‘PIG KILLER‘, a film both written and directed by Chad Ferrin, delves into the terrifying story of real-life Canadian serial killer, Robert “Willy” Pickton. Charged in 2002 with 26 counts of murder, and then convicted of 6 counts in 2007, his vicious crimes are speculated to have spanned from 1983 to 2002. While incarcerated, he supposedly confessed to the murder of a staggering 49 women in total to an undercover agent from the Office of the Inspector General, who was posing as his cellmate at the time.
The film stars Kate Patel (Proof Sheet), Jake Busey (Starship Troopers), Bai Ling (The Crow, Crank), and Lew Temple (Rob Zombie’s Halloween). We recently had the chance to chat with Chad about PIG KILLER, how the movie came to be, and the process of bringing some of the killer’s most heinous acts to film.
iHorror: Hi, Chad! How are you?
Chad Ferrin: I’m good. Just prepping for the next film I’m doing.
So, staying busy? Nice! We wanted to chat with you a bit about your latest film, PIG KILLER.
Great!
Now, the film is based on serial killer Robert “Willy” Pickton. Where did the idea to do this film come from?
It started with Kate Patel, who plays “Wendy” in the film. She was introduced to me through my friend Jeff Olan, who produced the film. He said he knew a young lady who was an actress who wanted to make a film based on this Canadian serial killer. Of course, I wanted to hear more about it.
We met for lunch, and she pitched me the whole story. She grew up in Vancouver, and was very familiar with him, and the whole trial. She always wanted to make this film, and she pitched it out. I started writing and gave them the script about two weeks later, and she loved it. After a few small tweaks, a month later, we were shooting.
So, the whole thing was Kate Patel’s idea?
Yeah. Her concept was basically doing (the film about) the killer. The direction of Boogie Nights sort of meets Portrait of a Serial Killer, was more of what I wanted to do. Instead of something depressing. I wanted to have light hearted elements, and pop music from the period juxtaposed against the violence. I wanted to make something you’ll watch again.
I wanted to see if you could verify a story I heard for us, tell us if it’s true.
Sure!
I understand that Kate Patel wanted to play the characters of Wendy Eastman, and “Willy” Pickton, originally?
(Laughing.) Yes! I’m like, look – if you have a million dollars, maybe it can be done. The time constraints of making a low budget movie on a twelve day shooting schedule and a 120 page script, it would be impossible to get her into the make up for two hours, with a convincing enough job for her to pass as this guy. It would just be crazy!
She was adamant, though, and even auditioned on tape for it, and it was good! But I had to stress to her how difficult it would be, turning a 10 hour day into a 15 hour day with all of the makeup. Eventually she agreed to just stick to playing Wendy.
We talked to a couple guys to play Willy. The first was Fred Durst, who was interested in playing him, but he had wanted so many changes done to the script that I said just forget it. It came down to a point where it was like, am I making my movie, or Fred Durst’s movie? He wanted to tone it down, I wanted it to be more extreme, and we ended up walking away.
That’s when Jeff Olan recommended Jake Busey, and I thought it was a great idea. We got the script to him, he loved it, and we had a meeting. He was excited to do it, and it was a pleasant experience working with him.
He reminds me so much of his dad!
(Laughing.) Totally! Gary Busey’s great, and always had that magnetism. Well, Jake has it, too. It’s hard to find. The camera loves them, and their likable.
Michael Paré is also in the film!
Yeah, and he was great as well! Nice guy, and he really knows his stuff. He’s one of those veterans who comes in and just hits his lines.
Now, you wrote and directed the movie. Does that help you keep more control over the project?
Yeah. When I do these as a writer/director I demand full control. I edit the films, I produce and prep the entire thing, it’s hands on all the way through. The people I’ve worked with on the previous couple films have been amazing. They know the routine.
I read up on “Willy” Pickton, and he was uh – well, he was a pretty evil guy. How far does the movie go? Is it an accurate depiction of what we know about his crimes?
Yeah, I would say it’s about 90% stuff that actually happened. There’s a few things that I put in there, like the pig mask is a nod to Motel Hell. Injecting his victims with windshield washer fluid and antifreeze, that was a factual thing. The pistol with a dildo silencer, also a factual thing.
His friend Pat with the tracheotomy was factual, and how he helped kind of dispose of the bodies, yet was never convicted. That all happened. The brother was never convicted, either, but he had to know. How could he not? The parties, and the music was all factual. The Wendy character is a combination of the one victim of his that got away, and one that was murdered.
So, you went for realism?
Completely, yeah. It’s a rollercoaster of dark humor, and horror, though. I’m from the midwest, and I grew up on a farm. There were so many similarities between Willy and I , that it was easy to dive into. I grew up around white trash. I went to school with people who were like Willy, and probably smelled like Willy. When you’ve been around that element, it’s easy to translate it, and make it as close to reality as possible. Another big key was the music, and getting Gerard McMahon to do the score, and allowing me to use his music, giving it a lighter feel. It’s different from what you’ll be expecting.
If you could tell people one thing about the film, what would it be?
It’s a true story, and you might love it or hate it, but it won’t leave you in between.
Awesome! I know you said you were prepping another movie you’re working on. Anything you want to tell us about?
Yeah, we’re prepping H.P. Lovecraft’s Beyond the Wall of Sleep. Which will start shooting in December with Edward Furlong, Jake Busey, Bai Ling, and more. It’s kind of getting the band back together, from PIG KILLER.
That sounds interesting! We’ll definitely be keeping an ear out for more info on that! We really appreciate your time, Chad! Thanks for chatting with us!
Thank you!
You can catch PIG KILLER in select theaters now, or on VOD, courtesy of Breaking Glass Pictures!