Honestly, when you're writing you try to stay on the story, on the character's mind, trying to throw stuff at them. There is danger, and the scares have to kick in the right places with the drama. And you try not to do too much to try to create those moments. Those moments create themselves.
Fede AlvarezOnly really good comedies and really good horror movies get a verbal response out of the audience. People will scream. People will laugh.
Fede AlvarezIf you think about it, a lot of great horror films have bad sequels just because the market demands you to make the other one right away.
Fede AlvarezDefinitely my favorite cut is the one that got put out. That's my favorite version of the film, the one that I put in theaters. That's my directors cut, there's no question about it.
Fede AlvarezWhen you're a director you always feel weird with another director watching over your shoulder.
Fede AlvarezIn another life, I would love to be the art guy - a production designer or a maybe even a composer.
Fede AlvarezI think violence in movies, for it to work, you have to use it smartly. People get numb very fast. If you have too much violence in the beginning, it gets to a point where you don't feel it.
Fede AlvarezI don't want to spoon-feed the audience, like, "This is the funny guy, this is one you hate, this is the one you like." A lot of movies do that. They don't really give you a choice. They show you the jock, and he's an idiot, and everybody has to hate him. You have no choice.
Fede AlvarezI love just about every aspect of the filmmaking except acting. I would never be able to do that, but the rest I really enjoy.
Fede AlvarezI need to create a whole cinematic experience. I think that's what it takes to get the audience to the theater and justify seeing [a movie] on a big screen. You have to give them a cinematic experience.
Fede AlvarezFor me it sounds weird saying that the filmmakers respect the film. I don't imagine that there's other ways to make a film, but unfortunately there is.
Fede AlvarezI like to get the audiences cozy in their seats, feeling safe, and suddenly they'll be shocked out of their minds.
Fede AlvarezThat's kind of my ideal sequel - a movie that continues the story, takes one character and moves on, and moves forward with that character that survived with the first one.
Fede AlvarezIn my everyday life, I can be as square as I want. But when it comes to movies and telling stories, I can't. I've got to be radical, and on some level, that's what I like to do.
Fede AlvarezThere's so much stuff going on behind the cameras. Sometimes people think these things are done certain ways and when you watch that you see how hard and down and dirty it was.
Fede AlvarezComedy is all about the joke. Comedies usually don't do anything fancy with the camera [or] the lighting. It doesn't matter. It should never be fancy.
Fede AlvarezI've seen a lot of movies that were great and scary, but not particularly fancy in their filmmaking or performance. And they're still scary, and I think a good horror movie should be scary above all things.
Fede AlvarezAs a storyteller, when you're writing a movie and when you're directing, you want to keep people entertained. That's the whole point, right? It has to be entertaining.
Fede AlvarezIn general I think the inspiration was to think about all those movies that I saw as a kid and never knew they were remakes, because I know there's probably another kid going to watch Evil Dead who has no idea.
Fede AlvarezWhat some of the early horror genre masters knew, and what I know, is that the audience are perverts, but in the best possible way.
Fede AlvarezI always say that I am a big fan of films but I am an even bigger fan of the filmmaking craft.
Fede AlvarezA good horror movie - it doesn't matter how many comedy horror films there have been before. Doesn't matter how much you think it's going to be funny. A good horror movie will scare the hell out of you... the moment you sit down and you start being exposed to that story, it's going to freeze your blood.
Fede AlvarezI really don't like to go for the stereotypes. I try to give you characters that you don't know until you get to know them, and [decide] how you should feel about them.
Fede AlvarezYou don't see a wonderful shot in a comedy. Why? Because they don't want to distract you from what matters, which is the joke. It has to be funny, so usually all the things in the background don't matter.
Fede AlvarezI take things from everywhere, and I still haven't figured out where I took [some things] from.
Fede AlvarezSci-fi is definitely something that I've been wanting to do again since Panic Attack and I want to do it on a feature scale.
Fede AlvarezAs a director, there is nothing more fun than seeing an audience screaming and jumping. You are the ultimate puppet master, controlling the emotions of the audience.
Fede AlvarezUsually you always see first cut is an extended version, because it's basically everything you shot, and you have that version and then you start cutting stuff out.
Fede AlvarezMaybe because I'm a child of the 80's, but for me a sequel is a story that follows the previous one, and sometimes if you haven't seen the original then you don't understand the second one.
Fede AlvarezEvery day I spend in Hollywood I start to realize how many films are made with no heart and no love. They just do it for the paycheck and I cannot imagine making a film that way.
Fede AlvarezThere's always a tone that you have to hit right in horror. With the blood, you want to make sure that it makes sense all along.
Fede AlvarezYou can make a film with a phone and a computer if you want, if you have the time. So it's a world that is saturated with films and all kind of stuff, so it's such a blessing to be able to make a film and people care, and even if they say that it's a bad idea, at least they care and they're talking about it.
Fede Alvarez