Ahead of the Overlook Film Festival 2023, Bloody Flicks caught up with filmmaker Michael Schwartz to talk horror comedy short Snatched.
Snatched featured in Hulu’s Bite Size Halloween last year but how exciting is it to be out playing festivals?
Oh I’m thrilled. When we made Snatched last year, we felt so grateful to premiere it on Hulu, reaching audiences across America hungry for a little disco horror delight. We also dreamed to make a film that audiences around the world could enjoy, laughing and screaming together while watching the biggest screen possible. Our film was made for an audience, rather than a viewer of one. I wrote the story as a deliberate litmus test – Everyone who watches it reacts differently. That’s because there are so many specific jokes and references intended to play to different demographics. So when people come together from different identities and backgrounds to experience it, magic happens.
Will you be attending the screening at Overlook Film Festival?
Yes! It’ll be my first time at Overlook. I can’t wait. There’s a sequence in Snatched that deliberately references The Shining. So it’ll be a thrill to experience Snatched in a theatre with people who immediately understand what’s happening (and may even say the lines aloud, Rocky Horror-style.) And of course, I can’t wait to see all the other films and programs too!
Was this always your intention to reach a wider audience?
Certainly, the hope was always to reach as wide an audience as possible. It’s amazing these days how that happens, through streaming and festivals and word of mouth, yes. But also, for example, shortly after the release of Snatched, a clip from the film went viral on TikTok. A young woman in New Zealand somehow came across it and shared a scene from the film, laughing along with it. By day’s end, it clocked 5 million views! So my hope, of course, was that some of those people on Tik Tok sought out the full film to watch as well.
After seeing the film, my observation was queer Invasion of the Body Snatchers, is that fairly accurate?
100%. The original 1955 Body Snatchers book took place in my hometown of Marin County, just north of San Francisco. Subsequent film adaptations have taken place there as well. Every ten to fifteen years, a Body Snatchers movie comes out, always with a new allegory to reflect the times. To me, the story felt ripe for taking on 21st century identity politics. With an added twist of the pendulum swinging the other way, where the aliens are so desperate to help us, that they end up harming us instead.
There is some fantastic comedy and subversion of tropes, how much fun was that to play with?
The MOST fun. I’m a student of comedy and horror films just as much as I am a creator of them. So shifting tones and subverting tropes was a blast to do. I wanted Snatched to feel like a rollercoaster. My hope is that even if you know nothing about Queer culture, or Body Snatchers films, or even the broader historical context of horror, you’ll still understand what’s happening on a fundamental level, and feel empathy for Joey’s journey. Understanding all the references – that’s just sprinkles on the cake.
You’ve put together quite the cast here too, tell us about working with Misha, Tatiana and Brendan?
All three of them were a dream. Tatiana and Brendan are married in real life, so of course their chemistry and shared sense of play is off the charts. And Misha joined the Capgras family like clockwork. I really appreciated their collaboration and desire to make these characters their own. Look, I’d make them a repertory company if I could! There’s nothing those three actors can’t do. Not to mention they’re each amazing people to work with as well.
What was your favourite sequence to film?
Filming the kitchen sequence was non-stop fun. One of my jobs as a director is to encourage and facilitate a sense of play on set. Tatiana, Brendan and Misha just ran with it. They were actually TOO funny, so much so that we had to unexpectedly use non-funny takes of certain lines to better make other lines land. Having every moment be funny didn’t work! It was a fascinating scene to cut together, and our editor, Mike Patterson-Pack, is so brilliant with flow and comedic timing. He really knew how to maximize both tension and laughs.
How has working on Snatched compared to your previous work?
Comedy certainly plays into everything I write. But this story certainly stretched me out towards camp. Which of course I loved. Satirizing performative allyship lent itself very easily to camp, which is inherently a Queer artform. My favorite thing to do is blend genres. I want to ease audiences in with a laugh, then emotionally sock ’em in the gut. Horror and comedy are two of the most visceral genres too. I like producing physical reactions in audiences. It often helps people more easily question why they felt a certain way.
What’s next for you?
I’m just about to finish a new edit on my debut novel, Project Wild. It’s a YA murder mystery – I can’t wait to share it with the world. We’ll continue the Snatched festival tour through the end of the year, hopefully taking us to the UK in the Fall. Then fingers crossed we get to move forward on making the Snatched feature!
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