Anger and frustration can be inspiring–and they were for director Darren Lynn Bousman who after his major box office success with Saw II, III and IV found his Repo! The Genetic Opera suffer from what he regarded as severely limited distribution in 2008, translating into a meager audience. Feeling strongly that the film deserved better than a quick turnaround to DVD or VOD, Bousman and writer/actor Terrance Zdunich decided to self-distribute Repo! with a grass-roots initiative, getting theaters to host screenings as part of a traveling road show in which he would recruit local talent to perform offbeat opening acts, making himself available along with cast members and other colleagues for live Q & A sessions after the film played.
The screenings took on a life of their own, akin to the cult following and audience participation made famous by The Rocky Horror Picture Show late night presentations. The Repo! horror/thriller/rock opera motion picture attracted fans in full costume with lines and lyrics committed to memory. Audiences broke out into song and merriment during the screenings. Repo! indeed broke through to connect with the movie-going public, cultivating an enthusiastic fan base.
Bousman and Zdunich again deployed the self-distribution model in 2012 for The Devil’s Carnival, a musical set in hell. It too drew devoted audiences. And now that film’s musical-horror-fantasy sequel–Alleluia! The Devil’s Carnival–is looking to similarly connect with viewers via a 40-day traveling road show which got underway last week with a theater in Tucson, Arizona, being the first stop. Tour dates span such cities as Dallas, New Orleans, Jacksonville, Fla., Atlanta, Nashville, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Winston-Salem, Los Angeles, New York City, Toronto, Brookline, Mass., Indianapolis, Minneapolis, Kansas City, Mo., Sacramento, Calif., Portland, Ore., Denver, Las Vegas, Detroit, and Austin, Texas.
At the same time, Bousman hasn’t abandoned the traditional distribution model. He directed the horror feature Abbatoir, which is slated for theatrical release next year. And Bousman directed a segment of the anthology horror film Tales of Halloween which is scheduled to hit theaters on October 16.
SHOOT connected with Bousman to discuss Alleluia! The Devil’s Carnival, further backstory on his self-distribution model, and the dynamics of his latest road show.
SHOOT: Take us back in detail to what inspired your self-distribution model which you’ve since repeated. Your model has picked up momentum in recent years, successfully marrying a movie screening with a carnival-like tour experience.
Bousman: I was very lucky early on in my career, most notably with the Saw films which were box office juggernauts. I was a 26-year-old kid with movies all over the world, trailers for the movies all over TV, posters at bus stops, large promotion and advertising [P&A] campaigns behind them. I assumed that’s how it all worked. But very few movies have that anymore. Less and less movies are getting made for theatrical distribution.
When Repo! The Genetic Opera came out, there were zero dollars in P&A and hardly any theaters to speak of in terms of its release. We could do one of two things. Sit back, bitch and complain how the film was unjustly treated by Lionsgate. Or we could attempt to do something about it. We approached theaters, got screenings and attracted fans. People started turning out and it became an underground kind of cult phenomenon. It was inspiring to see fans directly interacting with Repo!
Then I directed Mother’s Day which got no distribution. It’s probably my favorite film of what I’ve done but it didn’t get a real chance to find an audience.
Doing the road show is a difficult, tiring experience but to see the audiences connect with your work makes up for it. But we decided to not go with a road show again until we had a film we owned completely. And that’s what we had with The Devil’s Carnival.
SHOOT: How did you originally connect with Terrance Zdunich?
Bousman: I met him in 2002 or 2003. I came from a musical theater background and was out looking for a musical. I’m drawn to musical theater and these guys gave me a libretto. There was a 40-page play and the CD sampler was Repo! It was awesome. A stage show was put up at a Hollywood Boulveard venue and did well. It ended. I told Terrance that if I ever got a chance to do a movie, I would connect with him. It was lip service at the time because I had no job, money or connections. I stepped away from Repo! and they did another run in Los Angeles, then off-off Broadway which Terrance directed.
At the point that I did Saw II, I started to have some clout. Lionsgate still passed on Repo! Then I did Saw III and had more clout. We made a deal that I would come back with Saw IV and they would make Repo! after that.
When the distribution for Repo! was lacking, we went with the road tour and since then with The Devil’s Carnival and now with the sequel to that film.
SHOOT: What are the features of your latest live performance show for Alleluia! The Devil’s Carnival.
Bousman: Every city is different. We use local acts. Each evening of the tour begins with a live, local opening act. We never know what exactly we’re going to get. Sometimes we meet them 20 minutes prior to the show. It’s a roll of the dice. Some nights it’s absolutely awesome. Some nights it’s not–which makes it awesome in a way. You have to roll with the punches.
I remember when we premiered Devil’s Carnival, the first stop was in Montreal at the Fantasia Film Festival. Our opening act canceled at the last minute so we went on Craig’s List scouting for a local act. We got a response immediately from this woman who said she does a carnival-esque dance with a boa constructor and a mock blood letting. We met her five minutes before the show went on. She gave us her music. Terrance and I are in the sound booth, put the soundtrack on and couldn’t believe what we were hearing. The CD is of Hungarian chanting with a satanic feel. She drops her robe, cuts herself on the arm and there’s blood on her body. She introduces a snake to the act. There was a collective gasp in the audience. People’s jaws were hanging open. Most of our acts are fun and lively. This one made you want to take a shower after.
Our current tour is 40 days on the road, then we’ll shut down for a month or so and do another tour after that. We hope to get to the U.K. and overseas. There’s an excitement to showing up to a city every night, seeing opening acts, getting audience participation. It’s a lively, fun, crazy environment with Q&A’s at the end with the filmmakers. Two of the lead actors are participating–Emilie Autumn and Marc Senter. Barry Bostwick will be there for a few stops, Adam Pascal will be there.
SHOOT: What were the biggest creative challenges that Alleluia! The Devil’s Carnival posed to you as a director? What was the shooting schedule? How long were you in production?
Bousman: Fourteen days in production which is insane. Fourteen days for a feature-length film with fourteen musical numbers in it, tons of dialogue for actors, choreography, elaborate costumes and prosthetics. We’d do one take and move on, one take, move on. There was also complexity in dealing with the music, actors learning how to properly lip sync, to finesse the lip synching. The shoot was full of challenges and it was quite an accomplishment to do what we did.
SHOOT: While you have committed to your self-distribution model, you remain very much involved in traditional releases, correct?
Bousman: Yes, I’m trying to balance things out. I directed Abbatoir which is a horror film ala Saw, made by traditional money, with big actors starring. It’s much more mainstream and coming out next year.
And I directed one of the 10 segments of the anthology horror film Tales of Halloween which is coming out on October 16.
