[Editorial] An Interview with Horror Icon Julian Richings of Hall (2020)

After reviewing Hall (2020), the new virus outbreak horror film, I had the opportunity to send some questions to Julian Richings. He has a brief role in Hall, and you may have seen him in other horror gems like Vicious Fun (2020), Anything for Jackson (2020), Channel Zero (2016-2018), and dozens of other titles. Big thanks to Mr. Richings for taking the time to answer my questions!

Interview contains mild spoilers for Hall (2020).

Your role in Hall (2020) is limited but adds a lot to the story and raises many questions. What's your interpretation of what’s going on in the story?

Well, I think my appearance gives a bit of a narrative clue as to the origins of the situation. My character is clearly in some way responsible for the unleashing of the pandemic. He seems to be driven by some misguided messianic purpose. Someone else on the other end of the phone is privy to his actions. The news clip at the end of the film suggests there are government cover-ups/ conspiracy theories, but the flashy presenter doesn’t inspire any confidence as to his integrity or depth of knowledge.

Explanations and exposition are avoided, we’re very much in the unravelling stage of a world-changing event; the audience, just like the main characters, are caught in the agony and unknown of the here and now.

What was it like working on a movie about a pandemic during an actual pandemic?

The movie is remarkably prescient. We didn’t in fact shoot during the pandemic- it was filmed well before Covid 19, with the SARS outbreak in Canada, and the more recent virulent strain of H1N1 being the writers’ points of reference. 

But in the movie the epidemic is not a literal diary of a plague; instead, we focus on two sets of hotel guests escaping broken relationships. They experience frayed emotions and abusive behavior. Much of the horror is not the traditional fear of an infected ‘zombie’. It’s psychological, a recognition of a societal infection; the way women are treated and their doomed attempts to break free.

How do you think the pandemic will change horror cinema in the future?

The pandemic has necessitated the rise of distance working, learning and communication of every kind. 

Horror reflects our inherent fear/fascination with the body, close contact and otherness.

I can only guess that our collective need to explore these issues will result in a resurgence of body horror, along with the (apparently) contradictory themes of isolation and entrapment.

I suspect that we may well go inwards, to the horrors of a mind/society in turmoil, maybe like in the sixties, with movies like Psycho (1960) and Repulsion (1965).

What has changed in horror in your time as an actor?

I don’t know honestly. They always shift and reflect the times and the technology of the day.

Maybe one key element which has become increasingly important is the sonic landscape. Horror films are no longer accompanied simply by a hit soundtrack and crashing orchestral jump scares.

I was in Robert Eggers ‘The Witch’ and privy to his extraordinarily methodical process. Every element had to be authentic and appropriate, from wardrobe to period accents to landscape. For me, the score had a density and texture which added so much to the mood of the film, but it was way more abstract and unsettling than anything I’d previously heard. It was groundbreaking.

I’m hearing more and more sonic elements now that are pivotal to the mood of a film, particularly in genre and horror.

What's your favorite horror role you have played? (I loved your role in Anything for Jackson (2020)!)

I certainly enjoyed Anything for Jackson. It was a great script and gave me the opportunity (along with Sheila McCarthy) to carry the narrative weight of the film. Normally I’m used in horror films as a primary colour; a creepy presence or nasty creature who impacts the story arc in some way, but doesn’t carry the story.

What was particularly enjoyable was that Sheila and I have admired each other's work over the years. Jackson allowed us to play together, as a duo, working off each other as a couple eaten by grief. We were able to tap into the complexity of long-term partners experiencing a tragic event, thus eliciting sympathy from our audience, but undercutting that trust by enabling each other to behave in an appalling way. And of course, it was fun to play a respectable elderly way out of their depth dabbling in Satanism.

What’s your favorite horror movie? 

Hands down, The Night of The Hunter, directed by Charles Laughton. Filmed in 1955, Laughton’s only directorial work, it defies category, but it’s a Gothic fairy tale that’s suspenseful and terrifying.

The performances are astonishing- Robert Mitchum as a fake preacher who roams the countryside proselytizing about ‘Love’ and ‘Hate’, both words tattooed on his hands. Shelley Winters as an emotionally frail widow. Lillian Gish as tough as nails Grandma, warding off evil, sitting on a rocking chair on the porch with a shotgun. A whole host of extraordinary character actors, plus emotionally riveting performances from two children- babes in the wood in terrible danger.

The whole story is a beautiful mix of expressionist black and white gothic imagery and stark fifties noir- and the soundtrack, by Walter Schumann! I could go on and on…… I recommend it to anyone and everyone.

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