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

I've done it with all my films. I always keep an eye on the first time I show it because... I don't know. Neurosis.

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

I do think, even though I've made these genre movies, there's what happens in the movie and then there's what the movie's about. And for me, what the movie's about is so much more interesting.

I don't generally watch the movie [ The House Of The Devil ]. It's sort of like hearing your voice on tape.

In a traditional Western there's always the bravado, and it's almost like they're winking that they know they're in a Western - "Look how good I can spin my gun." In real life, when the bad guy kills somebody, or they're bad guy friend gets killed, they're upset, too, which is not typical in Westerns.

There are people - I think this is why there are so many commercial directors doing well in big studio movies, for whom it's not a personal choice - it's "What's the coolest, most effective way to make them laugh, make them scream?" It's a very calculated approach. And that's different. It's not better or worse. It's just a very different approach to filmmaking. That's always been the case.