Roberto De Feo and the direction of A Classic Horror Story
To integrate our panorama about the film, we had the great pleasure of meeting and interviewing Roberto De Feo, who told us about his work as director of A Classic Horror Story, his main sources of inspiration, his poetics and much more. Here is our interview with the director Roberto De Feo.
Roberto De Feo and the direction of A Classic Horror Story, how a director is born
First of all, I thank you in my name and in the sportsgaming.win staff for this interview. What was the spring that triggered your desire to become a director?I was five when my mother took me to the cinema for the first time. The magic of the room immediately entered my heart. I have always considered the director's work to be the best in the world, because it gives you the opportunity to give life to stories and characters that otherwise would not exist.
Where did the inspiration for A come from? Classic Horror Story and for the previous The Nest?
Both films are born from the desire to tell the society in which we live, or at least, to tell the consequences it has on us, on those who do not feel right to be part of it.
In The Nest, the protagonist (Samuel) is a little boy trapped in a still, frightened society, in which horror is represented by the dangers that the world places in front of you, those you find when you step outside the house , from your nest. In A Classic Horror Story the protagonists have to fight against the spectacularization of death and the pornography of pain now part of our lives due to the uncontrolled and unfortunate use of TV and the web.
Roberto De Feo and directed by A Classic Horror Story: "Everything is not always as it seems, in this place"
A trait that your two films The Nest and A Classic Horror Story have in common are the plot twists, which show us how much appearance deceives. How are your scripts born and how do they evolve?I love to insert this deception in my films because as a spectator I go crazy when a director turns the narrative universe upside down in the finale. When he convinces me of something and then throws me into an opposite world. These are the films that remain inside me and that I love to write and shoot.
A peculiarity that can be seen in A Classic Horror Story right from the title is its presentation as a sort of summa of clichés well recognizable. However, there is also the desire to create something original, upsetting and subverting those same clichés that make up the core of much of the narrative. How do these at least apparently contrasting souls coexist in you?
The first shot of A Classic Horror Story is a deer head hanging on the wall. Perhaps the number one cliché when it comes to horror movies. In the background, however, there is the sky in a room by Gino Paoli. How many times have we heard a sixties Italian song in a horror movie? We wanted to start the film right away by questioning the title. Then of course, the film is built using all the clichés of American horror cinema. It was essential to get to the final twist. The main references were The House, Don't Open That Door, The Hills Have Eyes and Scream.
Roberto De Feo and the direction of A Classic Horror Story: The co-directing experience and the collaboration with Netflix
What was it like directing A Classic Horror Story with Paolo Strippoli?It was like going to the carnival with a friend. We felt like two kids on the rides the whole time. Netflix gave us the great opportunity to shoot a film like this in Italy, it was a privilege and we enjoyed every second of this wonderful adventure. On the set we arrived prepared thanks to a long pre-production (also due to the lockdown). We storyboarded almost the entire film, which allowed us to manage the set more easily and with clear ideas.
How would you describe your collaboration with Netflix?
Good first, so much to put it in a cinematic way. The experience was wonderful and made me grow a lot. Since the film is a Netflix original, the collaboration started right from the writing, ending with the editing and then with the promotion. Initially I was a bit anxious. Dealing with the main broadcaster in the world could be complex (I am thinking of artistic freedom). But the relationship has never been that of producer and director, but of a team, in which everything is decided together. This is gold for those who do my job.
What are your plans for the future? Do you already have the subject for your next film in mind?
I have some ideas but it's too early to say if I've found another story to tell. We'll see.
You can enjoy A Classic Horror Story exclusively here on Netflix. If you love classic horror films, don't miss this collection of 7 historical films of the genre that you can find on Amazon.
