Issa López has been very busy in the film industry for years now, but the success of Tigers Are Not Afraid puts her in the spotlight in a whole new way, and it seems as though that way is paving the way to more opportunities in the horror genre. We were lucky enough to have López join us for a full episode of The Witching Hour this week and she spoke extensively about her past films and the challenges of getting Tigers Are Not Afraid screened, but she also took the time to address a highly anticipated new project that she’s working on with the one and only, Guillermo del Toro, their werewolf Western.
The story of how the two came together for the project kind of sounds like a dream-come-true scenario for a director on the rise. Check out what López told us about how she wound up working with del Toro:
“Del Toro, after watching the movie which, from the moment I was writing the script, I thought he was going to respond to this material and it was impossible to get to him. He’s, of course, one of the most busy filmmakers out there. You know, when I was writing, I remember [being] like, ‘Oh, I’m Mexican. He’s Mexican.’ Because there are so few of us. [Laughs] ‘It’s not going to be that hard. I know people that know him.’ It was impossible. And even with the movie finished, I could not get him to watch. And I didn’t know him. Not until the movie started getting the amazing reviews, and the comparisons were constant, in a good light. I was kind of worried because the movie does these things that del Toro does so beautifully, which is it deals with a very harsh reality through the eyes of children and the supernatural horrors that surround childhood. And that’s del Toro, right? So of course the comparisons arised. But the gritty nature of the movie, where the movie’s more City of God or is more that Latin America cinema, is what sets us apart from Guillermo’s work and influence. But Guillermo finally was curious enough, saw it and as I suspected, responded to it and became a champion and started talking about the movie. It was beautiful. And eventually he reached out and said, ‘I’m gonna produce a movie that you write and direct.’”
From there it was actually del Toro who came up with the idea that they would ultimately pursue:
“We started looking at options and he came to me with this idea for a werewolf Western and I loved it because who would think of a werewolf Western directed by a Mexican woman director? It’s such an odd combination; I would definitely want to see that! And I always want to make good movies that I want to see. So it is very dark, it is very violent, it’s a lot of fun.”
López also addressed why the combination of a werewolf movie and a Western are such an appealing pair to her:
“I think that there’s several things. One is there’s something about the white young America trying to take over a wild older America, you know? A wild, older native continent. And trying to crush something more mysterious and more mystical with the weight of what’s civil and what the western civilization implies, you know? And under that, there is something darker that you can’t repress. And the clash between those two is what makes the Western, I think. And what makes the werewolf, too. So it’s a beautiful marriage.”
It’s an intriguing thought to say the least, and the combination of “dark," "violent" and "fun” will always pique my interest, but López certainly has her work cut out for her if she’s going to pull this off, and she knows it. While supernatural creatures like zombies and vampires have received the big screen treatment time and time again with some phenomenal results in the mix, it’s not quite the time for werewolves.
“There’s a bunch of werewolf movies indeed, but very few of them are really good. A lot of them are a lot of fun but very few of them are really good, and even less scary. Because there’s something naturally scary about a man or a woman that is trying to contain a monster and then that monster exploding, and that’s what I’m fascinated with. How you can’t repress what you really are, what’s inside you. But that said, it can be incredible goofy to turn into a large dog, so it’s tough. And there’s amazing examples of when it’s well done like Ginger Snaps or American Werewolf in London or Howling I think, but it is a tough genre and you have to be very careful for it to not be stupid, downright stupid. And stupid is good! As I was saying, you know, I love comedy. I don’t want to make a comedy out of this one! [Laughs] Definitely don’t want make a comedy out of this one! So it is a challenge. It is scary in the way that Tigers was scary because it was all based on kids, I had to go into visual effects which is not something that Latin American cinema is particularly known for. All of that seemed so daunting and so risky, but if you’re not going down risky, I think it’s not worth exploring. David Bowie used to say - and I love that quote - that you have to feel, as an artist, a little bit like when you’re going into the ocean and the place where your toes stop feeling the sand, that is the right place to tell a story. And definitely I stopped feeling the sand a while ago so this is a good place.”
López also told us that she just finished the second draft of the script before the lockdown began and sent it del Toro’s way, but right now he’s busy figuring out the future for his next movie, Nightmare Alley, which was one of many productions that had to shut down due to the pandemic. So right now, López is standing by, waiting for some notes.
While we eagerly await more updates on her werewolf Western, how about giving Tigers Are Not Afraid another watch? (Because you’ve already seen it, right?) The movie is due out on DVD and DVD/Blu-ray Steelbook on May 5th and López did tease some very exciting special features. If you want to hear more about that, López’s journey with Tigers Are Not Afraid, the genre movies and books she’s busy checking out right now, and loads more, you can catch the full episode of The Witching Hour below.
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