Welcome back to another week of BEHIND THE LENS!
I’m excited about today’s show and my exclusive interview with my special guest, director/writer/editor TOM BOTCHII, talking about his new film RELENTLESS. And let me tell you, RELENTLESS is exactly what its title promises: a sustained assault of motion, impact, and withheld meaning. It begins as a home invasion and refuses to let go, barreling forward as a near-wordless cat-and-mouse chase that doesn’t pause to explain itself—at least not until the audience is already locked into its grip. What I found interesting in speaking with Tom is that he has a wonderful sense of humor that belies the violence, hatred, and revenge that unfolds in this film. He is so engaging and fun. I can’t wait to speak to him again.
And in addition to Tom and RELENTLESS, how about some fun facts about the 98th Academy Award Nominations? Keep listening after Tom’s interview for some trivia night-ready Oscar factoids for you.
RELENTLESS starts as a seemingly straightforward home invasion robbery but quickly becomes a sustained chase between two men—Teddy, a homeless drifter, and Jun, a successful businessman—layering the pursuit with ideas drawn from what Tom calls the “Twitter mentality.” Not Twitter as a platform, but as psychology: rage without listening, guilt assigned without process, justice declared without context.
A two-hander that stars Jeffrey Decker as Teddy and Shuhei Kinoshita as Jun, Tom wanted multiple journeys within the same film. The first is visceral: survive the pursuit. The second is moral and psychological: are we even right about who’s guilty?
In this exclusive interview, Tom discusses the inspiration and creation of his film RELENTLESS, emphasizing its brutal and primal nature. As the film progresses, violence becomes bloody and brutal, increasing in that brutality until it reaches a savage, even barbaric level of primal ferocity.
As we break down the film’s thematic and emotional structure, David Christopher Pitt’s cinematography is critical for its creativity in creating visuals that track the themes. Some outstanding set pieces which showcase David’s work include key scenes such as a tense bubble-car-wash fight, where a camera lens broke, and a home invasion sequence using multi-level set pieces. Co-editing the film along with Tom is DP David Pitt, who is doing double duty here, a challenging task indeed, given that the film’s structure avoids dialogue initially, building tension through action and minimal exposition. Something I found quite interesting is Tom’s highlighting the importance of audience perspective, noting that subtle actions can convey character plights effectively. And you get some very fun anecdotes that include insights on practical effects, such as using shoelaces to resemble barbed wire, and Jun leaving his home to escape Teddy, but bringing only his sneakers with him, which he changes in the middle of an intersection. A fascinating reason for that little addition to the film.
So, take a listen as writer/director/editor TOM BOTCHII digs deep into the creation and making of RELENTLESS.
RELENTLESS is available On Digital and On Demand.
Then keep listening for some fun, noteworthy tidbits about this year’s Oscars and the little Golden Boy himself.
The 98th Oscars will be held on Sunday, March 15, 2026, at the Dolby® Theatre at Ovation Hollywood and will be televised live on ABC, streamed live on Hulu, and airs live in more than 200 territories worldwide.
