Every horror fan has seen a Simon Barrett film. From V/H/S to The Guest, Barrett’s DNA has been firmly cemented in horror history for some time. His latest entry, Seance (the Heathers-meets-Scream slasher), is just another example of why Barrett should be wearing the master-of-horror crown... or at very least, carrying the scepter.
“I wrote Seance in 2014 around the time The Guest was coming out,” Barrett said.
He wore both directing and writing hats during production, and the road to Seance wasn’t an easy journey.
“I’m very proud of those films but in reality, financiers didn't want to back my work because they lost millions of dollars. Making a film that finds a cult audience like The Guest has a legacy, but none of that is viable in terms of numbers and points,” he said.
Barrett explained that for those reasons, Seance took years to find a home.
“I wasn’t coming off a series of hits, so it took years to finance. We had pretty much wrapped filming and didn’t have a way to get it to audiences. Luckily, Shudder came in and paid enough for it to be profitable.”
We took a pit stop to gush about our favorite Final Draft feature.
“That collaboration feature was a lifesaver while Adam Wingard and I were writing Face/Off 2. We would FaceTime as we were writing just so we could see each other, but everything else was through the program.”
Heading back to Seance; without spoiling anything, the ending is a huge reveal that audiences will be talking about for some time.
"In general, if I do not have to write a treatment or outline a studio, I don’t. I tend to find they creatively lead me on the wrong path," Barrett said.
"Instead what I do is I write my ending first, then I create a bunch of space on my document; that way I can see what I am working toward. I believe the ending is the most important part of the movie. A mediocre film can be saved [with] a good ending."
On the subject of work productivity, Barrett had a relatable response.
"I procrastinate until two or three weeks after my deadline. I have an anxiety-based relationship with my work until this day. It doesn’t matter how successful I am, I can’t write until it's time or due," he said.
"More and more these days, I tend to write during the wee hours when I'm exhausted from forcing myself."
Out of all of my interviews, Barrett has my favorite answer to the usual what-advice-would-you-give-your-younger-writer-self question to date.
"The only thing I would say, besides the obvious, is that I think screenwriters shouldn’t be reading screenplays, but stageplays," he said.
"The rhythm of dialogue is far superior because in a play, every line is earned. It’s not by coincidence that some of the greatest screenwriters, such as Sorkin, come from a theatre background."
Seance is a quick-witted, substance slasher with elevated storylines that will surely be a fan favorite. The Suki Waterhouse-led horror is available in theaters, on demand and digital May 21.