The man who gave you Emily Rose and Sinister delivers a police thriller about demons and exorcisms.
Den Of Geek: How did the story of Ralph Sarchie come to you?
And I thought that the material was really engaging and got involved then.
And that was beforeEmily Rose.
I ended up optioning that myself.
The two stories have some similar themes…
I mean I think obviously they both deal with the paranormal and possession and exorcism.
This movie is less of a possession movie thanEmily Rosewas.
This is much more of a broader police procedural and different throw in of paranormal movie.
And I think that this movie takes less of a direct approach on that skepticism versus belief question.
I think thats so fascinating.
Hes just a fascinating guy.
When you first met with him, did you find him credible and believable?
Oh yeah, its very clear that hes honest.
Hes an almost painfully honest guy.
And I think that in meeting him, the whole thing became real to me in a way.
I liked the idea of a cop horror film.
Theres some strange connection between the two that just makes sense when you meet him.
Sarchies book contains a collection of incidents and cases that he investigated.
Did you pick one from the book specifically?
No, I took several and then used a more fictional narrative to tie them all together.
That was the trick, you know.
I didnt have any problem taking those fictional liberties to make the movie work.
And thats the thing I think Im most proud of in relationship to the true stories.
I think thats more important than the details of the story.
I wanted to get that down.
And so I had to create a fictional narrative to attempt to tie the best of those together.
And thats essentially what the movie is.
He was also on the set as your police consultant.
Was having the real person there an advantage in this case?
Eric talks like him, moves like him, thinks like him in the movie.
Is the priest played by Edgar Ramirez a real person?
The priest is a composite character.
There were two people who were highly influential in his life.
One of the things I like about your movies is the way you use darkness and negative space.
It cries out for a boldness on those fronts.
We shot on location in the Bronx.
Theres no place in the world that looks like the Bronx.
Does doing this kind of material in the context of a police procedural keep it fresh?
From beginning to end it functions as a courtroom movie.
The film is kind of like a melding of your style with the Bruckheimer house brand…
I was conscientious about that.
Thats what I was trying to make.
Jerry was very much my partner creatively.
That was what I was paying attention to.
I really listened to him carefully because thats exactly what we were trying to make.
Im certainly somebody who tries to make a movie for the audience and wants the audience to like it.
I want people to get their moneys worth.
What you just described was the target.
It was absolutely the target for this movie.
So Im really satisfied that thats what it is because its different from anything Ive done before.
You filmed in some pretty creepy locations in the Bronx and around New York too.
Did that just heighten the atmosphere for everyone?
I think it heightens it because of the realism, and because theyre so textural.
First of all its very cinematic.
The Bronx is gritty but with kind of a beautiful grittiness now.
Youre not working so hard to believe it as an audience member.
Youre feeling like, Wow, this is happening because of where we are.
Why did you pass on directingSinister 2even though you co-wrote the script?
It took a long time.
So Cargill and I threw out a lot of material.
We would write big chunks of it and then just get rid of it.
Then the process of finding the right director took a lot of time.
I feel so much better about him making the movie than me.
We were told not to ask aboutDoctor Strange, but nobody told me not to ask aboutThe Outer Limits.
Yeah, Ive havent been told not to say anything aboutThe Outer Limits.
We had been talking with MGM for a long time about it.
I love that show.
I was always a biggerOuter Limitsfan than aTwilight Zonefan.
So I went back and rewatched all the episodes and of course remembered Demon with a Glass Hand.
It feels like a big privilege.
Have you asked (original writer) Harlan Ellison for his blessing?
Thats a good thing to have.
You dont want the other thing.
You once tried to adapt Dan SimmonsHyperionnovels for the screen, but the project never took off.
Is there another science fiction book that youd like to adapt?
There are a couple.
I really loveThe Sparrow, Mary Doria Russells book.
I think that is a really compelling story that could be amazingly very difficult one to make.
I think thatA Fire Upon the Deepcould be a great space opera.
Theres enough imagination in that and enough richness of character, I think that could be fantastic also.
Deliver Us from Evilis out now in theaters.
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