. I love the Italian Masters but I' m working hard on my own style. I like to mix old and new stuff.
Where did your interest come anyway, seeing as it is the first gore movie you’ve made?
The Well is probably my goriest film. Shadow and Tulpa, two other horror titles that I made, were a bit gory but actually more atmospheric than bloody.
With this one I wanted to punch the audience right in the face with some real nasty moments. If you like the gore... I think you will have a very good time watching The Well.
The gore effects are amazing. There are quite a few shots that will stick with me for a while. Did you visualise the gore as you were writing the screenplay or did those grotesque details get refined as you discussed it with the artist?
The majority of the gory moments were written in the screenplay, but some of those have been created after some very creative talks with our amazing effects wizard Carlo Diamantini. This guy's a real force of nature when it comes to practical effects.
How would you compare working with practical vs digital effects?
I love the practical ones. They look way more real and they will last so much longer. I tend to use CGI just for very limited episodes or maybe to reinforce a bit the practical ones.
Exactly, I recently rewatched Carpenter’s The Thing and I was once again blown away by how good the effects still look, over 40 years later. What have been some of your favourite horror films (not exclusively gore)?
I grew up with all the Italian classics of the 70s and 80s. My favourite Italian horror director is Lucio FULCI by the way. He' s the one who has inspired me the most. But I also like recent independent flicks that are experimenting with new forms of terror, trying to get to a whole new level (X, Pearl, Speak No Evil, Late Night with the Devil, Talk To Me, etc.)
Do you have a personal connection with Sambuci? I assume the mansion is actually there, right?
I heard that the mansion in Sambuci was haunted for real, so I thought it was perfect for a sick film like mine.
If you could tell our audience in Haapsalu one sentence to draw them to watch this movie, what would it be?
Hey folks, are you ready for a real bloodbath? If so... just jump into this fucking well!
