In this exclusive interview, director CHRIS SIVERTSON discusses the ins and outs of the visual design and emotionally metaphoric storytelling of MONSTROUS.
Directed by CHRIS SIVERTSON with script by Carol Chrest, MONSTROUS is a sumptuous visual delight steeped in a saturated mid-century 1950s world thanks to production design, costuming, and a mesmerizing performance by Christina Ricci. Always staying true to the emotional core and POV of Ricci’s character of Laura, we are not only transfixed but transported into the horror that surrounds Laura and her young son Cody who have fled Laura’s abusive ex-husband and found their way to a classically timeless and peaceful lakeside farmhouse.
But the veneer that we see is not always the truth and this is where Chris and his department heads excel in immersing us not only in the idyllic 1950s, but a 1950s that starts to have a few chinks in its armor. Delivering a synergy between the visuals and Laura’s emotions, we slowly see an ambiguous dichotomy within Laura as her perceptions start becoming skewed and break through the beautiful idyllic veneer, exposing untold horrors deep beneath the surface. Matching Ricci beat-for-beat is an outstanding performance by Santino Barnard as Cody. Joining Ricci and Barnard are veterans Colleen Camp and Lew Temple with Camp providing a welcoming abrasive and somewhat humorous texture.
Discussing everything MONSTROUS, from casting to fabric choices and colors to period-perfect Daniel Green shoe boxes to Senda Bonnet’s exquisite cinematography and its ideal marriage with Mars Feehery’s production design and Morgan DeGroff’s costume design to the introduction and growth of the visual horror elements to precision editing to metaphor, Chris goes into great detail in all aspects of the making of MONSTROUS. An eye-opening and fascinating conversation that speaks to his own eye for detail and its importance in storytelling.
TAKE A LISTEN. . .
by debbie elias, exclusive interview 05/11/2022
MONSTROUS is available on VOD and multiple streaming platforms including Prime Video with Blu-ray/DVD release on July 5th.
