David Gordon Green isn’t sweating criticisms of his recent movies Halloween Ends or Exorcist: Believer. Not only has he moved on from the hate, but the genre as well with his new film Nutcrackers premiering this month at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF). But that doesn’t mean Halloween or Exorcist have exited the chat when it comes to interviews.
In a recent sit down with IndieWire, Green was asked about those divisive horror films that fans really wanted but were dissatisfied with. It’s not that the films were bad per se, it just seemed like they wanted something else and were extremely vocal about it.
“I’m not afraid of that! I’m not afraid of strong feelings,” said Green in the interview. “But the beauty of those movies is you make it low budget and nobody is breathing down your neck to make it work for everyone. They are coming to you and saying, you make your movie, just don’t make it expensive. So, if I can make movies that are respectful of the business model… For example, for Nutcrackers, I wanted to make a movie my kids could see. I have young twin sons and I’m not going to let them watch a lot of the movies I’ve made…”
Another thing he revealed about Halloween Ends is that it wasn’t a spiritual reboot of Stephen King’s Christine, but rather inspired by a forgotten comedy/drama called My Bodyguard from 1980. If you have seen that movie it all makes sense, if you haven’t you are probably more confused now than ever.
The film follows a bullied high school student who hires a burly classmate to protect him. It’s a bold inspirational choice, but Green isn’t one to follow convention even if it means the ire of fans.
“As you see with the Halloween movies, the choices I make aren’t always the most popular ones,” he said. “So it’s trying to make something that me, and my great friends at Blumhouse and Morgan Creek, want [for] that property to be fulfilled, as much as the audience is there and has the appetite for it. I don’t think they were on the journey I was excited about taking.”
As for his latest film Nutcrackers, it’s not a slasher nor a possession movie, but a comedy/drama inspired by true events about siblings overcoming their unexpected circumstances.