Forget the teaser trailer and the full feature. Have you seen the first official still from Ted Geoghegan’s feature directorial debut, We Are Still Here? (It's on the right.) That image alone proves it’s one heck of a splatter film. The story centers on Paul (Andrew Sensenig) and Anne (Barbara Crampton). After their son is killed in a car crash, they opt to get away from it all and move to a house in the New England countryside. Trouble is, they don't move into just any old house. They move into one with an especially dark and sinister history.

While in Austin for SXSW, I got the opportunity to sit down with Geoghegan, Crampton, Sensenig and co-stars Larry Fessenden, Monte Markham and Lisa Marie to discuss what it took to make the film. The group talked about their first impressions of Geoghegan’s script, finding the perfect house, pulling off all of their key deaths in a single take and more. You can hear about it all in the video below, but be aware, there are plot spoilers throughout the interview.

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Image via Dark Sky.

Barbara Crampton, Monte Markham, Andrew Sensenig, Larry Fessenden, Ted Geoghegan & Lisa Marie:

  • 00:00 - Geoghegan on making the move from slasher films to something more in line with euro horror.
  • 01:31 - What’s the elevator pitch for We Are Still Here?
  • 02:38 - Working with Snowfort Pictures, MPI and Dark Sky Films.
  • 03:50 - The super short time between getting the green light and shooting.
  • 04:26 - Geoghegan on writing roles specifically for Crampton and Fessenden.
  • 04:47 - Sensenig on tweeting with producer Travis Stevens and scoring the role just days later.
  • 06:18 - Crampton’s first impression of the script; finding certain elements confusing.
  • 07:50 - Fessenden on the unique warmth in the film.
  • 08:40 - Markham’s thoughts on the challenging material; his first reaction to the final cut of the film.
  • 11:04 - Geoghegan on figuring out how much mythology to reveal in the film; putting the answers in the movie, but not laying them out clearly.
  • 13:05 - Markham on questioning the legacy of the house and the Dagmar family.
  • 15:05 - Finding the house; the pastor who helped them secure tons of resources.
  • 16:40 - Significantly fixing up the house and redesigning it for the movie.
  • 18:14 - Shooting the insanely gory third act of the film.
  • 19:00 - Working with Marcus Koch of Autopsy Effects on the blood and gore.
  • 19:46 - Doing all of the major deaths in the film in one take because of the splatter.
  • 20:49 - The gore and splatter effects that didn’t make it into the final cut.
  • 21:59 - Geoghegan on bringing the film to SXSW.
  • 23:04 - Taking We Are Still Here to Boston Underground next.
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Image via We Are Still Here Facebook Page