Question: when is working on a Saturday evening a good thing?

Answer: when said work involves interviewing Guillermo Navarro.

Navarros latest feature isThe Resident, the first fully-fledged Hammer horror film for over thirty years.

(Ffittingly, it has Hammer torch-bearer Christopher Lee turn up and say hello.)

Or, what we (and Navarro himself from the sounds of it) thought was their next collaboration.

Buta lot can happen in a week.

Youre in Vancouver at the moment forTwilight, is that right?

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Yes, Im doingBreaking Dawnhere.

And thats the two films back-to-back?

That sounds like quite a long shoot, a real test of endurance.

I know, I know.

Im barely surviving it!

[laughs]

So, how long have you got to go on those?

I have about six weeks to go.

AndThe Residentcomes out here in the UK this week.

How did you get involved with that?

Did the director, Antti Jokinen, call you?

Can a director call you if he wants to work with you?

Is that how it works?

Well, pretty much.

Its either through my agent or through personal connection.

And then I got more interested in it when the cast grew to the level that it grew.

I always wanted to work with Hilary Swank, so it was a very good challenge at that point.

So, I took it.

Its a brilliant contrast of her looking quite luminous and beautiful and him looking quite, well, macabre.

[laughs] Im glad you said it.

And it was a fantastic experience to be in front of such an icon like him, you know?

And it was very, very encouraging to have him over.

And his part was great, and he was very professional, very honest, very nice.

Do you sometimes look at actors and say, Id love to see that face in the frame?

Yes, of course.

I go more for that than just trying to make them look great each time.

And with Antti Jokinen, this is his first feature film.

Does it change the dynamic for you when its a debut filmmaker?

Is there more for you to do?

It is more work for me in that sense.

I mean, sometimes we were stuck on things, because the problem was also it was his script.

The writing process is one and the filmmaking process is another one, and it is a different language.

And I think he pulled it off very well.

I like the movie.

So, how early do you get involved, then?

Once the scripts done, do you ever sit down and input into it?

Like you said, you must have such experience now in how a story works.

Because, in that sense, I believe that cinematography is the language of the movie.

So, it is what is going to be told with images.

It is a very different experience each time.

There is no such thing as rules for that.

Ive worked with directors who have a tremendous visual take on things.

My strongest work is with Guillermo del Toro, who is a very visual director.

And Antti was a very good combination of that.

He has a very strong take on how the visuals have to accommodate this kind of narrative.

And that was a part that flowed very well.

I was completely in sync with that.

That must be an interesting mix, then?

You putting your ideas forward and the director having their own ideas?

Its always like that.

Things are evolving and moving constantly.

You cannot get lost in the particularity of that event.

Then I feel I can do the movie.

And its a difficult process, filmmaking.

Its really the same issue and its really not measured by that.

Everybody belongs to the movie.

How does it work when youre on a film?

Are you looking ahead and doing work on the next one?

Or are you very separate in how you work on films?

For instance, when I finish this movie, Im going to do a movie with del Toro.

So, yeah, I always have a process of being contaminated by the next project.

And thatsAt the Mountains Of Madnessyou are referring to, with del Toro?

That sounds a fascinating project.

Its a completely different thing.

I mean, I treat every movie completely separately.

I dont bring a bag of tricks with me to solve it.

I have a go at really find what the movie needs and what kind of approach I take.

And if you see my movies, theyre all different.

And Im very glad I dont stick to one genre or one kind of thing.

I really made a big effort to do a lot of different things.

Because I do believe its not about having your signature on each project.

Is that the plan?

It is the plan, yes.

So, is that changing the way youre thinking about it?

I havent really got into that yet, but yeah, Im a little bit concerned.

So, Im a little concerned that thats going to affect that.

How excited are you then aboutAt the Mountains Of Madness?

Youre working with del Toro, your long time friend and collaborator.

Its a huge project.

Do you get excited?

I get a high off that.

Its a fantastic opportunity.

I mean, each time that I work with him, wonderful things happen.

So, its a huge privilege working with him.

Well, that was a very big challenge.

And Im very proud of how it works.

It was very hard to do and it worked like nothing.

Like it was effortless.

So, it took a long time?

It was the hardest trick to come up with, definitely.

I had a very good producer, which in these days is a miracle.

And it was great.

The relationship with the director was very good.

The movie went along very well, I think, for that.

And this is when we have that opportunity too.

So, things people have never seen before, in that sense?

So, in that sense, yes.

Pans Labyrinthis a perfect example of that.

And it comes from that.

We have to create them.

AndMountains of Madnessis all that.

In many occasions I decided that my lighting has to be about less and taking things away than adding.

And that contributes to if that was to contribute to that sensation for that moment, then, yes.

And is it common for directors to say, That sounds great.

Lets take all the light out?

Theres always resistance to change to new things.

Theres fear, theres trying to play it safe.

And I am always a very strong advocate to take my chances.

Guillermo Navarro, thank you very much.

The Resident opens in cinemas on Friday 11th March.