Leading up to its screening next week at Grimmfest, we caught up with writer/director Berkeley Brady to talk all things Dark Nature.
What can you tell us about crafting Dark Nature?
Crafting Dark Nature started with the script, which I couldn’t have done without my horror sensei, David Bond. His passion for horror is infectious and thanks to him I watched Eden Lake, Alexandre Aja’s High Tension and “The Hills Have Eyes.” And of course The Ritual and The Descent, which Dark Nature is definitely doing homage to. I kept working on the script with all of these films as my Holy Grails, then my producer Mike Peterson and writer Tim Cairo helped with notes.
Production took place in the summer/fall of 2021 in Rocky Mountains, and we shot for over 6 weeks. From that point I had my shotlist and some storyboards, but due to the challenges of shooting on location, Jaryl Lim–my DP–and I had to make many adjustments and do what we could with the time we had. I credit the film’s beauty to him and his camera team.
You explore abusive relationships, is this a real balancing act given how harrowing the subject can be?
In earlier versions of the script, we flashed back more to the relationship between Joy and Derek, to see how it progressed. As I was getting notes back, I found people wanted more horror in the first act, and so I decided to jump in with a scene of abuse and start with domestic abuse as a form of horror.
In crafting that scene, I was truthful to a personal experience, and in fact each of the women’s stories is based on things that have happened to real people. My belief is that as an artist, it’s our duty to tell the truth, and that’s it. So I felt that as long as I was truthful, there was value in giving my perspective. The greatest compliment I’ve had was from a viewer who said she had never scene something depicted that was so close to her experience. She said it was hard to watch and shook her for days, but that she felt held and seen. That was exactly my hope.
Is toxic masculinity a theme for Dark Nature?
I would say that toxicity in general is a theme. In my own life, the most toxic people I’ve met have been women, and I wanted to explore female toxicity within the dynamic of the group. I also wanted to show the toxicity that inevitably affects those who have been traumatized and those who try to help them. That being said, while the group had tensions, I wanted to show that the women would ultimately fight for each other when it came down to it.
Tell us about your filming locations?
We had three main outdoor locations, each were about an hour outside of Calgary, Alberta, in the Rocky Mountains. Since I’m from here, I was eager to show the land from a local’s perspective, and we found places that have never been shot in before, such as that canyon they walk into at the beginning. We were really excited by our water location, and then discovered that Predator: Prey was shooting there right before us! If you watch that movie, there’s the part where the girl is running from the bear and hiding in a beaver dam–that’s where we shot as well! Only, they had a hot tub for the actors and porta potties helicoptered down there. We definitely didn’t have that! We did have a real live grizzly bear come to lunch one day, but he/she was pretty mellow.
What can you tell us about the casting process?
Casting was probably the most stressful part of the process for me. There are so many moving parts, hopes and dreams. I had known Madison Walsh from a TV episode I directed her in, and was just so impressed by her professionalism and talent. I had worked with Helen Belay on a short film, and took a shot on her because I believe in developing local talent. When I saw Hannah Emily Anderson’s work, I was really excited, and I was happy she said yes. She is very talented, completely understands how to act for the camera, and can usually nail things in one take. She and Madison had an on-set competition to see how could get it done in one take when the other was making funny faces at them; their chemistry was very strong and just a luck of the draw.
You recently screened at Fantasia Festival, what was that experience like?
AMAZING. I was there with my 4-month-old baby, traveling solo for the first time with him, so I didn’t get to see as many films as i’d hoped, but we saw some. I really enjoyed Moloch by Nico van den Brink, which he said will be on Shudden. It felt incredible to be around so many film lovers and of course Montreal in the summer is so much fun. If you love horror, go to Fantasia! You’ll have an amazing time.
Do you plan to take the film to other festivals this year?
We do! We’ll be all over…know we’re playing in Denmark, Spain, and of course at a few places in Canada.
What can you tell us about the upcoming Creepypasta: The Movie?
It’s an anthology of shorts…if you like your scares in smaller bites, check it out!
Dark Nature screens as part of Grimmfest 2022
Bloody Flicks 