Ahead of it's World Premiere on August 22nd at this year's 25th Anniversary Edition of Pigeon Shrine FrightFest we spoke to Screenwriter Stephen Susco (The Grudge, Unfriended: Dark Web) about his 80s set teenage horror film 'Test Screening'. He explains how the relationship between the characters are the beating heart of the story and reveals the two films that are major influences on the look and feel of the movie.
FC: What was the origins of 'Test Screening'? Was it something you came up with yourself and presented to Clark Baker or did it happen the other way around.
SS: We share many favourite and formative movies, and we were both interested in developing a “mash up”of those influences – something that could start Spielbergian, then tilt into Carpenter, and finally plunge into Cronenberg territory – but that also had a thematic personal centre. Over many years and beers, the concept of 'Test Screening' became something of a gravity well for us.
FC: Watching the film you can see the influence of so many other films like 'The Thing', 'Invasion of the Body Snatchers' and even 'Society'. Were these films at the front of your mind when writing the script?
SS: Absolutely. 'The Thing' and 'Body Snatchers' were in fact the two films which jumped me straight into loving horror, but also an appreciation of the magic that genre has to explore essential questions without becoming preachy or didactic. The homages are far from accidental, though I fell in love with those movies as a kid (in the 80s, of course!) it took a bit of living and growing up to really understand the genius of the subtextual & metaphoric levels of 'Body Snatchers' and 'The Thing' (and other Carpenter movies like 'They Live' and 'Escape from New York') – their exploration of societal, governmental and institutional pressure upon the individual to conform with the “acceptable” mores of the time and place.
FC: Over the last few years there have been so many films and TV shows set in the 1980s, was it ever a concern to set the film during this period given how oversaturated the genre is with these kinds of films as of late?
SS: Certainly. We saw a great value in telling a story about now through the lens of then, but we didn’t want to fall into the nostalgia trap. The location of our film helped with this – many small towns in the early 80s couldn’t afford the 80s. No neon, Swatches, big hair and pant suits, etc. Kids went to the movies to “ooh!” and “ahh!” over that stuff, but the realities they went home to were far starker.
FC: One thing that I really admired about the film was the character work. What works so well is that you could take the plot point of mind control out of the film and it would still work as a drama in its own right. How do you find that balance between plot and character work in your writing?
SS: That’s nice to hear! The relationship between Penny and Mia was always meant to be the beating heart of the story – a challenging balancing act, since there’s an enormous amount of dramatic irony throughout (we see what’s spreading through the town, but she’s oblivious and focused entirely on the sudden changes in her childhood best friend). She’s living in one story while the audience is witnessing the other. But it was all calibrated in the hope of keeping the focus where we wanted it; on a young woman caught between believing what she’s told – by the news, the town, her parents, her faith – and what she knows to be true with every ounce of her being.
FC: On that, the film is all about identity, particularly when it comes to sexuality. Was this something you always intended to explore with this film or did it grow from the development of the characters?
SS: Yes, the genre conceit of the film grew from the conflict we wanted to explore: that when you compel people to be something they’re not, the results will inevitably be monstrous.
FC: 'Test Screening' feels like a very personal film. Did you bring a lot of your own life experiences from your teens to the film and if so are there any examples of this you can share with us?
SS: It is intently personal, to be sure – some of the primary characters are loosely based on friends of mine who, growing up in the 80s, struggled under the massive weight of “unallowable” homosexuality. We may have come a long way since then, but there is clearly more road to be traveled… and the forces attempting to inhibit the rights of individuals to live as they choose are only amplifying.
FC: Thank you so much for your time Stephen and we wish you all the best for 'Test Screening', we love the film and hope it is seen by as many people as possible.
'Test Screening' receives its World Premiere at FrightFest '24 on August 22nd.
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