Simon Hunter Gets Bloody with Mutant Chronicles

The director of this new horror film talks about the new DVD release

Director Simon Hunter is getting some genre acclaim for his new film Mutant Chronicles, which recently hit the shelves on DVD and Blu-ray on August 4. I recently had the chance to speak with Hunter about his new film and here's what he had to say.

This film was offered to a few other directors like Stephen Norrington and John Carpenter, so can you talk a bit about how you came on board and what you first thought of the script?

Simon Hunter: The script offered to Norrington and Carpenter bares little resembalnce to the final screenplay.

You dont' see many films based around these types of card roleplaying games, so did you explore that world a lot before the film or were you mainly just going off of Philip Eisner's script?

Simon Hunter: Yes we did - we felt that we should take a more extreme and highly stylized approach with the material.

This is your second feature-length film, so can you talk about the challenges of making this film and things that you might have learned on your first film that helped you make this film?

Simon Hunter: Oh you learn so much on ever film - I suppose the trick is taking onwards what you think did well and being humble about you think you got wrong.

You've got quite the cast to work with here with Thomas Jane, Ron Perlman, John Malkovich, Benno Furman, Pras, so can you talk about the process of finding these actors for this film and how you enjoyed working with them?

Simon Hunter: They all responded to the seven minute teaser film that I wrote directed and edited. The film showed the tone and mood we wanted to try and get into the final movie. You can see that here.

The film has a very unique look to it, so can you talk about some of the influences you took from in creating the visual style of this film?

Simon Hunter: Early German expressionist cinema - I love that period, the work of Murnau, Lang and others -

I was wondering, since the DVD is out, how involved you were in the DVD process and if you have a favorite feature or not?

Simon Hunter: I pushed to get as much material on the DVD as possible and recut a few things to go onto the DVD release - so yes I was involved but the guys at Magnolia did a great job putting it all together - it really is the definative release - an excellent set.

Is there anything you can tell us about Curve or anything else you're close to developing these days?

Simon Hunter: I working on three projects that are edging their way to production - will keep you informed!

Finally, what would you like to say to those who didn't get to see the film in theaters about why they should pick up Mutant Chronicles on DVD?

Simon Hunter: Its a very interestingly made movie that tries to do a lot of new things with both its script and style, its a real love or hate affair - go see and make up your own mind, we tried hard to be fresh and original with our style and look. I hope you enjoy it - there are a ton of great extras of the discs - so it's worth it for that alone!

Director Simon Hunter's Mutant Chronicles can be found on the DVD and Blu-ray shelves right now.