It's a combination of yes - making a movie about the characters - and then, also, budget.

It definitely could have been a horror story [Valley of Violence], oh my God, if the dog was impossible. So could the horses.

I always talk about movies a lot beforehand, and then we would get there, and I'd say, "Let's play around and see how it goes." And they would do it, and I'd go, "Well, that was awesome." It was really - I don't know, it was really special to watch them.

I don't go to see movies to see plots. I'm not interested in puzzles like an Agatha Christie story.

From a performance standpoint, it just gives [actors] so much - I had such a great cast [ in Valley of Violence] - and it gives them the ability to go wild with it and to have performances that are memorable.

I don't think you want to preach to people. I don't think In A Valley Of Violence, and the same with The Sacrament, there's a social commentary and a political element to both the films, but it's not like, "Think this because I think this."

We can't make a giant sprawling movie. We're going to make a small movie. And what we got is what I could get, performance-wise.