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“We’re AACTA-nominated next to our heroes,” Barlow,31,says. “It’s a goal we never thought we’d achieve on this movie. We just assumed that Australians wouldn’t recognise a horror-comedy.”
It’s also notable that this is just the pair’s second feature-length film. The first,For Now (2017),was a “$25,000 microbudget indie that was shot in seven days”.
The decision to try their hand at horror was made for two reasons:because Senes is a “gore hound” and has always loved the genre,and because “horror sells”.
“It’s like the only genre that’s guaranteed to make money,where you can see a return on investment,” Barlow says. “We came at that decision artistically,but also with a business mindset because we want to survive.”
This relative confidence comes because horror is generally cheap to make,and also because the genre has a loyal fan base with dedicated festivals and online spaces that connect filmmakers and audiences from all around the world.
“In the US,the film dropped one day on Shudder and suddenly the horror community found it and shared it,” Barlow says. This creates important word of mouth which often translates to ticket sales as audiences want to experience these films in a communal setting,gasping at every jump scare and cheering at every kill.
”[Horror fans] want to be in the cinema,” Barlow says. “And that’s amazing because,as filmmakers,we sort of have the feeling that it’s dying and that theatres are all going to shut down... But those audiences,they show up and they celebrate you.”
FromWolf Creek toThe Babadook,Australian horror is well-established on the world stage and it’s not unusual for young creators to cut through either. James Wan and Leigh Whannell were just 26 when they wrote Saw,a film that made US$103 million at the global box office off a budget of just US$1.2 million,and went on to become one of the highest-grossing horror franchises of all time.
Of course,that’s a high bar for comparison – and the industry has changed a lot since. But an appetite for original horror remains.Barbarianis currently one of the most popular films in Australian cinemas,andBodies Bodies Bodies(a much smaller release from cult distributor A24) recently took US$13 million at the global box office.
The latter film,another horror-comedy that premiered at SXSW this year,has drawn many comparisons toSissy. Both films follow a young group of friends in a remote location,slowly unravelling;and they also explicitly deal with generational issues of performative identity.
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Senes says that,when he and Barlow were writing the film,they felt confused why there weren’t more movies exploring the personal perils and anxieties of social media. Then,after they completed their first draft,Ingrid Goes West was released. Then came Bo Burnham’sEighth Grade.
“There’s a big generational push[to tell these stories] because it’s one of our biggest issues,” Senes says. “Sure,there are bigger issues in the world than social media but,on a daily basis,most people’s concern is things like perception:How am I being perceived? Am I somebody in this world? Do my friends and family love me? Am I getting likes on my posts?”
“Sissy isn’t a judgment of our generation – or Gen Z,who are the first to grow up with all this from a childhood age. It’s a cautionary tale.”
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