August 12, 2009 Jon Knautz is the very talented director who helmed the excellent "Jack Brooks Monster Slayer". He's now in the process of filming "The Shrine," about a trio of journalists investigating a Polish Satanic cult that practices human sacrifice! He was gracious enough to answer some of ESplatter's questions, despite the grueling shooting schedule the pic is currently under in Vancouver. Check out images from the set!



Esplatter: How did this project wind up on your plate?

JK: I came up with a pretty simple concept a while back that has a fun little twist. It’s been in my head for quite sometime and I’ve always been trying to work it into a full story. When Brookstreet decided to do a more serious horror film I pulled the concept out and made it work. After I had a small synopsis, Trevor Matthews and I hit the boardroom in our office and fleshed out the whole story. Then we brought in a writer (Brendan Moore) and Brendan and I wrote the script.

Esplatter: Is there still going to be a Jack Brooks 2?

JK: Ahh yes, JBMS 2...someday...hopefully. We’ve developed a script but it’s not quite where we want it to be. Plus, we decided to take a break from Jack Brooks and focus on something else. But when we have the time and money we’ll definitely be giving Jack another adventure!



Esplatter: How did you come up with the story?

JK: I paced around my office all night and forced it out of my brain. All I had to do was make the connection work at the end, and when I did I wrote it down and then passed out.

Esplatter: It's a movie about human sacrifice, apparently. Have you seen 'Enter the Devil' -- the Texas satanism movie from the 1970s? Your movie sounds similar.

JK: Yes, some of it has to do with human sacrifice. I’ve actually never seen ‘Enter the Devil’, I’ll have to check it out. I love films from the 70’s!



Esplatter: Did you take any inspiration from Race with the Devil?

JK: Nope, but I definitely took inspiration from a few Mario Bava films.

Esplatter: Do you think that satanic cults that practice human sacrifice actually exist?

JK: They may...who knows. But if they do, they’re gonna love The Shrine!

Esplatter: What can you tell us about the cast for this one? How did that come together? Is Trever the star as well?

JK: We have a great cast. Everyone’s really excited to be part of the project. They all responded quite well to the script and everyone seems to have taken a real personal attachment to the project which is gonna bring a lot to the performances. Trevor is playing a role, but not one of the leads. However, he does play a very pivotal part in the overall storyline.


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