The Crucible meets Fast Color is the best way to describe Elle Callahan’s latest coming-of-age horror, Witch Hunt. Set in a world where witchcraft is illegal, the story follows two practicing teens seeking asylum in Mexico. Writer and director Callahan was heavily influenced by her surroundings for the story, having grown up in New England.  

“I had always wanted to do something with witches. It’s historically the only power women have had. I wanted to explore that more, and through my research, became fascinated by how normal it was hundreds of years ago. I thought it would be interesting, setting it in a modern world, and just kind of dove in and this is the story that fell out," she says.

Callahan names world-building as her favorite part of screenwriting, but transcribing her characters on the page hits closer to home.

“I try to write every character as a version of myself, even the villains,” she admits. These two girls I tried to write as me at that age; so I just channel a little bit of myself in each one. I can only write what I know. In film school, I had trouble directing scenes because I had no relation to the characters. It made me almost want to quit directing. So when I write, I have to feel some sort of connection to them or else I don’t feel like I’m the right person to make it.”

When it comes to deadlines, Callahan has her own unique path.

“I am a binge-writer. I will sit and write seventy pages. I also write like the movie is going to get made next week, because if you don’t act like there is some urgency, then you’ll never finish it. I need that kind of fire under me, otherwise, I will procrastinate. It’s either all or nothing. That’s what works for me. I don’t like sitting at a desk, I like sitting on my bed and writing and usually late at night until about four in the morning,” she explains.

While writing Witch Hunt, Callahan admits she struggled with her confidence.

“This was the first script I had written on my own," she admits. "I’ve also written with a writing partner. When you’re writing with someone else, you can hide behind the fact that it’s not just your baby. But when it’s just yours, you have to fully believe in every scene and character. You have to know that you’re going to make changes and it’s not going to be perfect. After I got over that confidence hump, it got easier,” she says.

During the process of writing Witch Hunt, the New England-based filmmaker would offer this advice to herself: “I had written two other versions of this script before and I kept trying to make them work when they had so many problems. It took so long to finish them, and I tried so hard to just make it right. Trying to make a bad script work is a waste of time. So, I would tell myself to tear it down and start from scratch sooner.”

Witch Hunt is currently available In Theaters, On Digital and On Demand.