by Billy Russell, Staff Writer

MovieJawn had an opportunity to chat with The Canyonlands’ director Brendan Devane. The film is out digitally tomorrow as well as playing in theaters.

MovieJawn: I liked that you wanted the terrain of the story to be integral to the horror itself, and decided to go against the usual “haunted woods” location you’d expect, and have seen done to death. What made you decide to go with Utah? I’ve been to Moab, and it’s gorgeous. It’s not something I would expect to see associated with horror, but I think it works great.

Brendan Devane: It all really began with Utah and the Canyonlands. I started with the location and built the story around the area. I lived in southwest Colorado for years and used to visit the Moab area often. It felt like a good opportunity to showcase a natural environment that isn’t typically seen in the horror genre, and to be able to build tension with the remoteness and confusing terrain that is inherent to the Moab area. The land is meant to be its own character, and is a central theme in the film.

MJ: Watching a movie like The Canyonlands, it’s fun to guess what movies inspired it. In my review, I name-drop a few I felt had similar themes, but I’d just like to ask: What movies helped inspire The Canyonlands?

Brendan Devane: There wasn’t anything specific that was required watching for the cast or crew. I did point the score composers in the direction of The Social Network score because I think Reznor did a great job with making a minimalistic, yet impactful score, and that’s the direction I wanted to go in for the music. As far as influences, I’m a product of the ’80’s, so films like Friday the 13th, Nightmare on Elm Street, and Phantasm were the horror films I grew up on. I wanted Pete, the antagonist, to be scary, but to also have a personality and swagger like Freddy Krueger, and in a lot of ways, the film is a modern take on the ’80’s slasher films.

MJ: I was really impressed by what I can only assume were drone shots in the movie to give you a feel for the lay of the land. Can you tell me a little bit about how you achieved that?

Brendan Devane: Showing off the landscape was super important to building the world our characters were in. It really puts them out there in the middle of nowhere. Alex Cantatore, the project’s DP, was the drone operator as well, and he is extremely talented. Flying the drone, and yes, they are indeed drone shots, in the tight slot canyons took rock solid control and Alex did an amazing job getting the shots. I really wanted to use the drone as crane shots in some places and up our production value and I think we got some fantastic drone shots in the final cut.

MJ: Can you tell me how you cast Stephanie Barkley?

Brendan Devane: Stephanie was brought to me by the project’s casting director, and she did several auditions. There were multiple great auditions, but Steph really took it up another level, and she was a great fit for the role. I think she did a tremendous job, and really put in a great performance. She has a mostly comedic background, and some of her ad libs made it into the film as her timing is spot on.

MJ: What type of camera did you use to shoot The Canyonlands?

Brendan Devane: We used RED Weapon Helium cameras and shot in 8K RAW. There is a 4K version of the film available. There are about 200 post VFX shots in the film, most being night skies for the night scenes. Due to safety concerns, we shot the night scenes ( except when there was fire) during the day and color graded to a night look and added the skies. The first color grade pass was actually too realistic for night so we lightened it up so people could see the actors better. All post sound was done by Lucasfilm/Skywalker Sound at the Skywalker Ranch in 5.1 Surround, which was an amazing experience. We chose a 2.39:1 aspect ratio to really showcase the wide landscape shots.

MJ: Tell me about what it was like shooting on location. It was so pretty to look at, was production “easy”, or did the location provide a horror of its own?

Brendan Devane: The location was as close to Canyonlands National Park as you can get, and our river filming permit extended right up to the Park’s border. I really wanted to shoot near there and not just use a few establishing shots, so when I found the place where we ended up filming, I was pretty excited. However, it definitely was not an easy shoot. We were 20 miles outside of Moab on the other side of Hurrah Pass at the end of a 4x4 road. No cell service, and everything we needed had to brought in over the pass. There was only one day of interior shoots, and the rest were all outside. We were rained on, hailed on, endured thunderstorms and unseasonably cold temps, and dealt with high winds a lot. It’s amazing we were able to finish on time. The location was in a lot of ways perfect, but also was very problematic from a production point of view. The slot canyons were miles away from our base camp, and we were truly where no one has filmed before. The Lone Ranger ( 2013) filmed nearby but all the other side of the pass closer to town. It was quite an experience for everyone.

MJ: The cast seemed to have a genuine camaraderie. There seemed to be a playful energy among actors, especially at around the midway point where characters are split off into smaller groups and get more one-on-one interactions. Was the cast chummy with each other during filming?

Brendan Devane: The actors who played the contest winners all knew each other beforehand through attending Emerson College together, so they were already friendly with each other. Also, the cast were all in the same lodge for the shoot, and again, we were in the middle of nowhere so any down or off time was spent with each other. It made for a close set. Steph, Wayne, and Marqus are all really friendly and it didn’t take long for everyone to get to know each other.

MJ: Was it your intention to make a horror movie that seemed to have a moral compass? It seemed to have a lot to say about America and its history of violence, particularly toward Indigenous people.

Brendan Devane: My main intention was to make a film that was fun, fast paced, and for someone who wants to just enjoy a movie and eat popcorn. But that doesn’t mean there can’t be other themes layered in like comedic, and more dramatic themes. I also wanted to make a film that had something for people who want to look deeper into a film. It definitely was a priority to portray indigenous people in a positive way, and to cast Native actors and use Native musicians. The tribe and events are fictitious, but the truth is that real Native people were massacred pretty close to where we filmed, and I wanted to be careful in the way that Native people were portrayed and how we handled the massacre scene. So while I did want to make a fun film, there are definitely some deeper themes running throughout.

MJ: This question is a weird one, so humor me, but I can’t help my curiosity. When watching a movie with audio commentary, occasionally a director will let slip, “This is my favorite shot in the movie.” There are a lot of great shots in The Canyonlands. Which one is your favorite?

Brendan Devane: There are a lot of shots in the film I love, so difficult to pick one out. I’ll mention the shot of the horse riders coming down the hill with the sunset behind them as one I love.

MJ: What’s next? Do you have anything in the works?

Brendan Devane: Yes, I am currently working on the next project. Call it a cross of Free Solo and The Thing (1982). So another ambitious shoot in a difficult location, and filming next Spring.