The Hulu - Blumhouseholiday horror anthology seriesInto the Dark return today with a raw installment in honor of New Year ’s Eve , a searing takedown of social media , toxic friendship , and wellness civilization titled “ New Year , New You . ” It ’s a nail-biting entrance with an all - female cast , guide by Sophia Takal .
Those who ’ve been following Blumhouse news program this year will empathise the import of that last fact , since back in October company head Jason Blum gave an interview in which he opined that there are “ not a lot of female directors period , and even less who are fain to do horror . ” Very quickly , he apologized for his “ dumb remark , ” but the damage was done , specially since Blumhouse , a fecund producer of genre kit and caboodle , has yet to theatrically distribute a film directed by a cleaning lady .
So you may understand why the fact that Blumhouse hired Takal to channelize “ New Year , New You ” is kind of a vainglorious sight , even if it should n’t be — and , as she explained to us in the consultation that stick to , she was already well underway on the projection by the sentence Blum made that statement .
io9 : “ New Year , New You ” has puzzle some additional attention thanks to Jason Blum ’s statements about woman directors , especially women managing director working in horror , earlier this class . What did you make of that contention ?
Sophia Takal : I was already in post - production [ on “ New Year , New You ” ] so it did n’t really amount up at all . I can only speak to what my experience was form with [ Blumhouse ] , and it was absolutely terrific . I palpate totally support and included and part of the Blumhouse family — I feel so grateful because it ’s such a rattling caller and I think so many of the movie they make are interesting and made by citizenry from different ground with unlike points of persuasion about the earth . For me , [ Blum ’s remarks ] did n’t really shore in any special way because of how good an experience I ’d been having up to that point , and still continue to have even now .
I also acknowledge that they had been making an exploit prior to that — there are other [ Into the Dark ] episodes that are going to be take by fair sex later on in the series , and on the moving picture end , I have it away of at least one cleaning lady that they ’re developing a motion-picture show with that was harbinger prior to [ Blum ] say this too . But the fact of the matter is , I do n’t mean he was ripe — and he get laid he was n’t correct , because he ’s since correct the record that there are n’t any female theater director who are concerned in horror .
At the same time , it is a very male - dominated genre . It is a very “ bro - yttrium ” genre . I think often , and this is not true of the nifty repugnance movies , but those variety of halfway - of - the - route horror movies [ can be ] very misogynous . Part of what I ’m looking to do by enter in this writing style is turning it around , and not only giving women a luck to see themselves reflected in the literary genre , but also to challenge men ’s ideas of what charwoman are like who gravitate toward horror . I ’m making this movie thinking of women realize it , but I ’m sure thinking of the typical horror bro that ’s into revulsion movies keep an eye on this movie as well — how are they going to take it ? Hopefully , they ’ll be sort of exposed to another direction of showing fair sex onscreen than they ’re used to .
io9 : “ New Year , New You , ” which has no manlike character , takes spot at a New Year ’s Eve party and focuses on a chemical group of charwoman who were once close friends but have drifted apart — mostly because one among them , played by Mr. Robot ’s Carly Chaikin , is now a deep and celebrated wellness guru with a huge social mass medium succeed . The themes the installment touches on are intense : bullying , rivalries and resentment , use . Is that what pull in you to this story ?
Takal : Blumhouse give me this handwriting that had a bang-up construct of these woman who were friend from high school and has issues in terminus of fight , and they allow me to kind of put my revenue stamp on the script as well . For me , the thing that really opened up the narration was figure out the self - fear , ego - love , and “ health and health ” sort of recess . It was something I was really aroused to explore because I retrieve I can return for what I consider to be , like , a egotistical approximation of consume care of yourself .
I do remember take in at one peak that there were no male characters whatsoever and getting so aroused about that . Not because I recall that man should n’t be see on screen door — I think men are fascinating and I ’d love to make a movie about the male experience . But to tell this particular tale , again , because I consider a lot of multiplication repugnance is told through the manly gaze , it was an exciting twist on the genre for me .
io9 : speak of that , “ New Year , New You ” digs into a different kind of regard : through the crystalline lens of societal media , and how people tend to project an trope online that ’s not really truthful to real life . Do you think that ’s ripe territory for a horror moving-picture show ?
Takal : For sure . I think that the pull that the genre has for me is that you could take everyday issues that are inherently dire — which I think social medium , and the complexes that people develop from search at other peoples ’ social media , are subtly fearsome — and you could kind of put a magnifying ice to them and search them in an outsize way . By doing so , you ’re able to really condense what makes something so scarey . For me , there are so many thing actually scary about social medium beyond this — I was just reading about howFacebook has let corp read your private Facebook messages . Big Data and societal mass medium , that ’s so messed up . There ’s that element of it . And then there ’s this particular thing , a eccentric of woman who introduce herself and curates her picture , and kind of labels it as “ self - sexual love . ” And we bet at it , and we ’re like “ I already feel like shit about myself , and now I ’m also feel even bad that I do n’t love myself like she ’s telling me I should . ” It ’s just another direction that media fundamentally can make the great unwashed feel forged about themselves .
I find social medium just terrifying , and also very addictive . I ca n’t get off Twitter if my life calculate on it .
io9 : Most of “ New Year , New You ” takes shoes in a single business firm that go on to be filled with mirrors — a measured choice to echo the story ’s musical theme ?
Takal : The idea of reflection and ego - reflection and duality were definitely things I believe about a deal , and talked about with our product designer and cinematographer . I think part of it , thematically , is that it work very well with the thought of societal sensitive and the images that we ’re projecting to the world . But then also , I ’m just really drawn to movies from the ‘ 70s , and there ’s really nerveless uses of mirror in movies like Do n’t Look Now , or Images , the Robert Altman movie . So it was a combination of being suck to a stylistic ingredient from film that I make out , and also seeing the thematic throughline of why that element would operate in this particular story .
io9 : I detect that the title treatment has a 1970s flare to it , as well .
Takal : I ’m in reality really happy we did that . My editor in chief , who was awesome , I eff work with him — I originally peradventure wanted to reference Rosemary ’s Baby , which is a very cursive - y , curlicued pink baptistery . We adjudicate that , and then he also showed me this font he ’d pull from the Brian De Palma film Sisters , and I saw it and was like , “ Holy shit , this is awful . ” And that ’s also a really coolheaded picture that also explores women in really interesting fashion . I think it ’s a fun cite , and I like the intuitive feeling it sets up .
Into the Dark ’s “ New Year , New You ” debuted today , December 28 , on Hulu .
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