We recently reviewed a short horror film called Infirmity by Kyle Hytonen and Derek Lukosius. We loved the film and wanted to get to know the two writers and directors behind it a bit more. From the work we’ve already seen, it is obvious that these Canadian filmmakers are two to keep an eye on in the indie scene. We talk about how they started in film, how Infirmity came about and what they have planned next.
Please be sure to also check out our review for Infirmity here!
HorrorGeekLife – Thank you both for taking the time to speak with us! How and when did you get involved with the film industry?
Derek Lukosius – After graduating from film school I knew that I wanted to dive into the industry. As a newcomer, I am still attempting to gain more experience in different aspects of the industry and I seem to always be finding myself a new challenge. Making connections was the first step and is something that never really ends.
Kyle Hytonen – Well it can be equated the same as a drug addiction. When I was younger I was entertained by movies, and would recite quotes from movies the likes of Mrs. Doubtfire or Forrest Gump. As I grew into my teens I wanted the harder stuff, and started craving more intense film experiences. I started experimenting with harder strains, first it was The Godfather, then Taxi Driver. Soon after that I was hard-lining Requiem for a Dream on both DVD and VHS. Now I was quoting verbatim, Samuel L Jackson’s “Ezekiel 25” monologue word for word. I started reading books on how to make films, and began shooting my own projects.
My first movie was when I was 15. It was called Trouble Shooters, and it was a blatant Scorsese ripoff about a trio of crime fighting pimps. By then I was so hooked I needed to start making my own movie drug. Then I overdosed on Criterion Collection DVDs and went into movie rehab. Then I graduated film school in 2008 and was given a diploma to make my own movie drugs again. The worst part was that MAKING these films became my drug.
My name is Kyle. It’s been 2 days since I worked on a film shoot.
HorrorGeekLife – There have been some fantastic references named already, but which other films and filmmakers help inspire your work?
Derek Lukosius – Hands down, Christopher Nolan has been a huge inspiration to me. As someone who loves big blockbusters but also appreciates the sophistication certain filmmakers can bring to storytelling, I admire his style and ideals. I also really love the Dogme movement of the 90’s and filmmakers like Thomas Vinterberg or Lars Von Trier.
Kyle Hytonen – John Carpenter for editing inside a frame, Jim Jarmusch for humanity in characters, Hal Ashby for discovering the absurdity in life, Woody Allen for understanding how to write, Quentin Tarantino for an appreciation for homage, Martin Scorsese for versatility, David Fincher for confidence, Joel and Ethan Coen for violence and Paul Thomas Anderson for knowledge of the craft.
HorrorGeekLife – As Canadian filmmakers, I’m sure that all of the talent we’ve seen from the Canadian indie horror scene has also been motivating. Are there other filmmakers from the region that you’d like to work with?
Derek Lukosius – Some of the greatest gems in Canadian cinema come from Horror. But hands down, David Cronenberg is the master of them all.
Kyle Hytonen – Absolutely it has motivated me as a filmmaker. I feel especially on the small budgets we are dealt with it can be difficult to pull off. Making a high concept film with minimal locations/actors/production value is the genre’s bread and butter. Infirmity as an example takes place primarily in one location with just 3 actors and still ended up costing $2,500 to produce. Trust me, there are no car chases sequences in my immediate future. If the script is not effective it’s time to move on to a different concept.
There are some great indie filmmakers spearheading the genre here in Canada, I’m lucky to have worked with a few (Black Fawn Films, Three Evil Cats). I’d love to work on a Gigi Saul-Guerrero set. Her amazing short El Gigante looked like it was made for 1 million dollars! And hey, I’d love to collaborate with that Derek Lukosius character again too!!
HorrorGeekLife – Speaking of your collaboration together, how did you two come up with the idea for your short film, Infirmity?
Derek Lukosius – I believe the idea came from a combination of Kyle’s concept of an experimental drug and my idea of a struggling couple living in a sketchy apartment.
Kyle Hytonen – Derek manages an Airbnb unit, which is a full sized 2 floor basement apartment and he had been wanting to shoot something in there for quite some time. We sat over a camp fire one night last fall and bounced film ideas off each other. One that came up was shooting a film in his rental unit.
I had just started taking a multivitamin supplement around that time, and I’m always interested in what side effects occur if you take too many pills. Based on the location in mind, I wrote a rough draft of Infirmity and sent it to Derek. He was creeped out by it and we began hashing through drafts, with each of us taking a turn, before we ended on a 7th final draft of the script quite far removed from that original draft.
HorrorGeekLife – It seems like you work well together; what was it like co-writing and directing?
Derek Lukosius – Prior to the film, Kyle and I have collaborated on a few other projects. As my first experience co-directing a film, I can honestly say that it worked out well. We both knew each others’ strengths and weaknesses and so it was easy when we knew to give the other some space to implement something specific to their vision. Writing was particularly fun and collaborative because it was a long process of sending things back and forth and finding something new and exciting each time. I’d love to collaborate with Kyle again and I’m sure we will!
Kyle Hytonen – It was an amazing experience. I’ve never collaborated with someone on a script before. The best part was once it was his turn to write a draft, I could sit back and wait to see what he had come up with, so it kept it very exciting.
Directing and planning a film, even a short film is a tiresome job. It was just so great to collaborate with someone who was so organized and prepared. On set we directed together, we would both have notes to our actors, or have a specific framing in mind for our DOP. If there was a scene that we were really exited to direct we would take turns doing so as well.
HorrorGeekLife – That’s great to hear! When will the public get to check it out? And are there any other upcoming projects you’d like us to know about?
Derek Lukosius – Right now, my short film, Face Value is taking on its festival run with its next stop in Atlanta for the HorrorQuest Film Festival in October. Other than that, I am just in the middle of post-production on my first feature film as a director, The Lone Paddler. We just locked our first trailer and it should be released within the next week. The story is about a group of friends who depart on a camping trip that have no idea they’re the target of a twisted madman who is set on tearing them apart.
Kyle Hytonen – We have been accepted into 2 film festivals as of this time. Infirmity will screen at Hampshire Genre Film Festival in Hampshire UK in late September as well as the Northern Frights Festival in Sudbury, Ontario, Canada. I’m currently on my 2nd draft of a Massacre at Femur Creek feature film among other accoutrements rattling around my brain. I also co-produced a Sci-fi thriller called The Attwood Paradox that will be screening at festivals soon.
HorrorGeekLife – Wow, it definitely sounds like you both have a busy schedule. This last question is just for fun- what are some of your personal guilty pleasures within the horror genre? The films that are so bad, but you can’t help but love!
Derek Lukosius – I can’t say that I have any guilty pleasure in the horror genre but in general, my guilty [or not] pleasure would have to be The Room. One of my favourite past-times is showing friends The Room for the first time and seeing their reactions to the ridiculousness of the experience.
Kyle Hytonen – Well the Friday The 13th series are considered bad to some, but I think there are the greatest films! I always watch one whenever there is a Friday the 13th on the calendar. I really love Found Footage movies too, another derided genre, to this day I’ll still watch one if one pops up on Netflix.
HorrorGeekLife – Thank you again for taking the time to speak with us! We can’t wait to see what you have for us next!