DARK NATURE

CANADA | 2022 | HORROR | 85 MINUTES | 4K

RELEASED MAY 19TH, 2023
SOON ON VOD

Directed by Berkley Brady · Written by Berkley Brady & Tim Cairo · Produced by Michael Peterson

With Hannah Emily Anderson, Madison Walsh, Roseanne Supernault, Kyra Harper & Helen Belay

Joy, a survivor of domestic violence, joins her friend Carmen and her therapy group on an isolated weekend retreat in the Canadian Rockies. Led by the enigmatic Dr. Dunnley - whose methods are experimental and, at times, dubious from Joy’s outside perspective - the experience eventually shatters the border between reality and delusion. Joy begins to suspect that they are being stalked by her abuser, when in truth, the entire group will be forced to confront a threat even more terrifying than the monsters of their past.

A group of people going into the woods has a very specific connotation in horror. They’re often teenagers or young adults who end up dying gruesomely after engaging in “sinful” acts or “reckless” behaviour. But in your film, we have multi-dimensional and emotionally mature grown women characters escaping their daily life – not to party or partake in a friend group activity – but to explicitly deal with their respective trauma. Was it a conscious choice to kind of go against clichés and tropes with these well-rounded, diverse feminine characters?

It’s true that in horror, a weekend in the woods is never a good thing for the characters, and often kills them or drives them crazy…but in reality, people spend time in nature to stay sane.  

Before writing Dark Nature, I actually did a short documentary about a group of men and women preparing for their first vision quest. They work under the guidance of an incredible woman, Doreen Spence, who is a Cree Elder in Treaty 7 territory, and who was also a nurse for many decades. Through my own experience on the land, and through working with Doreen and other Elders, I wholeheartedly believe we need to slow down and be in nature in order to understand ourselves and the world. So it was fun to play with the contrast of this in Dark Nature; the women are all there to do some real inner work, but things don’t go as planned. For me, this is a comment on reality; we can do our best to improve ourselves and address our wounds, but that doesn’t guarantee anyone safety. The world will keep on dishing out the horrors whether we’re in therapy or not. There’s an irony in that which I appreciate. I also wanted to play with the idea of the “final girl”, and speak to what I know about friendship, which is that it’s our friends who keep us alive in adulthood.

The outdoors plays a very important role in the film. Shooting in the woods must come with a few challenges and create opportunities for very interesting anecdotes. Can you tell us a bit about how it went?

I think the most interesting thing that happened while shooting in the outdoors is that a grizzly bear came to set one day and didn’t want to leave. 

But in general, as an Indie film, we didn’t have the luxuries of a big budget production. We walked from circus to set with our equipment, and sometimes the only honey wagon was a tent with a portable toilet. It was tough, but we all knew the locations would be worth the work on camera, and they are. I was also about 4 months pregnant when we started shooting, so that added an extra layer for me personally.

Were you inspired by other films, media, or filmmakers? And what would you say were the visual inspirations behind the creation of the creature/monster?

I was inspired by films like The Descent, of course, Eden Lake, and Back Country; the bear attack scene in that movie is truly terrifying in the best of ways. The visual inspiration behind the monster came from the territory itself. I spoke at length with Kyra Mcpherson and Jennifer Crighton-the genius’ behind the monster design–about making the creature very specific to it’s environment, as if it evolved there through eons. We looked at the rocks and tree bark to colour its skin, and at local predators like cougars for how it moved. We needed something that Luke Moore, the incredible creature actor, could move in. This meant a latex suit. In my understanding of the creature, it’s power is very connected to it’s cave; the closer to the cave, the stronger its power.

Your main character Joy and her best friend Carmen have beautiful chemistry on screen – all the performers do a terrific job. What was the casting process? When did you know you had found your perfect lead actress?

I had actually worked with Madison Walsh, who plays Carmen, on a show I directed for APTN.  I thought she was so talented and intelligent, and knew she’d make a great Carmen. It was harder to find our Joy, but at the last minute Hannah Emily Anderson came on board. They are both actors in Toronto, and Hannah had seen Madison’s work in a play where Madison was semi-famously, and bravely bottomless. So they started with some things in common, and really bonded through the set. I know it was a tough shoot for them both, but I have many memories of them laughing their heads off and coming up with the funniest games between takes. My favorite was “am I sleeping or am I farting.” The game starts with one person making an expression, and you have to decide if they are sleeping, or farting. Try it next time you’re bored!

Even though you made a horror movie, lots of violent moments are not shown directly. We do not see any of the characters die onscreen. What was your thought process in making that decision? Do you feel a certain responsibility as a filmmaker in how violence is shown on screen?

I love movies like the John Wick franchise, where the violence is so over the top it becomes fun and comical. But that wouldn’t have been the right fit, tonally, for this project. I think as a filmmaker, I’d feel the most responsibility about how I show gun violence at this stage, especially with all the mass shootings happening in the states. In terms of this film, I wanted to focus on building tension and leaving the actual deaths up to our imaginations, which can sometimes be more terrifying. 

BONUS ROUND

1. Who is your favourite horror filmmaker?
Alexandre Aja

2. Who is your favourite horror creature/vilain?
The “man” in High Tension. 

3. Which horror film was the first one to scare you to death? 
I still can’t watch the last part of Martyrs without fast-forwarding it. Too awful, too scary. But masterful.