One of the more impressive debut efforts of the past few years, Jordan Graham's Sator was a chilling folk-horror effort graced with plenty of solid commentary on the effects of aging and dementia wrapped together into a wholly enjoyable effort. Now, in honor of its release on the streaming service Shudder, I talk with him about getting into the business, his directorial process and the filming of the movie.
Me: Hello and thank you for taking the time to do this. First off, where did you get the urge to go into directing?
Jordan Graham: Thank you! I was 13 and visiting my cousins in Tucson, AZ where one of them was making a short film for a school project. I thought it was so cool to see, so then I asked my other cousin if he wanted to make something while the camera was available to use. We gathered props, a tripod that we had never used, a cardboard monkey mask (which you can see hung up in the cabin in Sator), and went out into the desert to shoot a short film about an evil monkey. We screened the film that night to my family, and a jump scare literally made my aunt jump. From that moment, I knew filmmaking is what I wanted to dedicate my life to. Now, 21 years later, I feel like my work is just starting to get out there.
Me: Were you always into genre films growing up? What films specifically got you into watching horror movies?
JG: No, I wasn’t into genre films, specifically horror, at all. Actually, I was terrified to watch them. When The Descent came out in 2005, I was too afraid to go with my friends in the theater and waited outside for them until the movie finished. But I got to appreciate them as I was starting to make horror films myself and now the opposite has happened. I have a hard time finding any film that scares me at all. There’s only a handful that genuinely gets to me, like The Blair Witch Project, Eraserhead, The Shining, Funny Games, REC, Salo, Martyrs, and The Exorcist.
Me: Having worked on various aspects of film production, do you have any particular preference for working on any?
JG: Directing and editing are what I prefer to do. The visuals are important to me as well and I’m quite particular on how I want things to look, but I wouldn’t mind working with a seasoned cinematographer who can get the look I’m going for.
Me: Not just writing and directing, but also being involved in multiple areas including camera work, special effects, and sound department, was it challenging for you to be involved in various capacities at once on a project like your newest film "Sator?" How do you balance those priorities during a shoot?
JG: It was very challenging and also extremely tedious, which is why it took me seven years to complete the film. When I was building the cabin, I began to panic realizing how much I was going to have to do later on in this project. So I told myself from that moment on to take it one step at a time and eventually it will get done.
Me: Where did the inspiration for the film come from? Were there any unique stories about its conception?
JG: The main inspiration came from my grandmother, who also stars in the film. In 1968, she came in possession of a Ouija board where she summoned the entity “Sator” along with many other voices. During an improvisational scene, my grandmother decided to share her experiences with the voices in her head and I knew I had something unique. So after that, I attempted to incorporate as much of her true story into the film as I could.
Me: Given the huge folk horror undertones present in the film, were you drawn to other films of the style while writing it?
JG: Two films that heavily inspired Sator with folklore undertones were The Blair Witch Project and the first season of True Detective, which to me is just an 8-hour film. But when my grandmother became the driving influence, I was more focused on just telling her story and making it work for the film.
Me: With a cast of experienced and talented indie actors, how did you settle on the cast getting involved in the film?
JG: All the cast members except for Wendy Taylor have been my friends for years. Michael Daniel (Pete) has been one of my closest friends since I was 13 and has been acting in my projects ever since I met him. For this project, I just wanted a cast of people who I am comfortable with and know exactly what their capabilities are.
Me: What was the set like while shooting the film? How did the cast and crew react to the type of film being made?
JG: The set was very low key since most of the time it was just myself with one or two of the actors. There was no crew. The actors were all so used to working with me and how minimal my films are that they didn’t have much of a reaction. It was just another one of my projects to them I imagine.
Me: Do you recall having any odd or funny on-set stories about yourself or any of the other cast/crew members?
JG: The funniest story I can think of is when I was getting sound with the death whistle. I went high up into the mountains so I could get a nice echo through the valley. This whistle basically sounds something like a screaming, dying animal and a horrifying creature call. As I was making these noises, I didn’t realize there was a house right below me and saw a car backing out of the driveway. The car drives up the hill and pulls beside me. The woman driving looked mortified while her kids in the backseat were crying. She asked if I heard that sound. I told her it was just me making noises with a death whistle for a film project, but she was still so in shock that she couldn't comprehend what I was saying. I showed her the death whistle and she calmed down a little. She told me the noises freaked out her dogs, made her kids cry, and since she thought it was a dying animal, she was going to come and put it out of its misery. She then pulled out a massive knife.
Me: Lastly, what else are you working on that you'd like to share with our readers? Thank you again for your time!
JG: I have two screenplays I would love to get made one day. The first one is influenced by the child abductions that happened throughout Belgium in the 1990s. The screenplay I'm currently writing is about an impossibly long shipping container with a cosmic horror-like feel. Hopefully this time around, I’ll find people who would like to work with me because I’ll never make another film on my own. And thank you for the questions!
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