All Light Will End is an upcoming psychological horror film from director Chris Blake starring Andy Buckley (Jurassic World) and Sarah Butler (I Spit On Your Grave).
Monkeys Fighting Robots talked with Chris who’s in Nashville working on a new project because the show never stops! We discuss influences, All Light Will End, and a 100-million-dollar fantasy question of epic proportions. Don’t believe me? Read on, readers.
Before Filmmaking
Like everyone, Chris began life as a baby and then became a child. Soon he met a thing called movies, and a passion was born “It [filmmaking] started when I was a kid. It was something I always wanted to do. I have notebooks from when I was six or seven with screenplays I would write. But I didn’t think it was possible. Where I’m from, making movies wasn’t something people really talked about.”
Persistence paid off “I grabbed a camera, made a terrible short film, and kept going from there. Eventually, I convinced people to let me make a feature.”
About All Light Will End
In his own words, Chris describes All Light Will End “A young author is struggling to figure out her way in life. She’s found success in her writing, but things don’t feel right. She goes back to her small hometown for her brother’s graduation, and there happen to be a string of murders that have taken place. And everything unravels.”
How did making this movie take shape? “Originally, when we set out to make the feature … it was a completely different script.”
Inspiration knocked “I had this opening scene in my head. I wasn’t sure where it was going at the time. The scene was great, and I sat down to write it.”
A gut instinct took over “The film had some stars attached … and then, I don’t know, I started writing this scene in my head and got this feeling that we were going to shoot the wrong film.”
Blake’s process might sound familiar to some writers and alien to others, but whatever works, right? “I don’t really outline … doing that I get bored with the story and I want to move on to something else. I like to write, and once I have a draft, I go back through it over and over, tweaking things, making connections.”
Blake’s biggest influences that come to mind “For this film specifically it would probably be The Shining or Knife in the Water.”
Other Influences
Growing up wanting to be a filmmaker, who impacted Blake along the way? “Of course, generally speaking, Spielberg. He knows how to tell a story … how to tell the story visually.”
Blake begins to expand the list, and it’s an eclectic one “I also love Cameron Crowe … I love the humanistic aspect of his films. Love David Fincher, Paul Thomas Anderson, JJ Abrams … I know that sounds a bit all over the place, but they all have qualities as writers and directors that I admire.”
100 Million Dollar Question
Chris has written, directed, and produced films. So, I present a super-fantasy scenario: If a studio offers Chris 100 million dollars for a project, but he could only write, direct, or produce, which would he choose? “Oh, man, wow.” A grin grows on my face.
The answer continues “You know, of course, I love writing. Creating characters and a world with whatever I decide. I enjoy playing God,” we laugh.
The next part of the answer “Directing is another passion. I love working with actors and collaborating with other filmmakers on set. Telling the story visually. It’s definitely something that I wish everyone had the opportunity to experience.”
And part three “I like producing too. It’s such a unique set of challenges. I enjoy looking at a story and being more of a creative producer. But producing can also mean being the ‘go-between’ the creative side and the investors. So, I definitely enjoy the creative side more.”
So, the final verdict? “I would say, I probably prefer to direct assuming it’s a story I can easily immerse myself in; something with a message. I think … I THINK I would choose to direct.”
Final Word
All Light Will End comes out November 2nd, 2018. Chris is a big horror fan and says about the genre “I like elegant horror. I love to take the genre seriously and try to find new ways to raise the stakes.”
Thanks to Chris Blake and Impact24 PR for making this interview possible.
