Last year, Ben Wheatley snuck out of lockdown and decided to make a horror film, “In the Earth.” Now, months later, he’s ready to share his new indie feature with the world. On this episode of The Playlist Podcast, Charles Barfield, Mike DeAngelo, and Brian Farvour spend some time talking films with Ben Wheatley, the writer-director of the new pandemic horror film, “In the Earth.”
Ben Wheatley is an acclaimed filmmaker that is preparing the release of his latest film, “In the Earth,” which hits theaters this week. Previously, he is the director behind incredible films such as “Kill List,” “Sightseers,” “High-Rise,” and “Free Fire.” But the main discussion point in the interview is in fact “In the Earth,” a film that he conceived, wrote, and directed during the lockdown. And as you might expect, a pandemic doesn’t just play a role in the narrative, but the film, itself, feels incredibly contemporary, which is something Wheatley feels is important for the horror genre.
“Most of the films I’ve made have been contemporary set and use whatever news is happening at the time as part of that,” said Wheatley. “And that’s something I got from very early, reading interviews with George Romero and people like that. And they say, ‘Horror reflects the period you live in.’ And all the essays are always about that, you know?”
READ MORE: ‘In the Earth’: A Pandemic Puzzler from Ben Wheatley [Sundance Review]
He added, “So that seemed like the most natural thing to do. To make something about the moment. The moment destroyed any other scripts I had. Nothing made any sense that was written before the pandemic because the pandemic is so massive and our experiences have to be reflected in whatever drama is happening going forward.”
But we don’t just talk “In the Earth.” We also spend time talking about his next feature, a sequel to the fan-favorite action film, “The Meg,” which stars Jason Statham. And though Wheatley’s name might have surprised people when it was announced he would direct “The Meg 2,” the filmmaker chose the project due to the simplest, most understandable reasons.
READ MORE: Ben Wheatley To Direct ‘The Meg 2’ Shark Sequel With Jason Statham
“What drew me to [the sequel] is ‘The Meg,’” he said. “I watched ‘The Meg’ and I really liked it. And then everyone I talk to really likes ‘The Meg.’”
Wheatley continued, “When it came across my desk, it’s like why wouldn’t I want to do this? It’s brilliant. And also, it’s the chance to do massive, massive action and to work with [Jason] Statham. Those two things together were enough.”
And talking about projects that he has on his slate, the filmmaker talks about why scheduling conflicts and the pandemic screwed up his plan to direct “Tomb Raider 2.” But that hasn’t soured him on the idea of a video game film. Not at all.
“I still want to make a ‘Doom’ film though,” he admitted. “I know it’s been done, but come on! Or ‘Counter-Strike,’ that would be the one I’d like to make.”
As for the future, post-“The Meg 2,” there’s a lot of options for where Wheatley might go next.
“I wrote a couple of other horror things,” he said. “We almost shot another one. We were going to do another one, but we ran out of time to do one before ‘The Meg,’ which is a shame. And I wrote a cowboy film, but that’s based on the song, ‘John Barleycorn Must Die.’”
Make sure you check out “In The Earth,” when it arrives in theaters on April 16, via NEON. You can hear our full discussion with Wheatley below:
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Here’s the trailer for “In the Earth”: