[Interview] Catching Up With Chad Ferrin. From H.P. Lovecraft’s The Deep Ones to Unspeakable: Beyond the Wall of Sleep, What’s Next?

Available to stream on Apple TV and Amazon

From a simple film thrown together last minute to becoming a trilogy to honour the works of H.P. Lovecraft, Chad Ferrin doesn’t need that long of a re-introduction. When I spoke to him about his first work, The Deep Ones, (interview link) the ideas for a modern age retelling of several tales have its charm. And he wasted no time in working on a direct sequel for the first.

But for the third, it’s a completely different beast, and I had to chat with him again about how that came to be:

When compared to where you were in the past with making The Deep Ones to now, with Unspeakable: Beyond the Wall of Sleep, where do you think you are as a filmmaker?

Well, it was originally going to be a sequel to my first film, Unspeakable. Roger Garcia initially came to me and said he wanted to do a sequel to that. He said he has an investor who is up for it, and when he didn’t like the draft, I turned it into a H.P. Lovecraft movie because I know that there’s always a demand for that. I intertwined the characters from that first movie into this new one, and it just kind of flowed. Susan Priver helped find another investor, and before we knew it, we began shooting.

During writing, did you have any ideas in mind about who to cast or whether it should connect with The Deep Ones and Old Ones? 

Crispin Glover was at one point interested in playing Ambrose London, but it didn’t work out. So when I spoke to Robert Miano, who also executive produced, I asked, “Hey, are you still friend with Edward Furlong? I think he’d be great in giving this character a Columbo meets Lovecraft vibe.” Even Ginger Lynn worked great as his character’s wife, and it just started snowballing from there. Everyone had a blast. It was the most fun I’ve had during a film shoot.

Was it weird to not have Robert reprise his character of Russel Marsh? 

I originally hoped Garcia was going to play the role, but he wasn’t interested in doing all that extreme stuff, including the nudity. When I bounced it over to Rob, he was game and will go the extra mile. He was fearless and the choices he made when switching from the James Phelps character to the Joe Slater character were just night and day.

How would you respond to those people turned off by the full-frontal male nudity?

A film I did while back (Someone’s Knocking At The Door) had a lot of that, and it did very well. It has to satisfy me on an artistic level. Also, I want the distributor to make money and that kind of stuff sells.

I couldn’t help but think about some of H.R. Giger’s works where that kind of phallic imagery is scarier than erotic.

I always wanted to try combining those elements. After Joe Castro read the script, he said the same thing, and started sketching out ideas on how the penis monster and all that kind of stuff would look. He sent it over, and I said this is perfect! 

Also, the ultimate Lovecraft film isn’t gonna happen. I’m gonna make what I want to make and have fun doing it. I’m not trying to reinvent the wheel or pretend that it’s the greatest film ever made. As a filmmaker, I’m just doing the best I can with what I got and hope people can dig it.

What would you say to folks who say this latest doesn‘t feel like a Lovecraftian style of film?

I’ve read his stuff since I was a kid and when I look at it again as an adult, everything hits me differently. I also have to think of how to turn that story into a film. Sometimes, it’s just rolling the dice.

The first one was a Rosemary’s Baby meets Lovecraft, and the second more like Phantasm meets Lovecraft; it’s a road trip movie. I would say it has a little more comedy than the first one–which was so balls to the wall. Beyond the Wall of Sleep is more like Lifeforce meets Lovecraft with End of Days.

Who would you say is more of the central character throughout the entire trilogy? Ambrose (Edward Furlong) or Jim (Robert Miano, who also played Russel in the first two films)? 

I would say it’s Russell. Robert is all over him. In this latest, he’s the anchor. Eddie is also great as that hippie dippy. He’s like Mickey Rourke from Angel Heart. Susan’s character is another great one where she’s more grounded with reality and has to be that foil to Ambrose.

There’s nothing better than a film where you’ll find something new, an Easter egg. Take, for example, Lifeforce. I can watch that movie 10 times a day! I would rather make a movie that is fun, and you want to watch all over again for that reason.

Although this film marks the “last” of this trilogy of works inspired by H.P. Lovecraft, if you wanted to continue, what other stories would you tap into?

I would love to keep on going, but it’s one of those things you have to wait and see. Of course, getting the money to film is important. But of course, never say never? I am moving on to make true-crime films because that’s where the market is.

In closing, what would you say to people who say, “oh no, he’s hacking apart what Lovecraft’s stories represent again?”

I’ve built quite a thick skin over negative reactions and even positive. I just keep busy and move on to the next film. If this one does well, great! It’s just like reading Lovecraft; you either enjoy it, and it broadens your view of the world–whether that’s artistic or in how it entertains.

I get my inspiration from Ed Wood as I do from Stanley Kubrick. Both have their place in the cinema. And for me, I like to find a middle ground (Roger Corman to me would be the ultimate) to be a filmmaker. And if I could aspire to the same heights he achieved, that’s success and that’s what I try to do.

Unspeakable: Beyond the Wall of Sleep Trailer