Spider One is a writer, producer, and director. His new film, Allegoria is out. He wrote and directed Allegoria. He talks about Allegoria, music and much more in this exclusive for Horrornews.net.
Hi Spider, I watched Allegoria. It was amazing. The writing sequence was one of my favorite sequences. I’d love to see that sequence as a film itself. The Whistler story was great.
Spider One- Hey listen, you never know. We’re going to make a Whistler story, a Big Baby story. We’ll cover all the bases.
That would be cool to have a Whistler story.
Spider One- It’s funny, there are so many stories within stories in Allegoria. Thank you, I’m happy that you liked it, and it’s interesting to see which stories people relate to because I read somebodies else comments on the movie, and they said when they watched it. because they were a writer, during that section they kind of slumped down in their chair feeling a lit bit ashamed because they saw a little bit too much of themself in Eddie Park.
Yes, that’s kind of true. That character was next level.
Spider One- For sure.
How did this manifest for you?
Spider One- It is exactly as the movie concept plays out. It’s my own personal journey trying to live a life as a creative person, and what that brings. The self-doubt, insecurities, questioning yourself, and how that can control your life. When you’re trying to pursue a life as a creative person, it’s like you’re not really calling the shots, the art is. The art tells you when to write and when to paint. I thought that was an interesting concept, an untapped concept for horror. If you took that idea to the extreme, I wanted to find out what this could manifest in people, and how it could be passed on to fellow artists. I’ve said this before but art and horror share a lot of the same descriptive concepts. We always describe artists as being tortured or suffering. It seemed like a natural fit for me.
It took on a mind of its own. The painting sequence showed what a person goes through emotionally, spiritually, and mentally. You sort of feel the battles that these people are going through.
Spider One- Yes, thank you for that. Marcus the painter was the clearest example. He puts on this façade of being so much better than everybody and elevated. The way he demeans his girlfriend’s interest in acting, it’s not real art, but when he’s left alone to look at himself in the mirror, it’s a whole different story. He thinks of himself as a fraud. I think we all battle with this in life in general. One day you feel like you’re the next Picasso and then you wake up the next morning, and you look at yourself as worthless. It’s an interesting inner turmoil that goes on. I’ve suffered on the music end of things. I’ll be making an album and one day, I’m like, man we’re the next Beatles. We just wrote the next Sergeant Pepper album, and then five minutes later… It’s like, this is the worst song I’ve ever heard in my life. It’s the rollercoaster ride that you take in this world.
Do you think making and creating music is sort of the same atmosphere as making and creating a film? Do you feel it’s the same or different for you?
Spider One- It’s the same, and what I mean by that, is at the end of the day you’re trying to communicate an idea, a feeling, emotion to somebody. In that regard music and film are the same thing. You’re putting something out there for somebody else to look at or listen to and get something out of. The process is very different. Film has a slower process, there are different steps to it. Music is much more immediate thing. Certainly, performing music, it is of the moment and once that moment is gone, you never get it back. It’s a reactionary in the moment kind of thing. You can watch a film ten times, and get something new out of it the tenth time. When you see a concert, it’s a moment in time that disappears but they share similar concepts.
Yes. Are you working on any new music, and did you do any of the music in Allegoria?
Spider One- I tried to create a really specific tone. I don’t know if your familiar with Night Gallery? This movie sort of took me back to staying up late with my friends and watching all the fun scary movies.
Yes, I watched Night Gallery.
Spider One- It’s sort of the horror version of The Twilight Zone. That was quite a big influence when I was putting this together. I wanted that because those shows had such an aesthetic and a vibe that was so off putting. They weren’t the scariest stories in the world, they weren’t filled with jump scares and gore but they were off putting. I wanted Allegoria to feel that way, I wanted it to feel a little uncomfortable, and everybody in the film was struggling with something. Music and sound design have a lot to do with that. I didn’t write any of the particular music in the film but I did write the song that the band is playing in the musician’s sequence. Me and Krsy Fox who co-produced the movie, and starred in it. We worked on the sound design together, and she’s a musician as well so, we bring that aesthetic to the project. It had a musical sensibility to it.
What do you want to say to everyone that will be watching Allegoria, and people that are fans of your music?
Spider One- I hope people are surprised. I hope they get something that they weren’t expecting. I think people who do follow me because of music or otherwise they probably have an idea of what they’re going to get but I have a feeling it’s going to be different. I do hope this is a bit cathartic for any creative people. Similar to but in a different way, if you’re in a band and you’ve ever watched Spinal Tap. It’s the most fun but also painful movie you could ever watch because it is your life. I think any creative types watching Allegoria, I hope they see a little of themselves in these characters. If you’re not, I hope you enjoy peeking into a world that maybe you can be thankful you’re not a part of. Thank God, I’m not one of those guys. [Laughs] I think it’s a cool doorway to a world that I find interesting.
Thank you so much, Spider. It was awesome talking with you.
Spider One- Thank you so much. I’m so glad you liked it. Thanks for taking the time to talk to me too.
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www.imdb.com/title/tt14939308/
