Itโs been a busy year for the writing/directing duo responsible for the edge-of-your-seat thriller The Boy Behind The Door. The film is the second film release for David Charbonier and Justin Powell behind their debut feature The Djinn. The latter is a terrifying tale of a mute boy whoโs forced to fight an evil djinn, but The Boy Behind The Door is a story about โfriendship and hopeโ wrapped up in an adrenaline-fueled struggle for survival after the boys are kidnapped after baseball practice.
The Boy Behind The Door celebrated itโs world premiere at Fantastic Fest 2020 and is now available to stream on Shudder. I recently had the pleasure of sitting down with the pair to discuss their film, the movies that inspired them to become filmmakers, and why villains are so damn funny to watch on screen.
โWeโve been best friends since kindergarten. We bonded at an early age over horror movies and sneaking into R-rated moviesโฆโ
Jonathan Dehaan for Nightmare on Film Street: So how did you guys meet? Whatโs your origin story?
David Charbonier: Honestly, weโve just been lifelong friends. Weโve been best friends since kindergarten. We bonded at an early age over horror movies and sneaking into R-rated movies that we shouldnโt have been. I donโt know how that took the turn into wanting to make movies together. I think weโve just always loved the genre and we thought, why donโt we just try it? Itโs a crazy idea, both our parents thought it was insane- I think they still kind of do- but yeah, we just wanted to see if we could come up with interesting stories and figure out crazy ways to make them happen.
NOFS: Do you remember one of the earlier movies that the two of you bonded over?
Justin Powell: Jurassic Park is definitely a big one. There was also Kiss The Girls which is kind of random. There were a bunch [and] I think after that we started coming together over a lot of the classics like Childโs Play, Halloween, and the lot. You know, all those good ones, but I canโt think of a very specific one. I do remember this- I donโt know, you talking about that David [reminded me]- we briefly were attempting to make some kind of Slasher in high school.
[David begins frantically trying to signal for Justin to stop talking]
JP: [laughs] Thereโs nothing to even talk about, it never came to fruition.
DC: We tried some scenes they just didnโt materialize into anything.
JP: Yeah, but I think that was our first, you know, us wanting to do this kind of thing together and now, in our adulthood, take it more seriously [laughs].
NOFS: Thatโs so cool. What was it about Jurassic Park that the two of you really connected with? Was it the scarier stuff or the wonder of seeing dinosaurs come to life?
DC: I really think it was the wonder. Wonder is this quality in film that we really love. Chris Colombus does it so amazingly, obviously so does Speilberg with that Amblin feel. Itโs just that excitement that you could be going on an adventure at any moment, your entering this new world, and it is scary but itsโ also thrilling, and exciting. I mean, doesnโt everyone kind of wish they could go to Jurassic Park? Even if it is dangerous.
NOFS: So where does the darkness come from? Because The Boy Behind The Door is incredibly dark.
JP: I think that just kind of came organically. We wanted to tell a story about friendship and hope, and these boys that are just really inseparable and want to save each other at all costs. Knowing that that was the foundation, we just built out organically from that. Weโre always drawn to darker tales but we never want things to feel overly cruel or exploitive or too grotesque, and we just wanted to make sure that we had something that had that theme of friendship. I canโt tell you exactly how we got to the dark backdrop precisely, it just felt appropriate given who our protagonists were and what they were trying to acheive.
โWe really love larger-than-life, over-the-top villains.โ
NOFS: The villain that you made for them to is just a human monster. Sheโs terrifying. Where did you come up with her?
DC: We really love larger-than-life, over-the-top villains. I think movies from the 90s and 80s just did it so amazingly. Iโm thinking of Die Hard right now but, you know, Alan Rickmanโs character- theyโre more animated, theyโre more expressive, they take time to have speeches, they want to convey their feelings and how they came up with their plans. Thatโs the fun stuff for us. We didnโt want her to be super grounded and serious. We actually wanted her to be a little fun so those scenes could be a little bit more humorous, like when she gets hurt or when sheโs super frustrated. That stuff is just really funny for us. I always laugh when I watch her scenes. I would laugh when if I watched another villain that I really enjoyed seeing on screen too. I We just wanted to have fun with the character.
NOFS: Do you laugh when you watch The Shining too?
JP: There are moments when Jack Nicholson is at his most manic that itโs definitely kind of humorous. Obviously, we do have nods to The Shining in [The Boy Behind The Door] but, I donโt know, I kind of think a lot of Annie Wilks when I think of our kidnapper. Just in terms of her mania. I definitely found humor in her. Itโs weird, we find humor in horrible villains and, I think in ways that people get terrified we just- and in a good way [not] in a way where weโre making fun of them or anything, itโs just kind of fun for us. All thatโs to say that if thereโs a villain that we really enjoy than, yeah, we probably find some kind of humor in them.
NOFS: Is that how, as creative partners, you know that youโve got a character in that sweet spot? When you start laughing at them?
JP: Maybe. I hadnโt really thought about that.
DC: I mean, in the script I would always, always, always laugh when the scene came of her getting her thumb chopped off, and then sheโs cursing at [the kid] like โyou cut off my fucking finger?โ Thatโs just the funniest line. As a nerd, like, as two people that crack each other up, I would always laugh. Even when I watch the movie, thatโs the one scene that I always laugh at. Even though Iโve seen it like 100 times, Kristin Bauer van Straten brought the scene to life so amazingly. It was more than we ever could have imagined how she brought such a personality to that role. Sheโs just deliciously evil.
NOFS: This is an old phrase and I donโt necessarily think that itโs true but people always say donโt work with animals, and donโt work with kids. You have made two movies back-to-back with kids. Did you find it any harder to work with child actors as opposed to adults?
JP: Honestly, not in terms of getting the performances. Itโs more in terms of the hours and the limitations that you have around how long you have them on set. Fortunately for us, we had just the best casting director ever, Amy Lippens, and she found us these immensely talented boys. They were able to just get whatever you need in like the first take. So thatโs never really been an issue for us in terms of our first two features but, you know, we only had five working hours a day with them. That was a problem, and this whole thing is at night so we were oftentimes needing to be finished by 10:00 pm, midnight on a weekend if we were lucky. That was the trickiest part but in terms of getting the performances, no. They were just as talented as the adults which is pretty incredible, really.
โ[Ezra Dewey and Lonnie Chavas] were just as talented as the adults which is pretty incredible, really.โ
NOFS: You also released The Djinn this year. Do you guys have another two movies coming out in 2022? Is that the plan? [laughs]
DC: We would like to! We really hope to have another one soon. Weโre still trying to get a couple of our stories off the ground. It never gets easier, is what weโre learning. Everyone used to tell us, you make your first feature and itโs so much easier to get your second one made. It seems like itโs going to be difficult every single time, and thatโs fine. I will say though, our next movie, weโre going to have kids and animals. We donโt want it to be too easy.
NOFS: Just one last question; I like to ask people what they would play at the drive-in if they could pick any two movies. You can just pick two movies that sum up your style, two movies that you think would play well with The Boy Behind The Door or just two movies that you love.
JP: Ooooo- I would pair up Donโt Breathe and The Descent.
DC: Oh, thatโs such a good one.
JP: I took it from you [laughs].
DC: He picked two of my favorite movies. I guess I would say Gremlins and Death Becomes Her.
David Charbonier & Justin Powellโs The Boy Behind The Door is streaming on Shudder now! Be sure to let us know what you thought of this nailbiter of a thriller, and what you would do if your best friend was kidnapped by creeps over on Twitter, in the official Nightmare on Film Street Subreddit, and on Facebook in the Horror Movie Fiend Club!