Not just horror fans, but critics and cinemagoers who arent normally into scares.
Heres what he had to say.
Firstly, congrats onUnder The Shadow.
Its brilliant, and you must be so pleased with how well its been received!
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Thank you, yes, its been such a relief its been such a ride!
One of the things thats really great about this movie is its focus on characters and establishing their world.
What were you drawing on there?
Basically, it was just tapping into childhood memories.
But saying all that, its not an autobiographical film.
Its a work of fiction.
Its a horror film!
Are you happy to say, yeah, its a horror film?
It depends who youre talking to.
I just wanted to tell a story, an exciting one.
Thats what the best horror films do, isnt it?
Theres no point trying to be scary without telling a story.
With the two leads, Narges Rashidi who plays Shideh was recommended by an amazing actor.
And the little child, shes a non-actor this is the first time shes ever acted.
We approached the Iranian community in London and said were looking for a Farsi speaking child.
Shes so amazing and clever and creative that she blew my mind.
Were you ever encouraged to make it in English instead?
Not my producers, the ones who went for it; they were always supportive from day one.
But at the beginning I was struggling to find people to come on board.
Its a great script, but is there any way we can make it in English?
and I said, no, thats going to be ridiculous.
So Wigwam Films took the risk and came on board and supported it the whole way.
The film does feel very authentic, was it difficult to get all the details right?
Iranian audiences are very specific and I didnt want to annoy them.
So that was really key for me.
The key thing, also, is because Nasser himself is Middle Eastern, that really helps.
He got the DNA of it right.
Even though theyre different countries, he knew how to create the sort of 80s Iran feel.
Where did they come from what were you influenced by?
There are tons of references!
Its a mother and child in a haunted house so those were huge influences.
I can carry on talking!
J-horror, as well, likeRingandThe Grudge…
And maybeDark Water?
Dark Water, yeah!
The list goes on!
Im telling you, all those horror films that I love, they just kept coming back to me.
I was listening to the score ofPoltergeista lot while I was writing the script actually, for inspiration.
It was really helpful.
Yeah, I thought that was great.
Yeah, thats right.
So what are you working on next?
Thats with the same producers [asUnder The Shadow] and thats the one Im most focused on.
Finally, I have to ask you.
Whats your favourite Jason Statham movie?
Well, I must say…Snatch.
Thats quite a common one.
[laughing] Great question.
Babak Anvari, thank you very much.
